When we talk about successful weight loss, the ideal situation is fat-burning, not muscle loss. Extreme diets can cause weight loss but at the expense of lean muscle, which is why it’s crucial to maintain and even build muscle while losing fat. “As intake or appetite changes, it can be hard for people losing weight to get the protein, vitamins and minerals they need to support their unique health goals,” said Dominique R. Williams, MD, MPH, medical director and obesity specialist at Abbott. “Those gaps in nutrition can have a negative impact on muscle health.” Eating enough protein means you will be supporting muscle health while boosting your metabolism and encouraging fat-burning—here’s why.
RELATED: 4 Unexpected Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight.
Track Your Protein
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Here’s how much protein you need for weight loss: “If you want to lose weight, aim for a daily protein intake between 1.6 and 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (.73 and 1 grams per pound),” says exercise physiologist Brad Dieter via NASM. “Athletes and heavy exercisers should consume 2.2-3.4 grams of protein per kilogram (1-1.5 grams per pound) if aiming for weight loss. My practical recommendation to people is that if you carry a BMI of over 30 or a body fat percentage above 25-30% it makes more sense to base your protein recommendations off of your goal weight.”
Protein and Metabolism
ShutterstockEating more protein encourages more calorie-burning. “The thermic effect of food is the ‘cost’ of digesting your food,” Dieter says. “Essentially, it takes some energy to break food down, digest it, and turn it into energy. Protein has the highest ‘cost’ of all the three macronutrients. While the total effect that the thermic effect of food has on daily energy expenditure and weight loss is small, it is not meaningless and is important to note.”
Handy Tip
ShutterstockYou should eat enough protein with every meal that can comfortably fit in the palm of your hand—about 30g. “The handy (excuse the pun) part about this approach is that your hand size is unique to you,” says nutritionist and personal trainer Rachel Aust. “If you have a smaller frame, your portion sizes will be smaller. But if you have a bigger frame, your portion sizes will be bigger.”
RELATED: 10 Surprising Mistakes That Are Sabotaging Your Fat Loss Goals.
Tracking Protein vs Calories
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For some people tracking protein makes more sense than calorie counting. “When you track macros, you’re basically tracking calories already,” says Emily Field, RD. “So while you’ll need to eat less calories overall, those calories can come from big, satiating meals composed of food you actually like to eat. That’s because you can eat to your personal macro targets with any protein-, fat- and carbohydrate-rich foods you want.
The Scale Can Be Deceiving
iStockBody composition—especially inches around the waist—can be a more effective method of tracking weight loss than weighing on scales. “If calories are king for determining changes to body weight, macros are king for determining changes to body composition,” Field says. “So you’ll need to ask yourself if you care about changing a number on a scale or, if you care about changing your body shape and size. And, if you’re already willing to log your food, counting macros simply has so many more benefits than counting calories!”
