Why Women Are Afraid of Protein Drinks
It's no surprise in a recent study that three-quarters of females NEVER buy a protein supplement, despite the growing and overwhelming evidence suggesting the benefits for females is more important than for men.
However, I want to show you why our fictional 40-something woman, Mrs Jones, would never consider buying a protein.
REASON #1: Old School Gym Culture
The grim world of bodybuilding has a lot to answer for.
In my past life as a personal trainer, I had the (dis)pleasure of working out of old skool gyms, with testosterone practically dripping from the walls.
The ratio of guys vs girls in those environments is stark.
They are pretty intimidating even for a 'normal' guy like me, let alone 40-something, Mrs Jones with 2.4 kids, doing the school run and a bit self-conscious about her fluffy tummy.
So introducing the idea to Mrs Jones of consuming more protein is met with absolute horror.
And yet Mrs Jones would arguably get considerably more health benefits from a protein shake than the muscle heads in the gym.
REASON #2: Buying Experience
Walk into any high street supplement store, your local Boots or Superdrug and walk down the nutrition aisle , you'll find the shelves groaning under the weight of some pretty massive white tubs.
The 'barrel' of protein powder you find in most supplement stores is marketed squarely at 20-something dudes who want to get 'jacked' ready for their trip to Magaluf.
Think about the names of those products, they don't really 'speak' to Mrs Jones...
"Stacked and Jacked 3000"
"Mega Bulk Xtreme 1000"
"Pro Gainer Xplode"
Mrs Jones is certainly not going to walk into your local GNC supplement store and ask the nice man behind the counter with biceps bigger than her head for a recommendation of which of these products to buy.
It's no surprise the reluctance of most women to try protein powder.
REASON #3: TASTE & TEXTURE
With many protein powders developed and manufactured to maximise the outcomes your local meathead is looking for, taste and texture tend to be an afterthought.
The pressure to create a product with MORE protein per serving but at a lower cost means the quality of the final product is compromised.
Many whey products struggle to mix, and you end up with grainy, gritty, lumpy drinks (grim)
Then the cheaper products have cheap artificial flavours that make the after taste pretty off-putting. Even the meatheads complain of getting tired of the tastes!
Mrs Jones has not got to this stage in her life to suffer from poor tasting and textured drinks... it's why I refuse to eat kale, no matter how good it supposedly is for me.
REASON 4: "I don't want to get bulky"
Probably the most common barrier I had from my female clients as a Personal Trainer to adding more protein to their diets.
That image of Arnie, or even some grossly overly muscular female bodybuilder is what Mrs Jones is afraid of.
Thankfully (or not) the female body has some pretty strong protections against packing on more muscle than meat head man.
But once you get beyond 40, the female biochemistry is working against you to stay strong and protect precious muscle and bone. So adding in more protein is probably a smart way to offset the natural degradation caused by ageing.
REASON 5: "Don't I get all I need from my diet?"
Ideally yes...
Quality protein sources are available in our normal diets, but there's a number of factors that means Mrs Jones tends to struggle to achieve the recommended daily amount of protein.
1. Low fat and low-calorie diets that have been forced on us over the last 5 decades mean women, more than men, avoid the usual quality protein sources such as meat and eggs.
2. The vegan-vegetarian movement means women are dramatically reducing their intake of meat-based products, but not finding quality alternatives that fit with the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle.
Now whey protein is clearly NOT vegan friendly but is certainly a meat free way to top up your protein needs.
And if you are Vegan there are vegan-friendly protein drinks available, but be prepared to have your taste buds challenged, I've yet to find a vegan protein powder that didn't have the consistency of badly mixed wallpaper paste.
Chances are Mrs Jones will not choose a protein drink. All these factors get in the way of her getting the amazing benefits a protein drink can offer her.
Back in 2016, we developed a different kind of protein drink mix. TRIM was born out of a desire to make protein drinks more accessible to Mrs Jones.
Not only does it taste amazing, like melted vanilla ice cream... you'll get a sensible dose of 26g of protein from just a 120kcal drink.
You can add it to your smoothies, or even your baking.
Want to trial TRIM for yourself, we've got a special new customer offer.
Interested?.... Click here 👇🏻