Table of Contents
Introduction
How Does Protein Help You Lose Weight?
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Protein?
Can Protein Make You Fat?
Making the Most of Your Workouts with Protein
The Best Sources of Healthy Protein for Weight Loss
Do Veggies and Fruit Have Any Protein?
Are Protein Bars and Shakes Good for You?
The Weight Loss Secret of Protein for Breakfast
Introduction
Protein, carbohydrates and fats are essential to your existence. Those are the 3 nutrients found in your body that are required in large amounts, and must continually be replaced. If you don’t get sufficient quantities of those nutrients in the foods you eat, a host of medical problems and health issues will develop.
As a structural component of tissue which makes up your muscles, hair, skin, enzymes and antibodies, protein is required by every cell in the human body. It helps your body grow and repair cells, and is absolutely essential for cellular activity. Periods of intense growth, such as infancy, childhood and pregnancy, require more protein than usual, and if you are injured, recovering from surgery or stay active, you also need more protein than you normally would.
Did you know your body can actually make protein?
While there are hundreds of microscopic compounds called amino acids in nature, your body only benefits from 22 of them. Of those 22, humans can’t produce 9 of those essential acids. They must be obtained by eating food.
So, just eat a lot of protein and you will stay healthy, right? The answer to that question is yes… and no. Your body can only absorb and use a specific amount of protein at any given time. Just like all of the compounds in the food you eat and the beverages you drink, if you take in too much, the excess gets passed out as waste.
This is why it is better for your health to consume your daily protein requirement spread out over 3 or 4 meals, rather than trying to get it all at once. As it turns out, getting several daily doses of protein is an eating behavior that can help you lose weight if you are overweight, and it also helps you stay at your target weight once you get there.
In this report, we will take an in-depth look at the weight loss/protein relationship. You will discover just how much protein health authorities say you should be getting every day, and what happens when you eat too much.
You will find out which healthy foods are protein-rich, and you may just be surprised at some of the foods on this list. You’ll get the lowdown on protein bars, powders and shakes, why the “when” of eating protein is so important, and how you should time your protein consumption to get the most out of your workout. Let’s get started by taking a look at how your body processes protein, and how this can result in weight loss.
How Does Protein Help You Lose Weight?
Once, a very long time ago, you did not know how to ride a bike. You saw other kids riding their bikes, and you longed to join them in their experience of freedom and independence. You started out with training wheels, and slowly taught your body how to move, the exact process of coordination needed for you to stay on your bike.
You eventually took off the training wheels, learned to ride on just two wheels, and now you don’t have to give a second thought to riding a bicycle. It has become second nature. Just as riding a bicycle is a specific process, the way your body removes protein from food and uses it to keep you strong and healthy is a process as well.
When you eat food, it works this way through your digestive tract. It goes into your mouth, travels through your throat and esophagus and into your stomach. Once there, powerful stomach acids and enzymes begin to break down your food. One of those enzymes is pepsin, and pepsin’s favorite “food” is protein. Pepsin breaks down the peptide bonds which hold protein molecules together.
Once this happens, protein moves into your small intestine, where it is further digested by pancreatic enzymes such as chymotrypsin, trypsin and carboxypeptidase. Then protein is broken down into amino acids, the building blocks of the human body. Once protein is broken is chiseled down to amino acids, they are transported into your bloodstream, and then delivered to every part of your body.
This process takes a while.
It can take as many as 1.5 hours for your body to process a protein shake so that amino acids can be absorbed into your bloodstream. Solid food sources of protein can take even longer to process. This is because the presence of protein in your digestive system triggers the release of a hormone that slows down how fast your stomach empties its contents.
The longer it takes to process a particular food in your body means the longer you can keep hunger at bay.
In weightlifting, bodybuilding, fitness and medical communities, there is a constant debate as to the exact rate of speed your body breaks down and absorbs protein. What is not debated is that there is a substantial time requirement. This process also slows down the contractions of your intestines that help digest your food, which is why you feel full longer after eating protein-rich foods than you do carbohydrates and fats.
This helps reduce your appetite. Eat protein at every meal, and you will consume fewer calories overall, since your body will be spending much of the day processing protein and keeping you feeling full.
This is great news. It means that the act of digesting protein speeds up your metabolic process. The energy for breaking protein down into amino acids requires a lot of fuel. That fuel comes from calories, fats and carbohydrates. Protein is also excellent for building muscle. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn, because muscles require a lot of fuel to maintain and repair themselves, and that fuel is the same fats, calories and carbohydrates which the protein-digesting formula requires.
Now you know exactly why a protein-rich diet is recommended by so many health and wellness professionals for healthy weight loss, and weight regulation.
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Protein?
Your body is made up predominantly of water. Water is essential to human existence. If you went without getting any water into your body, you would not live more than just about 3 days. While this is obviously a very important human need, if you ingest too much water too quickly, you can drown. As far as protein is concerned, getting too much can have a negative effect as well.
Excessive protein on a regular basis has been linked to health problems as insignificant as nausea and diarrhea, and even life-threatening conditions caused by excess amino acids, insulin and ammonia. So it is wise to know exactly how much protein you should be consuming every day. Here are a few recommendations from some respected health authorities.
· The Mayo Clinic suggests “5 to 6 ounces of protein-rich food each day”. This could deliver anywhere from 50 to 70 grams (g) of protein, and is only meant as a suggestion for someone who is normally active, with a healthy body weight.
· The Institute of Medicine in the United States publishes what they call the Dietary Reference Intake, or DRI. In it they suggest eating “0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 g per pound” every day.
· The Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) of the UK’s National Health Service suggests 0.75 g for each kilogram of body weight, or 0.34 g per pound.
Since eating too much protein or not enough can cause health problems, a “Protein Summit” was convened in Washington, DC in 2015. More than 40 nutrition scientists focused on how protein affects human health. Their findings were reported in a supplemental issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN). What those nutrition experts found is that most Americans are not eating anywhere near enough protein.
For slowing down the aging process, losing weight, building muscle and supporting cardiovascular health, they recommend eating protein as a source of 15% to 25% of your daily calories. They went on to say that if you got as much as 35% of your daily calories from protein, you would probably not suffer any ill effects.
All of the above recommendations are for someone who is mildly active. If you follow a healthy exercise regimen regularly, you want to up your protein intake. As mentioned earlier, the same is true if you are pregnant or recovering from an illness or surgery.
Can Protein Make You Fat?
Okay, so you know how much protein you should be getting into your body every day. You also know that spreading your protein intake out over the course of the day is easier on your digestive system, and can boost your weight loss efforts. Since protein is required by every cell in your body, getting plenty of this nutrient can lead to multiple health benefits. However, too much of a good thing can often become a bad thing.
That’s the case with protein, which your body sometimes turns into fat.
Just like the fat and carbohydrates we discussed earlier, protein provides calories. When you get an excess amount of protein in your body, it is converted into glycogen and then glucose, providing a caloric source of energy. When your body has more energy than it needs, it is converted into body fat.
As you probably know, when you are heavier than your ideal weight, you put stress and strain on your joints, your heart, your kidneys and other body parts. You raise your risk of diabetes and cancer dramatically when you become overweight or obese.
What can you do to ensure you are not endangering yourself by eating too much protein? Keep a food journal. Chronicle every piece of food that goes into your body, along with your physical characteristics and experiences. Figure out your daily calorie intake, and what percent of that is protein. Monitor the results, and make changes accordingly. If you stay within the 10% to 25% range of daily calories from protein, studies show that is a healthy place to be.
Making the Most of Your Workouts with Protein
You will often hear bodybuilders talk about eating protein before and after a workout. Other athletes do the same. Health and fitness experts will tell you the human body burns calories and fat, and repairs muscle, for up to 48 hours after you exercise. Since protein speeds up your metabolism and builds muscle so well, you need to structure your workouts to include some type of protein source.
Bear in mind that everyone is different. Your body is unique in so many ways. Your metabolism will work slower or faster than others, and the way your system processes protein may may be quicker or slower than the norm. In general terms, however, the following tips on when to add protein to your exercise will probably lead to the best results.
· Science shows that food sources of protein are harder to break down than liquids. This means you should allow 1 or 2 hours before your workout plans to consume solid sources of protein. A protein shake or drink is absorbed quickly, so you could opt for drinking one 30 minutes before you exercise.
· Immediately following a workout or exercise program, or if you just burned up the dance floor, you should get protein into your body. This is the time-frame when your system utilizes protein at its very best. Eating 10 to 20 g of protein within 15 to 30 minutes after you are physically active is recommended by many health and fitness experts.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated before, during and after any type of physical activity. Drink 16 ounces of water within 2 hours of exercising, and hydrate afterwards as well. A hydrated body is necessary to effectively break down and absorb protein.
The Best Sources of Healthy Protein for Weight Loss
Excessive amounts of protein can aggravate liver or kidney conditions. If you plan on significantly upping the amount of protein in your diet, speak to your physician first. Once you and your health team decide how much protein will give you the best weight loss benefits, focus on getting more of your protein from the following sources.
· Seafood, wild-caught instead of farm-raised
· Beans
· Lean meats, grass-fed instead of grain-fed
· Low-fat dairy and eggs, pasture-raised and organic if possible
· Nuts and seeds
These protein-filled foods are full of nutrients and vitamins, and lower in saturated fat than some other foods. You can also benefit in your weight loss and health improvement efforts by constantly eating different types of food that contain protein. For instance, beans are full of healthy dietary fiber and salmon is an excellent source of the omega-3 essential fatty acids your body craves.
Different protein sources promote different health characteristics. Eat several of the foods just mentioned throughout the day to give your body the best chance at benefiting from protein. It should be noted that you cannot process more than about 20 g of protein at a time. Remember this when planning your meals, as eating more protein than that at a single time creates unnecessary waste, and doesn’t help your pocketbook either.
Do Veggies and Fruit Have Any Protein?
Vegetarians and meat eaters don’t agree on much where diet is concerned. One thing they definitely do agree on is the importance of protein for a healthy body. However, meat eaters will say that you simply can’t get enough protein into your body on a regular basis from vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and a predominantly plant-based diet.
Vegetarians will tell you differently.
So many vegetarians and vegans live to a rather ripe old age eating nothing but plants. This is because significant protein is found in many foods. The following list tells you how much of certain plant-based foods you need to eat to get a specific amount of protein into your body.
· Sprouted beans, peas and lentils – 8 to 10 g of protein per cup
· Cooked lima beans – 11 to 12 g of protein per cup
· Green peas – 7 to 8 g of protein per cup
· Cooked succotash, a mixture of lima beans and corn – 9 and 10 g of protein per cup
· White mushrooms, cooked – 4 g of protein per cup, sliced
· Yellow sweet corn – 4 to 5 g of protein per cup
· Globe artichokes – 4 grams of protein per artichoke
· Cooked spinach – 5 g of protein per cup
· Cooked collard greens – 1 g of protein per cup
· Cooked mustard greens – 1.5 grams of protein per cup
· Broccoli – 2.5 to 3 grams of protein per cup chopped
· Brussels sprouts cooked – 4 g of protein per cup
· Cooked asparagus – 4 to 4.5 grams of protein per cup
· Kale – 1 gram of protein per cup
· Nuts – 6 g per 2-ounce serving
There are significantly higher levels of protein in meat and other animal-based foods than there usually is in fruits and vegetables. Eating even small amounts of the following foods can deliver large amounts of protein.
· Steak, bottom or top round – 23 g of protein per 3 ounces
· Ribeye steak – 14 g of protein per 3 ounces
· 95% lean ground beef – 18 g protein per 3-ounce serving
· Boneless pork chops – 26 g per 3 ounces
· Boneless, skinless chicken breast – 24 g per 3 ounces
· Turkey breast – 24 g per 3 ounces
· Sockeye salmon – 23 g per 3 ounces
· Sardines – 21 g per 3 ounces
· Light tuna – 22 g per 3 ounces
· Canned chicken – 21 g per 3 ounces
· Navy beans – 20 g per 1 cup serving
· Greek yogurt – 23 g of protein per 8-ounce serving
· Swiss cheese – 8 g per 1-ounce slice or serving
· Cottage cheese – 14 g per 1/2 cup serving
· Eggs – 6 g per large egg
Are Protein Bars and Shakes Good for You?
If you are not getting enough protein, you may want to supplement your diet. There are protein bars, shakes and drinks which offer extremely high levels of protein. Just remember that in most cases, your body will not be able to process more than 20 or 30 g of protein at once. So if your protein supplement boasts 50 g of protein, drink half of it now and half later. There are also a few other things you should consider when turning to one of these types of protein supplements.
The three most common protein powders are whey, soy and casein. Whey is the most common protein powder, and is considered a complete protein. This means it contains 9 of the amino acids that the human body craves but cannot produce on its own. However, this is a milk-based protein, so vegetarians and vegans may prefer a soy protein powder. Casein is also a milk protein. The flavor of soy protein powders leaves an unpleasant taste in some people’s mouths, however. Soy powder also does not dissolve as quickly as whey powder.
You will find an extremely wide range of prices, flavors and varieties of all of the 3 aforementioned protein powders. Talk with others who have used them and see if you can get a sample from them before you make a purchase. Some of these protein powders can be rather expensive per serving, so it makes sense to “test drive” your potential purchase first. Concerning protein bars, they are often full of unhealthy additives, preservatives and chemicals. Make sure you are reading your food labels, whether you opt for a protein bar, powder or shake.
Just remember that it is very easy to get plenty of protein by diet alone. It may take some extra planning and preparation, but you can see from the protein-per-serving listings above, Mother Nature provides plenty of protein.
The Weight Loss Secret of Protein for Breakfast
Finally, let’s discuss eating protein first thing in the morning. We already covered how protein at every meal keeps your metabolism cranked up all day long. This means you will more efficiently burn calories, fat and carbohydrates. You also feel full longer than eating foods without protein. So you get a nice one-two punch of weight loss efficiency when you start your day with protein, and include it in every meal.
One study showed that eating 10 to 20 g of protein during breakfast led to fewer calories being consumed during the day. What was remarkable about this study is that this practice also led to the consumption of very specific types of foods. When the study participants begin their day with a significant amount of protein, they ate fewer processed foods and simple carbohydrates, and more healthy foods.
They often did not need sugar-filled coffee in the mid-morning as an energy boost, because they got plenty of natural energy from their protein. When you eat a lot of processed foods, you don’t usually get as much protein as you need. Your other nutrition needs also go unfulfilled. Since your brain recognizes that you need more nutrients, vitamins and minerals, it triggers a hunger signal.
Since processed foods and simple carbohydrates are full of addictive compounds and chemicals, you reach for the food you just ate. This can end up causing an endless cycle of eating unhealthy processed foods and never getting the protein and nutrition you need. Start every day eating protein. It is a good idea for weight loss, and for overall health and well-being for your mind and your body.
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