Protein for Weight Loss
There’s more to sculpting a better body than simply building muscle. Sometimes you might want to focus on muscle definition or you may want to simply improve your strength, power, endurance, stamina etc.
If you’re looking to lose weight, then you might be under the impression that it’s better to focus on cardio and simply cut calories rather than eating a protein-rich diet. You may even be one of the many individuals who think that protein is only for bulking up, so why bother?
The truth is that protein is absolutely essential for weight loss, as long as you eat the right kinds.
How Do Proteins Work?
Proteins are made up 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.
How Does Protein Help Me Lose Weight?
Although protein is vital for a wide variety of bodily functions and processes, protein can help you lose weight in two different ways:
1. It Prevents Muscle Loss
There is a very important element found in high doses of quality protein called leucine. This chemical can activate a slow metabolism and result in weight loss.
One study showed that this diet is particularly effective when combined with a low-carb lifestyle. During weight loss, our bodies often lose muscle mass, but leucine has a direct signaling effect on muscle that prevents this process from occurring.
This means that on a high-protein diet, the weight that is lost is mostly fat, not muscle, whereas on a strictly high-carbohydrate weight-loss diet, much more muscle is lost.
2. It Boosts Your Metabolism
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.
Conclusion
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 and protect your muscles, you can be sure that you are losing pure fat, and at a faster rate than ever before.
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.
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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
Posted on April 26, 2012 at 3:38 am
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.
Posted on May 9, 2012 at 3:02 pm
I’ve read that soy protein is not good for men. Is this true and why or why not?
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 6:57 pm
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
Posted on September 25, 2011 at 6:06 am
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.
Posted on August 1, 2011 at 9:58 pm
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
Posted on August 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm
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
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 2:34 am
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!
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:19 pm