Protein: the weight is over

 

What I learned during my time as a trained athlete in college was that restrictive dieting steadily but surely took its toll on metabolism, that core engine of the body that governs all your hormones - the weight-gaining hormones, the mood-enhancing hormones, the rejuvenating hormones. When you slow down your metabolism, you compromise all these hormones. You fail to efficiently use the food you eat which can result in increased body fat, low energy levels, weakened immune defence, diminished sex drive and mood imbalance.

 

My time in sports also gave me a good understanding of the metabolic benefits of eating protein. So it was always plain as day to me that my girlfriends were suffering due to dietary imbalance and the one thing that could help restore that balance was to eat more protein. It's ironic that the one vital ingredient that could actually help these women meet their objective, to improve and maintain body shape, was the one thing they were cutting out every time they eliminated fat from their diet in the form of eggs, meat and dairy. Several years later as I continue to help other women restore balance, there is thankfully more science and more testimonial evidence to support my view that increasing your protein intake is essential for losing weight and maintaining the shape you want.

 

One recent example of the tremendous impact protein can have on your body shape surfaced in the form of a CSIRO study which compared a "high protein" to a "high carbohydrate" diet for weight loss as well as reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and "Syndrome X". This metabolic syndrome is a topical issue because of growing alarm caused by the obesity epidemic and rise of diabetes worldwide. Over half of Australians are at risk of developing "Syndrome X". It is characterised by such factors as abdominal fat, high triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol, high insulin, high blood glucose and high blood pressure.

 

The CSIRO study compared the two diets among a group of 100 overweight and obese women over a 12-week period. Researchers assessed the effectiveness of both diets in the amount of body weight lost and body composition in all participants. The impact of these diets on nutrient status and bone turnover markers, measures of heart disease and diabetes risk, were also monitored.

 

The results showed that overweight women with high triglycerides - one of the key markers of metabolic syndrome - lost 25% more weight on a high protein, low fat diet than a high carbohydrate, low fat diet. Much of this extra weight loss was in the abdominal area, which is crucial to improving their metabolic syndrome risk profile. Importantly the actual body fat loss over the 12-week period significantly differed when comparing the two diets - a loss of 6kg in the high protein group as opposed to 3kg in the high carbohydrate group.

 

The overall weight loss in the high protein group was 8kg compared to only a 6kg loss in the high carbohydrate group, with the amount of weight lost specifically from the midriff area twice as high on the high protein diet (1kg compared to 500g). The high protein diet lowered the women's triglycerides significantly by 28% compared to only a 10% fall in the high carbohydrate group. The study also indicated that, as well as helping weight loss in the long run, the high protein, low fat diet helped to stabilise glucose and insulin production, important factors for controlling hunger.

 

There was a time when research findings such as these came as a shock to dieting women who were so convinced that protein was a weight gainer. It begs the question: how exactly does protein help you lose, not gain, weight?

 

For starters, protein stimulates the release of glucagon, a hormone which unlocks stored body fat for use as energy. The release of glucagon stabilises your insulin secretion. Insulin is a hormone, triggered mainly by carbohydrates, which shuttles nutrients into the cells. It's normal for the body to release insulin for nutrient transport and energy needs, but in times of high carbohydrate or high sugar consumption, excess insulin is secreted in order to flush the glucose out of the bloodstream. On the surface this can result in tiredness (like the lethargy that follows eating a bowl of pasta). Beneath the surface the excess glucose is stored as body fat.

 

This is why many women are not finding success with the recent influx of "weight loss" meal replacement products on the market. Always look at the nutritional panel and compare the protein count to the carbohydrates. If the carbohydrate (sugar) count is double the protein or even higher, you can be sure any weight loss results will be short term. While they may be low in fat, ultimately the high amounts of sugar in these products get converted into body fat and the long term result is weight gain.

 

Another way that protein assists weight loss is through its high satiety value. Protein, as well as fat, send a signal in the form of the neurotransmitter cholecystokinin (CCK) to the brain that you are satisfied. In other words, it functions like a natural appetite suppressant. This may explain why the participants in the CSIRO study found, as researchers noted, that the high protein, low fat diet was easier to follow for a long period of time. Protein makes you feel more satisfied and less hungry - a finding confirmed by the compliance rates on both diets. By comparison, drop-outs on the high carbohydrate, low fat diet were three times greater than those on the high protein, low fat diet.

 

Protein, as part of a balanced diet, also speeds up metabolism. By stabilising our insulin and glucagon levels, it increases the efficiency with which we utilise the food we eat for all the good stuff: improving the health of our organs, restoring hormonal vitality and improving energy production. A fast metabolism focuses on the task of rejuvenating and energising the body and has no time to stop and store incoming foods as body fat.

 

Finally, unlike carbohydrates, protein actually has a thermic effect. It generates enough heat during its digestion to literally burn kilojoules as you're eating. It raises your core body temperature so you go on burning kilojoules for hours after consumption.

 

So there you have it: four compelling reasons why protein is a vital ingredient in any successful weight loss regime. As for reaping the benefits, the key is to ensure you have sufficient protein present in every meal throughout the day. This is always a challenge, particularly if you are as busy as I am. Every newcomer to the balancing act of eating more protein knows how hard it is to find enough of it on the run, or how despairing it can be to scrape together at your favourite restaurant. There are also many women out there who have their own personal concerns about increasing their intake of lean meats or eggs.

 

The simple solution is to enjoy the convenience of a delicious protein shake twice daily (ideally between meals). This will boost metabolism and help restabilise your hormones if you find yourself "railroaded" into having a high-carbohydrate lunch or dinner. Best of all, as it goes to work on your body shape, protein will give you some fabulous fringe benefits: beautifully smooth skin, shimmering hair and strong nails. Been there, done it and still living it. Bottoms up!