Did you know that muscle loss can begin as early as your 30s, often slipping under the radar until it impacts your energy levels and workout effectiveness? In this enlightening episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I dive deep into the critical issue of sarcopenia, a condition that affects many women over 35. It’s time to shift our focus from weight loss to building lean muscle for women, a vital aspect of maintaining health and vitality as we age.
Did you know that muscle loss can begin as early as your 30s, often slipping under the radar until it impacts your energy levels and workout effectiveness? In this enlightening episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I dive deep into the critical issue of sarcopenia, a condition that affects many women over 35. It’s time to shift our focus from weight loss to building lean muscle for women, a vital aspect of maintaining health and vitality as we age.
As we navigate through midlife, women often face unique challenges, including hormonal changes due to menopause that can exacerbate muscle loss. But fear not! I’m here to share practical, science-backed strategies to help you combat this issue without resorting to extreme workouts or restrictive diets. In this episode, I outline three key methods for building lean muscle for women: engaging in progressive resistance training, managing cardio effectively, and optimizing protein intake.
Building lean muscle for women is not just about lifting weights; it’s about understanding the importance of mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and workout volume. I’ll share my insights and personal anecdotes from years of experience working with clients, proving that even women in their 50s, 60s, and beyond can successfully build muscle. You’ll hear inspiring stories that will motivate you to embrace your fitness journey.
Are you ready to enhance your energy levels and improve your overall wellness? This episode is packed with actionable advice that encourages you to prioritize muscle gain over fat loss, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. Whether you’re seeking workout tips, nutrition for women, or effective menopause workouts, you’ll find valuable information tailored specifically for you.
Let’s explore how to eat for muscle, including the role of protein for women and the benefits of incorporating creatine into your routine. With clean eating tips and stress management strategies, this episode of my health podcast is designed to empower you on your fitness journey. Tune in and discover how you can take control of your health and wellness today!
If you're interested in womens health, this is the podcast for you.
Get FREE lifetime access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program today! This unique program helps you build lean muscle and reduce inflammation—without the fatigue from long or intense workouts. All you need to do is post a review of my podcast, grab a screenshot, and upload it at: hollyperkins.com/review
This offer won’t last—soon it will sell for $197. Don’t miss your chance to grab it free!
Resources:
+Follow so you'll know exactly when new episodes are available on Tuesdays.
Speaker #0 If you're a woman over 35, muscle loss is already happening, whether you're working out or not. Sarcopenia isn't dramatic at first. It's subtle. You may notice that your energy dips, or you don't feel as strong as you used to, or your workouts basically just stop working. What would it be like if preventing muscle loss didn't require longer workouts or extreme cardio or complicated diets? Today's episode is about what the science actually agrees on, not trends and definitely not extremes. If you want the three best ways to prevent muscle loss and build lean muscle for women based on the science, keep listening. Hello and thank you for being here. If you are new, welcome. I'm Holly Perkins and I will help you. Improve your body composition to at least 70% lean mass so that you can reduce your risk of disease, stay in the game of life, and look amazing while you're doing it. If you are new, it's really important to understand that I approach body recomposition a bit differently than other people out there. I believe that when you stop focusing on losing body fat, and you start focusing on building muscle instead, everything changes because muscle is metabolically influential. And you might think, well, yeah, duh, but it really is a big mindset shift. When you build more muscle, even if it's just a few pounds, it will burn the fat off for you like magic. But you really do have to rewrite the way that you're thinking about you your body composition because society at large really drives this conversation about losing fat, losing weight, and getting smaller. And you really got to flip that script to focus on muscle. And when it comes to muscle, most women are confused on the best way to build it. How do I know? Because I take the phone calls every week. And really the first step in building muscle is to stop wasting it. More on that in a minute, because if you're over 35, it's quite likely that your workouts could actually be ruining the very muscle that you're trying to keep or to build. So the first step is to stop muscle loss, which is also known as sarcopenia. And then the second step is to actually start building muscle. So here are the three best ways, according to research published literally just a few months ago. So how do you know if you're losing muscle? Well, if you're over 35 or so, simply by nature of your age, you are losing muscle literally right now as you sit there and listen to me. Now, I know that's a bit of a bummer, but my hope is that this awareness really motivates you to get off the butt that you're sitting on right now and get to work. you are losing muscle, my friend. It is a fact of life. But, and that's a big but, bolded and underscored, you can slow this muscle loss that comes with age, sarcopenia, you can stall it, and then you can reverse it. Now, outside of age, some telltale signs that you're losing muscle are you feel tired all. the time. You don't have stamina. You just don't have the juice that you used to have. Number two, you sit more than six hours a day. Why six? Because that's roughly 25% of your day. Another 25 or 30% of your day is spent in bed. So that's half of your day spent at rest where your muscles are not having to activate and move and to work and to stay at the ready. And that can lead to faster muscle loss if you're not actually using your muscles throughout the day. Number three, if you're working out but you're not getting firmer, stronger, or leaner, you're almost absolutely losing more muscle than necessary, if that's you. And number four, if your midsection is getting softer despite eating right and working out, that is also a really good sign that you're losing muscle. So in this episode, you'll learn the three best ways to prevent muscle loss at a minimum and the best ways to build it. the key drivers of muscle and how to ensure that you're activating those drivers, how to really optimize the protein that you're eating and make sure that you're getting the right amount because you can get it wrong. You might be eating too little and you might be eating too much. My parameters for cardio that actually stops wasting muscle so that you can preserve and build it. And lastly, some of the very best exercises that create real change. Did you know that every single week, my most successful clients, clients of all ages, are building muscle like they never have before? And this includes women in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, improving their body composition, eliminating aches, pains, and injuries, and feeling better than they have in their entire life. I say this not to brag about my clients, although I love bragging on them. They're amazing. But I say it to prove to you that if they can do it in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and shout out to Carmen in her 80s, you can too. And if you're younger than 50, now is the time to stock up on as much muscle as possible while it's still relatively easy. If other women are doing it, it is possible for you too. I know this to be true. If you're willing to show up and put in the work and keep at it, you will blow your own mind. Even you have the goods to become a true powerhouse and feel unstoppable. Preventing muscle loss and building more muscle really comes down to optimizing three key things. And while the three things are probably not going to surprise you, I'm still surprised at how many women are not getting this right. Like I said, I'm on the receiving end of the phone calls and the emails every single week. And therefore, so many women are spinning their wheels week after week, trying to build muscle, only to find out that they're working hard and they're actually losing it. I see this all the time. This is not hyperbole. This isn't you any kind of special marketing. Like this is what I see in practice. Women are trying hard and yet it is hard to build muscle. When you miss these three considerations, it is not enough to lift weights. Hear that loud and clear because a lot of women come to me and they say, well, I'm eating all the protein and I'm lifting weights every week. As if that should do it. Just because you're lifting weights. does not mean you're building muscle or preserving what you have. You can be lifting weights and still losing muscle. I see the DEXA scans. And further, it's not enough to just arbitrarily work hard during your workouts. How you lift matters more than you think. After 30 years in practice of working with women day in and day out, if there is only one thing I've learned and one thing I know it is this It is a very specific protocol for most women to actually preserve muscle and build more. And it's way harder than a lot of people think. So if you're the person who is afraid of getting bulky, I personally honor and respect that. But it's really hard to build more than three pounds of muscle. It's really hard. And if you build, let's say, three pounds of muscle. You're never going to see that because those three pounds are spread across your five foot frame or your five foot two or your five foot three frame. Three pounds of muscle is nothing in terms of bulkiness, but it's everything in terms of the quality of your life. So without further ado, let's jump into the three best ways to prevent muscle loss and build lean muscle for women. and number one, I warned you. is to no one's surprise, and that is progressive resistance training. My emphasis is on progressive because if you don't know what that means, that could be why you're missing the mark, why you're working hard and not actually improving your body composition. Lifting weights is a non-negotiable, but most women aren't lifting in a way that truly builds muscle. There are some very specific key. science-based concepts to understand. Number one, muscle growth requires three variables slash considerations all working together. The first is mechanical tension and it's the force placed on your muscles when you lift a weight that's heavy enough to truly challenge them. Not just any old weight, a real weight load where your muscles are like, what? It happens when your muscles have to work hard against the resistance, especially as you approach fatigue. This type of tension is the primary signal that your body uses to decide whether muscle is worth keeping and building. If the weight is too light or if it never progresses, that signal stays weak. But when the tension is high enough, your body gets the message loud and clear. We need to get stronger in order to rise up to the task that she's asking of us. And that is mechanical tension. Now to me, if I had to distill down muscle building to one you key principle. It's this. If you don't get this, I kind of believe that like all the protein in the world, all the great exercises in the world really won't cut it. If you don't get this right, this is the most important consideration of all. And it's why I started with it today. Number one, because if you get sick of listening to my voice in 10 or 15 minutes, at least you will have heard this. Because if you get nothing else from this conversation, but you start moving around weight loads where you have to really dig deep and work hard at the end of every single set, you will see massive changes in your muscle. Period. End of story. Podcast over. Not really, but I hope you'll walk away with that in your mind. That is mechanical tension. The second variable of three is metabolic Like. stress. Think of mechanical tension as the heaviness of the weight load, okay? And metabolic stress is the systemic fatigue that is the result of the work required to move that heavy weight. Make sense? Metabolic stress is the kind of figurative muscle burn, and it's the system-wide fatigue that you feel. during a challenging set or even a challenging workout. It's caused by the buildup of metabolites like lactate when your muscles are working hard for a long enough period of time. This type of stress tells your body that the muscle is being pushed beyond its comfort zone metabolically and it needs to adapt. When you create metabolic stress through time under tension, your body gets another powerful signal to maintain muscle and build it. Now, it's this very concept that really caused the notion of high-intensity workouts, metabolic workouts, CrossFit-type workouts, bootcamp-type workouts, HIIT workouts. It's this specific consideration. High heart rate, high intensity is... metabolic stress, but there's a downside to it. And there is a reason why I don't like a lot of those workouts that I just mentioned. But the truth is, that same type of metabolic stress happens when the weight load is heavy enough, i.e. mechanical tension. And the workout programming variables like your rest between sets, your total number of volume per workout, when those things are in place, it's actually quite easy to get your metabolic stress up without having to do burpees. In my opinion, the best way to improve metabolic stress during your workouts is by pausing for two seconds at the point of transition where it's hardest to pause. If you read my first book, Lift to Get Lean, you know this is rule number two. Pause for two seconds. And if you've been in my community for any amount of time, you hear me talk about this all the time, and I don't know why. Other strength experts aren't talking about this same thing because when you pause at that point of transition, which I'll explain more in a moment, that is an amazing way to improve metabolic stress as well as mechanical tension. It's the easiest way to feed two birds with one scone. So if you're new to the concept of pausing for two seconds at the point of transition in an exercise where it's hardest to pause, let's use the example of a Bulgarian split squat. So this would mean that you're pausing at the bottom of one rep for a beat for two seconds before you stand up and move into your second rep. So it's down, pause, up, down, pause, up. Or a more common example would be at the top of a bicep curl. So if you're holding dumbbells and you're doing your bicep curls for your arms to look great, you pause at the point of transition where it's hardest to pause. Would that be at the bottom or the top of a bicep curl? The top, right? It would be harder to hang out at the top of a bicep curl for a minute than it would be at the bottom of a bicep curl. And this concept can be applied to any two-phase exercise, a bench press, an overhead press, a tricep extension, a lateral raise, a deadlift, a squat, et cetera, et cetera. There's two phases, a down and up, an up and down, an in and out, an up and down, right? Follow two phases. So you can increase the metabolic stress and the mechanical tension by pausing. And also because these two factors can feed into each other, mechanical tension, i.e. a heavy weight load, causes metabolic stress. But like a burpee causes metabolic stress, but it doesn't cause mechanical tension. Do you follow? Right? A body weight push-up isn't going to cause that much mechanical tension, but it can cause metabolic stress. And so if you do it right, and this is why I like slightly heavier weight loads for lower repetitions, because that improves, increases mechanical tension and metabolic stress at the same time. You'll know this if you've ever done a truly grueling set of, let's say, squats or lunges, where you feel like you are fighting for your life at the last few reps. Because you can barely make that weight load move. That is mechanical tension. And because that effort is so hard and intense, your heart rate goes up and the overall metabolic stress increases. Your heart rate, your breathing rate increase, and your entire body feels like it's having to work hard and every muscle in your body rises up to help. that. is mechanical tension and metabolic stress. And the third variable, muscle stays and grows when it's challenged heavy enough, long enough, and often enough. This is mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and volume working together. So the third consideration here is volume. It's the total amount of work that your muscles do over time. Think of it as the The total combination of sets and reps and weight loads and exercises that add up across a workout or across a week. Volume matters because your body doesn't respond to one single hard set. And it does. It will respond. There is some value if you do it right. But it adapts better. Again, we know from research, it's going to adapt better with repeated, consistent Thank you. exposure to that same stimulus of challenge. And this is why I'm a proponent of getting on a strength training program that does not change for three or four months because you need that repeated exact stress and exposure with enough volume, of course, to really make that muscle change. Because after a few exposures, your muscle's like, okay, fine. Clearly, she wants me to do something different because she keeps making me do this leg press at 150 pounds every single week. Fine. I will build some muscle. That's how it goes. But if you're doing leg press today and goblet squat next week and a landmine squat the following week, and then you don't feel like doing any of it. So you do Pilates for a week. You don't get the repeated stimulus and stress that a muscle has to have. to actually change and grow. When volume is too low, the signal to build or keep muscle fades. When it's appropriate and sustainable and repeated, your body understands that this muscle is required, is needed for what you're doing every single week, and it's worth maintaining and maybe even making stronger. So to summarize this number one, Of the three best ways to prevent muscle loss and build lean muscle for women, number one is really to ensure that you're actually following a progressive overload formula in your weekly strength workouts and you're doing it consistently. And listen, I have new clients come to me all the time who swore they were doing this. But when I did an audit of their workouts and we really looked at what was happening, we discovered that they actually weren't. And so my message here is even if you think you're highly educated, even if you're working with a trainer, even if you've downloaded or purchased a program from a trainer on the internet. It's really important to check yourself before you wreck yourself, my friend, and make sure that you're actually applying these three variables, mechanical tension, plus metabolic stress, plus sufficient volume every single week. And if those three things aren't there, you're probably not going to build muscle to the degree that you could, or you're going to struggle to build muscle. Because a person can lift weights three times a week. and still lose muscle if these elements are missing. And this is exactly why endless lightweights and high reps often stall progress. Because remember, heavier doesn't necessarily mean reckless. You have to learn what heavy means, and it should be reflective of your current ability. You've got to come to understand heavy. There is a learning curve there. It's also important to learn what metabolic stress feels like because strength training isn't about getting exhausted. Sometimes people hear this, they go into their workouts and so they start doing circuit training, which is great for metabolic stress, right? Or they do a boot camp class, great for metabolic stress. But it's not going to optimize you for mechanical tension. And as I said, if you learn nothing else from me. Please understand mechanical tension because that's the thing that's going to change your life. And the more that you're optimized to show up and do your maximum strength effort that's appropriate to your current fitness level, on Monday when you do leg press, if you've got enough mechanical tension, things will start to change even if you mess everything else up. If you take a look at the research that I've linked in the show notes, you'll see that one of the studies very specifically identified that balance exercises are a key component to prevent muscle loss and to build new muscle. And I wanted to define that because at first look, a person could misunderstand what a balance exercise is. In fact, I did when I first looked at it until I read all of the studies that I've linked. In this case, it also... still has to demonstrate those three considerations that I mentioned. So for example, if you've ever been to the physical therapist or if you've ever had to do balance exercises, right, just to improve your balance, it could be something as simple as standing on one foot, closing your eyes. That's a balance exercise, okay? But does that have mechanical tension? Not really. On a very, very minor level, maybe if you're weak. Does it have metabolic stress? Not at all. And it's really hard to volumize that other than just doing it for longer, longer, longer, longer. So that is not what they're talking about in the research. So let's define what we mean around balance because I have a beautiful example of it. Something you'll see in pretty much every single program I create, even if it's one of my free programs like the six-week strength and cardio program or Strength Without Stress, any of those programs that you can get your hands on of mine that are either low cost or some that are free, you'll see there is an inclusion of unilateral strength exercises that also challenge your balance. Exercises like Bulgarian split squats and single leg deadlifts are extra good for preventing muscle loss. and to build lean muscle for women because balance challenges create a bigger neuromuscular signal. Your system has to work even harder to keep you from falling over. And that is a wonderful source of good stress. Unilateral exercises that highlight balance, like a single leg deadlift, Also protect your joints better because you're better able to really just focus on one extremity at a time, one leg at a time, one foot, one knee, one hip at a time. And while the intensity gets higher faster, it's a great concentration of mechanical tension and balance. Also, unilateral exercises are so important for translating to your life. Back in the 90s, we called these functional exercises, functional training. So single leg unilateral exercises develop strength, really translate to climbing stairs, walking, and activities like cycling or running or tennis or pickleball. So to summarize this last point, You will probably always see a Bulgarian split squat and a single leg deadlift and walking lunges in any of the programs I ever create forever. So make sure that you're ready for that and make sure that you're including them in your current programming. Up next, you'll hear number two and number three, best ways to prevent muscle loss and build more, and some nutrition topics that really help to drive muscle growth. But first. I want to tell you about a product that I am really excited about. As you know, I am a fierce proponent of creatine for women, and it has influenced my life in such major ways. Honestly, I've been talking about creatine for 30 years, but I didn't really get it until the past five years, and it has been honestly a major, major, major game changer and life hack for me. So. It's no surprise that I've partnered with a brand of a very special creatine that's specifically made for women. Because if you're eating well and lifting weights and doing all the things, but something still feels off or that it's not working, creatine could be the missing link for you. And that was me until I added creatine and lately, more specifically, creatone. It is a new creatine. specifically made for women, developed by doctors who really understand how our bodies work. And it changed everything for my energy, my brain power, my recovery from workouts. And I would say most importantly, my ability to generate better power during my strength workouts. You know, we hear about creatine a lot these days, but I think not many people are talking about the fact that what it does is it actually helps your muscle. recycle ATP better during your workouts so it actually makes you stronger. You are stronger in your leg press. It's not a stimulant. There's nothing unnatural about it. All it's doing is working with how your muscle regenerates energy and produces force. I found that I didn't have to train harder. It just happened naturally when I started using creatine and I didn't have to start eating differently either. But I started seeing more muscle tone, faster recovery, better energy in general, without any of the bloating or any of the weight gain that you might see in some or maybe even many of the creatine products that are out there. If you have been looking for that missing piece, this might be it. Use my code HOLLYP at tonetoday.com. That's tone, like muscle tone, tonetoday.com, and you'll save 20%. It's time to support your body the way that it was designed to thrive and I love it. I think you will too. The number two best way to prevent muscle loss and build lean muscle for women is getting your cardio right because it is important for muscle but more cardio isn't better. Cardio has many benefits and is super important for general health and well-being. recovery, stress management for me, mood. Boy, it's a big factor in my mood. And yes, helping to build muscle, but it must support strength and muscle building, not compete with it. How surprised would you be if doing less cardio actually helped your body look and feel better? That was the case for me. It was a big eye-opener. Again, in the research that's linked in the show notes, you'll see the mention of cardio as being one of the components of the mix that's the best way to build muscle. I've seen this over and over in the research, but excessive cardio can and often does interfere with muscle retention, so keeping the muscle that you have. And I can tell you from personal experience, if you're doing too many minutes of cardio each week, you will never build muscle. And so if that's you, you're doing a lot of cardio and you think you're trying to build muscle, but you're really not, it could be the cardio piece. There were times in my career in the past when my male trainer friends at the gym would comment on how wild the weight loads were. I was using were in my lifts, right? Like I really was using some serious man weights at times. And yet, my muscles were not really getting that much bigger. I don't think anybody would call me bulky.The truth was I had capped my ability and couldn't build more muscle because I was doing way too much cardio because I wanted to burn fat and get lean and it did work. I was super lean. I looked amazing and in some ways I was very happy with that but when I look back on it I'm now able to see that I got lean but I also literally could not build much muscle. Until, flash forward now, all these years later, I cut way back on my cardio and boom, my muscle now reflects my weight loads exactly. When I am consistent and I'm increasing my weight loads, there is a marked difference in my glutes, my shoulders, and my arms. Cardio has a place, but it's not in the way that most women have been taught. For decades, women were told that more cardio is the answer to fat loss and fitness. But science has shown that excessive cardio can actually work against your goal of building and preserving lean muscle. When cardio volume is too high, especially layered on top of strength training or in the same session, it increases overall stress on the body and it can interfere with recovery, muscle repair, and hormonal balance. So in simple terms, your body might start prioritizing survival. okay, over muscle maintenance or muscle growth. Now, remember, it doesn't mean that cardio is bad. It means that it needs to be strategic. Moderate, intentional cardio supports heart health, improves endurance, helps you feel good, but it shouldn't compete with your strength training for your body's resources. When cardio is used to enhance recovery, improve fitness and overall health rather than to burn calories. It works with your physiology instead of against it. You might find that when you reduce excessive cardio and you prioritize progressive resistance strength training, your body actually becomes leaner, stronger, and more resilient without doing more work. Cardio is like a supporting actor. not the star of the show. Strength training is what protects your muscle, your metabolism, and your long-term health. Cardio simply helps the muscle building process. My suggestion is to keep your cardio activities to less than 150 minutes per week if you struggle to build muscle. And on the flip side, if you're someone like me where less cardio equals more muscle, I also recommend that you want a minimum of 90 minutes of cardio per week, right? Because like for me, it's really easy to skip cardio altogether because my muscles change faster when I'm exhausting myself less with cardio and more with strength training. But you still need cardio for all the reasons that I've mentioned. But cardio is the tricky one because you may wonder if like things like getting your steps in each day counts towards cardio or Do workouts like yoga or Pilates count towards cardio? So in my upcoming workshop, Muscle for Life, I will be covering this topic in depth and many more over the three-day training. Muscle for Life is a totally free live training to help you learn how to improve your body composition through the right strength protocols, along with the right nutrition and cardio. So that you know exactly what to do in order to become more muscle and less fat. This is the best thing I do all year. It's my favorite thing. I feel like it's the most valuable thing outside of this podcast that I do. But it's really a deep dive, kind of like my lab sessions. You don't want to miss it. It starts March 5th. And even if you can't show up live, you'll have access to the recordings. It's totally free, but you do have to register. Come to hollyperkins.com, my website, do a Google search, and then add a forward slash free workshop, hollyperkins.com forward slash free workshop. You can also go to the homepage of my website and you'll see it. So speaking of protein, to no one's surprise, that is the third consideration in preventing muscle loss and building muscle. But here's the thing about protein. The amount matters more than the timing. Most women dramatically underestimate how much protein they need to maintain muscle, which then tends to cause a rebound type effect where there's a tendency to swing in the direction of where you end up eating too much protein. You need to eat enough, but in my opinion, there is an upper limit. Protein is one of the most misunderstood, and I would say under-consumed, nutrients for women, especially as we age. It does get more important as you get older. So from a ratio perspective, you are going to need more protein with each passing decade. Your body requires protein to... repair the muscle tissue after a big workout, regulate blood sugar so that you're burning fat all day long, support hormones, which we all need, even if you're in menopause, and preserve lean mass that you have and build more. Yet, most women are eating far less than what's required to maintain muscle, even if they are lifting consistently. Now, the only way you know if you're getting enough or too much or too little. is to take a week or 10 days and log what you normally eat every day, all day, to ensure that you're getting the minimum amount, but not too much either. And I'm going to give you that range in a moment. I always say you have to know where you are. Because even if you say, oh my gosh, I'm eating more protein, I'm eating a lot of protein, define that. You might think it's a lot of protein. But until you actually take a look at the amount of grams you're eating each day, you don't really know where you are. Without enough protein, your body simply doesn't get the message that muscle is worth keeping. And so it lets it go. It doesn't have the resources it needs to keep the muscle you have and or definitely won't have enough to build new muscle. The science is very clear here. Active women need more protein. than the standard recommendations. A solid evidence-based range is, and listen closely, between 0.6 and 0.9 grams of protein per US pound of body weight. Okay, that's not kgs. The numbers that get thrown around most of the time now are like one gram per kg. I've converted this into US pounds because most of my listeners are in the US. So it's 0.6 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound of your current body weight. For example, a 150 US pound woman, that's roughly 95 to 136 grams of protein per day. I personally don't like the one gram of protein. per pound of body weight. I don't think it's wildly off, but I do think there's a downside to getting a little bit too much protein. More on that in a moment, but you might find that once protein is adequate, appropriate to your needs, you're getting enough, you're not getting way too much, your energy improves, cravings calm down, recovery feels faster and easier, and your workouts really start kind of revealing themselves. so that you feel like the effort you're putting into the gym you can actually see in the mirror. The key takeaway is this. Lifting weights tells your body to build muscle, but protein tells your body that it's safe to do so. When those two work together consistently, you create the conditions to build the body that you need to keep up with the life that you love. Now, you may ask, How is it possible to eat too much protein? Because that is a recurring theme in my conversations. I don't think more protein is better, always. Again, you have to know where you are. Many women do need more protein. Some women are eating way too much if they have really jumped on the protein bandwagon. And there are people out there, experts and thought leaders who say it's just not possible to get too much protein. Where's the harm in too much protein, they say. And while that's true, I wouldn't argue that there's an outright worry or harm with eating too much protein. I do disagree because if you eat more than you need, you'll either be eating more calories than you need each day, and therefore you're going to be driving fat storage. Or if you are tracking your calories, and you're not eating too much in general, so you've got your calories right, but you're eating more protein than you need, too much protein means there's less space for carbohydrates. And because most proteins also come with fat, it's like a double whammy against carbs. And so I don't really have a problem with too much protein. I have a problem with too few carbs in your day. Because carbs are just as important for muscle preservation, your performance, and building muscle. So here's my guideline. Aim for 0.6 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound of current body weight, US pound of current body weight, if you're wanting to have a specific number. Like if you want, you know, a target of 125 grams of protein per day, if you want that number, do that. What I do is I calculate that number and I keep it in my head. Then what I do is I log and I track my foods all day long in my fitness pal. And throughout the day and every day, I'm aiming for a macronutrient distribution of 50-25-25 by the end of the day. And then at the end of the day, I will click in and double check that my actual grams of protein are close to what my target is. But I don't obsess over the actual grams of protein every day because this approach lines up for most people. provided that you're eating at least 1400 calories a day, which you should be. And so if you're literally just eating throughout the day and you're aiming for 50, 25, 25, you're going to hit your protein target. My second guideline is to spread protein across your meals and anchor every meal around a protein source. So I always say, identify your protein first at your meal, then build your carbohydrates around it until you balance your macronutrients. You might find that once you eat enough protein, your cravings, your energy, and your recovery improve without effort. And my third suggestion is to remember that carbs really are just as important as protein for building muscle. I would argue they are equally important. And it's almost impossible to get good, powerful, high-quality workouts in if you're trying to be low-carb. So if that's you and you're struggling with energy or food cravings or belly fat, and you are trying to be low carb, let that be a loud suggestion from me. It is really hard for women to build muscle without sufficient carb intake each day. And that's why I recommend a minimum of 40% of your daily calories coming from carbohydrates each day. And of course, specifically coming from high quality, nutrient dense carbs with fiber. You do want those carbs to be good, nutritious, high quality carbs. So in summary, the best three ways to prevent muscle loss and build lean muscle for women are truly progressive resistance training each week that ensures mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and enough volume. Number two, 150 minutes or less of true. cardio activities each week, and number three, getting your protein right without eating more than you need. Now that you know the three best considerations for stopping muscle loss so that you can actually start building it, it's really important that you know where you are and where you're headed. In episode 83 of my podcast, I'll walk you through how to determine your body composition and what your target should be. So be sure to check out why 70% lean mass is the target for women and what your body comp report is really telling you that episode next. You'll find it episode 83, wherever you like to listen to my podcast, or you can come over to my website, hollyperkins.com forward slash blog, and then just simply search the term 70% and you'll see that episode. I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if so, if you're ready to get more educated and learn more about becoming more muscle and less fat, make sure that you sign up for Muscle for Life, hollyperkins.com forward slash free workshop. We start March 5th. And stay tuned for another brand new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong, my friend.