Why Protein for Weight Loss

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.