Does High Protein Diet Help You Lose Weight?
High Protein Diet For Weight Loss
Is it time to try a high-protein diet for weight loss?
Many healthy eaters eat protein to boost metabolism. And eating protein
provides other weight loss benefits as well. But before you invest any time or
money into a high-protein diet to lose weight, make sure you get the facts
about protein to make sure your program is successful.
Why Eat Protein for Weight Loss?
Eating a diet that includes plenty of lean protein provides
several benefits when you're trying to lose weight.
- Protein
helps you to feel full. Including protein
in your meals and snackscan help you to feel full and satisfied after
you're done eating. This feeling of fullness may help you to
eat less throughout the day.
- Protein
builds muscle. Protein
helps you build and maintain muscle mass. A strong body not only performs
better throughout daily activities, but the muscles that shape an
attractive figure also burn more calories than fat, even at rest.
- Eating
protein may improve your diet. When
you plan a meal around a lean source of protein, you have less space
on your plate for foods that aren't healthy. And learning to eat different
types of protein may improve your diet as well. If you eat tuna, for
example, you not only benefit from the protein in the fish but you
also benefit from the healthy fat it provides.
- Eating
protein burns more calories. You
burn a few extra calories when you eat protein because your body has to
work harder to chew and digest the food. Scientists call this the thermic
effect of food. Keep in mind, however, that the number of extra
calories is small so you shouldn't create an entire weight loss program
based solely on this benefit.
How Much Protein to Lose Weight?
Any healthy diet for weight loss or wellness
should include a balance of healthy fats, carbohydrates, and protein. The
amount of protein you should eat depends on a few factors including your age,
gender, body size, and activity level.
For healthy adults, the recommended dietary allowance for
protein (RDA) is .8g/kg/day. That means at a minimum every day
you should eat slightly less than one gram of protein for every kilogram of
body weight. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds (68 kilograms) you should eat
at least 54 grams of protein each day.
If you exercise for weight loss, you may want to consume
more protein. A position statement developed by the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) the Dietitians of Canada (DC), and American
College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that exercisers should
consume between 1.2 - 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per
day.
But if those numbers leave you confused, don't worry.
There is an easier way to figure out how much protein to eat to lose weight and
keep your body healthy. Government sources and nutrition experts recommend that
you consume between 10-35% of your total calories from protein.
If you use a calorie tracking app or website to
count calories, it's easy to check your daily protein intake. Almost every
popular diet tool automatically and counts grams of protein and also the
percentage of calories that comes from protein.
High-Protein Diets
So are high protein diets any better for weight loss?
While many dieters lose weight successfully on high-protein diets
like Atkins or the popular South Beach Diet, they don't always
work for everyone.
High protein diets are generally those that recommend
that over 20% of your total calories come from protein. Sounds reasonable,
right? But, if you're eating more protein, that means you're eating less
carbohydrate to keep your calories in balance. For many dieters, eating less
fruit, bread, and pasta is difficult and they quit their program as a
result.
The best diet for you is the diet that you can stick to.
For some dieters, this is a high-protein weight loss plan. If eating more
protein helps you to eat less all day and build a stronger, more active body
then it may be the best program for you. But remember that calories matter most
when you're trying to slim down. So track your total calories and protein
to lose weight and keep the pounds off for good.
