Protein for Weight Loss
For men and women, there’s more to sculpting a better body than simply building muscle. For anyone looking to get in great shape, weight loss and fat burning are vital to your overall appearance and protein can be a great way to enhance your efforts.
However, many people looking to lose weight, are under the impression it’s better to focus on cardio and simply cut calories, rather than eating a protein-rich diet.
Unfortunately, many individuals who want to lose weight, only believe Protein is for gaining mass and adding serious amounts of muscle.
The truth is, using protein for weight loss can make a huge difference in how quickly you burn fat and lose weight and is crucial to helping you reveal a ripped, sexy physique. Protein can help improve your physique in several ways as it helps you lose weight including:
- 1. Protein Prevents Muscle Loss
- 2. Protein Boosts the Metabolism
- 3. Protein Suppresses the Appetite
Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids. There are 22 different types of amino acids and the body needs all of them to function properly. There are, likewise, many different types of protein, all helping the body in different ways and to different extents. Depending on what you’re eating, the protein in your food has various applications in your body.
Click Here to See the Best Protein Powders for Weight Loss
How Can You Use Protein for Weight Loss?
Although protein is vital for a wide variety of bodily functions and processes, protein can help you lose weight in three key ways:
1. It Prevents Muscle Loss
During weight loss, our bodies often lose muscle mass, but leucine has a direct signaling effect on muscle which prevents this process from occurring.
The great news often overlooked when consuming a high-protein diet is the fact that the weight you do lose will mostly be fat, not muscle. Whereas on a strictly high-carbohydrate weight-loss diet, much more muscle mass is lost, generally resulting in up-and-down results.
2. It Boosts Your Metabolism
There is an important element found in high doses of quality protein called leucine. This chemical can revitalize a slow, sluggish metabolism. Most individuals who add regular exercise to their routine while taking protein notice a significant boost in energy as their metabolism begins to work harder.
A high-protein breakfast can increase your metabolic rate by thirty percent for as long as twelve hours, the calorie-burning equivalent of a three to five mile jog. Fats and carbohydrates are easy for your liver to use, increasing liver metabolism by only four percent. Whereas protein must be taken apart and re-assembled for use elsewhere in your body.
This dynamic effect of protein has recently been shown to be the key in supporting your natural ability to burn fat at a faster rate when consuming a diet higher in protein.
3. Appetite Suppression
Consuming higher levels of protein is an effective way to control your appetite. Individuals participating in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported greater satisfaction, less cravings and greater weight loss and fat reduction after increasing protein to 30% of their diet. While tracking their diet, individuals consumed an average of 441 fewer calories each day.
In another study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, individuals on a high-protein diet combined with regular exercise saw improved weight loss and fat loss in addition to healthier blood fat levels. While researchers aren’t exactly sure how protein helps to limit the appetite, research continues to show dieters who incorporate a protein-rich diet with regular exercise have better control over their appetite and calorie consumption.
How Much Protein Do You Need for Weight Loss
In addition to contributing to muscle growth, protein can help you lose weight so effectively that learning how to incorporate it into your diet may be the only weight-loss program you’ll ever need. If you use it to boost your metabolism, protect your muscles and control your appetite, you can be sure you are losing pure fat, and at a faster rate than ever before.
The ideal amount of protein varies for every individual. To get the benefits of a protein-rich diet, it’s recommended individuals consume between three-fourths of their ideal body weight to three-fourths of their actual body weight in grams.
For example, if an individual weighs 200 pounds and their ideal weight is 175 pound, that person should aim to consume anywhere from 130 to 150 grams daily. Because every gram of protein is equal to four calories, your protein intake should be around 520 to 600 calories or about 25 to 30 percent of your overall calories.
If you have a difficult time incorporating protein into your diet, the best weight loss pills usually contain ingredients that help with muscle building and protein supplementation.
We have reviewed hundreds of protein powders, and the product we feel most confident in recommending is Myotein. It gives you all the benefits of a protein powder, as well as other pre-workout ingredients, at a completely affordable price.
Comment
I just bought a container of Protein Whey Powder,strawberry. I am trying to lose weight by drinking it with skim milk and a very low carb and high protein diet. Also just bought an elliptical machine (not delivered yet) currently just taking long walks. This is day 3. Thank you for sharing this article on Losing weight, I was beginning to this I bought the Protein Whey powder for the wrong reason. Thanks again
March 18, 2011 at 2:34 am
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Be careful – bodybuilders will tell you that Whey is used to bulk you up. If you want to lose weight, I would consider doing your research more and stick to protein powders that do NOT have Whey!
April 16, 2012 at 9:19 pm
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I’m 57 years old and trying to lose weight. I want a natural Protein powder. The articule above says high doses of quality protein called leucine can be beneficial.
Which Protein Powder is natural and has the leucine in it?
Thank you for your help. With all the protein powders out there it’s good to have a website that gives unbiased reports.
August 1, 2011 at 9:58 pm
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While Leucine is important, the best proteins have a mix of healthy amino acid and proteins that can be easily absorbed into the body. The important thing about leucine is that it is one of 3 BCAA’s or branched chain amino acids. These amino acids absorb directly into the muscles instead of being degraded by going through the liver or other organs before getting to the muscles. These amino acids are more likely to promote better athletic performance and make a more noticeable difference as a whole. The best protein we have found based on our experience has been something called Myotein, a protein that has all 3 major BCAA’s
August 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm
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I am 54 years old and am in above average physical condition but my doctor has told me to cut out all dairy products and red meat in order to reduce my cholesterol levels. Is whey protein considered to be on the bad list? Should I take a plant protein like rice protein instead?
Confused
September 25, 2011 at 6:06 am
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I’ve read that soy protein is not good for men. Is this true and why or why not?
April 19, 2012 at 6:57 pm
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Im am A 52 year old female I am preparing for gastric bypass surgery and i need to lose 15 lbs before the surgery and I also need a protein supplement that will provide between 20 to 25g of protein after surgery but it must have less than 160 cal per serving. What is the best choice for me? Thank you
April 26, 2012 at 3:38 am
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The best product that we have seen to help lose weight as well as provide a large amount of healthy protein is Myotein. You can read more about it on Myotein.com.
May 9, 2012 at 3:02 pm
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Well most fibre is of course not cosmenud as it’s juicing only, but in my case I had very little fibre and a heck of a lot of other bad stuff going in before the juice fast, so this is a lot better overall. Juicing would probably not be a long term strategy by itself, thats why I am only doing it for 56 days then moving to a largely fruit and vegetable diet so I get the fibre as well. Stools are fine thanks for asking Different people have different experiences. For me.. ok
January 15, 2013 at 12:34 am
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I am a 26 year old female trying to lose weight… I’ve started replacing my lunch or breakfast with Met Rx meal replacement protein powder… I blend it with water and a few icecubes maybe a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and a banana… I’m eating low carb and high protein for every other meal… My concern is that the meal replacement might bulk me up instead of slim me down… My caloric intake is down 300 – 500 calories a day just by replacing a meal… Should I be using the Met Rx or would something else be better?
June 2, 2012 at 10:48 pm
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For a protein shake that will keep you full without bulking you up, Myotein has 26g of protein and only 146 calories. Zero Carb Isopure is also low on carbs and calories but comes in a little higher with 210 calories per serving.
June 5, 2012 at 8:16 pm
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Tim, when did your blood pressure go down? Mine has still not gone down and I am on day 24. I reclal your saying on day 23 or so that you were going to get your blood pressure checked again in about a week. But I can’t find any updates that mention your blood pressure again until the end. I am wondering just how soon it went down. Why is mine taking ages!?? LL
January 15, 2013 at 1:03 pm
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ya with ease just go to a gym or something and run at least 3 miles on it try to get under 26 mitneus if you can if you cant get there another good goal would be about 27-29 and if u arent sweating when u do that go get a sauna suit or a trashbag and where those but those are for emergencies only if you need to cut 10-20lbs in about 1-3 days
January 17, 2013 at 12:17 pm
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I think your doing find with the Rx meal replacement. In order to bulk, you would require to have more intake on protein and lift heavy sets to build. 2,000 to 3,000 calorie intake. Reason is that your building more muscle, your calorie intake to feed your muscles and that would require more intake. So it all depends on how active you are all day. Eating every 2 hrs helps the burn all day.
September 3, 2012 at 5:41 pm
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Hello I have a question I was thinking of using Jay Robb Whey Protein Powder, but I am not sure if it will help weightloss? I was wondering if you had any info about that powder
October 28, 2012 at 5:36 am
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My greatest weakness in weight loss is sugar! It is an every day fight for me!
December 25, 2012 at 12:49 am
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what works for me i lose 3 pounds over night doing this, i am a boxer who usaluly has to make wieght for my fights all i do is eat real healthy and do NOT EAT AFTER 7 PM and even after 7 pm go for a run burn of the food you ate during the day and drink alot alot alot of water because what that does is flushes everything out it works you should try it!
January 15, 2013 at 7:46 pm
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I am a type 2 diabetic on oral medication, reasonable controlled, age 75. I would like to lose 25 lbs. I am right now at 200. Are there any negatives to using this product for someone like me ?
January 23, 2013 at 11:33 pm
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Carol, sounds like you could benefit from a protein powder! However, if you are taking medication, you’ll want to talk to your doctor first to make sure it’s safe.
January 25, 2013 at 11:25 pm