Get Protein In The Diet And Supercharge Your Metabolism

The protein boost

You really can rev up your metabolism with the "protein boost." But how?

Here's the lowdown: Try to drop some weight with a low protein diet. What happens? You cannibalize your own muscle for energy. That's your lean mass. You burn it up. Gone.

You've been through that before--on those fad diets--and now you can't lose weight. Right?

The fat and the lean

See, there is fat mass and there is lean mass. You have a lot of stored fat--that's the fat mass. And then there is your lean mass, and the lean mass is water and blood and bones and muscle--whatever is not fat. And that's where the protein is.

If you have a lot of muscle you have lean mass. And if you have lean mass you have high metabolism, because the muscle has high metabolism and muscle burns up calories.

And if you had a whole lot of muscle (you don't) you'd have a screaming high metabolism (you don't.)

So on the low protein weight loss diet you burn up your lean mass, and your metabolism goes into the dumpster. And then what? Well, after that you can't burn up calories. So you can't eat or you gain weight. And if a miracle occurs and you do lose a few pounds you just gain it back. You don't want that.

So what do you do? You get some protein in your diet. How? It takes a little planning. But the good news--it doesn't take willpower, because you get protein from foods you like.

So how much protein do you need?

There's a huge debate about this. More protein. Less protein. MORE! LESS! Lots of people want to tell you how much protein you need.

What do the scientists say? The National Academy of Sciences in the United States publishes the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). The RDA for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. That is about 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.

So what does that mean in English? It means if you weigh 200 pounds you should get about 70 grams of protein in the diet per day.

Seventy grams of protein is 280 calories. And you say, "So what?"

Well, here's the "so what": If your diet is 2400 calories, that means that you are going to eat 2120 calories of fat and carbohydrate. That is a lot of fat and and that is a lot of carbohydrate.

Does fat speed up your metabolism? No.

Does carbohydrate speed up your metabolism? No.

Can you make fat into muscle? No.

Can you make carbohydrate into muscle? No.

How about enzymes? No.

How about antibodies to fight off infection? No.

So are the scientists wrong? Not really. Those recommendations (0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight) are enough if you're:

• not active
• not sick
• not under stress
• and not trying to lose weight.

But experience has shown that it is not enough for people who are working to become lean and strong. It is not enough for you if you are losing weight. Strong bodies need protein.

• If you are working hard you need more protein.
• If you are pregnant you need more protein.
• If you are growing you need more protein.
• If you are under stress you need more protein.

So what should you do? You should shoot for 25-30% of calories from protein in the diet. Take the same example--a 2400 calorie diet--that would be 720 calories from protein. That is 180 grams of protein per day. Eat that and you'll be stronger and leaner and you'll lose weight faster and more easily. And you can keep it off.

The danger of protein!!!

"Too much protein is dangerous." Have you heard that? And is it true? No. Not if you eat right.

Let me give you an example. The American Heart Association says that eating higher protein can be harmful. Here's what they say:

• They say that if you eat higher protein you will eat too much fat--see, some protein food has a lot of fat. But you are going to choose lean protein.
• They say that you won't get enough vitamins because high protein diets limit the amount of vitamin rich foods. But you're going to eat your veggies.
• They say you won't get fiber. But you are going to eat lots of fiber because fiber makes it easier to lose weight.

If you're healthy you can eat protein. What is healthy? Are you on kidney dialysis? No? Did your liver transplant surgeon tell you not to eat protein? No? Then you can eat protein without any problem.

So eat your protein. You will lose more weight. And it will be easier for you. Won't that be nice?

Return from Protein In The Diet to Weight Loss Nutrition

Return from Protein In The Diet to My Weight Loss Advisor home page