Women often fail to eat adequate amounts of protein. Protein protects you from losing muscle and makes you feel fuller.

Protein is not only important for muscle growth and maintenance, but it is the primary building block for the health and strength of your hair, skin and nails.

Guidelines

For someone aiming to see changes in body composition, protein intake should be between 25-35% of daily caloric intake. This could be 1.5-2.0g of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Where can you get your protein?
People who aren’t used to read food labels usually have no idea how many grams of protein they’re getting. The following list of foods can help eyeball protein portions. Building every meal around a portion of at least 20 g of protein is good place to start for women trying to loose weight and increase muscle mass.

 313g chick peas (325 kcal, 20 g protein, 45.9 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 6.9 g fat)
 87 g chicken breast (91 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.0 carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 1.3 g fat)
 179g cottage cheese (159 kcal, 20 g protein, 4.1 carbs, 4.1 sugar, 7 g fat)
 182g egg whites (5 egg whites) (94 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.3 g carbs, 1.3 g sugar, 0.3 g
fat)
 159 grams eggs (3 whole eggs) (225 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.1 g carbs, 1.1 g sugar, 15.7 g
fat)
 105g mince beef (196 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.5 g carbs, 0.4 g sugar, 12.6 g fat)
 105 grams lean beef (131 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.8 g carbs, 0.0 g sugar, 5.3 g fat)
 103 grams tempeh (fermented soy product) (207 kcal, 20 g protein, 13.3 g carbs, 0.0
g sugar, 8.2 g fat)
 67 grams tofu (192 kcal, 20 g protein, 1.7 g carbs, 0.7 g sugar, 11.7 g fat)
 80 grams canned tuna (packed in water) (84 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.0 g carbs, 0.0 g
sugar, 0.4 fat)
 21 grams protein powder (whey isolate) (83 kcal, 20 g protein, 0.2 g carbs, 0.2 g
sugar, 0.2 fat)
 250 grams red kidney beans (240 kcal, 20 g protein, 37.5 g carbs, 1.3 g sugar, 1.3 g
fat)

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