How Protein can help with weight loss, and how much YOU need to eat
- personaltrainercat3
- Oct 21, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 30, 2024
Marketing for protein is huge right now, and the protein supplements market in the UK is expected to be worth £0.5bn this year. But what is protein, and why is it so popular in the weight loss community?
Protein is one of the 3 macronutrients that make up our diet, along with carbohydrates and fats, and can be really important for weight loss. Examples of foods high in protein include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, greek yogurt and tofu.
Getting enough protein in your daily diet may support a healthy metabolism and help reduce your appetite. It may also help you lose body fat without losing muscle, especially if you are doing some form of resistance training
One key reason that protein can help with weight loss is that it generally helps you feel full for longer. This is partly due to the release of 2 hormones that make us feel full (GLP-1 and PYY)
Your body also uses more energy to digest protein than it does fat or carbs, which means your body burns more calories in the process. This is known as the the thermic effect of food
So is there any evidence backing up these claims?
Absolutely! There have been many studies, a few of which I’ve highlighted below (links to the published studies can be found at the bottom of this page)
In one study, a high protein breakfast helped older women consume up to 135 fewer calories later in the day, compared with a low protein breakfast or skipping breakfast
A 14 week study gave women with overweight or obesity a resistance exercise program alongside a high carb or high protein, calorie-restricted diet. Those in the high protein group lost 1.7 times more body fat than those in the high carb group.
A 12 week study on women with a moderate weight but high body fat percentage followed either a high or standard protein diet. Those on the high protein diet lost an additional 3 lb (1.4 kg) of body fat and around 1 inch (2.2 centimeters) in waist circumference
The participants in the high protein group also retained significantly more muscle mass than those on the standard protein diet.
Hopefully that’s convincing enough for you! So how much should you eat??
A protein intake at around 30% of calories seems to be optimal for weight loss. It boosts your metabolic rate and causes a spontaneous reduction in calorie intake.
A further review published in 2020 reports that eating more than 35 grams (g) of protein at once was the most effective for effects like less hunger, a reduced desire to eat, and greater feeling of fullness
If you’re also doing strength training It’s important to eat enough protein if you want to gain and/or maintain muscle. Most studies suggest that 1.6–2.2 grams per kg of goal body weight are sufficient.
Conclusion
There’s a lot of evidence to show that eating a high protein diet can help with weight loss. You could either aim for at least 30% of your calories from protein, a 35g serving with every meal, or calculate a specific target based on your goal weight.
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Links to research:
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