Why is protein so important when you are losing weight?

You’ve probably heard a lot of people like me going on about the importance of protein. But just why is it so crucial in our diet?

To answer that question, we need to understand what it is, and what it does.

Protein, just like carbohydrate and fat, is a macro nutrient. Its main function is the growth and repair of most of the tissue in the body. However, in the fitness industry, our main focus is on how protein helps to build muscle.

After water, protein is the second biggest component of our body.  And although we tend to only think of muscle in relation to protein, our gut is also mainly composed of it, as is as our hair, skin and nails. It is important for the function of the immune system, as well as transporting oxygen around the body through the bloodstream via a protein called haemoglobin. When you consider all these factors, in addition to the growth and repair function, it is easy to see why so many people place so much importance in getting enough protein each day.

Protein and weight loss

Let’s move on to weight loss. When we lose weight, we also lose water, fat and muscle. These things WILL all happen automatically, so we just need to try to ensure that we lose more body fat than muscle. What are the reasons for this?

1-      Healthy joints: Muscle keeps joints heathy and stable and less prone to injury, both in the joint and the muscle itself.

2-      Metabolism: Over time, a greater volume of muscle equates to a higher resting metabolic rate.

3-      Tone: Maintaining muscle while losing weight, combined with some resistance-training, will give the toned look that so many of us crave.

4-      Recovery time: Protein helps with muscle repair and recovery following exercise.

The main reason that protein is so important in your daily diet is that the average body needs around 100g of protein every day simply to fuel its basic needs.  If the protein doesn’t come from your food, the body will break down your muscle tissue instead to get what it needs.  And if you are on a calorie-deficit diet, this will happen at a faster rate than usual.

In my experience people usually find it quite tough to go straight up to 100 plus grams of protein in a day. So, a good way to begin, is to target your bodyweight in grams of protein per day. For example, if you weigh 70kg you should consume around 70g of protein per day, increasing the volume on days when you are exercising or on those when you are particularly active, and maybe taking in a little more if you are on a weight loss plan. Once this becomes a habit you can start to increase your intake.

Here are a few examples of how much protein is found in some foods:

Palm sized chicken breast- 20-30g

3 eggs- 18g

8oz steak- 40g

Lamb chop- 20g

Tuna steak- 30g

Salmon- 20-30g

Look for the leaner cuts of meat where you can, as well as choosing leaner mince.

Veggie? No problem, look for stuff like:

Beans

Legumes

Tofu

Quinoa

Chickpeas

That’s this month’s blog,

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Three Ways to Create a Calorie Deficit

There are many ways to create a calorie deficit. Like I said last time, they all work. The key is finding which one works for you. Today, I’ll go through three ways to do this.

1.       Counting your calories, using one of the many apps available

2.       Controlling your portions

3.       Intermittent fasting

Let’s start with number one; the counting-calories app. This is an accurate way of tracking your calorie intake.  Most apps will ask you a series of questions and give you a calorie target. I recommend that you record a week of your calorific consumption before making any changes. Then, add up your week’s total calorie intake and try to reduce it by 1,500 calories the following week. If the scales don’t change in two weeks, then reduce your calorie intake by another 500 per week over the following weeks until you start seeing a change. Don’t alter anything until you reach you reach the point when nothing is changing.

This method may be tedious at times, but it’s a really accurate way of tracking and making changes. Over time, you will find that you get an idea of how many calories are in different foods without measuring, so you’ll be able stop tracking your calories in detail each day, and will only need to focus on the number if you feel like a few more calories are creeping into your diet.

I find that understanding how many calories are in different foodstuffs helps people to make better choices and select foods that are dense in nutrients and low in calories, which combine to make you feel fuller even though you will be losing weight.

2. Portion Control. This is really for anyone who doesn’t want to count calories and finds it hard to change their choice of foods.

It really is as simple as putting food on a smaller plate, or measuring your food by sight. For example, a plate with a hand-sized portion of carbs and protein and two handfuls of vegetables. This method allows for easy changes to make a difference. So, if you aren’t losing weight, put less on your plate, or add a little more if you are losing weight too quickly.

3. Intermittent fasting. Although there are a few ways of doing this, these are the two key methods:

1. The 16-8 model: This is where you fast for 16 hours, usually overnight and only eat within a window of eight hours. For example, if you start eating at 12pm and finish at 8pm you don’t eat again until 12pm the next day, effectively skipping a meal.

2. The 5-2 model: This is where you eat as you normally would for five days and then reduce your calories to around 500 for two days, taking your amount of total weekly calories down.

Of course, the risk is that you may overeat during your eating windows on both methods, so it’s important to remember that it is still about your total intake of calories. Be aware that many people who are strict in the week can undo the progress they have made if they consume excessively on weekends.

How are all these methods similar?   That’s right, they put you in a calorie deficit. The key to success, once again, is to choose the method that best suits you.

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See you next time.

What's the best approach for fat loss?

As there are so many books, diets and advice around this subject online, I won’t go into any specifics here, but which one works? The answer is… all of them.  That is, as long as you keep to the rules.

Let’s keep it simple by talking portion control. The ideal approach is to make steady changes with diet and fat loss sustainability in mind. This way you make changes to habits, as well as to your body composition.  Progress may be slow, but it will be consistent, and I believe that that’s the best approach for your health and your relationship with your food.   And, most importantly, you must be prepared for it to take time.

But what if you want faster results? Again, we all know what we need to do; create a bigger calorie deficit. The greater the deficit, the faster the results.

Here are a few things to consider when going into a more extreme restriction:

1.       You will be very hungry.

2.       You will feel tired and lethargic.

3.       You will have low energy levels for exercise.

4.       You will be more likely to crave junk food and make bad food choices.

5.       You are likely to yoyo.

So yes, you may get there faster, but you will have to deal with all of the above.

And then a time will come when you need to do something a little slower, by which I mean that when you start increasing your calorific intake, you will need to do it S L O W L Y.  If you take a quick and dramatic approach, it’s likely that you’ll end up at step 5.  So instead, I recommend developing new habits for life and taking your time.

I haven’t mentioned exercise on this week’s blog but I’ll cover this on another day.

See you next time.

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