Should I be eating protein to lose weight? It may be a hard question for you and we have the answer for you here, yes you should. It helps in losing weight, you should continue reading or it may be led to harm your body if you are doing the wrong way.
You may wonder am I eating too much protein to lose weight or should I be eating protein to lose weight, protein is the key if you want to lose weight fast and do it in a healthy way and we have the answer here.
What is protein?
First of all, you should look into the details of protein.
Protein is one of the five nutrients that the body needs each day. and need in large quantities like carbohydrates and fats. They are the basic components of the body such as muscles, hormones, enzymes, blood cells, bones, skin, and hair. It has a duty to build strength, help in growth, and repair and strengthen the body’s immune system.
Protein is most easily absorbed by the body by eating meat, milk, eggs, and legumes, 1 gram of protein provides 4 calories of energy.
Why does protein help you lose weight?
You may wonder does eating more protein help you lose weight and we would say “YES”.
Now, let’s see how protein helps you lose weight.
Protein is a component of muscle and the muscles are part of the metabolism. If to say it simply is that protein is like a metabolism booster.
If the body lacks protein, it can cause weight gain because of the reduced muscle composition, therefore energy metabolism is reduced as well.
In addition, not getting enough protein can lead to deterioration of the body, poor health, wrinkled skin, and rapid aging because there is no protein to help repair the worn-out parts. Protein plays a very important role in helping you lose weight.
Therefore, we can see that people who like to exercise or go to the gym regularly need more protein. To maintain muscle lost along with fat during exercising and maintain the metabolic system at a balanced level, which maintains the body’s metabolism to be stable or always in the balance. It is another weight loss trick that will help prevent the following yo-yo effect.
How much protein per day to lose weight?
Typically, protein intake must be one-fourth of the food we eat at each meal. But not only eat 1/4 of each meal. A person’s weight can also tell you how much protein they should eat each day. Doctors generally recommend that approximately 1 gram per 1 kg of body weight. For example, if you weigh 75 kg, you should eat 75 grams of protein per day.
If you are aerobic exercise or focus on cardio. endurance activities like long-distance running, jumping rope, swimming, and cycling, your body uses glycogen and sugar as your primary source of energy.
When this energy is reduced after about 30-40 minutes of exercise, then it will use fat. The amount of protein your body needs is approximately 1.5-2.0 grams per 1 kg of body weight. The function of the proteins of this group will help repair and prevent muscle wasting, help reduce injuries and burn more fat during and after training.
Am I eating too much protein to lose weight?
If you want to lose weight and stay healthy, you should do daily protein intake for weight loss as follow:
– if you are a less exercise person then approximately 1 gram of protein per 1 kg of body weight is enough, no more or less.
– if you do some exercise every day which is good and help you burn more fat faster besides, you get a strong body too, it should be around 1.5-2.0 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight.
But, do not eat too much protein, it will harm your body.
Health problems that follow when eating too much protein and it is no joke, and it’s also very dangerous. Let’s take a look at what will bring you for eating too much protein.
– Imbalance of nutrients in the body
To be healthy, our bodies need a balanced amount of nutrients. Many people who want to lose weight or build muscles to fit themselves tend to forget about this point and eat more protein which will cause the body to receive other nutrients, especially carbohydrates, when is not enough then it will lead to inadequate nutrition increases the risk of harmful malnutrition and results in gastrointestinal problems such as constipation.
– Gain weight
One important fact that we should not overlook is that protein contains calories but it depends on what kind of food contains more or less protein. It’s good for us to eat protein to build muscle. But do not forget that we cannot avoid the number of calories in food which calories are the reasons that make us fat.
But if we eat a lot of protein that is high in calories, the body may not be able to burn it completely and accumulate as body fat. I want to build muscle, but I’m pushing the fat with me like this, it’s not good.
– Dehydration
When the body gets a lot of protein, the body will burn more and reduce the amount of water in the body. If we drink less water, it may cause the body to be dehydrated so if you’re focusing on protein, it’s wise to drink more water. Drinking about half a gallon of water per 100 grams of protein will help you stay hydrated.
– Heart problems
It is undeniable that most high-protein diets tend to be loaded with saturated fat and sodium. These two villains increase the risk of heart disease and have serious consequences for the cardiovascular system. Whether it is fat in the blood, cholesterol, or even high blood pressure. This can become a danger in a long-term health problem.
– Kidney problems
Many people may wonder if eating too much protein affects the kidneys. Let me tell you that eating a lot of protein, in addition to causing dehydration, also increases the risk of kidney disease, including kidney stones.
Recommended protein intake for weight loss
– Choose protein from lean, low-fat meats such as fish, chicken, and lean pork, alternately eating protein from plants such as grains and nuts. Because eating protein from plants is free from saturated fat and cholesterol.
– People who eat vegetarian or vegan diets without meat, milk, and eggs receive only plant protein. There is a risk of deficiency in essential vitamins and minerals. Therefore, it should be supplemented with certain vitamins or minerals. especially vitamin B12.
– The amount of protein that should be received per day is based on the protein needs of each person.
So, now you know more about whether should I be eating protein to lose weight and know how much protein per day to lose weight with perfect advice, stay healthy, and get results fast with fewer side effects at the end of the day.
Hopefully, this short advice on eating protein to lose weight will help you accomplish your weight loss goal in a short time.