Protein Isn’t Just for Muscle

00:00Protein is non-negotiable as you get older. You can't do things like you once used to. Your body is different. Your hormones are different. Things are shifting. Things are changing. If you're not dialed in with certain aspects, especially when it comes to your health, when it comes to your fitness, when it comes to moving your body, when it comes to eating right, other things internally are going to be affected by that. What's up, everybody? Hey, you guys. Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show with your host, Nikkie Stott. On these episodes, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

00:38I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to another episode. Today is episode number 289. I am interrupting this episode with an edit. I just said this was episode number 289. And later on in the episode, you will hear me have an absolute brain fart on how many episodes have been recorded. I am here to tell you, this is episode number 330. Anyways, carry on. Enjoy the episode.

01:09And today is going to be an educational episode. It's been a minute since I've talked about this. I want to bring it back. It's still something that a lot of women are missing and or ignoring and wondering why they feel like their body isn't responding the way that they want to. It's a macronutrient. It's not carbs. It's not sugar. It's not fats. And outside of macronutrients, it's not needing more cardio or training harder or eating less or whatever. However, it's the macronutrient protein.

01:41You know, I'm not just going to talk about either about protein and why, why most people talk about it. I've talked about it so many times on the episode. It's been a minute. I look actually, it's been since like last May. But I want to dive in a little bit deeper with it. Like, I don't want to just talk about like eat more chicken or eat, drink a shake or, you know, like protein helps to build muscle. I want to dive in deeper to talk about like how it affects your hormones, how it affects your metabolism, how it, you know, helps with your cravings and your hunger, how it helps with your mood and your energy, how it helps with your sleeping better, how it helps with your, obviously your results, body composition.

02:18And you guys have heard me say before, it is literally the macronutrient king because in my opinion, it's not just a macro. It's like the foundation for women who want to get that toned look. And let me just remind you, toned look is you just either exposing the muscle that you have or building more of the muscle you have and decreasing the body fat around it. And it's also a huge component of helping you to age well. So, you know, if you've been stuck wondering why you're not seeing or progressing forward as much as you want to, or you're feeling, you know, softer or puffy or like your bodies won't change, then this episode is for you because we're going to dive a little bit deeper than just surface level.

02:58You need more protein. Okay. But first I want to start here. This is the thing with protein. And it's not that women ignore it. It's not like you wake up in the morning and you're like, oh, I'm going to avoid protein today. It's because I believe women miss this because they're taught to focus on calories, not consumption. Right? Like you go to a restaurant, you go to a cafe, you go and look at the menu and you, all you see is calories. Like you see the calories next to the muffin.

03:30You see calories next to a coffee shake. You see calories next to the entree that you want to order. You see calories next to avocado toast. Like I'm thinking of sweet green. I'm thinking of kava. I'm thinking of like all of these places that have their calories on like the menu when you walk into a restaurant. So you order based on that number, not what that number is made of. And that's where women get tripped up because you can eat low calorie all day long and you can still be underfed.

04:06You can still be under muscled. You can still be under recovered. And you can still be constantly having these cravings and being like, what is going on? A lot of women are eating meals mostly that consist of carbs and fats. Carbs and fats. Carbs and fats. And then they wonder why they're hungry within an hour or two hours later. Or they're thinking about snacks all day long. Or they're tired.

04:37Or they have no strength progression. Or, you know, they're doing all this work. They're eating healthy. They think they're eating healthy. They're not, but they're not looking the way that they want to with their body composition. And they plateau. And the missing piece is usually, amongst a lot of other things, I'm broadly speaking here, but it could be your protein intake. And I just want to say this. Like, protein is not just like a fitness thing. It's not just like a gym girl thing. It's not just like a bodybuilding thing.

05:08Protein is literally a women's health thing. I want protein to get that type of light. Because a lot of people think, if I eat this protein or I eat too much, it's going to be bad for my kidneys. Like, if I eat too much of this protein, am I just going to add more fat? If I eat too much of this protein, am I just going to get bulky with my weight training? Like, there's so many myths around protein. That said, protein is what supports your lean muscle mass. So, for those of you guys that go into a fat loss phase or you're reducing, you know, your calories,

05:43if you don't have enough protein in your diet on a daily basis, your body is going to tap into lean muscle tissue. What protein does is it preserves lean muscle tissue as you decrease your calorie intake. It supports bone density. It supports metabolic function. It supports hormone production. It supports you feeling full after a meal and not feeling like you are starving in two hours. It helps you to age well, your skin, your hair, your nails. Especially, ladies, hear me, please.

06:14Especially after 35, 40, 45, 50. Protein becomes, it should be a non-negotiable thing. Maybe I'm going to do an episode of like a hierarchy of what needs to be focused on as you continue to age. But protein is really, it's up there. It is up there. Because your body isn't the same as it was at 20 or 25 and even 30. Like I think about me in this past year. I'm like, dude, I woke up one day and I'm like, holy cow. And even here's a little bit of a story for you.

06:45Before I dive into, I want to give you guys the five reasons protein changes everything. A little story for you is last year, 2025 was a hard year for me. A really hard year for me for so many reasons. And maybe one day I'll, you know, put it on social media and share it with you guys a little bit more in depth and deeper. But it was also a year that I wasn't as consistent with my workouts as I wanted to be. I wasn't as on with my nutrition as I wanted to be. And what I noticed is not only were hormones off and I had to also go through that chapter of my body changing and my hormones changing and entering into perimetopause and all that.

07:23But because I wasn't training as consistently as I normally used to or I wasn't eating as well as I, like, it's not that I wasn't eating bad. It's just I don't think I was eating enough. And so I'm falling into this category with you guys. But I recognized that my sleep was being impacted and my HRV, which is your heart rate variability, when I, at night, which it's a measurement of how your body handles stress. My HRV was tanking. Like, I, if you guys have listened to episodes of, for, for all, almost 300 or over, almost what?

08:00Or are we almost, did I say, I don't remember what number I said. See, this is also another thing that I was dealing with is brain fog. Have you been listening to all of these episodes for however long we've been putting them out for, since 2023? You guys know that my, I've shared my HRV has been, like, I brag about it. Like, I was in the 120, 130s. I was up there, like, and I track it with the Oura Ring. Love this thing. And last year, it was starting to dip. As soon, I kid you not, you guys. I was talking to my functional doctor about this.

08:33I was talking about my neurofeedback coach with this. I was talking about my therapist with this. I was like, this is something I was so proud of. I'm like, what's happening? I know that if that's tanking, my body isn't doing well with handling the stressors of the day. And so, New Year hit. I've been on track with my nutrition for the last, like, 18, maybe even more. Like, almost a month now. And I've been working out consistently, getting in my four times a week, plus my Pilates. And my HRV has skyrocketed back up to where I was.

09:05And I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. I'm like, I was kicking myself when I was filling in all the people that I work with. I was like, of all the years I've been doing this, you know? And I'm just, like, I'm letting you guys know that it happens to the best of us. Even the ones that are dialed in as much as you would expect them to be, right? And with all the education, all the understanding I have of this, this was it. I just needed to get more consistent with my training. And I just needed to dialing in my protein, fats, and carbs again. Like, it was more of that intuitive eating side of things.

09:35But I was even lacking on the intuitive eating, if I'm being honest with you guys. So, and then that's it. That's all it took. I was like, that's crazy. And that's just more of the story that this isn't, protein isn't non-negotiable as you get older. You can't do things like you once used to. Your body is different. Your hormones are different. Things are shifting. Things are changing. And if you're not dialed in with certain aspects, especially when it comes to your health, when it comes to your fitness, when it comes to moving your body, when it comes to eating right, other things internally are going to be affected by that.

10:06Quick break. If you're finding this episode helpful so far, it would mean a lot if you could hit pause for just a second, leave a quick rating or a review, or share it with someone who could benefit from it. Your support helps more women discover these tools to build muscle, lose fat, and feel confident. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me. Okay. So getting into the five reasons why protein, I believe, changes everything. The first thing is protein stabilizes your hunger and your cravings.

10:36This is the first thing that most women notice when they finally increase their protein intake is they realize that they're not wanting more snacks throughout the day. They're not looking for a ton of food by the end of the day because they didn't give their body what they needed during the day. When you eat enough protein, you can stop feeling like you're starving all day because what protein does is it slows your digestion. It keeps you fuller longer. It balances your blood sugar. It lowers your cravings.

11:07It has a thermic effect when it comes, when you are eating protein, you are burning calories at the same time. So that's why I like to be just like, why you guys eat more protein, that should just be it. If you're, if you're, if you're still stuck on the calories thing. But yeah, when you guys at the end of the night, because I've heard women say this, like I binge at the end of the night. I eat all this food at the end of the night. It's not because you lack any type of discipline or motivation or you don't, it's not that you lack any type of follow through. It's just because you're under eating and protein during the day.

11:39Majority people go coffee, tiny breakfast, having a salad for dinner or having a salad for lunch, having a little, having a snacky dinner, or maybe, maybe you have a solid dinner if you're cooking at home for your family and then chaos after that. And then they blame themselves. But your body is just doing what it's designed to do. It's just trying to help you survive and wanting you and telling you that, hey, I want more food because I didn't get enough food in the day. And literally what protein does is it fixes that.

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12:50Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. So the first thing is it stabilizes your hunger and your cravings. The second thing is, is that it protects your metabolism. Your metabolism thing, it's not magic.

13:21It's not luck. It's not that you're blessed with a good metabolism. It's not genetics. A huge part of your metabolism is driven by your lean body mass, meaning, aka, your muscle on your body. The lean muscle mass you have on your body. And if you're not eating enough protein, you are far more likely to lose muscle, especially if you are a constant dieter. And when women lose muscle, they get this look that they hate. They get smaller, but they also get softer. That's the thing when it comes to chronic dieting.

13:53And dieting and just thinking that you need to go on another diet and cut your food. Yes, you may lose weight, but you are going to lose a little bit of everything, including your muscle mass. So at the end of a quote-unquote diet or cutting back your calorie intake, you're just going to be a skinnier, smaller version of yourself. A softer, skinnier, smaller version of yourself. You're skinny fat. This was me when I first started. Now, 11 years ago. So yes, again, you will lose weight, but you didn't get toned.

14:27Because toned isn't about weight. It is about muscle and low enough body fat percentage. And as I explained earlier, when you are focusing on decreasing body fat, what protein does is it helps to protect that muscle so you don't lose it. I hope that makes sense. That is number two. It protects your metabolism. The third thing is, is it supports your hormones and it supports you aging. Women don't realize how much protein affects the internal stuff.

14:59I've said this so many times over and over and over again. We can't see what is happening inside of our body. Therefore, it's hard to believe anything is even working until a time has passed, right? This is what protein is doing. Just so you can hear me out, hear me loud and clear, because you're not going to feel this stuff. Protein supports your tissue repair. It supports muscle recovery. It supports neurotransmitters, your mood and your focus. It supports the ability for your hormones to signal things throughout your body.

15:32It supports your strength. It supports your resilience. Like, I'm not here to claim that protein fixes hormones by itself, because that's not true and that's not the case. That said, I will tell you this. If you are under eating protein, your body will feel stressed out. And when your body feels stressed out, hormones don't thrive the best that they can. Women trying to heal their metabolism or trying to support their hormones while eating 70 grams of protein per day is like you building a house with no bricks.

16:03You can't survive or function well eating 70 grams of protein per day. And that is what majority of women do on a daily basis. You need to have protein to support all of these things or else you're going to start to age backwards. Wait, aging backwards is a good thing, right? Yeah, I take that back. You're not going to age well, okay? If you eat more protein, you will age backwards. I can't make that claim either. But you get what I'm saying, all right? Now, the fourth thing is the whole protein is a toned macro.

16:38Now, I literally hate that word toned. But if you were saying, because like, it's like, yeah, the outcome is toned. And a lot of women want to, the reason why I hate it, let me just explain that. A lot of women want to be toned, but they don't want to do the things to get toned. And literally, in order for you to get toned, you have to build more muscle. And you have to eat more food, which a lot of women want to do the exact opposite of. They don't want to get too bulky. And they don't want to get too fat. I hear you and understand that that is a thought process. However, the narrative needs to change. Because I don't want to lose weight.

17:10I just want to be toned. Then protein is your best friend. Because toned means muscle development, fat loss, recovery, consistency. Protein is what makes you have that like, aesthetic body composition that creates shape. It gives you that like, tight look. Like, skin tight look. Not starving. Not cardio obsession. Not doing 1200 or eating 1200 calories in a day. That's not toned. That's just you being tired and stressed out and fatigued and exhausted and burnt out over time.

17:42Okay? So, it is literally, if we can rewrite the narrative for you to think about protein as, if you want to get toned, it is your toned macro. And then the fifth thing is, is that protein makes fat loss a lot easier without white knuckling or pushing your way through it. And this is the thing. When you eat protein, which I don't think a lot of people understand this, when you eat protein, fat loss becomes so much easier because you are satisfied. You will snack less. You will recover better. You won't be ass sore. For those of you guys that maybe have already started to lax on your workouts because you

18:16hit it hard the first week of the new year, guarantee you weren't eating enough protein to recover and to repair your muscles. Because let me remind you, I haven't said this in a while. You do not build muscle when you work out. You build muscle in the 24 to 48 hours post-workout. You tear down and you break down and all the muscle fibers in the gym. And then you build them up with eating properly and recovering properly, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated. When you have enough protein, you maintain the muscle. It becomes a lot easier with fat loss because you stay consistent.

18:46You maintain muscle. You recover better. All the things. You snack less, like I said. And you don't have to fight yourself every single day because it doesn't feel like you are having a battle with yourself, with your mind when you think it's like, oh, I need to push harder or I need to be more disciplined or X, Y, and Z. If you don't have enough protein, you won't stay consistent long enough to win. Protein helps you to stop fighting and battling yourself and thinking it's me. It's not the program. I must be messed up. I must be broken. My metabolism is messed up. It's none of that. It's just that you need more protein in your everyday.

19:18Okay? Now, really quick, I want to get tactical with you guys because those are the five things. So let me run through the five things again. Protein makes fat loss easier and it doesn't feel like you have to battle your way through things. Protein is a toned macro. Think of it like that. Protein supports your hormones and your aging. Protein supports your metabolism. And protein stabilizes your hunger and your cravings throughout the day. Now, most women need way more than they think they do. And a lot of you guys have heard me say this before. If you are wondering what like a baseline is, because I'm just broadly speaking, if you

19:50want more of like the personalized one-on-one approach, that's what Warrior Babe VIP will be able to give you. Or you can even check out our macro methods. We're going to, you have all of our calculators accessible to you inside of that program. And they're going to specifically give you in a personalized fashion to what you need. That said, just having a baseline of like 0.7, 0.8 to one gram of protein per pound of body weight per day is all you need. So if your goal is 150, if you're 150 pounds, then it's between having like 110.

20:23I would personally go with one gram per pound of body weight. But some of you guys, some, some things out there will say go per lean body mass. Extra protein doesn't hurt. So in my opinion, I'm like, I'm just going to eat all the protein. Even when I travel, I'm like, hey, sack up the fridge on protein. Because everything, the carbs and fats will come with just eating out. Anyway, sidetrack. If you weigh 150 pounds, you should be eating 150 grams of protein per day. And I know some of you guys get scared by hearing that number. Or especially if you start working with a coach and they're saying you need to increase your protein intake.

20:54They're like, you need to, you're only eating 70, but we need to get you to 150 grams. You're like, how am I supposed to eat that much? How am I even supposed to get that much protein in my day? And the thing is, is you build up to it. You don't go from the 70 grams of protein in one night to 150 grams of protein. You start by hitting the 70 and then increasing it maybe like 5 grams of protein per meal. Or you increase it by like 20 grams per day. 3 to 4 meals per day. Have a shake in there.

21:25Protein shake will do wonders for you by just adding in 20 to 25 grams of protein. And then for most women, because what happens is we eat a tiny breakfast at the beginning of the day. And I shouldn't even say we. So you got, most women eat, because I have 35 grams of protein to start my day. If you have a time, if you have protein at breakfast, that's going to change everything. One is going to do all the things I said I wish. You're not going to have cravings within two hours. You're not going to be hungry within two hours. You're going to feel full and satiated. And you're going to feel the hunger cue of when you're hungry again.

21:57And that's when you have another balanced meal. If you start your day with carbs and fats, you will chase hunger all day long. Let me just say that again. If you start your day with just carbs and fats, you will chase hunger all day long. Start with protein. That is the anchor to your day. Starting off your day with protein. Before we get to the end of this podcast, I want to call out some things. I know a lot of people, because I've had these conversations with women, say, I eat protein.

22:28And I'm like, okay, tell me about that. Like, what do you mean by you eat protein? Because when I get to the bottom of it, it's like only 20 grams of protein or 30 grams of protein. Two eggs is not high protein. That's about 12 grams of protein. Six grams per each egg. I'm just here giving you guys some tough love. If that's what you think is enough, that's not enough. And I'm just here to tell you that. Maybe some of you guys are like, I just eat protein at dinner. Or I will just eat protein at dinner. No, you just, you need to spread it out.

23:00You need to have it throughout your day. Or again, you will be chasing hunger all day long. Some of you guys have heard this before. I can't eat that much protein. Yes, you can. You're just not used to it yet. Protein makes me bulky. I've heard that over and over and over again. No, not eating protein makes you soft. What makes you bulky is eating an excess amount of calories in a day. And another thing that I hear is protein doesn't matter if I'm in a calorie deficit. That is so wrong. For those of you guys that just chase being on another diet that lowers your calories, protein is how you protect your body while losing fat.

23:34Okay? So, as I said at the beginning of this episode, protein isn't just for muscle. It's not just a girl, gym girl thing. Protein is for hunger control. It's for cravings. It's for hormones. It's for metabolism. It's for your energy. It's for aging well. It's for getting toned. And if you've been doing all of the right things and you're still feeling stuck, I want you to ask yourself, am I actually eating enough protein to support the body that I want? Because calories is going to help you lose weight. But you specifically honing in on eating your macros, especially protein,

24:05that's going to help you build the look that you want. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, you guys, please share this with a friend, with somebody that needs a little bit more insight into the importance of protein, or maybe there's someone that you know that could just be, this information could be a value to them. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please screenshot it. Let me know what stuck out to you the most. Tag me on Instagram. And I will see you guys in the next episode. Love you guys. Peace out. Real quick. If this episode resonated with you or gave you the push that you needed,

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