Bella Adams
Successfully and sustainably lose weight without losing muscle – the protein diet is supposed to make it possible. But does it really work? The best tips and recipes to finally lose weight.
Who wouldn’t want to do that these days: lose a few extra pounds – and do it as permanently as possible? Oh yes, and the way to achieve this should be healthy.
Is that possible? It is! But you can’t avoid the topic of protein.
Protein pushes fat burning, feeds your muscles, and keeps you full for a long time. It is virtually impossible to lose weight easily. We’ll show you exactly how to do it.
With protein-rich dishes, a healthy nutrient mix including all the important bio-materials – the recipes newly developed by us for this purpose, where there should be something for everyone.
Why losing weight with protein works
Here’s what you need to know: Women have a daily requirement of about 2000 calories, men about 2500. So if you want to lose weight, you should stay below that -, for example, eat 500 kilocalories less every day – but rich in protein.
In addition, all those who, for example, work in the office, but at the same time still do sports, can do themselves extra good with the muscle booster protein.
For those who are working towards a lasting, beautiful new figure and want to maintain it afterward, protein is just the right thing: every extra kilo of muscle mass consumes up to 100 kilocalories more per day.
The most important questions and answers for your protein diet
Below you will find the twelve most important questions and facts about protein, as well as the best protein sources and combinations. So you can put everything together individually.
How much protein is optimal?
That’s not so easy to answer. On the one hand, the experts do not completely agree, and the need is individually different.
True, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) recently revised the reference values for protein (popularly known as “egg white”). But nothing has actually changed for adults under 65.
The recommendation is still 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day – this also applies to recreational athletes who are physically active four to five times a week for 30 minutes each.
Nutritional physicians such as Prof. Dr. Andreas Pfeiffer of the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIFE) at the Charité Hospital in Berlin go further. For him, 0.8 grams are the minimum amount that the body needs daily for vital metabolic processes.
That’s why he advises eating at least 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. Slim and healthy people can even aim for 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, says Prof. Pfeiffer.
The nourishing, as well as sports scientist Hans brown of the German sports university Cologne, goes still further: For achievement-oriented perseverance and strength sportsmen are also 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of weight on the day okay.”
Is there such a thing as too much?
Yes, and the experts agree on this: you should not exceed 2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight under any circumstances. That corresponds with women on average about 120, with men 140 grams of protein per day.
Note: Much does not help much! In the event of a severe overdose, protein can also become a fattening agent and thus lose its positive properties as an ally in losing weight.
What is valid for overweight?
The guideline values for normal-weight people (BMI 18.4 to 24.9) apply here because a lot of fat mass does not increase the need for protein, according to the DGE.
As a rule of thumb: “For overweight people, 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight is advisable. This ensures that you still get the great benefits of protein that make losing weight so easily, and still don’t eat too high-calorie,” says Pfeiffer.
Here’s how to calculate your protein value: Laura weighs 70 kilos. Her desired and normal weight is 60 kilos. Makes 60 grams of protein daily (60 kilos x 1 g protein).
David weighs 95 kilos, lifts weights up to three times a week, and wants to lose 10 kilos. So he needs 85 grams of protein daily (85 kg x 1 g protein).
How do I divide the amount?
Important: Never take it all at once, but spread it out over the day. You should eat protein in a healthy amount, i.e. 20 to 30 grams per meal.
A larger amount can neither be processed nor stored. If you can’t manage a high-quality protein mix, you can also eat a good combination with up to three hours between meals, e.g. fried egg at noon, and soy yogurt in the afternoon.
How does protein work in the metabolism?
Nothing works in the body without protein. It serves as a building material for trillions of body cells, vital enzymes, and hormones.
Our organs, muscles, skin, and hair, but also metabolism, digestion, and immune system need regular replenishment. Protein is important for athletes because it builds muscles and promotes regeneration.
Does protein end up in the fat depots?
No, it primarily serves as a building material and is only used to a limited extent for energy production or stored in depots as a reserve. The latter only happens if you consume many more calories than you burn.
Otherwise, protein even counteracts fat deposits by additionally revving up the metabolism. During the utilization of protein, the body produces heat, which melts the fat cells.
It burns 20 to 30 percent of the calories in protein right away! For comparison: carbohydrates, this is only 5 to 10 percent, with dietary fat at most 5 percent.
What about protein and insulin?
Meals emphasizing protein cause blood sugar and consequently insulin secretion to rise and fall only gently. Both do not rush therefore in the height and just as fast again down as with the supply of many coal hydrates.
The result: new hunger attacks do not occur. And the body has time to boost fat burning.
Is protein better than a diet?
The fatal thing about many crash diets is that – instead of reducing fat – they attack muscle protein and thus reduce muscle mass.
You lose weight, but this reduces your basal metabolic rate, i.e. the calorie consumption at rest, and it is easier to gain weight again later.
The protein-rich diet is different: it prevents this yo-yo effect. Protein “feeds” the muscles and protects them from degradation.
How long does protein keep you full?
Protein is a natural appetite suppressant: it is more filling than the same amount of energy in carbohydrates or fat because it must be thoroughly predigested and remains in the stomach for up to five hours.
So you don’t get hungry again so quickly. In addition, it lowers the concentration of the appetite-promoting hormone ghrelin and at the same time increases the concentration of the satiety hormones.
Does the protein effect last?
Yes. The effects of protein-rich food help to maintain the achieved desired weight permanently. This was shown by the large European Diogenes nutrition study on 770 families.
Participants who ate a high-protein diet (22 percent of calories from protein) after a strict diet and also ate foods with a low glycemic index (e.g. whole grains, vegetables) maintained their new weight effortlessly even six months later.
Are protein shakes useful?
Even the increased protein requirements of highly active athletes can easily be met by a high-protein diet, even during the muscle-building phase.
So far, there is no evidence for the benefits of protein powders. However, they are practical when there is no other way in everyday life and one is looking for a quick substitute for a meal when, for example, only “worthless” high-calorie fast food is available.
Also, vegetarians, vegans, or athletes, who at times do not succeed in eating a wholesome and varied diet, are allowed to treat themselves to a protein shake.
But: Protein is much cheaper in the normal diet than in powder form.
Do vegetarians and vegans get enough protein?
No one has to eat meat for a sufficient protein supply. Only those who completely renounce animal products should be particularly clever in their dietary plan to prevent a deficit.
A long-term study from Massachusetts (USA) has even shown how healthy vegetable proteins are. Those who ate more plant protein than animal protein had a longer lifespan on average.
Above all, the risk of widespread cardiovascular diseases decreased.
Losing weight with protein: the Heidi Klum diet
The fact that losing weight with protein works very well has long since been discovered by the big stars as a recipe for success.
Heidi Klum’s appearance as a lingerie model at the “Victoria’s Secret” show just eight weeks after the birth of her son Henry, for example, is legendary. The man behind this success: was David Kirsch.
We have already reported several times about his figure-firming workouts. But with Heidi, a sophisticated and very strict diet plan also took effect.
The first tip of the diet guru for the mission to lose weight: Heidi Klum was to hard-boil a dozen eggs in the morning and eat an egg white from them every time she went into the kitchen (the higher-calorie, the higher-fat yolk was removed).
She also had protein foods for lunch: grilled chicken, lean beef, or fish with a large salad and steamed vegetables, and a protein shake and a handful of almonds twice a day as additional meals.
The most important factor of the diet plan for Heidi Klum: increasing protein nutrition to build muscle and improve satiety.
In addition, both the number of carbohydrates and fat are drastically reduced. The total calorie intake is extremely low during star diets.
Eating enough protein during a diet certainly makes sense. For example, “Batman” actor Christian Bale also follows this regimen.
Tips for your protein diet
We don’t recommend eating hard-boiled eggs throughout the day to slim down, but every diet meal against excess weight should contain a lean source of protein.
For example yogurt for breakfast, of course, fish, meat, or poultry like David Kirsch, but also lean cheeses, tofu, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Those who consume this protein mix do not need shakes for losing weight with protein, slimming products, or protein bars.
Also very good: is the high proportion of vegetables in Kirsch’s diet plan. It should also be higher than the proportion of fruit because fruit contains a lot of fructose and is often not tolerated as well as vegetables. You may need to compensate for a folic acid deficiency.
Even if we aim for a protein diet, various disadvantages remain with normal people.
We don’t have the whole day to concentrate on our body and beauty, we don’t have nannies, cleaners, and other servant spirits to do all the work for us.
Our advantage: we also don’t have to show off ultra skimpy underwear in front of the whole world in two months. And we have much longer to achieve our ideal figure.
Attention: Undersupply with pure protein diet
A critical point is the very low total calorie intake. In the long run, this can lead to an undersupply of vitamins and minerals.
Fat also contains vital nutritional components. Therefore, you should not completely avoid fats, but prefer valuable vegetable oils. And move away from the protein diet for a while.
New power food for your muscles: Some prefer meatless food, while others like to eat a steak or quickly mix a shake.
