Dr. Stacy Sims: The Protein Standard for Women Was Never Based on Women | #164

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I've spent years telling women to lift heavy, but this conversation reminded me why that message matters more than ever.

In this episode, Dr Stacy Sims, a world-leading exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist, and I go deep on what it really means to be muscle-centric. Not for vanity, but for your brain, your bones, your metabolic health, and your future. We talk about the broken baselines in women's sports science, why wearable data is lying to you, and what a real week of training should look like at 42 versus 62. We also get into the protein debate, creatine, intermittent fasting, and why guilt has no place in your fitness practice.

This is one of those conversations that will change how you see your body and what you believe is possible.

What we explore:

- Why muscle-centric training protects your brain, bones, and metabolic health.

- How sports science was built on male data and what that costs women every day.

- Why your fitness tracker flags ovulation as illness and what needs to change.

- How a 10-minute morning check-in is the foundation of smarter training.

- Why guilt has no place in fitness and what showing up really means.

- What a training week looks like at 42 versus 62.

- Why strength and power matter more than hypertrophy as you age.

- How protein requirements for women were based on sedentary male cadavers.

- Why branched-chain amino acids cannot replace real protein.

- Why weight loss is still the wrong goal for over half of women.

About Dr. Stacy Sims:

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Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:39 What Drives Stacy Sims

03:24 Title IX and the Sports Science Gender Gap

08:32 Why Wearables Are Built on Male Data

11:13 When the Baseline Is Broken for Women

16:41 The 10-Minute Morning Wellness Meeting

21:35 Periodization, Guilt, and Permission to Deload

24:12 The 80/20 Fueling Framework

26:19 Creatine, Vitamin D3, and Magnesium for Women

28:35 Why the Protein RDA Was Set on Male Cadavers

32:39 BCAAs vs. Real Protein

35:45 Training Week Design for Perimenopausal Women

39:25 Strength vs. Power Training After 40

43:59 How to Phase In a 62-Year-Old Safely

46:24 Why Weight Loss Is Still the Wrong Goal

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About Dr. Vonda Wright

Dr. Vonda Wright is an orthopedic sports surgeon and leading expert in women's health and longevity.

For over 20 years, she has helped women build muscle, strengthen bone, and extend their health span — with science, not guesswork.

Her mission is simple: help women age with power.

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