Protein is essential to our bodies and can be a tremendous aid on your quest to lose weight. Eating plenty of protein while dieting (or any time) will help keep your body from burning muscle tissue instead of fat. Also, it helps build and preserve lean muscle tissue. If eaten properly, protein can be your best ally when dieting.
Studies have shown that people eating a diet high in protein typically burn more fat than those eating a low-protein diet. One reason this occurs is because of the thermic effect. The thermic effect is the energy our body uses to consume and process food. Calories are burned during the process. Since protein requires more energy to digest, more calories are burned in the process and less fat is stored in the body. On the other hand, carbohydrates and dietary fat are much easier to digest, but they are quickly turned to body fat and few calories are burned.
A Day's Work for Protein and Weight Loss
One day may consist of many meals or only a few. Consider this - the thermic effect is at its peak about an hour after you eat. Therefore, it's important how you take in your calories throughout the day. If you eat three large meals and a snack or two in one day, your body works extra hard about an hour after each meal to process the food. The problem is your body will become extremely fatigued while trying to process large meals. This causes you to be less active and to burn fewer calories.
One way to get your body moving in the digestion process is to eat five to six small meals per day. Eating small meals will enable your body to digest and burn calories without burning you out. The meals will be easier to digest, and by adding more protein, you'll be burning calories more often throughout the day! This is why protein and weight loss go hand in hand.
Sources of Protein
There are many sources of protein, from food to vitamin supplements. You shouldn't eat only protein because your body needs many other sources of good nutrition as well. You can, however, add more protein to your diet and eat a healthy balance of all necessary foods. Adding more protein increases your metabolism so your body can more easily burn all calories.
Some of the richest sources of protein include meat, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, and cheese. There are also plant proteins, which are found in beans (soy beans included), nuts and seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, and lentils.
There are also other sources of protein such as Herbalife products, vitamin supplements, and protein-rich shakes for meal replacement. Some examples include Shapeworks, La Bamba Herbalife (or La Bamba Diet), and other Herbal Life products. These nutritional supplements and others offer an easy source of protein without having to eat so many meals throughout the day.
As you can see, protein can contribute tremendously to your dieting efforts. Use the guide above about protein and weight loss to start living healthier today!
If you've been dieting, the terms, ?protein? and ?carbohydrate? are probably very familiar to you. A few short months ago many new diets such as Atkins and South Beach became popular. These diets are typically very high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Foods such as bread, cereal, pasta and fruit are usually eliminated. These diets may result in temporary weight loss, but are often not nutritionally sound. They are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, and have the potential to cause other health problems. These ?do it yourself ? diets have no medical monitoring to take care of problems if they arise, and offer nothing to change the eating habits that led to the weight problem in the first place.
If you don't eat carbohydrates your body will not produce adequate levels of insulin. Likewise, if you eat a lot of protein your body will produce too much glucagon. Eating a balanced diet helps keep your body's blood sugar levels constant and will increase the sue of stored fat as fuel. Eating too many carbohydrates may cause your insulin levels to increase and store excess carbohydrates as fat, instead of using them as fuel.
Let's look at protein and carbohydrates more closely. Most Americans get more protein in their diets than necessary. The recommended Daily Allowance is 8 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight. This means that a woman with an ideal weight of 132 pounds would require 48 grams of protein per day. This could be supplied by eating the following foods in one day: four ounces of meat, one cup of milk, four slices of bread, and two servings of vegetables. A man with an ideal weight of 176 pounds requires 64 grams of protein per day. Five ounces of meat, two cups of milk, five slices of bread and two servings of vegetables would meet a mans daily needs. Many people greatly exceed their protein needs with intakes of over 100 grams per day. Since the body doesn't store excess protein, this extra amount is converted to energy and may end up stored as fat.
Now we come to carbohydrates. If you've been avoiding these, it's going to take you awhile to get used to the idea that they're ?OK?. They even play a crucial role in weight loss. What are the functions of carbohydrates? Besides being the body's primary and preferred source of energy at only 4 calories per gram, carbohydrates also do the following:
* Protein sparing ? When carbohydrates are provided, the body won't break down muscle tissue for energy.
* Fat Metabolism ? Carbohydrates assist in the chemical reactions that break down fat for energy. Biochemists have a saying, ?fat burns in a flame of carbohydrate.?
Despite all the hype, research confirms that low-carb diets do not perform better in the long term when compared to diets that incorporate essential carbohydrates. Leading nutrition and medical groups caution against the use of low-carb diets because of the increased risk for such serious health problems such as kidney and liver disorders, gout, coronary heat disease, diabetes, stoke and several types of cancer. Although weight loss is an important goal, choosing a healthy way to lose the weight is what really matters.
Both Chris Robertson & Glenn Freiboth are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Robertson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Goji, Latest Election News and Loans for Home Improvement. Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular companies.For tips/information, click here:. Chris Robertson's top article generates over 4090000 views. to your Favourites.
Glenn Freiboth has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lose Weight, Acid Reflux and Diabetes Treatment. Glenn Freiboth is a Certified Health Advisor lives in Illinois and has helped many overweight and obese people lose weight and keep it off.Get the