Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

Ranking Protein Sources for athletes

22 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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1:20

In this concise presentation, the speaker ranks three primary protein sources for athletes and explains the rationale behind each ranking. Plant‑based proteins are placed third because they are harder to consume in sufficient quantities and are less bio‑available for athletes seeking rapid strength and speed gains. Animal‑derived dairy and egg products (cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, cheese, eggs) are ranked second, highlighted as complete proteins that deliver more protein per serving than plant sources. Whole animal meats (fish, chicken, turkey, beef, pork) earn the top rank, described as the preferred protein for 99% of the speaker’s athletes due to their high protein content and excellent absorption. The speaker also notes that protein powders and bars can be useful supplements, positioned around a 2.5 ranking, emphasizing they should augment, not replace, whole‑food protein intake.

Chapters

ranking the 3 protein sources that I recommend to my athletes. Starting with number 3, the one that I recommend the least is plant-based protein. Now there's 2 reasons that I rank this as number 3. Reason number 1 why I ranked this number 3 is if you're an athlete, you're probably wanting to get faster and you're probably wanting to get stronger, and in order to do that you need to have a lot of protein in your system. It is a lot harder to get all of your protein needs through plant-based protein alone versus what I rank number 2 and number 1. The second reason for this being in number 3 is plant-based proteins can be a lot harder for the body to absorb and actually use for what our body needs for. Protein source number 2 is anything that comes from the animal— not the animal itself, but what comes from the animal. These are going to typically be your dairy products and your eggs, so cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, regular cheese, etc. The reason why I like these is they are higher in protein, and these are complete proteins, and you're going to be able to get a lot more protein per serving than you would from plant-based proteins. Now, the number 1 source that I recommend to 99% of my athletes are the animals themselves. Some of my favorites are fish, chicken, turkey, beef, pork— any of those options can be amazing sources of protein. Also, I am a fan of protein powders and some bars if they're used wisely, and I would probably rank those as like a 2.5, between number 2 and number 3. We want it to supplement our protein needs, not take over our protein needs.