Should Women Take Protein Powder?
There seems to be a stigma about women taking protein powder but the truth is it can be just as beneficial for women as it is for men. The biggest concern among women I tend to hear is that taking protein powder is going to make them bulky, but this just isn’t true. Our bodies need protein and taking a protein supplement is just one way to get that protein. The truth is, taking a protein supplement can help women build lean muscle, just as they would with any other source of protein. So the question is, should you take protein?
What’s Your Fitness Goal?
To determine whether you should take protein, let’s examine what your fitness goals are.
Muscle Gain This one should be obvious. If you are looking to gain muscle, taking protein powder will help! For someone who is looking to gain muscle, they are going to subscribe to a diet that contains more protein on a daily basis. It can be difficult at times to reach those daily totals and protein powder can help you reach that higher daily target.
Weight Loss. This one might be a little more tricky to answer off the cuff, but the answer is still the same. Your body needs protein during the process of burning fat. The thing is, if you seriously decrease your protein intake in an effort to decrease caloric intake, your muscles won’t find the protein they need to continue to build and you’ll actually lose muscle instead of fat. That is not the way you want to lose weight.
Figure Maintenance. Even when you are trying to maintain body weight it is important to continue to get enough protein otherwise you can run into some of the same problems I mention above and actually lose muscle mass. If you’re not getting your calories from protein, you may be getting too many calories from carbs and fat, and each of those are more likely to lead to weight gain.
What to Look for in a Protein Powder?
There are so many different protein supplements out there it can be hard to know which one to choose. Most of the protein powders on the market are designed for men looking to put on lots of muscle, but that is exactly the kind of supplement you want to avoid because they can often contain fillers, extra calories, and loads of sugar. What you need to do is find a protein powder for women, one that is specifically designed with women’s goals in mind. They are often lower in calories and sugar making it ideal for what most women are looking for.
Miranda Jasper
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