Why is protein so important when losing weight?

Posted on 01. Feb, 2011 by Fitness Trainer in Foods Help Reduce Body Fat

Why is protein so important when losing weight?

People use protein for many different reasons, in fact most people automatically associate increasing their protein with ending up looking like a ‘body builder or muscle man’ which isn’t what most people want to achieve. Yes body builders do use protein to the extreme to totally change the look of their bodies and to repair and rebuild their muscles.

What foods are high in protein?

Meat, fish, turkey, chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and soy are good sources of protein that have all nine essential amino acids. Plant foods such as legumes (beans and peas), nuts, peanut butter, and seeds are also good sources of protein but may be missing some of the essential amino acids. If you are a vegetarian, it’s important to eat a variety of legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, and vegetables every day in order to get all of the essential amino acids.

However there is a huge proportion of the population that don’t take in enough protein each day and it’s simply because they are totally unaware of how much protein they should be having. For example a 5ft 7” female (reasonably tall) weighing approximately 9 stone (underweight for height if anything) would require a staggering 85g of protein approximately each day!!

Now that doesn’t sound a lot I know, but in fact that’s the equivalent of eating around 3 average size chicken fillets each day! So break it down again, think along the lines of what most people have for their breakfast:- toast with cereals, yes the milk contains some dairy protein, lunch:- perhaps a sandwich, crisps, piece of fruit and a bar of chocolate seems a pretty average working day lunch. But depending upon what the sandwich contains, maybe Tuna, ham, beef, egg or just salad then this too contains a small amount of protein and for this example lets say the person eats a chicken fillet for their evening meal giving them an extra 25g of animal protein.

In total for the day, they’ve probably managed to hit around 30-40g of protein for the whole day! Nowhere near the 85g required to keep a 5ft 7? slightly underweight female’s body functioning correctly, let alone a male or someone who is overweight. So having insufficient protein during the day will mean that they will constantly be hungry and more than likely start to snack and experience cravings. So you can see why protein shakes are so popular as they provide a quick infusion of protein to the body.

How much protein do I need?

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for adults in the USA is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This translates to approximately 0.36 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. For a 200 pound individual, the minimum RDA requirement is 72 grams of protein per day. For a 150 pound individual, the minimum RDA requirement is 54 grams of protein per day.

Those involved with intense exercise, or individuals looking to add muscle mass, should consume at least twice the RDA’s recommended minimums. It is generally advised that bodybuilders eat 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Another good guideline is to make sure that 20 to 40% of your daily calories come from protein sources.