The Protein Advantage: Boost Fat Loss, Muscle Growth, and Health.

Protein is made up of amino acids linked together and is responsible for mediating countless vital processes in the body. Consuming sufficient dietary protein is essential in tissue turnover. Ingestion of sufficient dietary protein stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS), improves recovery, can increase lean body mass when combined with resistance training, and helps grow our strength.

Protein isn’t just for getting jacked, however. High-protein diets have also been demonstrated to be superior to low-protein diets with regards to fat loss. This is likely because the TEF of protein is about 30% more compared to carbohydrate at 5-10% or fat at 0-3%. TEF refers to Thermic Effect of Food, and describes how much energy it takes for the body to digest, absorb and metabolize these macronutrients. In essence, using protein as an energy source requires more energy usage than carbohydrates or fat.

Further, high-protein diets cause a shift in weight loss, favouring increased weight loss from fat versus muscle tissue compared to lower protein diets. This has a dual benefit. First, sparing more lean tissue means losing more body fat. Second, sparing lean body mass during a diet has been associated with decreased incidence of weight regain, as well as better maintenance of metabolic rate.

Diets high in protein have also been shown to have a greater satiating effect than diets that are low in protein. This appears to be due to a few different mechanisms. For one, higher protein food sources typically aren’t very energy dense, and they can be quite voluminous.

Additionally, high-protein diets increase the release of hormones that reduce food intake, like GLP-1, glucagon, CCK, and PYY. It’s important to note that there are countless factors influencing the drive to eat besides just physiological concentrations of hormones. Both sociological and psychological factors can also significantly alter food intake. Still, it does appear that protein is likely more filling calorie-per-calorie compared with carbohydrate or fat.

So in conclusion, make sure you prioritize your protein intake regardless of whether your goals are to lose fat or build muscle.