At the time of losing weight, we always think of hydrates and fats , leaving aside proteins that are not an energy nutrient par excellence, offer calories and have an important effect on our body. We can even say that proteins help to lose weight and we leave behind five data that show it .
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The proteins satiate
The satiety is the absence of hunger and determines the time between one meal and another , or what is the same, the time spent without food.
According to a study published in 2008 , proteins stimulate satiety considerably by promoting the release of peptides and hormones that calm hunger . In addition, proteins are one of the nutrients that require more digestive work and therefore, by keeping the stomach occupied for longer, keep your appetite at bay.
Therefore, proteins are key to eating lessdaily and achieve the caloric deficit that we need so much at the moment of weight loss.
Help you eat less at each meal
Just as proteins are the nutrient that allows us the longest time to be without eating, they also help us eat less at each meal .
Specifically, there is a process called satiation that is what determines the end of a meal and is also influenced by what we eat, with proteins being one of the nutrients that most stimulates it, according to a study published in the journal Gastroenterology .
Clearly, proteins improve the control of the amount of food we eat every day and that is why they help to eat less and lose weight.
They favor the conservation of muscle
With the passage of time or, when we lose weight, it is normal to experience a reduction of fat-free mass or lean mass within which the muscle is located .
This part of our body is metabolically more active or what is the same, which burns more calories , so its conservation depends largely on not falling into a plateau or metabolic tomb at the time of losing weight.
A research conducted with older adultshas found that the more protein is ingested less loss of lean mass while known for studies in humans that single protein intake stimulates muscle synthesis .
Then, to avoid the dreaded rebound effect and to lose weight successfully, proteins are also useful for preserving or increasing the lean mass within which the muscle is located.
They contribute to increase the calorie expenditure
The proteins to improve the conservation of muscle mass or free of fat and also to be useful to gain muscle , increase the metabolism of the body and therefore contribute to increase caloric expenditure .
Also, by demanding great work to the body to be digested and absorbed, the proteins increase the thermogenesis induced by the diet, that is, they cause a greater expenditure of calories to be metabolized as observed by scientists in Boston .
All this determines that proteins not only help us to enter fewer calories to the body but also to burn more favoring the negative energy balance we need at the time of losing weight .
They promote the burning of fats
The achievement of a lower intake of calories, together with the elevation of metabolism and the conservation of lean mass caused by proteins are already determining factors of a better fat burning process .
However, at the metabolic level they canalso favor the oxidation of lipids when we seek to lose weight, as pointed out in a study published in Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism .
So, whether we want to lose belly by improving our body composition or if we want to get rid of the extra kilos taking care of our health, proteins will always be of help.
What and how many proteins to eat daily to lose weight
It is estimated that no more than 1 gram per kilo of body weight per day is necessary to obtain enough protein in the usual diet.
Also, we can talk about percentages and it is estimated that a diet to lose weight, reduced in calories depending on each person, can obtain energy in 18 to 22% of part of the proteins. That is, an average of 20% of calories can be derived from proteins .
Although we should not fall into extremes by going to ketogenic or protein-free diets , the reality is that by reducing the calories derived from hydrates and raising the proportion of proteins , a relative hyperprotein diet is achieved, which for all the above reasons helps to lose weight, as a study published in 2008 .
We can obtain proteins from various sources: meats , eggs, fish, dairy or vegetable foods such as legumes, algae, nuts, seeds or some cereals such as oats or quinoa .
