Why women should use protein shakes and the importance of a high protein diet to tone your body
How protein shakes can help women to tone up and lose weight
It is January 2019, the first month after Christmas. You might be asking yourself: 'How do I get a toned stomach?' 'How do I lose weight?' or 'How do I get a beach body for the summer?' These are all questions I have seen put forward by health conscious women on Twitter and internet forums over the past couple of weeks.
Do protein shakes work to help you lose weight? Do protein shakes work to help you get toned? The answer to both of these questions is that protein shakes are not a miracle cure. However consuming a high protein diet with the aid of a protein shake or two each day can help you diet, maintain muscle mass and tone up ready to hit the beach with your friends this summer.
Do not do a protein shake diet. I cannot stress this enough. You need vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fats. Taking protein powder via protein shakes is great to supplement a healthy diet. But just taking protein shakes alone will mean you miss out on vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals gained from food. The simply act of chewing food is far more beneficial than gulping down a protein shake.
Excessive use of protein powder can make you put on weight as you will tend to find around 150 calories per shake. Even many diet whey protein shakes will make you put on weight if used too much. Relying purely on protein shakes will also mean you become deficient in essential nutrients that women need such as iron and folic acid.
Fad diets are pointless, once you lose weight you will more than likely put it back on. But protein shakes do have a place in your diet if you only take one or two a day to keep your protein levels topped up.
We are going to take a look at the benefits of a high protein diet for women and recommend some of the best protein shakes for women to buy in the UK. Look out for a couple of other articles that we will be releasing soon as well exploring the best fat burners for women and other gym supplements for women on the market.
How much protein does a woman need in a day?
There is no definitive answer to the question: 'How much protein does a woman need?' It depends on your weight, how much exercise you do and what your body composition objectives are. However the inclusion of a whey protein supplement in your diet is recommended because, for the active woman:
- It provides a quality source of protein to maintain muscle mass (maintain a toned figure)
- It is a very efficient way to get protein simply by adding it into water in a shaker
- It is a very cost effective way to get a high amount of protein into your body
The benefits of taking a whey protein supplement
- It can help build muscle
- It can help replenish muscle
- It can help replenish blood lost via menstruation
- It can help with fat loss
- It can helps support immune health
Whey protein will not give a woman big muscles (unless you lift heavy weight every day!). For most women, whey protein will simply help with your body composition because low testosterone levels will mean you will not get big muscles unless you lift heavy weight frequently and have a certain genetic makeup along with many other factors.
If you are looking to use protein to build muscle mass, the general consensus is that you should consume 1.6g-2g of protein per kg of body weight per day. If you are looking to use protein to lose body fat whilst maintaining muscle (i.e. tone your body), you may only need to take 1g-1.7g per kg of body weight per day.
How many protein shakes should a woman drink a day?
Based on the calculations listed above, you will need to take 100-180g of protein each day. The majority of this protein should come from food in your diet such as chicken, turkey, eggs, steak, mackerel, salmon etc. However you can supplement your food with 1 to 2 protein shakes a day which will provide you with 50-60g of protein to help you hit your target (one scoop of whey protein tends to provide 20-25g of protein per serving).
When should a woman drink protein shakes?
Some women will build muscle or lose body fat quickly; some will build muscle or lose body fat slowly. So you will need to assess when taking whey protein what works best for you in terms of when to take it and how much to use. You should definitely take whey protein straight after a workout on days you exercise/go to the gym. This should be a quick protein releasing shake not milk concentrate protein or a casein supplement) to get protein flushed straight into your muscle fibers and help restore glycogen levels. On non workout days it is entirely up to you and your body.
Many active women like to take a protein shake in the morning, either directly from the shaker, mixed with porridge or used to bake homemade protein pancakes.
Can women take the same protein powder as men?
This is question I often see on the internet and the answer is that women can take the same protein supplements as men. I have come across a myth that women must use soy protein and men whey protein. This is completely wrong! Whey protein is whey protein irrespective of who is using it. Cold filtered whey is suitable for men and women, there are no ingredients used which are tailored more towards men. Three of the best cold filtered whey supplements for both taste and how they work to maintain a lean body include Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, Myprotein True Whey and Sci-MX Ultragen.
However there are supplements marketed by leading sports nutrition brands in the UK as protein supplements for women such as Maxitone Definity, Maxitone Sculptress Diet and the Myprotein Elle range which we highly recommend for body toning and maintaining muscle. The PhysioRoom have also just started to stock a range of protein supplements for women called Pink Protein with vegan protein and diet protein powder available to buy.
These supplements are perfect to use in the morning at breakfast and after your gym workout/exercise. They are marketed at women because they contain fat burning ingredients such as green tea extract and CLA to help with weight loss and maintaining a toned body.Retailers/prices shown below are the lowest we have found having scanned all online retailers that sell the supplements.
Pink Protein and other supplements for women sold at The PhysioRoom
Maxitone Definity protein shake for women
- The Maxitone Definity protein shake is ideal to drink after exercise to help your body recover but can also be used at any time in the day
- Maxitone Definity is very high in whey protein (23g per serving)
- Maxitone Definity is very low in fat (only 2g per serving), low in carbohydrates (only 2g per serving) and low in sugar (only 1.4g per serving)
- There is only 118 calories per serving so it is a low calorie protein shake
- Definity protein shakes are available in both chocolate and strawberry flavour
- Maxitone Definity is endorsed by England Netball and professional dancer Flavia Cacace
Maxitone Sculptress Diet protein shake for women
- Maxitone Sculptress Diet is the number one best selling protein shake from the Maxitone range
- Sculptress Diet is a meal replacement shake (MRP) and also perfect to drink after you exercise. It is high in carbohydrates (19.9g per serving) and sugar, exactly what you need after a workout to help replenish low glycogen levels (which is why many athletes drink dextrose / high sugar drinks after exercise)
- Sculptress Diet contains 21 vitamins and minerals including green tea extract and l-carnitine which are used in JST Jodie Semtex fat burners and Re:Active T5 Super Strength slimming pills so great for losing weight
- Flavours include chocolate delight, strawberry sundae and banana split
- Each serving provides 201 calories, 17g of protein and 5.5g of fat (low considering women need 60-70g of fat per day on a 2000 calorie diet although this does depend on age and weight)
- Sculptress Diet provides additional fibre into your diet (2.1g per serving)
- Drink with water to keep the calorie content down
Myprotein Elle True Diet Whey protein shake for women
- Elle True Diet whey protein sells very well amongst women on Myprotein.com, one of the market leaders in sports nutrition supplements in the UK
- Flavours include chocolate, strawberry and velvet vanilla
- It is designed to help with body shape and toning. The addition of green tea extract, CLA, guarana and chromium increase metabolism and help with fat burning. JST Jodie Semtex key ingredients include all of these. CLA helps prevent the body from storing fat
- The additional of Bioperine in Elle True Diet whey protein helps absorb nutrients into the body and keeps you fuller for longer. So this appetite suppressant ingredient will also help ensure you maintain a toned body
- Elle True Diet contains only 108 calories per scoop (28g serving), 18.1g of protein, only 4.2g of carbohydrates, 2.1g of fat and only 1.5g of sugar
- The product has received plenty of 5 star reviews which you can read on Myprotein.com and also comes in 1.8kg pouches