How Much Protein Do You Need for Sustainable Weight Loss?
Takeaways
Proper nutrition—i.e., a healthy, balanced diet—facilitates sustained weight loss.
Beyond supporting numerous critical functions in the body (e.g., hormone and enzyme production), protein promotes sustained weight loss by increasing satiety and maintaining muscle mass in a calorie deficit.
Protein should make up 10 to 35% of your total daily calorie intake. This usually means eating about 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.
High protein foods worth incorporating into your diet include meat, fish, cottage cheese, and almonds.
With the chaos of fad diets and myths, it’s easy to get confused about what you should and shouldn’t eat to achieve sustainable weight loss.
The “quick-fix” restrictive diets sound appealing, yet they don’t often lead to results that last. So, for long-term success—where you lose the weight and keep it off for good—you’ll ultimately have to find a balanced and sustainable nutrition approach. This is where dietary protein comes into play.
Below, get an in-depth understanding of why high protein diets are beneficial for weight loss. Also, learn exactly how much protein you should be consuming daily for optimal results, plus explore the various high protein foods you could easily incorporate into your diet to hit your daily target intake.
The role of proper nutrition in weight loss
First things first: what does “proper nutrition” mean? Well, on the most basic level, it refers to a diet with the following characteristics:
Prioritizes consumption of minimally processed foods such as whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, and vegetables and fruits
Minimizes consumption of highly processed foods, like refined sugar, fried foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages
A good balance of food from all three primary macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
Consuming a healthy, balanced diet facilitates sustained weight loss by promoting:
Normal body functions and life processes
Muscle mass maintenance
Satiety (i.e., helps you feel fuller for longer, potentially reducing your calorie intake)
The importance of protein in your diet
Protein is a macronutrient, along with carbohydrates and fats. Macronutrients refer to nutrients the body requires in large amounts and that the body uses for energy. Note that 1 gram of carbohydrates and 1 gram of protein contain 4 calories each, while 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories.
Generally, protein, carbs, and fats make up your daily caloric needs. Usually, the recommended amount of protein for the average adult ranges from 10 to 35% of a person’s total daily calories.
While your body can metabolize protein, it isn't the "preferred" energy source (carbohydrates are). Instead, your body uses protein for the following:
Growth and maintenance of body tissues (including muscle mass)
Making enzymes, which help breakdown the food you eat
Producing hormones
Providing structure throughout the body
Transporting nutrients
A protein deficiency can lead to various problems with your body and health, including decreased muscle mass, edema, hair loss, skin issues, increased bone fractures, weakness, and more.
Why is maintaining protein intake important even when cutting down on calories to lose weight?
Adequate protein intake supports sustained weight loss in 2 ways:
Increases satiety: What happens when you reduce your calorie intake? That's right; you get hungry. In some cases, you may get so hungry that you give in to your cravings—taking yourself right out of a calorie deficit. Protein may help prevent that. By reducing your body’s production of ghrelin, the "hunger hormone", protein consumption could help you feel fuller for longer, ultimately cutting down your food intake.
Maintains or promotes muscle mass: Muscle is more metabolically active (i.e., burns more calories) than fat. Unfortunately, your body tends to lose a significantly higher proportion of muscle mass than fat mass when in a calorie deficit—making weight loss trickier to sustain over time. Thankfully, research shows that adequate protein intake could help preserve your muscle mass during weight loss, enabling sustained results.
How much protein to consume when your goal is sustained weight loss
As previously mentioned, protein should make up about 10 to 35% of your total caloric intake per day. If you’re consuming protein for weight loss, you should aim to be at the higher end of this range (i.e., 25 to 35%).
This usually means eating about 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Again, this can help you feel fuller longer and contribute to increased muscle mass (assuming you’re performing regular resistance training).
Tips for incorporating protein into your diet
To get you started, here are a few tips for incorporating more protein into your diet:
Consume your protein before your carbs or fats
Eat 10-30 grams of protein during every meal and snack
Try high protein snacks
Choose high protein veggies
Have eggs for breakfast
Protein powder can also be a great tool for weight loss if you struggle to get enough protein from whole foods. You could simply mix it into your smoothies and drinks.
Examples of high protein foods
With the above tips in mind, a few high protein foods that you can add to your grocery list include:
Meat
Fish
Eggs
Edamame
Beans
Greek Yogurt
Almonds
Jerky
Cheese
Use the above tips about protein for weight loss to sustain long-term results. Protein plays an undeniably crucial role in your weight loss journey, helping you gain adequate muscle and cut the necessary calories. So make sure you’re getting enough of it.
Looking for sustainable weight loss? Join NOVI Optimum, our 3-month health coaching program. We’ll not only guide you on your nutrition but will also help you incorporate resistance training that works for you.