5 ways eating more protein helps you lose fat
Posted on September 05 2020
If you don't already get enough protein, then eating more protein is one of the easiest things you can do to help you lose fat and get in better shape.
Read these 5 science-backed reasons why you should eat more protein:
#1 Increasing your protein intake reduces appetite and controls hunger
Increasing the amount of protein you eat as a proportion of your diet is one of the best ways to help reduce your hunger and appetite. Unfortunately this doesn't mean just adding more food, you have to replace some junk with higher quality protein, but you don't have to change the overall amount of food you eat. In fact when you get to point #2 you will see how easy it is to reduce your snacks and low quality, calorie-dense food by replacing them with delicious high protein snacks or shakes.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18769212/
#2 Eating protein reduces your cravings for snacks
How many times have you wanted to eat something even though you're not at all hungry? It might be because you smelled something nice, or you saw tasty looking food, or even just because you got into the habit of picking at a bag of chips sitting on your desk. These cravings are not related to the body's need for food and in fact this is one of the biggest reasons why people get fat. Eating enough protein is one of the best ways to help yourself overcome these cravings for snacks. Plenty of studies have shown that eating more protein can reduce cravings dramatically, helping you control your snacking. Proteus Nutrition's WHEY Protein is a great way to beat these cravings, and as an added bonus it really tastes like a dessert treat!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3941822/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23703835/
#3 Boosting your protein intake stops you being 'skinny fat' by maintaining muscle mass and strength
If you're on a diet or trying to lose fat it's important to keep your protein intake high because it will help prevent muscle loss while you are in a calorie deficit. Naturally it will help if you exercise as well, and if you want to maintain your muscles you should do some form of resistance training like weight training.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25169440/
#4 Protein boosts your metabolism
Of course maintaining and increasing your muscle mass will boost your metabolic rate which is good for helping to reduce or prevent many metabolic diseases such as type-2 diabetes. But eating protein also helps boost metabolism directly, helping you burn up to 100 calories more per day just by eating more protein (as compared to eating more fat or carbs).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11838888/
#5 Increasing your protein helps you stay fit as you age
It's now widely known by researchers that having more muscle as you age protects you from all kinds of causes of death. Unfortunately it's common to lose muscle as we age, a process known as sarcopenia, so keeping protein intake high is especially important for helping to prevent frailty, improving bone density and maintaining overall quality of life. Combining protein supplementation with some form of resistance exercise, even just body weight exercises can work wonders when it comes to keeping muscle mass as we age.
In fact the recommended daily allowance of protein for the elderly can be as much as TWICE the amount as for young adults in order to maintain muscle mass.
https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(08)00117-9/fulltext