It is believed that protein is the single-most vital nutrient if you are trying to losing some serious weight. Many fitness instructors, health experts, and dieticians recommend keeping your protein level high in order to lose weight. In this post, we are going to investigate whether protein can actually help you shed weight and how to to add protein to your diet effectively.
Did you know that your weight is actually regulated by your brain! Yes you just read right! When you consume protein, it increases the levels of the satiety hormones, reduces your appetite thereby also reducing the hunger hormone. In order to lose weight fast, you need to consume more protein and less of carbohydrates and fats. This way, you boost satiety hormones and keep the hunger hormones in check, which in turn means that you will be less likely to binge and eat calories. It is believed that what you eat is what you are. If you notice women who are in good shape, we bet they are on a healthy diet with high protein value in it. So, let’s have a look at how protein helps with weight loss:
1. It satisfies: What makes protein the real hero is the fact that it keeps you fuller for long. When you consume protein-rich food, it slows down the digestion process, making you feel satisfied and one would less likely make frequent trips to the fridge! When you follow a protein-rich diet for a month or so, you save so many calories hence you notice faster results. Personal experience: When I was on a protein-rich diet, I lost body fat faster; my energy levels and strength level were at the top, and I felt strong, and loved the whole experience.
2. It curbs your food cravings: When all of a sudden, you switch from high-sugar diet to almost sugar-free diet, your brain/body can make you beg for sugar and eventually you end up cheating on your diet. When you consume protein, it controls your blood sugar levels from your stomach into the bloodstream, which means it helps to regulate sugar levels and curbs all such unwanted cravings for sugar-rich food.
3. Burns body fat: According to science, your body needs help from either carbohydrates or protein to burn and use fat as energy. When we try to lose weight, the body is designed in a way that it also loses muscle along with fat. That is why, it is highly important to consume enough protein to avoid losing your lean muscles and burn only unwanted fat.
4. Protein reduces late night snacking: Another common issue is late-night snacking. Most people strictly follow their diet for their entire day, but at night/evening, they give into the temptation and snack and pile on calories. Surprisingly, protein has a powerful effect on both cravings and late-night snacking. According to a study, protein reduces cravings by 60% and cuts the desire for late-night snacking by 50%.
Now, let’s find out how you can add protein to your diet:
How To Add Protein to Diet to Lose Weight?
1. Eat protein for breakfast: Instead of eating cereal, poha or idli, consume 4-5 egg whites. Starting your day with eggs will not only help you lose weight, it will also keep you full and energised for the day.
2. Much on almonds: Almonds are the healthiest among all the nuts and contain high amount of protein. So the next time you are hungry and need an instant snack, grab a bunch of almonds and munch on!
3. Add lean meat to your salad: Losing weight is incomplete without salads. Simply add some grilled chicken or grilled fish to your salad to increase its protein level. You can also add some cheese to your diet to up your protein value. Here’s the protein breakdown for chicken, fish, and cheese:
- 100 Chicken- 25gm of protein.
- 100 Fish- 24-25gm of protein depending on the type of fish
- Cheese- 22gm of protein.
- (If you are a vegetarian, then chickpea, soya chunks, tofu, homemade paneer are some good options).
4. Switch tea/coffee with protein shake: At least once a day, switch your tea/coffee mug with whey protein shake. Since these days, fake protein powders are selling like hot cake and easily available in the market, we recommend ordering protein powder from a reputed online store and from brands like ON, Muscle blaze, My-protein.
5. Greek yogurt: Another great snack option is a bowl of greek yogurt. 250 grams of Greek yogurt contains anywhere around 17-20grams of protein which is quite high compared to regular yogurt. Geek yogurt can be easily prepared at home, and is packed with healthy goodness.
6. Choose peanut butter: Ditch your butter with peanut butter. Two tablespoons of peanut butter has around 8gm of protein, it’s tasty and delicious, you can spread peanut butter on any fruit like apple/banana or onto a multi-grain bread. These days, peanut butter available in the market doesn’t contain any nutritional value and has added sugar and salt. We recommend brands like Alpino, pintola, My protein, and Muscle blaze.
Tip- purchase peanut butter which is unsweetened and organic for best results. You can also make peanut butter at home and it tastes just like stored-bought peanut butter, also it can be easily prepared. Just blend roasted peanuts in a blender until they come to a buttery consistency, that’s it.
Hope this article clears all your doubts regarding protein, stay lean and healthy!
