E234: 2 Signs You're Not Eating Enough Protein for Balanced Hormones & How To Fix It

Let’s get real for a minute: Are you still feeling hangry, cranky, and wiped out all too often, even while doing your best to eat clean and healthy? 

I’ve been right where you are - frustrated and exhausted - until I realized I was missing balance with one super important thing: protein.

And yes, I know you’ve heard a million times that protein matters. But what if you’re still not getting it right, even when you think you are? I was making the same mistake for years. That’s why I made this episode: to share exactly where I went wrong and what finally worked (spoiler: it’s not just eating more chicken breast).

Here’s what I’ll break down for you:

• The real reason you need way more protein than you think (and nope, it will not make you bulky)
• The easy protein goal that can balance your blood sugar and totally crush those cravings
• The one simple, often-overlooked protein source that can seriously help your digestion (hint: it’s probably already in your kitchen)

No complicated science, just a 20-minute, girlfriend-to-girlfriend chat that could honestly change how you feel all day long. Pop it on while you make your (protein-packed) dinner tonight!

Try my favorite protein powder by Equip!

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Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast is to be taken as medical advice, please take informed accountability and speak to your provider before making changes to your health routine.

This podcast is for women and moms to learn how to balance hormones naturally in motherhood, to have pain-free periods, increased fertility, to decrease PMS mood swings, and to increase energy without restrictive diet plans. You'll learn how to balance blood sugar, increase progesterone naturally, understand the root cause of estrogen dominance, irregular periods, PCOS, insulin resistance, hormonal acne, post birth-control syndrome, and conceive naturally. We use a pro-metabolic, whole food, root cause approach to functional women's health and focus on truly holistic health and mind-body connection.

If you listen to any of the following shows, we're sure you'll like ours too!
Pursuit of Wellness with Mari Llewellyn, Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark, Found My Fitness with Rhonda Patrick, Just Ingredients Podcast, Wellness Mama, The Dr Josh Axe Show, Are You Menstrual Podcast, The Model Health Show, Grounded Wellness By Primally Pure, Be Well By Kelly Leveque, The Freely Rooted Podcast with Kori Meloy, Simple Farmhouse Life with Lisa Bass

Chapters

• 2:23 The real reason you need way more protein than you think (and nope, it will not make you bulky)
• 5:44 The easy protein goal that can balance your blood sugar and totally crush those cravings
• 13:27 The one simple, often-overlooked protein source that can seriously help your digestion (hint: it’s probably already in your kitchen)

Transcript

[00:00:00] If you're doing all the things to balance your hormones and you're still feeling hangry and irritated more often than you would like, then let's check in and make sure that you're not making these critical mistakes with your protein.

[00:00:00] Hey, friend, I know that you know that. I know that you know that protein is important, right? For our hormones, for our moods, for our energy. But so much of the time we are still not quite getting it right. Totally on accident with our protein. That is why I wanted to bring this episode to you today so that we can make sure that you are getting the right amount of protein and the right types of protein for your body, for your situation, so that you can have balanced.

Energy. Today we are going to talk about first why protein is essential for hormone balance, how much protein you actually need, and what types of protein, and some simple and realistic ways to get enough protein, even if you're kind of a busy lady. So let's get into it. The first thing that I just want to talk about that I don't think is really a myth we're still believing in 2025, is that if you eat too much protein, you are going to just get bulky.

Like your muscles are gonna get too big, you're gonna start [00:01:00] busting out of all your tank tops, that could happen, but I think you've got a ways to go. I've got a ways to go before we get there. And that's just something, I'm really just throwing that in there for a laugh because I don't think that we really believe that in 2025.

But sometimes as women, we don't necessarily prioritize protein for the same reasons as men do. And sometimes that's why they're prioritizing protein. So they're like, I gotta get my protein in 'cause I wanna, Be all big and bulky and all the things, and because those are typically not our goals, it can be easy to forget why protein is important.

So for women. The protein is so important for us because it does several really important things in the body, and number one is that it gives our body the amino acids that it needs to be able to make hormones. So we need amino acids, which are the breakdown products of protein.

You may have seen them as a supplement, but they're in just regular old meat and. other protein sources [00:02:00] and we need those amino acids to be able to actually make our hormones. The reasons, my favorite reasons for needing an appropriate amount of protein. We're gonna talk about what that is because you can definitely get too much and you can definitely be getting not enough.

we also really need protein because our blood sugar. Relies on protein to stay balanced. And so if you don't have the right amount of protein and in the right ratios with your carbs and your fats, you can have your blood sugar and your cortisol out swinging on the swing set all day long, which will make you a hot mess lady.

It just does. So you'll have cravings, you'll have fatigue, you'll have mood swings, and your energy. Physically, emotionally, mentally, will not be how you want it to be without appropriate amounts of protein. Now, on the other side, if you are actually eating too much protein or again, not balancing your protein with carbs and with fat, then.

[00:03:00] You can have digestive issues, you can have, primarily digestive slowdown. It can cause gas and bloating. If your body is not able to tolerate the protein very well, because you're eating too much of it, you're not eating it in balance with other nutrients and you're not eating. The right types of protein and like combinations of protein.

It can cause issues with digestion and or usually what it does is just exacerbates issues that are already there if you are not breaking foods down very well because you don't have appropriate stomach acid or digestive enzymes or bile flow. Those things are all really important for being able to digest really well. 

When our blood sugar is more stabilized. We are going to have less stress on the adrenal glands. You're not going to be having as many crashes in your blood sugar that causes your adrenal glands to have to spike and create more cortisol. Your thyroid is going to be more supported because it has more of the nutrients that it needs, [00:04:00] and it actually supports liver detoxification as well to have the right amount and the right types of protein, which means smoother estrogen metabolism.

Better blood sugar balance from another perspective and just being able to have better bile flow and digestion as well. And you'll be able to, detox other things besides even just estrogen better. So this actually can lead to. Better energy overall, less fatigue, less brain fog for many different reasons and can really help with weight balance as well.

Because if your cortisol is more balanced because your blood sugar is more balanced and your liver is working better, you are going to see improvement in your weight and protein helps keep you fuller longer. You're not gonna have as many cravings and energy crashes. So it's really. Very vital, and at this point you're like, okay, I was already sold, or now I'm sold.

So how much protein do I actually need? I can tell you, I'm going to give you a range, [00:05:00] but first I have to preface, this is not. Nutritional advice. This is not medical advice. Don't listen to my podcast and do what I say without thinking about it for yourself. so with that being said, for most women, especially in their cycling years, this does extend into when you're not cycling, depending on your metabolism and your digestion.

But I typically like to see somewhere around a hundred grams of protein per day as a minimum, like a goal to aim for. Now, some women are getting more than that. I like to stay under one 50. For most women, especially if you're not working out super hard, even maybe one like a hundred to 130 is a range I really like for those who are, just moderately active versus.

super active, really like CrossFit athlete, bulking up, going to the Olympics, that kind of thing. So if that's not you, somewhere between a hundred and 130. lower end would be like [00:06:00] 90 to 130 if you are. Maybe really not as active if you are pregnant or breastfeeding a little bit higher in the range is really ideal, but what matters so much is how you're splitting it up throughout your day and what kind of protein you are eating.

So protein is protein, but I do not see protein powder, especially vegan protein powders. Whey protein powders with fillers, low quality protein powders as a really big portion of protein for the day. In fact, I personally don't use any of those. There are some good organic, vegan proteins, but , there are few and far between to be honest, and they have to put a lot of fillers in, so I really prefer.

Animal protein as the basis of the protein in my diet. And I do use protein powder. I'm gonna talk about real food here shortly, but I know protein powder is like such an easy go-to. And I do use protein powder to be honest. I use it [00:07:00] literally every day. But the only protein powder that I really like and feel good about using is the Equipped protein powder because it is a beef based protein.

And when you look at the ingredients, there's four ingredients. One of them is. 100% grass fed beef that is made into powder for protein. So it's like your body is getting a steak. And then it has some flavor, so it's gonna be like vanilla. And then they have either Stevia in some of theirs, they have coconut sugar in some of theirs, depending on what you prefer.

They now have their chocolate and vanilla flavor with both. So if you're like not a Stevia person and that has held you back from Quip, they now have coconut sugar in several of their flavors. And those are actually my favorite. I prefer the coconut sugar because I'm not worried about a little bit of carbs.

they still are fairly low carbs, so you wanna balance that with some carbs. With that being said. that is my go-to for a protein powder, and I usually will use that about once a day. I try really not to go over once a day, and we use that in, a protein shake. We use it in,I'm [00:08:00] obsessed with hot chocolate, so I'll year round, I'll drink a hot chocolate either in the morning or at night.

as something just to wake up to and have as my first thing in the morning or something that I will. drink as I'm hanging out with my husband at night before bed. So that is how I use the Equipped Protein powder. And I will, I'm actually planning to go into a little bit more of a breakdown of how to structure your day with protein after I talk a little bit more about the type and quality of protein.

proteins that I consider to be most optimal are mostly animal proteins, not exclusively animal proteins, but I do. Just want to kind of share why I think that they are optimal and it's because they have more bioavailable nutrients. They're really rich and essential nutrients, like B vitamins, vitamin A, D, bioavailable copper.

I cannot tell you how many of us are deficient in these nutrients. It's. S, everyone that I test has some sort of deficiency in these nutrients or even just [00:09:00] imbalances in these nutrients, and I really believe it comes down to the quality of our protein and the quality of our digestion, which I think as I'm having this conversation right now, I'm realizing that is a great.

Future episode is really talking about our digestion because we can eat the healthiest foods all day long, and if we are not digesting and absorbing them well, we are not getting the benefits from them that we could be. So I just wanna throw that out there now, and we will go into it more in the future.

But animal proteins are typically richer and essential nutrients than non-animal proteins. And some of my favorites are going to be, some of the basics, beef or red meat. if we're looking at. Quality for that. I do prefer grass fed, grass finished organic, local as much as possible. We just get a half of a cow every year or half a year, or however long it takes us, from someone local.

And I just see that. [00:10:00] Even without an organic label, it can be super high quality, and there's just a difference in an animal that has lived on a pasture all of its life, the stress hormones, the bioavailable nutrients, the nutrients that it's actually getting in, that it condenses into its meat versus an animal who is raised in a commercial.

Processing and, not raised in a commercial processing, but raised in a commercial way and, fattened up in a feedlot. And then, Just commercially processed, you are not going to get the same quality, even if we're just looking at the quality of what the food that it's fed and the quality of the stress in its life.

It makes a really big difference in the meat that we are eating. So I think that beef, especially because it does have a longer life and because it does, build those nutrients up over its lifespan, that one is really high priority for me to get quality. And then poultry, chicken and Turkey. I just believe that, that is, a good protein to add in.

But I don't think [00:11:00] it needs to be someone's only or main protein. I know a lot of women especially will be into just lean protein. We need a variety of protein. when we're looking for poultry pasture raised, hopefully antibiotic and hormone free. Organic, whatever combination of those things you can get.

It's hard to find sometimes and it's hard to know what you're truly getting. Of course, if you have someone local who can raise that for you and you know what's happened to the birds, that's ideal. you're gonna have more nutrient density there. And then dairy is one of my favorites for protein as well.

If you can get organic grass fed, if you have a farm locally where you can get raw or Low temp pasteurized theory, you're going to actually retain enzymes in that real milk like lactase and probiotics, so you can digest it better and you can actually have a harder time, digesting homogenized milk because if you are, if you have any gut issues, it's easier for that to leak through your gut lining and cause inflammation issues.

If you are not so sure about dairy, if you're not sure that it's working for you, [00:12:00] sometimes a hack is. grass fed butter and aged cheeses are easier to digest because they're a little bit broken down for you. So I just wanna encourage that. And then fish and seafood can also be really nutrient rich and easy to digest.

But when we're thinking about quality, you do need to look if it is farmed and what the metal content is in fish, because sometimes fish can be high in mercury. Again, this is not a list of how to be perfect with your protein. It's just kind of like this is gonna be the ideal, this is gonna be the optimal, and go from there.

Something though that is so important. eggs. Eggs are great. Source of complete protein. I forgot to mention that, just saw that on my list, but something that is really important that I am guilty of missing a lot of the time, and I feel like this is something that often really needs to be introduced for a lot of us, is actually getting meat that is not just muscle meat.

So getting variety of cuts of meat. We're not just eating ground beef, we're not just eating chicken breasts, but we have quality meat that includes [00:13:00] collagen, gelatin, and even broth. So using our bones from the cow bones from chickens to make broth and having the collagen and gelatin content that contains, that is a huge improvement for our digestion most of the time.

And you can actually get a lot more nutrients from that as well than just the muscle meats so you can get. additional nutrients in your meat by slow cooking your meat on the bone, or cooking a whole chicken, roasting a whole chicken and eating all of the parts of it, by eating organ meats.

That's a huge one that so many of us are like, eh, not so much my favorite, but you can get used to it. And we will do sometimes like a beef heart as a roast, and sometimes I like to cut it up where you can't tell what it is. sometimes we can use that for even ground beef. We can mix a little bit of liver in with ground beef.

We've eaten just liver before, depending on the day, depending on what we're brave enough for. But using the different parts of the meat, you are gonna get more nutrients [00:14:00] and more bioavailability because you. Are just not getting the exact same cut of meat all the time, and it actually can be more inflammatory to be getting only muscle meat all the time without any collagen, gelatin, or bone broth that contains both.

And even the qui protein does contain both collagen and gelatin. So that is a great way to get some of it, but. Just a cup of bone broth alongside your meals or getting soup in now that it's fall, like getting soup in pretty often, you can actually help improve the way that you're digesting and using that good quality protein that you are getting.

So do try to aim for this feels high to me and I don't hit this all the time, but aim for about 30% from other sources that are not just muscle meat. So eggs, organ meats, collagen, and broth, and not just from those muscle meats. I do wanna talk about plant proteins for just a second, and then, we will talk about how to manage your day with protein, but plant proteins like beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds.

They [00:15:00] can also be good sources of protein. I think that they have been a little villainized in a lot of spaces and they're still whole foods. However, they do contain lectins and phytates, which some people don't tolerate as well. They can irritate the gut or reduce absorption sometimes can be inflammatory in autoimmune or gut issues.

With that being said, if you can soak or sprout your beans, nuts and seeds before cooking and eating. Or even pressure, cook your beans and rotate them in and eat them in moderation. I think that they're a great source of nutrients. So I will soak my beans for a few hours and then I'll pressure cook them.

And to be honest, this is a great way to knock one of your meals a week a little bit. Down on the grocery budget. Sometimes we actually just reimplemented, like we're going to have taco bowls slash beans and rice once a week and we will be fine and it will cost us a dollar, instead of $15 for dinner.

I just wanna say that is a good source of protein too.

 I [00:16:00] just wanna talk then about how you can structure protein throughout your day and why that's so important for blood sugar balance. I especially believe.

Kind of front loading your day with protein. I think it's so important because most of the time if we are eating a low protein meal, it can be breakfast, and that does not mean that you don't need carbs. But I typically do better with a meal that's a little more protein than carbs for breakfast. And then the rest of the day I keep it pretty balanced or even like more carbs.

But breakfast I find is soaky for having more protein and that really kick-starting your energy, blood sugar, balance, nutrients for the day. So for breakfast, I prefer a real breakfast that is not a protein bar, is not a protein shake. Even if those macronutrients are, on point.

 I do prefer a more dense breakfast that is not a protein shake, not a protein bar, but something that is what I would just consider to be real food, even if those are the best quality ingredients and they are the right [00:17:00] macronutrients so much of the time. Even a smoothie is just not going to hold you over nearly as long because it is.

Almost predigested for you. Like part of that digestion process is already done, I really love something like eggs, bacon toast, potatoes, something like that that is going to be solid and dense. If you are short on time in the mornings. I love prepping ahead like a quiche.

If you are short on time and you're like, I didn't prep a head aish, then something like a Greek yogurt with some. Granola for some long lasting carb and maybe add some fat in if you have low fat Greek yogurt, which I personally do because I buy it at Costco and that's the organic one. I will add in some fat to it and then I'll add in some fruit because then you're gonna be hitting like some short acting carbs, some long acting carbs, some protein, and some fat.

So something like that. I would consider that kind of medium density. It's probably still not gonna last me as long as some eggs and potatoes. Butt in a pinch or when I really don't want eggs for breakfast because let's be honest, I [00:18:00] don't always want eggs for breakfast. That can be really helpful. some version of eggs for breakfast.

The reason that they're so popular for breakfast is because they are just really nutrient dense, really filling and. In most of the world, in most of the times in spaces, they're not that expensive. 2025 has been a little bit of a, of an exception to that. So that's what I like for breakfast and I just see if you can prioritize a solid breakfast, you are going to see much better effects for your mood, energy, and blood sugar.

Then from there, getting, I forgot to say the amount of protein, Somewhere between 20 and 30 grams of protein is what I like for breakfast. And then from there, I shoot for about the same at lunch and dinner. I know lunch is the other hardest meal besides breakfast for most of us. And it can be the meal where we're just throwing together some leftovers, which that can be great if your leftovers contain.

Enough protein, but if you're , throwing together some snack food or something like that, you just need to get a good idea of what amount of protein you're actually getting. So say you're making like [00:19:00] a Turkey wrap, great, that can be perfect, but you probably are making one that doesn't have enough protein.

It's so easy to throw two or three pieces of Turkey in and be getting 10 grams of protein and not even know it. So be paying attention to the amount of protein if you're doing something more like a snack lunch or something, not quite as dense for lunch. If you are eating a salad, pay attention to how much protein you're putting on there.

And this is a protein episode, but I'm gonna say, I'm gonna talk about carbs too. You need to have some carbs with it. That is one of the healthy lunches that I see. That women are eating and then their blood sugar stays in balance because you do need carbs to keep your blood sugar balanced as well. The protein is huge.

It's a huge building block, but you also have to have carbs. So making sure that's balanced, and I always like to look for somewhere around a one to 1.5 ratio of protein to carbs. That is not for everyone, but that is usually where I, recommend someone starts and just see how their body does with it for, especially for lunch and for dinner.

That is going to be my tangible takeaway for today. You really need to focus in on your [00:20:00] protein, and if you want more of this tangible, focused action, step based ways to balance your hormones, then that is what I do in my program. Nourish your hormones. But when we get into coaching, I can help you personalize it.

And so that's why I love to be able to have my eyes on your hormones. And if you feel like you are ready for that next step, click the link in the show notes. You can book a call with me. You can just look at nourish your Hormones. You can get all the program information. We have some wonderful ladies in there.

I love coaching them, and you will love being a part of that community too. So reach out there. And also just quick little note, thank you for your patience with this episode. I'm sure you heard some kids. I never record. Outside of my workday during the day. It's always early in the morning or when I'm working.

And today it just needed to happen. And so here we are. Messy action. My podcast producer is amazing. Maybe you won't even notice, but if you do, just know real life is happening over here, and I still wanted to talk to you and get this episode in your hands to help you feel better. I'll see you next week.