Why is protein important for weight loss?

A high-protein diet helps boost metabolism and reduce cravings - Photo: British Nutrition Foundation

If you're aiming to lose weight, try eating 1–1.5 grams of protein per 1 pound of body weight per day, especially high-protein, low-calorie foods, according to Verywell Health.

Protein aids weight loss without calorie restriction

A high-protein diet boosts metabolism, reduces appetite, and affects several weight-regulating hormones. This can help you lose weight and body fat, and maintain weight loss long-term.

Protein increases three appetite-suppressing hormones: glucagon-like peptide-1, cholecystokinin, and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine. Protein also reduces ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite and prompts us to eat.

Because protein increases the hormones that make you feel full and decreases the hormones that cause hunger, it helps you feel fuller for longer. A review of more than 10 scientific studies found that overweight and obese people felt fuller for longer when they ate a high-protein diet.

Feeling fuller can also help you reduce your calorie and processed food intake, which can aid weight loss. When you eat, your body uses extra calories to digest your meal and convert it into energy, a process called diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT).

It takes more energy for your body to process protein than it does for fat or carbohydrates, the other two macronutrients. For every calorie of protein you eat, your body needs about 25% to 30% of its energy to digest that calorie.

This is much higher than the 3% per calorie of fat or the 7% to 8% per calorie of carbohydrates. In other words, after digesting protein, the body will have fewer calories left over to store as fat or excess weight.

Protein slows down metabolism

The body also has a harder time converting protein into body fat, meaning eating a high-protein diet will make you less likely to accumulate additional fat.

When you eat carbohydrates, your body can convert food into fat with about 80% efficiency. With fat, it's about 96%. But converting protein into stored fat is only about 66%.

Protein also helps prevent muscle loss. Research has shown that eating a high-protein diet leads to less muscle loss. Meanwhile, many diets lead to muscle loss, which can lead to a lower overall metabolic rate.

Women need about 46 grams of protein a day and men need 56 grams of protein. However, if you are trying to lose weight, you may need to eat more protein.

To increase your protein intake, focus on eating protein-rich foods that are not processed or high in calories. The best sources of protein are meat and fish.

However, there are many other ways to add protein to your diet, such as eating whole grains, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, lentils…

Protein bars and protein powders are also quick ways to add more protein to your diet.

However, you should not rely too much on processed foods because it can hinder weight loss.

There are also a number of reasons why you may gain weight on a high-protein diet. Typically, each gram of protein has 4 calories. So, if you eat too much protein, you may inadvertently increase your calorie intake, contributing to weight gain. For example, 150 grams of protein will have about 600 calories.

If you find yourself gaining weight despite following a high-protein diet, pay attention to your calorie intake.

Ideally, if you increase your protein intake, replace it with carbohydrates or fat. Adding protein and total calories to your diet at the same time can lead to weight gain.

However, remember that weight gain is not always bad. Increasing protein intake can increase muscle mass, which in turn contributes to weight gain because muscle weighs more than fat.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tai-sao-protein-quan-trong-trong-viec-giam-can-20240628091841324.htm