High-protein diets are often calorie-dense. Therefore, the prospect of adding significant weight while living on such diets is usually high. Reports that a high protein diet helps in weight loss always seem outright lies. Unknown to most people is that a high-protein diet could be the single most important tool for weight loss and a better-looking body.
A high protein diet helps in weight loss because they take more time to digest and metabolize. Therefore, it takes more calories to process them and break them down, which causes the body to use stored fat to break them down. Additionally, such diets stay longer in the stomach, making one feel full longer.
Ways High Protein Diet Helps in Weight Loss
High Protein Diet Alters Weight Regulating Hormones
Body weight is a function of what happens in the hypothalamus in the brain. The brain determines when and how much to eat by processing various information. Some of this information are in relation to hormonal changes that influence feeding habit
Consequently, a high-protein diet helps in weight loss by making one feel full most of the time. The diet works by stimulating the GLP-1 hormone and cholecystokinin, which increases satiety levels. Additionally, it reduces the hunger hormone ghrelin. By reducing the hunger hormone, one ends up eating less crucial to keeping weight low.
Metabolizing Proteins Burn Calories
The process of breaking down a high-protein diet is complex and lengthy. Whenever one eats, some of the calories are stored and used to digest and metabolize food in the future. A higher protein diet requires a lot of energy to digest and metabolize.
The body is often forced to utilize most of the stored calories in the body to break down the high-protein diet. Therefore, a high-protein diet helps in weight loss by boosting metabolism and increasing the number of calories burned.
Restrains Cravings and Late-Night Snacking
A high-protein diet helps in weight loss by cutting cravings and reducing the desire for late-night snacking. One of the biggest challenges for people trying to lose weight through dieting is constantly fighting the urge to eat. Cravings and late-night snacks are reasons people fail to lose weight.
For instance, late-night snacking only adds to calories ingested during the day resulting in weight gain rather than weight loss. A high-protein diet makes one feel full with no space to add more food. Given that the food takes longer to digest, cravings are always put at bay as appetite is curtailed to the lowest levels.
Studies have shown that high-protein diets have the potential to reduce cravings by 60% and cut the desire for late-night snacking by more than half.
High Protein Diet Avert Muscle Loss and Metabolic slowdown
Contrary to popular belief, weight loss does not always equate to fat loss. When someone loses weight, muscle mass tends to reduce. Nevertheless, one may not lose fat, which is essential. Additionally, losing weight results in a reduction in metabolic rate, making it difficult to burn down excess fat in the body.
A high-protein diet helps in weight loss by reducing muscle loss, which helps keep the metabolic rate higher. Therefore, the body becomes more effective in burning down fat. An effective weight loss plan should include a high protein intake followed by strength training. This way, the metabolic rate remains high, allowing the body to break fat down faster.
Bottom Line
When it comes to fat loss for a desirable body, a high-protein diet is crucial. It is the only way to keep the metabolic rate high, reduce cravings for late-night snacking and regulate the hormones for hunger.
