PROTEIN INTAKE FOR FAT LOSS AND LEAN MUSCLE GAIN

Protein intake is all the rage right now. There are now brands offering protein chips and protein ice cream hoping to convince consumers their products are good for them solely because they contain protein. By now, most people know to some extent that our bodies need protein, but they may not know why protein is important in our diet. If you have ever wondered, “How much protein do I need?”, keep reading. Below I give a simplified explanation of this and the importance of protein, whether we are seeking fat loss or lean muscle gain. 

Protein builds and repairs body tissue. It is also responsible for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. One gram of protein consists of 4 calories. It is reported that we need to consume roughly .8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight or roughly 1 gram per pound of lean body mass per day. These are the suggestions for protein per day and intake varies person to person.

When we are trying to lose weight, we are in fact seeking fat loss and we need to be in a calorie deficit. What this means is that we need to consistently consume fewer calories than what we burn for a set period of time. We need our energy input (calories consumed) to be less than our energy output (calories expended). It is said that 500-1,000 calories need to be cut a day in order to lose 1-2 pounds a week. One pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories, so if you cut 500 calories a day you would lose about one pound a week. Of course this is not sustainable for life and you will need to adjust calories accordingly. Fat loss will be different person to person, and individuals with more fat to lose will need to be more aggressive early on in the process. 

Now knowing how many calories need to be eliminated from your intake in order to achieve fat loss, it is easy to imagine you will most certainly feel hungry! Being in a deficit can be uncomfortable and feel difficult. Protein keeps us feeling fuller for longer, especially in comparison to carbohydrates, which are our main source for energy and not satiety. Protein actually has a high thermic effect on food, which means you burn more of what you consume in comparison to fats and carbohydrates. 

Satiety is so important to ensure we feel satisfied to the best of our abilities during the diet period. Consuming adequate protein throughout the day will allow us to feel fuller and therefore more likely to adhere to the diet without bingeing from feeling so hungry. An example that most people are probably familiar with while dieting is eating salads consisting of leaves and a few cut up veggies. While these ingredients are wonderful for vitamins and minerals, it will absolutely not fill you up and it leaves us craving more and more food which is not what we want when trying to adhere to a deficit. Adding some tuna, chicken, tofu, etc. will help fill us up more. (NOTE: you do NOT have to only eat salads while dieting). 

When we are in a calorie deficit we are losing body fat, but we also want to ensure that we are maintaining our lean muscle mass as well. Consuming adequate protein allows our bodies to hold onto the muscle that we already have. If you are resistance training and dieting, consuming adequate protein also allows you to build *some muscle. (*NOTE: It is possible to build muscle while eating in a calorie deficit and resistance training, but it is not the most optimal and efficient choice for building muscle mass). 

It is important to note that eating adequate protein without any form of exercise, more specifically resistance training, will not result in lean muscle gain. If your goal is muscle gain, it is crucial that you adhere to adequate protein intake and you are resistance training a minimum of 2-3X a week. Eating for muscle gain varies from person to person and is unique to individual goals. It is possible to gain muscle mass while eating at your maintenance calories, i.e the average number of calories you burn daily. However, if your main goal is muscle gain at a potentially quicker rate, eating in a surplus of calories is the most efficient option. This means you eat more than you burn. When you eat in a surplus of calories while resistance training to build more muscle mass, you will also gain fat. How much fat you will gain is dependent upon how big of a surplus you are in.

It is important to be mindful that we don’t get too caught up in consuming so much protein that we are actually exceeding our desired calorie intake. Remember, eating more calories than we burn will result in fat gain, and that may or may not be your goal. Eating more protein than the recommendation will not cause you to build more muscle, and therefore the remaining calories should be allotted for fats and carbohydrates which are great for hormone production, micronutrient absorption, keeping our energy levels high, along with many other benefits. 

The role of protein intake is crucial to both fat loss and lean muscle gain due to its ability to keep us fuller for longer and build and repair tissue and is an important building block for our muscles. To find out how many calories you should consume based on your goal and a good estimate for adequate protein intake, use my calorie calculator found on my website (Calculator for calorie intake/ macronutrient calculator can be found at: www.insideoutfitnesspdx.com), and you will be one step closer to reaching your goals!

Thank you for reading! Blogs are updated every Sunday, so be sure to check back to learn more on fitness, nutrition, and healthy living!

Clark, Michael A, et al., editors. “Nutrition and Supplementation .” NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training , 6th ed., Cathy L. Esperti, 2018, pp. 468–475.

Schoenfeld, Brad. “The Secret to Eating for Muscle? It's Not Your Post-Workout Protein Shake.” The Secret to Eating for Muscle? It's Not Your Post-Workout Protein Shake., 4 Mar. 2019, www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26623371/post-workout-protein-overrated/.

“The Art of Strength and Physique Training.” Glute Lab, by Bret Contreras and Glen Cordoza, Victory Belt Publishing Inc., 2019, pp. 160–163.