Eat (More) Protein for Fat Loss
In my last blog post, Fat Loss 1-2-3 Part 2: Starch, I mentioned my recommendation for the amount of protein you should eat a day. I wrote that, if your kidneys are healthy, active adults should eat around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day.
Boy did I get a lot of emails about that. You would think that I suggested that they eat 400 grams a day (which is excessive) and kill their children.
Apparently a lot of my readers have heard that eating a lot of protein is not recommended, can kill you and should be a very small percentage of a carb heavy diet. How’s that carb (i.e. sugar and starch) heavy diet working for you so far (endurance athletes excluded)? A little side note. A carb heavy diet is a pretty recent occurrence in the scheme of human evolution. Our ancestors did well on “very” high protein diets that where supplemented with whatever edible plants they could find (if they could find them that is).
Since a lot of the diet, nutrition and medical practitioners have been practicing for a while they are still touting the outdated information that eating a lot of protein is bad for you and that eating a lot of carbs is good/ healthy. Some very respected dietitians even believe that eating more than 20 grams of protein a day can by fatal. I on the other hand see things differently.
Photo of actual respected dietitians. I think that they should be more focused on other aspects of their diets.
*Please do not take nutrition advice from someone fatter than you.*
I think that you can pretty much read any of my other posts to see my stance on carbs, so I won’t get into it here.
I will on the other hand expel some myths about protein and tell you why eating more will get you that body you have been looking for.
A few decades ago a study was conducted that supposedly showed, according to the authors, that eating too much protein causes kidney damage. For most people, including most dietitians and doctors, that is all they know of the study.
Let’s dig a little deeper. In this study the few subjects that participated in it had a higher urine output than those on the control (i.e. “regular”) diet. So according to the researchers this meant that the kidneys were working harder to process all the extra protein and that this extra work would eventually lead to kidney damage.
To me that is like saying that the stress that working out puts on your healthy heart will eventually lead to heart failure. Doesn’t make sense.
The study in question has since been shown to have been poorly conducted and not have enough subjects to prove anything.
Other studies have shown that to much protein in the diet can lead to dehydration, bone loss and can make your body acidic. This is true if you don’t drink enough water, get enough calcium in your diet or eat enough produce. All are easy to fix. You should be focusing on your diet as a whole not just one aspect.
I even read one study that said eating too much protein can cause muscle lose. Seriously. I am not even going to dignify that with a response.
So all in all if you pay attention to other aspects of your diet and have healthy kidneys the extra protein that you take in will not destroy your health and will help you to:
1.) Stay satisfied longer. Eating protein helps too slow down digestion and decrease insulin release. Both of which help keep you feeling fuller longer. And not being hungry means not blowing your diet by eating whatever junk is within reach.
2.) Increase your metabolism. Out of all the macro-nutrients (i.e. carbs, fat, protein) you eat, protein requires the most energy for your body to break down and utilize. This in turn raises your metabolism and helps you to burn more calories through out the day.
3.) Build muscle Tone. Who doesn’t want a nice toned body? Anyone? Anyone?
So lets recap. You should eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight a day. A higher protein diet is not harmful to those in good health who eat right and workout regularly.
Body by protein, a lot of hard work …and possibly a plastic surgeon.
Still don’t believe me. Think eating protein is bad for you. Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Your friend an trainer,
Paul F. Sweatt
Posted by Paul | in Nutrition, Weight Loss Strategies | 3 Comments
I think your are correct that a high protein diet is the easiest way to be on a diet- after you adjust to it, you just feel better mentally- not “cloudy”, more alert, and I think you “suffer” from hunger somewhat less…
a similiar idea to yours that I have read is the following:
1 g protein for pound of target body weight
1/2 g fat per pound of target body weight
carbs to make up the difference (which is a fairly small amount of carbs, unless you exercise like a fiend)…
You can calculate your calories by something like 10 per pound of target body weight (for a weight loss program that is)… perhaps a bit more for some people, and more if you exercise a lot….
I prefer to think of it in terms of target body weight- the above is pretty simple- also best I think to get your carbs from something realy nutrient dense, like sweet potato, carrots, squash, etc…
Hi Paul,
Are you sure you meant 1g protein per pound of body weight and not 1 g per kg body weight? If you think of 150 g of protein for a 150 pound person, that is way too much protein. What is the research that you base your recommendation on? Have you read Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook? I do agree that we need to reduce consumption of simple sugars and starches, but we also need carbs to fuel our muscles.
Jenni
Yes I meant 1 gram per pound of body weight a day. 1 gram per kg is fine if you are not active (i.e. sedentary). Once you become active your body needs the extra protein.
When did the book come out? When I was in college 1 g per kg was considered enough but that has long since changed. Also, Nancy is entitled to her own opinion. If she ate more prtein she probably wouldn’t be a stick and at a greater risk of problem later on in life from lack of muscle tone.