You may have been raised to think that weight loss is just a matter of eating fewer calories. But the calories-in vs. calorie-out theory of weight loss has been disproven.
What you eat and even when you eat plays a big part in weight loss, and eating more high-protein foods could help you lose weight and change your body composition by building muscle. If you’re aiming to lose weight, try eating 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day, though high-protein, low-calorie foods.
Continue reading to learn more, including how much protein you generally need and how much is needed to lose weight. The article will also cover high-protein foods, and give a protein intake calculator example.
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A Note on Weight and BMI
This article discusses weight loss, but Verywell understands that weight alone is not an accurate representation of a person’s health. The problematic body-mass index compares weight to height, without considering body composition (fat vs. muscle mass). If you’re interested in losing weight, talk to a trusted healthcare professional about a reasonable goal for your body.
Protein Supports Weight Loss Without Calorie Restriction
A high-protein diet can help you lose weight and body fat, and maintain weight loss long term. Eating a protein-rich diet boosts metabolism, reduces appetite, and affects several weight-regulating hormones. Increasing the amount of protein helps support weight loss by regulating certain hormones and helping you feel full longer, among other benefits explained below.
Talk to Your Healthcare Provider
Always talk to your healthcare provider before trying a new diet or exercise program.
Protein Changes the Levels of Several Weight-Regulating Hormones
Eating protein can increase the hormones that make you feel full, while also decreasing the hormones that make you feel hungry.
Protein intake increases three hormones that suppress appetite:
- Glucagon-like peptide-1
- Cholecystokinin
- Peptide tyrosine-tyrosine
At the same time, it reduces the amount of ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite and prompts people to eat.
Protein Reduces Appetite and Helps You Feel Full Longer
Because it increases the hormones that make you feel full and decreases the hormones that make you hungry, protein keeps you feeling fuller longer. A scientific review of more than 10 scientific studies found that people who are overweight and obese reported feeling fuller, for longer, when they ate a diet high in protein.
Ultimately, feeling fuller can help you lower your caloric intake and intake of processed foods, which can assist with weight loss.
Digesting and Metabolizing Protein Burns Calories
When you eat, your body expends extra calories to digest the meal and convert it into energy. This is known as diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT).
It takes much more energy for your body to process protein than for your body to process fat or carbohydrates, the other two macronutrients. For each calorie of protein you eat, your body spends about 25% to 30% of the energy digesting that calorie. That’s much higher than the 3% per calorie of fat, or the 7% to 8% per calorie of carbohydrates.
After a high-protein meal, your body spends more energy, which contributes to your overall daily calorie burn.
In short, after digesting protein your body has fewer calories left over to store as fat, or excess weight.
Protein Is Harder to Store Than Fat
It’s also harder for your body to convert protein to body fat. That means that eating a high-protein diet makes it less likely that you’ll accumulate extra fat.
When you eat carbohydrates, your body can convert the food to fat with about 80% efficiency. With fats, the efficiency is about 96%. But the conversion of protein to fat storage is only 66% effective.
Protein Helps Prevent Muscle Loss and Metabolic Slowdown
Having muscle mass contributes to your overall metabolism. Many diets lead to muscle loss, which can result in a lower overall metabolic rate.
Protein helps fight muscle loss. Research has shown that eating a high-protein diet for weight loss results in less muscle loss.
How Much Protein Should I Eat to Lose Weight?
In general, people should get about 10% to 35% of their calories from protein. This equals about 46 grams of protein a day for women, and 56 grams of protein a day for men. On average, most Americans get about 16% of their daily calories from protein.
However, if you’re trying to lose weight, you might want to aim for much more than that. A simple protein intake calculator is based on your weight:
- Eat 0.75 to 1 gram of protein per pound of weight
- Eat up to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of weight if you exercise a lot, or are trying to build muscle mass.
For example, a 150-pound person could aim for 112 grams of protein each day. If you are overweight, you can use your target goal weight to calculate how much protein you should be eating. For example, if you weigh 220 pounds, but would like to reach 170 pounds, 170 grams of protein is a good target.
How to Calculate Your Daily Protein Intake
In order to track your daily protein intake, you need to track your macronutrients. There are many apps that help with this. Alternatively, you can keep track with a paper or note in your phone of how much protein you’re taking in.
How to Add More Protein in Your Diet
To up your protein intake, focus on eating protein-rich foods that aren’t processed or high in calories. The most obvious source of protein is from meats and fish, which often contain the most protein per serving.
However, there are many other ways to get protein into your diet, including by eating:
- Whole wheat grains (15 grams of protein per serving)
- Cottage cheese (12 grams of protein per serving)
- Edamame (12 grams of protein per serving)
- Greek yogurt (9 grams of protein per serving)
- Lentils (9 grams of protein per serving)
Protein bars and powders can be a quick way to incorporate more protein into your diet. Just beware of relying too heavily on processed foods, which can hinder weight loss.
Reasons You May Be Gaining Weight on a High-Protein Diet (and How to Adjust)
Each gram of protein has 4 calories. So, if you’re eating a lot of protein you might be inadvertently eating too many calories, which can contribute to weight gain. For example, 150 grams of protein will have roughly 600 calories.
If you notice that you’re gaining weight on a high-protein diet, be mindful of your caloric intake. Ideally, if you’re increasing your protein intake, you’re doing so by replacing carbohydrates or fats. Adding protein and adding overall calories to your daily intake could lead to weight gain.
However, remember that weight gain isn’t always bad. If you’re increasing your protein you may be increasing your muscle mass as well. This can contribute to weight gain, since muscle weighs more than fat.
Summary
If you’re trying to lose weight, aim to eat 0.75 to 1.5 grams of protein per body weight. If that’s too much protein, try to eat 0.75 to 1.5 grams per your goal body weight. Protein can contribute to weight loss by regulating the hormones that control hunger cues, keeping you feeling full longer, and increasing your daily calorie burn. For these reasons, increasing your protein is a healthy way to try to lose weight without feeling too hungry.
