Why Protein for
Weight Loss
Studies
show that higher protein diets (30% protein) not only help with initial weight
loss but also help keep the weight off.
Why does
protein help with weight loss?
1. Preserve muscle mass as you lose
weight. When you lose weight on any diet, you lose both fat and muscle. Higher
protein diets (30% protein), however, do a better job at preserving muscle mass
and your metabolism. Remember one pound of muscle burns approximately 30-50
calories per day so you want to keep your metabolism up by preserving as much
muscle as possible.
2. Promote loss of body fat.
Higher-protein lower-carb diets promote loss of body fat, due to the lower
insulin response of a lower carbohydrate diet. Remember more insulin promotes
packing on fat.
3. Metabolic advantage of protein. There
is a caloric cost of digesting food called the thermogenic effect and the
caloric cost is highest for protein. It takes about 30% of a protein’s caloric
value to digest it, while it only takes about 2% of a fat’s caloric value. Our
bodies are a lot less efficient at digesting protein, compared with carbs and
fats, so less overall calories are available to the body.
4. Protein helps curb appetite. Protein
makes you feel “full” and curbs your hunger more effectively than carbs or fat.
How Protein Helps
Your Metabolism
One of
the key researchers in this area is Donald Layman, PhD6, from the University of
Illinois, who has published many papers on the subject. He has found that the
high protein, leucine-rich diet, in combination with lower carbohydrates (150
grams or 600 calories per day) is effective to support weight loss, blood sugar
metabolism, and a variety of factors that impact cardiovascular health.
His
research points out that during weight loss our bodies can easily lose muscle
mass (and bone for that matter). Leucine
has a direct signaling effect on muscle that prevents muscle loss during weight
loss. This means that on a high-protein diet, the weight that is lost is mostly
fat, not muscle. Whereas on a high-carbohydrate weight-loss diet, much more
muscle is lost.
Remember
balance is the key. Your body also needs carbs and fats for optimal health.
While these stars incorporate protein with every meal, their diets are also
rich in unprocessed carbs and healthy fats to keep their bodies in top form.
High-protein
diets have become a popular way to lose weight because emerging research has
hinted that protein may be able to satisfy hunger better than either fats or
carbohydrates.