This article was originally written by the awesome people at Gnarly Nutrition. Not only do they make delicious all-natural products, they are so passionate about seizing adventure and making the most of life. They are encouraging, smart, and, well, gnarly! They wrote a great blog about using protein to assist with weight loss. They clear up a lot of confusion and set straight the misinformation out there.
If you’re on a mission to shed some of the excess pounds that have crept over time, getting your diet down pat is a good place to start. Far too many people put more emphasis on exercising than they do eating right, and end up disappointed with the results they see. The problem here is the emphasis on exercise, and lack of emphasis on diet. It takes both to see results.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make in their diet plan is failing to get sufficient protein in. However, using protein for weight loss is highly recommended.
Using Protein For Weight Loss and Better Metabolism
First things first, want to spike your metabolic rate? Eat more protein.
Really.
One of the fastest and easiest ways to speed up a sluggish metabolism is to simply add more protein to your diet protocol.
Protein has a very high thermic effect of food, meaning that you’ll burn up a high number of calories simply breaking it down – 25% of the calories to be more precise. When it comes to long term fat loss progress, this can make a big difference.
This was illustrated in a study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition where researchers found that when subjects were fed an energy-restricted high protein, low fat diet, they showed both nutritional as well as metabolic benefits over those that were fed the traditional energy restricted but higher carbohydrate diet plan.
Those who received the higher protein diet lost more weight overall, illustrating its effectiveness.
Protein And Muscle Maintenance
Protein is also going to help you maintain your lean muscle mass better. When dieting, your protein needs actually go up, not down like so many people believe. You might think you should eat less protein total since you’re consuming less food overall, but the opposite is the case.
When your calorie needs go down, there is a greater chance you will use the protein you consume as a fuel source, leaving less protein over for its primary purpose – muscle building and maintenance.
If you start to lose muscle mass, this will mean your resting calorie burn goes down, meaning weight loss becomes harder and harder.
The more muscle you have, the more fat your body will burn even at rest, proving this to be a win-win for any woman looking to get and stay lean.
Protein will also help you recover faster from any workout session you do, so will help you get back into the gym feeling your best sooner. If you are low in total protein intake, you may find that it takes days to recover from any intense workout, which quickly becomes limiting to your progress.
Protein And Satiety
Finally, of all the nutrients in the body, protein is also going to offer the greatest satiety. When you eat a meal high in protein, you’ll come to find that you immediately feel full.
Protein has a very small influence over blood glucose level, so it can help you stay on a more stable keel, preventing the blood glucose spike followed by crash that would lead to uncontrollable hunger.
Adding more protein to your daily diet might make it far easier to maintain your reduced calorie intake in the first place.
You should be aiming to eat protein with each meal and snack you consume, taking in at least 20 grams each time.
So there you have the main reasons why getting more protein in your daily diet is a must. Turn to high quality lean sources such as lean red meat, chicken, turkey, eggs, low fat dairy products, fish and seafood, and a quality whey protein powder.
If you do this one step, it will make a dramatic difference on how your fat loss plays out.
Incorporate some Gnarly into your diet today. Not sure where to begin? Try our Gnarly Starter Kit:
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(You can find their original blog here: http://gognarly.com/using-protein-powder-weight-loss/) 