138: Why Under-Eating Protein Is the Reason Your Body Isn't Changing with JJ Virgin
Why Under-Eating Protein Is Quietly Sabotaging Your Results
You're training hard. You're eating "healthy." And yet, something still feels off. Your body isn't changing the way you want it to, your hunger feels out of control, and you're starting to wonder if you're the problem.
You're not. And in this week's episode of Broads, Tara sat down with four-time New York Times bestselling author and nutrition powerhouse JJ Virgin to break down exactly what's going on, and spoiler: it almost always comes back to one thing. Protein.
Your Hunger Isn't a Willpower Problem
Here's one of the most validating things JJ dropped in this conversation: your body will literally keep searching for food until it gets enough protein. This is called the protein leverage hypothesis, and it means that if you're constantly hungry despite eating plenty of calories, your body may simply be hunting for the one macronutrient it isn't getting enough of.
That's not weakness. That's biology doing its job.
Most women have spent years eating in a way that unintentionally under-prioritizes protein, loading up on carbs, salads, and "clean" snacks that look good on paper but leave the body chronically underfueled on the macro that matters most. And the downstream effects are real: muscle loss, a sluggish metabolism, harder-to-shift body composition, and a hunger cycle that never quite resolves.
The Meal Where Most Women Fall Short (It's Not Dinner)
One of the most actionable moments in this episode was JJ calling out breakfast as the biggest missed opportunity for most women. Starting the day with a protein-light meal, think toast, oats, a smoothie without a solid protein source, sets your hormones up to struggle for the rest of the day.
Tara and JJ discussed doing a simple food audit: track your protein for two weeks and see how you're actually stacking up. No calorie obsession, no macro math spiral, just honest awareness of whether protein is showing up consistently at each meal. For most women, the results are eye-opening.
JJ's take? Anchor every single meal around protein first, and let the rest of your plate build from there.
Why "Toned" Is Not What You Think, and Why Heavy Lifting Won't Make You Bulky
After 40 years in the fitness and nutrition space, JJ said she has never seen a woman get big from lifting weights. Not once. Yet the fear persists, and it keeps women stuck doing endless cardio instead of the strength training that actually changes body composition.
There's also a common misconception about what "toned" actually means. Toned isn't a special type of muscle, it's simply having muscle with lower body fat over it. You can't stretch muscles longer (looking at you, barre marketing), and you can't spot-reduce. What you can do is build muscle and fuel your body well enough to let that composition shift over time.
JJ also talked about moving away from the cue to "go heavy" and instead focusing on training to near failure, a subtle but important shift that takes the ego out of it and puts the focus back on quality stimulus. If you're curious about how to structure your training and nutrition together without overcomplicating it, this part of the conversation is gold. (And if you want to dial in your macros, make sure you grab the free Broads Macronutrient Guide.)
The Scale Has Done More Damage Than Any Diet
This one hit. JJ was direct: the scale is one of the most damaging tools women have been handed, and using it as the primary measure of progress is a setup for frustration and self-criticism.
Muscle is denser than fat. Two women can weigh the same and look completely different. A woman who is building muscle and losing fat may see the number on the scale barely budge, while her body composition is shifting dramatically. If body weight is the only metric you're tracking, you're flying blind.
The conversation turned to what actually matters: how you feel, how you're performing, how your clothes fit, and, crucially, whether you have enough muscle mass and metabolic health before you ever consider a calorie deficit. JJ was firm: those two things need to come first.
Supplements, Creatine, and What Women Are Actually Missing
JJ touched on where supplements genuinely fit into the picture (after whole food protein is dialed in, not instead of it) and highlighted four that most women are commonly deficient in. She also went deep on creatine, a supplement that's long been associated with male gym culture but has substantial evidence behind it for women, particularly for muscle retention, cognitive function, and even mood.
The most surprising stat? A significant majority of women in studies reported that the feared side effect of creatine, water weight gain, simply didn't happen. JJ also addressed the math behind creatine dosing, which is commonly miscalculated and leads women to either underdose or skip it entirely.
The Identity Shift That Actually Makes Results Stick
Tara and JJ wrapped up with something that went beyond macros and supplements, the identity piece. The women who maintain their results long-term aren't just following a plan. They've internalized being someone who lifts, who eats protein, who prioritizes strength. It's not a phase or a program. It becomes who they are.
That shift, from "I'm doing a fitness thing" to "I am someone who takes care of her body this way", is what separates the women who restart from the ones who maintain. And it's something Tara comes back to again and again in BroadsCOACH: sustainable results live in identity, not willpower.
The Bottom Line
If your body isn't changing despite your effort, the answer probably isn't to eat less or do more cardio. It's to eat more protein, build more muscle, and stop measuring your worth in pounds on a scale.
JJ's message for every woman between 35 and 50 is especially worth sitting with: this is the window that matters most for building and preserving the muscle that will carry you through the decades ahead. Don't waste it under-eating the macro your body is literally begging for.
Listen to the full episode here, and if you want to get your nutrition dialed in alongside a community of women doing the same thing, check out the free Broads Nutrition Webinar to get started.
What's one meal where you know you're consistently under-eating protein? Drop it below, we'd love to help you brainstorm a swap.
