Anyone I talk to about what they should be eating I always say more PROTEIN. Most women are not eating enough protein. Not only that, they are always surprised when I tell them how much they should be eating. Consuming a higher protein diet has a lot of benefits when it comes to supporting your weight loss goals. It’s the one macronutrient you should always hit each day! I’m obviously a big fan of protein and today I am going to share with you the 4 biggest reasons why a high protein diet might be your secret weight loss weapon.
What is protein?
Before I get into the reasons why protein is so important I want to explain what protein actually is. If you’ll allow me to geek out for just a moment…protein is a nitrogen-based organic compound composed of large chain amino acids. The nitrogen is what makes protein unique from carbs and fats. It is found in muscle, hair, collagen, enzymes, antibodies and much more within your body. You have probably heard of the term “amino acid” before. These are the smaller units or molecules that join together to forms various types of protein.
There are both nonessential and essential amino acids. Nonessential amino acids are proteins that can be made by our own bodies. Essential amino acids are those we cannot make in our own body and therefore, must consume in our diet. We must have all of both the essential and nonessential amino acids so that our body can build the variety of proteins it needs. Protein is needed for many processes within our body including the repair, growth, and maintenance of our cells.
Now that you understand WHAT protein is let’s get into the 4 biggest reasons WHY you shouldn’t skimp on the protein to meet your fat loss goals.
1. Protein has a higher thermic effect of food (TEF)
This basically means that your body has to use energy in order to break down the food you eat every day. Different foods require different amounts of energy to break down once ingested. Protein has about a 30% higher thermic effect of food than do carbs or fats. This means that your body uses more energy to breakdown the protein you eat. This doesn’t mean that protein is a “free” food. You still need to track your protein intake but a higher protein diet can an important piece to your overall fat loss strategy.
2. Helps with improving and retaining muscle tissue
Consuming enough protein in your diet stimulates muscle protein synthesis. This is just a fancy way of saying that it helps build new muscle protein i.e. muscle mass. Now, this doesn’t mean that you can just eat a bunch of protein then sit and wait to build muscle. It’s the combination of eating enough protein while also consistently performing resistance training that will increase your lean body mass and grow strength. Ingesting enough dietary protein can also improve recovery after a workout. This is important for allowing you to perform resistance training multiple days per week without over fatiguing.
3. Feel fuller and less likely to overeat
Higher protein diets have been shown to have greater satiety when compared with lower protein diets. You end up feeling fuller more quickly after consuming protein than you would if you consumed the same number of calories of carbs or fats. Eating higher protein also triggers the release of various hormones in the brain that signal you are full.
4. Shown to improve fat loss
When comparing higher protein diets to lower protein diets (keeping the total calories the same), higher protein diets have been shown to be more beneficial for fat loss. This is thought to be due, in part, to the higher thermic effect of food I mentioned above. It is also thought that the higher protein causes greater protein synthesis and breakdown which ultimately leads to more energy being used. In addition, higher protein diets also favor weight loss from fat verse lean body mass. This is important because the more lean tissue you have/maintain the more calories you will actually burn. Furthermore, preserving lean muscle tissue can also improve your metabolism.
Each of the three macronutrients is important and has a role in how it fuels and provides energy for your body. Our focus should always be eating a well-balanced meal and protein is a part of that balance. However, I find that most end up eating a larger portion of carbs and fats and end up short on protein. Whether your goal is gaining lean muscle, improving your metabolism, or fat loss you can’t afford to skimp on the protein. Next time you find yourself thinking about what to eat I hope that you remember these 4 big benefits and go for the protein first!
If you’re feeling super excited and ready to start eating more protein but not sure how much you should eat, don’t worry I won’t leave hanging! Next week I will be talking all about how you can figure out the right protein intake for you and your goals. Meet me back here next week!
Until then…stay happy healthy and fit!
Xx
Allison
