One thought of our weight and the word ‘stubborn fat’ is the first one to pop in our minds! How many of you have tried to exercise with little difference to show for it? Have you ever tried to tone your body just by adopting a few simple diet changes?
This post tells you how you can shed those pounds with a high protein diet! Would you like to know more? Read on!
This post tells you how you can shed those pounds with a high protein diet! Would you like to know more? Read on!
Proteins In The Body:
Proteins are extremely necessary to the normal functioning of the human body. They constitute the backbone of all essential components, including hormones and enzymes (1). They are also a vital part of body organs, particularly muscles, the growth of which burns calories and aids fat loss.
Our body breaks down the proteins and amino acids from food inside the liver, where they are converted to precursors that are supplied across all organs. Hence, a high protein diet is crucial to not just for basic functions, but also for cell repair and health rejuvenation as well.
Proteins In Diet:
A healthy individual can obtain the required amount of protein from a balanced diet that includes all food groups. As per the daily recommended allowance, an adult male requires 56gm of protein every day, while an adult woman needs 46gm per day. Children require around 50gm of protein a day.
It is advised that more than 10% and less than 30% of your daily calories should be obtained from protein. A diet exceeding 30% is considered a high protein diet.
Diet Sources Of Protein:
A high protein diet is an excellent method to lose weight, as it literally encourages the brain to enter a fat loss mode. Some of the best sources of protein are eggs, milk, cheese, tofu, soy, chicken, lean meat, seafood, lentils, beans, nuts and grains (2). Experts suggest 3-4 servings of any of these items during the day to obtain plenty of protein (3).
How High Protein Diet Helps:
A high protein diet has a thinning or toning effect on your waistline. This is because protein foods have a longer lasting effect on digestion and metabolism.
As the food you eat takes longer to digest, you expend more calories.
More protein foods and lesser sugary foods reduce insulin levels in the body. This encourages the body to remove the fat.
Most importantly, high proteins and low carbohydrates in the body will build lean muscle, which promotes more fat burning.
The muscle in turn burns more calories than fat.
According to research, a high protein diet combined with restricted fat and carbohydrate intake decreases weight, along with benefitting the body in other ways (4).
Weight Loss With Balance:
A high protein diet is surely a weight loss mantra. But it is not enough. What about the other food groups? Eating only a protein rich diet can be more harmful than helpful. A balanced diet is the key to effective weight loss. When we talk about a high protein diet for weight loss, one needs to keep in mind certain points.
Carbohydrates and fats are also absolutely essential for the normal functioning of our body.
A protein rich diet should include these food groups (carbohydrates and fats) in reduced amounts, preferably in a healthier variety.
Do not starve yourself or it could lead to hypoglycemia, health complications and a resultant weight gain.
A balanced diet regimen will result in genuine weight loss that will be long term, unless your food habits change back to what they were before.
Good carbohydrates can be obtained from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, beans, yogurt and low-fat milk.
Some of the healthy fats are sourced from nuts, nut butters, olives, seeds, avocados, fish and extra virgin olive oil.
Proteins For Weight Loss:
A diet rich in proteins keeps you feeling full. This makes you feel less hungry, keeps your sugar cravings at bay and helps you lose weight fast (5). This was particularly found true in obese individuals whose weight management improved due to the consumption of protein as it kept them satiated. A high protein diet allows you to lose weight without actually going hungry. This basically comprises the following steps.
Eat every meal with at least one food source of protein. It could be egg, fish, chicken or cheese.
This method increases your metabolism by at least 80 calories a day.
Have small portions at regular intervals (2-3 or 4 meals) throughout the day. This way you reduce unhealthy thoughts about junk snack items.
When selecting meat, always go for the lean, healthy variety. Meat is otherwise a storehouse of many unwanted fats.
The carbohydrates you choose for meals can be selected from low-carb varieties such as spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, celery and other such vegetables.
Fats are best obtained from olive oil, coconut oil and butter.
Avoid fructose based food stuffs and beverages.
Exercise:
Eating healthy is no doubt a recipe for a healthy you. To accelerate weight loss and also to make the high protein diet help you tone your body, exercise is a must. As you begin to lose weight, which happens fast in the beginning, there will come a point when the metabolism would slow down. Exercising has multiple benefits that add to a high protein diet. It keeps the calories burn, while keeping the metabolism steady. As the fat levels in the body begin to come down, daily exercise help build significant muscle mass.
Long Term High Protein Diet:
Protein is one component that can ensure weight loss when handled the right way. However, experts have warned that long term intake of high protein – low carbohydrate diets can have adverse health effects. Anyone with liver conditions should talk to their doctor before attempting any diet changes.
Now that you are armed with what protein can do to our midsection, a high protein diet and probably a little exercise is all that you need to melt that fat. Do you think the post has helped you? Please let us know in the comments box below.
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