I’m sure you’ve all seen it.
Every couple of months some new fad diet is being marketed on TV shows, popular magazines, and book stores. The same pitch over and over again: extreme fat loss, amazing energy, live longer, and so on and so forth.
It can get quite confusing if you try to listen to all of those people. Some might say that Paleo diets are the best. Others might be into the low-carb fad. The point is most people tend to argue about the specifics when it comes to fats and carbs. However, everybody seems to agree (especially in fitness culture) that protein is very important. Walk into any commercial gym and you will see protein supplements ready to be sold to you in a heartbeat. So just about everybody knows that the right protein intake is important when it comes when it comes to health and body composition. If you get it wrong, you’ll struggle to build muscle and get ripped no matter what routine you follow in the gym. First, let’s find out exactly why protein intake is important.
What is protein and why should you care?
Protein is one of three macronutrients and the main building blocks of the human body.
It’s used to build just about everything- including muscle, hair, skin, tendons, organs and for several other functions. Most bodybuilders and gym rats just know that protein is for muscle but it goes further than that.
Protein is comprised of even smaller molecules called amino acids. However, your body can also produce amino acids. These are known as non-essential. The ones your body can’t produce and must be consumed from outside sources are called essential amino acids. The amount of protein you eat on a daily basis is the primary factor in determining whether or not your body is getting enough. The foods to get essential amino acids usually are animal-based protein such as eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and dairy. So for the most part, your protein requirements are going to be best met by consuming animal protein. But even if you are vegetarian, vegan, or just don’t eat meat for religious reasons you can still get adequate protein intake and experience these awesome benefits.
1. You will get stronger and build more muscle.
I mean come on, what guy doesn’t like hearing that?
Muscle tissue is basically just living protein, so it seems logical that that a high-protein diet will help you gain it faster. The more muscle you have the stronger you will be.
You see, when you do resistance training of any sort, you’re tearing down your muscle fibers and beginning the process known as “protein synthesis.” In this process the body synthesizes new proteins to help rebuild those damaged fibers to be even bigger and stronger. This is why people who exercise (in particular bodybuilders, power-lifters, and strength athletes) tend to have such high protein needs. This is also why high-protein diets help you get stronger and build more muscle. We just have to keep in mind that protein alone won’t enhance athletic performance. You’ve still got to be training correctly to make your muscles grow.
Mexican fajita bowls? Now THATS how you get your protein in.
2. Your hunger and appetite levels are reduced on a high protein diet.
As was mentioned earlier, protein is one of three macronutrients which affect our body in a variety of ways.
Studies show that protein is also the most filling macro-nutrient. It helps you feel more full, with a lesser calorie intake.
This is good for us since one of the biggest dietary obstacles people tend to run into when trying to lose weight, get ripped, or restricting calorie intake for any reason is just plain hunger. One of the reasons is that protein reduces your ghrelin levels which are known as the hunger hormone. It also boosts your peptide YY levels, which is a satiety hormone and helps keep you full. So if you were to eat a high-protein breakfast of any sort you would generally feel more satiated during the day and less likely to overeat. This satiating effect not only applies to high-protein diets in general, but also in individual meals. Research shows that high-protein meals are more satiating than high-fat meals, which means you will get to stay full longer, making you eat less. So you should leverage this effect for your own benefit. If you are aiming to cut down and get shredded, then consider replacing some of your carb and fat snacks that you are eating with extra protein. It can be something as simple as switching from a serving of rice to an extra few bites of chicken.
3. As you age, it’s easier to stay fit and preserve muscle on a high protein diet.
One of the unfortunate truths of life is that as you get older your muscles will shrink.
This is referred to as sarcopenia. Research also shows that the more muscle you lose with age, the more likely you are to die of various causes.
Elderly people are not able to use protein as efficiently as younger people and thus are going to need significantly more protein in their diet. So one of the ways to fight the effects of sarcopenia is to have a high-protein diet. It’s even more effective when combined with strength training. So if you want to fight the effects of aging and keep strong muscles and bones then make sure you are getting enough protein.
4. You will preserve more muscle while dieting.
Every single one of us reading this either wants to build muscle and get stronger, or to lose fat and get that ripped look.
The thing is that eventually all of us either have or are going to diet to lose fat, diet meaning eating at a caloric deficit (not any fad diet). So when you want to get leaner, the goal isn’t just “weight loss” as many would say.
Instead it is fat loss. More specifically, keep the muscle and lose all the fat. With that in mind, when the goal is to lose fat and not muscle, research shows that a high-protein diet is better for preserving muscle while eating at a caloric deficit. You will keep more muscle (since it’s not guaranteed to keep all of it) and lose more fat when you are consuming a high protein diet.
Research also show that when in a caloric deficit high protein diets are also easier to stick to because they result in less mood disturbance, diet dissatisfaction, stress, and over-all moodiness compared to low-protein diets. The improved dietary compliance also results in better fat loss results overall.
Eating protein doesn’t have to be boring. AND it helps you build muscle, stay healthy, and get lean.
5. High protein can boost metabolism.
When you eat food, your body burns calories to digest that food and make use of the nutrients.
This is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF). However, not all foods have the same calorie burning effect.
In fact, protein has the highest thermic effect of food (20-35% of calories consumed) as opposed to fats and carbs (5-15%). So if you were to eat a 100 calories worth of protein, then 20-35 calories of that would be burnt off. A high protein intake has also been shown to boost your metabolism afterwards and increase the amount of calories you burn. One study found that a high protein group burnt around 260 calories more than low protein group. Which is about 30-45 minutes of cardio for most people. So instead of doing cardio, you could just focus more on increasing your protein intake.
6. Protein can help you lose weight and keep it off long-term.
When it comes to losing weight and building muscle, protein is without a doubt the King of macronutrients.
As mentioned earlier protein helps you stay full and boosts your metabolism. This will automatically lead to more calories burnt and less calories ingested.
So it’s not a surprise to see that people will automatically lose weight as soon as they increase their protein intake. Studies also show that overweight people have been able to lose weight without intentionally having to restrict anything, simply by keeping protein intake at 30% of calorie intake. This is a lot more compared to the general population. The thing to keep in mind is losing weight is just the beginning. Maintaining seems to be a much bigger challenge for most people. Just a modest increase in protein has been shown to help maintaining weight loss. One study showed that increasing protein from 15-18% of calories reduced weight regain by 50%! That just goes to show that simply by having a high protein diet it is much easier to stay lean once you get there. So if you want to get ripped and stay there (at least not ruin it) then consider making permanent increases in your protein intake.
How much protein is enough?
Everybody seems to have their own opinion on how exactly much protein a high protein diet should have.
Not just opinions are varied. Scientific research seems to be scattered all over the place to support contradictory positions.
Some will claim that the body needs very little protein. Other will say protein should always be around 40-50% of daily calories. With all the information out there about protein intake, how do we decide how much we need? Are there any proven benefits to even higher intakes? To find out let, let’s look over some of the studies available on the protein needs of athletes. According to a study at McMaster’s University, a protein intake of .6 – .8 grams per pound of bodyweight ( 1.3 – 1.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight) is adequate for the maximum anabolic response. However, one interesting thing that they found was that more protein is needed when you’re training intensely, frequently, and when you’re cutting calories for fat loss. Another study at The University of Western Ontario concluded that 1.6 – 1.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight is fine for athletes, but it can really depend. It can depend on factors such as exercise intensity, duration, type, energy intake, carbohydrate availability, dietary protein quality, training history, age, training age, gender, nutrient timing, and more. So you can see that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution and that protein requirements will vary person to person. For years we have all heard that old-school bodybuilding rule of 1 gram per lb. of bodyweight per day. Also, higher levels of protein intake are recommended during caloric restriction (1.2 – 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight). That might sound really high to you, but considering this research published by AUT University, that might not be far off. They concluded that the greater the calorie restriction and leaner you are, then the higher your protein intake should be. They concluded it to be “2.3 – 3.1 gram per kilogram of bodyweight of lean body mass (1 – 1.4grams per pound of lean body mass)” scaled upwards with the greater the caloric restriction and leaner you are. From all this research it is safe to say that a protein intake of .82 – 1 grams per lb. of bodyweight seems adequate when maintaining or trying to build muscle. And that 1 – 1.3 grams per lb. of bodyweight when “cutting” is recommended.
Talk about fresh meat.
What to takeaway from all this?
Protein has been studied extensively for many years and in many different studies. We can’t deny it’s an important part of our diet. Without question, being on a high-protein diet is going to help improve your health, performance, and body composition. So take the time right now and find out exactly what your protein intake should be so you can take advantage of these awesome benefits.
About the Author
Mauricio Huerta is an NFPT and ISTA certified personal trainer, freelance writer, and Author specializing in helping people how to lose fat, build muscle, achieve perfect body proportions all without sacrificing the delicious foods that they love.
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