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Is Protein Needed to Lose Weight?

Our culture is obsessed with both eating and losing weight. The U.S. obesity rate averages 30 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and people are constantly searching for miracle foods that will create the ultimate diet. The ongoing debate centers on which is the best diet--low carb, low fat or high protein? As low-carb diets have fallen out of favor a bit, high protein has become the latest fad.

  1. Background

    • Protein's importance is rooted in the bodybuilding industry. "It (protein) provides the body with the necessary building blocks to produce amino acids that are used for building muscle tissue," says one bodybuilding website. Although bodybuilding focuses on gaining muscle, muscle definition cannot occur without fat loss; the two go hand in hand.

    Misconceptions

    • Bodybuilders do not achieve low body fat percentages by consuming large amounts of protein. While their diets often consist of lean animal meat, eggs, protein supplements and other rich protein sources, you can find vegan, vegetarian, and even raw foodists (those eating a minimum 75 percent raw diet) with incredible muscle and low body fat.

    A Weight Loss Truth

    • Every bodybuilder, regardless of diet, follows the law of energy expenditure. Weight loss depends on expending more calories than you consume. Athletes obviously expend more calories than those who are less active, so they can eat more protein, carbohydrates and fat.

    Activity

    • For one week, record in a notebook your food intake in a normal day, and the total calories of each meal. Cut your calories by half the next week, either with smaller meals or one or two 24-hour fasts where you consume zero calories (water, tea, black coffee, diet sodas and other zero-calorie beverages are acceptable). Find an enjoyable exercise, such as bike riding or taking long walks.

    Summary

    • You do not need extra protein to lose weight. Nor do you need to follow a low carb or low fat diet. What matters is how much you consume and your level of physical activity. Work out more and eat less to lose weight. If your weight loss reaches a plateau, you must continue to tip the scale of calories consumed and calories expended until you've achieved your desired weight.

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