Benefits of Protein

The diet I promote is very flexible. You can basically eat what you want, when you want as long your weekly calories are below maintenance level. For example, if you need 14,000 calories a week to maintain your weight (2000/day), eating 12,000 per week will result in sustainable weight loss. Cycling your calories can also make this more mentally practicable, and in combination with a lower meal frequency it enables us to enjoy larger meal sizes whilst losing weight. 

There is something I do highly recommend within my approach; a higher level of protein intake.

Increase your protein, just watch your calories at the same time

Protein is a macronutrient, like carbohydrates and fats. It is generally recognised as having 4 calories per gram, placing it on an even keel with carbohydrates. But there is more to protein than meets the macro’s. It has several benefits which can aid us not only in our weight loss, but making sure that more of that weight loss comes from fat stores and not muscle. This results in a tighter, more toned physique.

Protein and muscle loss and satiety

Muscle loss is almost inevitable during weight loss. However, higher intakes of protein have been shown to decrease the amount of muscle loss whilst dieting. This is because muscle is made of protein, and when our diet is low in this macronutrient our bodies will catabolise (eat) some of the tissue to release amino acids. However, by supplying the body with enough amino acids through a higher protein intake in our diet, we can minimise the muscle loss. If the body is catabolising less muscle for fuel, it is more likely to get the extra energy from fat stores, resulting in less fat, better lean muscle maintenance and a better physique.

Look how happy this toned couple are. Must be all that protein.

On top of the added fat loss, protein tends to increase satiety (gets rid of hunger) for longer. Studies have shown that people who eat higher protein tend to eat less calories in total, therefore they lose more weight through this. Add to this the psychological advantage of feeling fuller during dieting and you have a recipe for sustainable long term weight loss.

Protein and metabolism

Protein doesn’t really contain 4 calories per gram. The process of converting protein into fat is very difficult for the body to do. During this ‘energy expensive’ process, protein essentially loses almost 20% of its energy value. This is called the ‘thermogenic effect of food’, and whilst not a massive contributor to weight loss, it certainly helps.

On top of the essentially lower calorie count of protein, the extra muscle retained during the diet will have a long term effect on your metabolism. Muscle uses more energy than fat stores during rest. If two people who are 200 pounds are sitting on a couch, the one with more muscle mass will be burning more calories. This will help keep the weight off after you have finished your dieting.

Both of these guys are 200 pounds in weight, but the guy on the left is going to be burning a lot more calories, as he has a higher level of lean body mass

Where can I get protein

You don’t have to go out and buy a top notch protein shake to get your protein needs. In fact, I recommend eating your protein in the form of food, as it tends to produce better satiation. Protein shakes are a pretty good source of quality protein though, and Whey protein has been shown to blunt hunger effectively.

There are many sources of quality protein. Below is a list of low calorie sources for you to choose from.

Chicken breast

Turkey breast

Lean beef

Tuna

Salmon

Low fat milk

Low fat cottage cheese

Whey protein shake

Low fat yoghurt

Low fat Ham

 

There are several other sources of protein – eggs, beef, cheeses, pork,fish etc, although they tend to be higher in fat and hence calories (not that fat is bad for you, but too many calories will slow fat loss), so use sparingly, or on your higher calorie days. Non animal sources can be acquired from beans, soy, lentils, nuts etc, although the amino acid profile is not as good quality as from animal sources.

How much protein should I eat

Whilst there is a debate over this, general consensus says that more than 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight, but no more than 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight is acceptable. This means, for a 150 pound person, eating between 120 and 180 grams per day would produce optimal results. 

Since 100 grams of chicken supplies around 20 grams of protein, this means quite a lot of chicken breast (600 grams in fact). Imagine eating that amount of chicken and still being hungry, it is unlikely to happen. Obviously you don’t have to have all chicken, try to get different sources of protein so you ensure a fuller amino acid profile in your diet.

A pound of chicken - like this - is only 450 calories and a whopping 100 grams of protein. Imagine eating this and feeling hungry afterwards. Whip up a nice sauce to go with it with the rest of your calories.

If we take the middle ground number – 150 grams – this means an intake of 600 calories (150 grams times 4 calories per gram). If your diet allows 1,600 calories in the day, this means you have 1,000 calories to ‘spend’ how you wish on a mixture of fats and carbs. Use that calorie allotment to add some nutritious veggies, or some nice sauces to put with the meat. Hell, why not even add a bun with that burger, or have some sweet dessert for afters. Just make sure you don't exceed your calorie allotment for the day.

Take home message

Increase your protein intake for better control of hunger, better body shape, increased fat loss, increased metabolism (both long and short term), and better blood sugar control. Try to get around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Feel free to fill the rest of your calorie allowance with foods of your choice, although favour healthier, nutrition rich foods.

As a side note, lots of people go on low carbohydrate diets, where they eat nothing but protein an fat. I am not a fan of these. Whilst they work, they are often not the healthiest of plans, and people often have issues with rebound weight gain after they have gotten over the initial short term success. Keep carbohydrates in your diet, fats too, just increase your overall proportion of calories from protein sources. 

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Does Sugar Make us Fat?

If you get your nutrition advice from a woman’s magazine, you will probably be under the assumption that sugar is the source of all evil. Fear not, my fellow sweet tooth; you can indeed have your cake and eat it – and enjoy it! This current attack on sugar is ludicrous, and just another scapegoat for the obesity ‘epidemic’. Through reading the next few paragraphs, you too will be more informed to make flexible choices in your diet, leading to more long term success and better weight management without having to deprive yourself.

So where does this idea that sugar makes us fat come from? Well, there are a load of theories which look at how insulin raises when we eat foods high in sugar. Insulin is a hormone which helps shuttle carbohydrates into fat stores, and also works to inhibit fat burning. High insulin levels are also linked to obesity. All this makes it seem, to the uneducated observer, that sugar causes fat. But is there any substantiation to this claim beyond wild accusations from petri dish observers viewing a small time scale out of context to the human body in the grand scheme of things? In short – no.

Surwit and colleagues (1997) compared two separate diets, one containing 43% table sugar and one with just 4% table sugar. These people completed 6 weeks of these diets, and then the results of their body composition were taken. The results? There were NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES seen in both the loss of bodyfat or bodyweight between the two diets. So a diet almost half in sugar produced the same weight loss as one devoid of sugar. On top of this, a whole load of biomarkers and things such as satiety remained the same for both groups.

But I thought sugar enters your blood faster and raises insulin more

It does – but weight gain/ loss is more complicated than simply blaming one hormone and the amounts/speeds that it raises. You can look at short term studies all you want, but the real answer is in the long term trials.

In 2008 Aston et al. studied the effects of glycemic index on bodyweight in overweight and obese women, finding no correlation between faster acting carbohydrates and increases in weights when calories are the same. So even when the carbohydrates come into your blood at a faster/slow rate or insulin released is high or low it doesn’t mean you will get fat.

What does this mean for me?

What it means is that, in terms of weight loss, eating sugar is not going to impede your goals. In fact, if you are a sweet tooth like me, eating sugar can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Depriving yourself of some sweet things will more likely damage your motivation, leading to ditching the diet and stalling your weight loss/gaining weight.

Weight loss is a product of being in a calorie deficit, regardless of what your diet looks like. Look at This Study by Sacks Et al (2009) comparing diets with different amounts of carbs, protein and fats. There was no difference in the weight loss or lipid profiles of the subjects, even though they ate wildly varying diet compositions. Sure, I would make sure your protein intake is adequate (1 gram per pound of bodyweight) to ensure you lose more fat than muscle, but after that, feel free to make flexible choices with your calories.

Take home message

As usual, when it comes to weight loss, calories are king; set your weekly goals for calories and stick to them. Don’t deprive yourself of a bit of sugar every now and again, if you want a bit of cake and it fits into your calorie allowance, go ahead and enjoy it.

I should point out that I am not advocating a diet full in sugar. Whilst this could (as demonstrated by the scientific study) produce weight loss, it would not provide you with adequate nutrition in terms of vitamin, mineral, fibre, content etc. I would limit sugar intake to 100 grams per day if you are sedentary, and allow more if you are active. Don’t go crazy and eat nothing but sugar, but at the same time don’t completely eliminate it from your diet in the fear that it will make you fat (it won’t).   

As always, eat food high in nutrition on the whole, but enjoy sweets in moderation.

Scientific References

   Surwit RS, et al. Metabolic and behavioral effects of a high-sucrose diet during weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Apr;65(4):908-15.

Sacks FM, et al. Comparison of Weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein and carbohydrates. N Engl J Med. 2009 Feb 26;360(9):859-73.  

Aston LM, Stokes CS, Jebb SA(2007). No effect of a diet with a reduced glycaemic index on satiety, energy intake and body weight in overweight and obese women. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Jan; 32(1):160-5. Epub 2007 Oct 9.