Weight loss requires that you consume fewer calories than you expend, but there are many factors that influence both calorie intake and calorie burn. This complexity is why many weight loss interventions fail. Regardless of how people lose weight, most people gain it all back because they return to old habits.
Another reason is that our fat cells have epigenetic memory, meaning cells respond to diet and exercise patterns that activate specific genes (good or bad, depending on the patterns!). In the case of poor diet and exercise habits, cells tend to become resistant to changing their genetic expression. In other words, once you become overweight, you become more susceptible to regaining weight.
To lose weight and keep it off, we need to make sustainable changes to our diet and exercise habits. According to a new study, this change could be as simple as eating more protein and fiber!
Participants who ate more protein and fiber lost significantly more weight over 12 months compared to those with lower intakes. They didn’t have to count calories, but just focused on eating more protein- and fiber-rich foods.
Satiety = Protein + Fiber
Satiety refers to feeling satisfied and not hungry. Protein and fiber both promote satiety through different mechanisms. Fiber promotes healthy male bacteria, improves bowel regularity, helps keep blood sugar levels within the optimal range and lowers cholesterol. Consuming fiber-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and whole grains is also linked to lower all-cause mortality. Fibers also promote the feeling of satiety after a meal.
Protein also increases satiety compared to sugar and fat. Protein triggers the release of specific peptides that interact with receptors in our intestines to control appetite. Protein also provides two other important benefits related to weight loss and weight loss maintenance:
Protein increases thermogenesis after meals (technically called postprandial thermogenesis), which means it takes more energy to digest protein, so you actually have to burn more calories to digest protein. This means that you get fewer usable calories from proteins. Consistently prioritizing protein means you’ll burn a lot of extra calories in the long run!
Protein also builds and maintains lean mass, including muscle and bone! Muscle and other lean mass are the big calorie burners in your body, so building more muscle and minimizing muscle loss while losing weight is the key to successful weight loss that you can maintain! Studies suggest that high protein diets cause almost twice as much fat loss as moderate protein diets.
Participants in this study learned how to choose foods high in protein and fiber. Participants aimed for 7 – 11 grams of protein per 100 calories of food and 1.8 – 3.2 grams of fiber per 100 calories of food eaten.
To maintain weight, participants aimed for 4 – 8 grams of protein per 100 calories and 1.4 – 2.8 grams of fiber per 100 calories of food eaten.
This amounted to 140 – 210 grams of protein per day and 28 – 56 grams of fiber per day. Participants did NOT count calories!
A simple nutrition program
To make this even easier, you should use at least 1 gram of protein per pound. every day lean body mass (ask club staff to have your body composition measured so you can get your lean body mass and fat mass). To make it even easier, focus on 1 gram of protein per pound. of body weight.
Here is a link to a free downloadable list of high protein foods: https://reallifenutritionist.com/high-protein-foods/
When it comes to fiber, focus on getting at least 25 grams of fiber per day. Here is a list of fiber-rich foods: https://reallifenutritionist.com/high-fiber-foods-chart/
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