The Importance of Protein

Body weight management is a complex undertaking involving the interaction of genetics, hormones, behaviors, psychology, diet, movement (or lack thereof) and metabolism. Protein is an essential part of any body management program. Protein has a number of beneficial properties in a weight management program including satiety or the feeling of fullness while caloric restricted, the retention of fat free mass i.e. muscle, for energy and the ability to perform activities of daily living without difficulty while your energy intake is down. Protein also induces dietary thermogenesis to a greater degree than the other macronutrients such as carbohydrates and fat. This simply means that the energy cost of eating protein to your body is greater than the other macronutrients - the simple act of having a diet higher in protein burns more calories than a low protein diet. So the straightforward answer to weight loss and more importantly, weight loss maintenance can be summed up with the following: Eat adequate protein at each meal, exercise daily, and keep your portion sizes therefore calories under control.