While reducing your caloric intake is the most logical way to reduce your body mass index, did you know that consuming specific proteins for weight loss can actually enhance the effects of your current dietary regimen? As this is a lesser-known fact, it warrants a more in-depth explanation. What is the relationship between protein and body fat? Is there an ideal protein diet and if so, what does it involve? How much protein should a woman consume on a daily basis if she hopes to trim off a few excess kilos? Let’s see what the experts at Spatz3 have to say.
How Does Protein Help Your Body Lose Weight?
Most of us associated protein with its muscle-building qualities alone. However, these compounds offer many additional benefits. Consuming healthy proteins will help to naturally boost your metabolism, to regulate certain hormones related to the production of fat (such as cortisol) and it can function as an appetite suppressant.
Furthermore, protein compounds are relatively difficult to break down within the digestive tract. This causes the body to expend more energy and, therefore, to burn more calories.
What is a High Protein Calorie Deficit Diet?
This approach to weight loss was first popularized in the 1990s. Perhaps the most well-known system at the time was the Atkins Diet. Such a strategy limited the intake of carbohydrates and instead focused upon the role of fat and protein. While initially met with mixed results, some individuals were able to achieve impressive benefits. However, we need to point out an important observation.
The body will require a certain amount of carbohydrates (in the form of calories) in order to metabolize protein. Without these, some proteins may not be broken down into their constituent components (known as amino acids). This is one of the reasons why entirely eliminating carbs from your diet is actually counterproductive.
The Top Five Most Effective Proteins for Weight Loss
Now that we have taken a look at the relationship between protein and metabolism, are some compounds better than others? Here is a quick breakdown of good proteins for weight loss that are often seen within health food stores:
- Whey protein (the most effective protein for burning stubborn belly fat).
- Soy protein.
- Egg protein.
- Casein.
- Beef protein.
Having said this, whey protein tends to be the most effective formulation due to its balanced amino acid profile. It should also be noted that egg and beef are known as slow-digesting proteins. This signifies that the body will require a fair amount of time in order to break them down. In theory, these proteins should burn the most fat if consumed in healthy quantities.
Your Protein Foods List for Weight Loss
While all the proteins highlighted above can be purchased in the form of on-the-go snack bars and powder supplements, consuming protein-rich foods will also provide your body with a host of other vital nutrients. Here are some of the healthiest foods to consider:
- Chicken breast.
- Fish.
- Lean beef.
- Legumes.
- Quinoa.
- Whole eggs.
- Plain Greek yogurt.
- Low-fat cottage cheese.
We can now see that it is just as easy for vegetarians and vegans to create an ideal protein diet with a bit of research.
How Much Protein Should be Consumed Each Day?
The exact amount of protein required to lose weight will vary between genders. For example, males should consume approximately 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight. This drops to 1.6 grams per kilogram for women. However, other factors such as age, health and physical activity must also be taken into account. This is also why supplements represent a convenient way to obtain these values.
The amount and type of protein that should be consumed to lose weight over time is one of the most common questions of those who are looking to maximize the effects of the adjustable gastric balloon provided by Spatz3. While the recommendations outlined above can be used as rough guidelines, we also suggest speaking with your doctor or a nutritionist. He or she will be able to provide more targeted advice. Eating healthy proteins for weight loss should therefore represent a core component of any effective diet.
