Protein is Crucial For Fat Loss! Find Out Why and
How to Get it Dirt Cheap
by Nick Nilsson, Author of "The
Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of"
I Didn't Realize How Important Protein
Was For Fat Loss Until I Discovered Something
That Blew My Mind...
The year was 1992. I had just finished a long cycle of weight gain
whereupon I had moved my bodyweight up from about 150 pounds to
about 215 pounds. And let me just tell you, it wasn't all muscle!
I hadn't been all that careful about my diet previously but I thought
I knew pretty well what I was doing. It was time to lose some of
that fat.
The first thing I did was make the biggest mistake a dieter can
make: in my focus of trying to eat only low fat foods, I unwittingly
and drastically reduced the amount of protein that I was eating.
The result? I lost weight and plenty of it. The problem was, I
lost mostly muscle! I was smaller, weaker, lighter and nearly as
fat as I was before. Not quite the results I was looking for.
In retrospect, I know exactly what I did wrong and it's something
I'll never do again. I FORGOT ABOUT PROTEIN!
Protein is an extremely important nutrient whether your goal is
to lose fat, gain muscle or just tone yourself up. It is the main
structural nutrient in your body, making up the bulk of your muscles
and organs. Protein is essential for proper hormone function and
immune system health.
Most importantly, for our purposes, protein is used for building
and repairing muscle tissue.
When you are trying to lose fat, you reduce your calories. Unfortunately,
your body views fat stores as more precious than your muscle tissue
and will tend to eat up muscle tissue before it goes to fat for
energy. This physiological adaptation used to protect our ancestors
from famine but works against us now.
This is very unfortunate because muscle tissue is a great calorie-burner.
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even when you're
doing absolutely nothing! Protecting your muscle tissue makes fat
loss so much easier, it will amaze you. Not only that, it will help
you keep that fat off permanently!
What can you do to protect your muscle tissue?
The first thing you can do is exercise. Exercise, especially resistance
training, provides a stimulus for your body that sends it a signal
saying "keep this muscle, you're going to need it."
The second thing you can do is provide your body with enough protein.
This can be in the form of food or supplements.
Good food sources of protein include chicken, fish, eggs, lean
meats, legumes (beans), soy, and dairy products. Protein supplements
are derived from food sources but are concentrated for convenience
and effectiveness.
How to Maximize The Results You Get From Your Protein Powder.
Timing Is Everything!
Whether it be for fat loss or muscle gain, I always recommend taking
a good protein supplement. The reason for this is simple: it is
a convenient way to get high-quality protein without excess calories.
Be aware, however, that in no way am I advocating that you live
on protein powder (like the dangerous Liquid Protein diets that
used to be popular) alone. The key point to understand here is that
a protein supplement is exactly what the name suggests: a supplement.
It should be taken in addition to a nutritious diet in order to
achieve a certain purpose, in this case increased protein intake.
Protein powders and protein bars can also be used as meal replacements
on occasion, especially when you are on the go. They are far more
nutritious than a fast food meal and more convenient.
The most popular and highest quality protein powder is whey protein.
Whey is very digestable and is used efficiently in the body.
You can maximize the effects you get from your protein supplement
simply by knowing exactly when to take it. Here is a list of the
when, why and how of effective protein supplementation, ranked in
order of importance.
1. Immediately After A Workout
If you only take protein once per day, this is the absolute best
time to take it. Immediately after you finish your workout, your
body needs raw materials to rebuild and recover with. If you don't
supply the raw materials through eating, your body will break down
muscle from elsewhere in your body in order to rebuild the damaged
areas. This is very counterproductive as you can well imagine.
By taking in some protein (20 to 30 grams or so) within minutes
after exercise, you provide your body with the raw materials it
needs to recover without breaking down it's own muscle tissue.
2. An Hour After A Workout
About an hour following a workout, your body has settled down from
the excitement and is ready to really start rebuilding. The protein
that you took in immediately following the workout has been metabolized
and your body is looking for more. Another protein shake at this
time is a good way to help speed recovery. Try to take in another
20 to 30 grams about an hour after working out.
3. First Thing In The Morning
Immediately upon waking, or as soon after that as you can manage,
take a scoop of protein powder. Your body has just been through
an (approximately) 8 hour fast and is hungry for nutrients. Feed
your body!
Protein powder is more quickly assimilated than solid food and
gets into your muscles faster. This protein shot gives your metabolism
a boost, which can help with fat loss. Be sure to follow it with
a good breakfast, of course.
4. Last Thing At Night
Prepare your body for the long overnight fast by giving it a little
something to work with. A good combination for this purpose is to
mix a scoop of whey protein in with a small glass of milk.
Whey is what's known as a "fast" protein, meaning that
it's digested quickly, while milk protein (casein) is what's known
as a "slow" protein, meaning it's digested relatively
slowly. At night, you want your protein to be metabolized slowly
so that your body gets a more even supply over the course of the
night. By mixing "fast" and "slow" proteins,
you get the benefits of the higher-quality whey with the slower
digestion time of the milk.
5. In-between Meals
A quick protein shake can be a great snack in between meals. It
helps keep your body supplied with protein all day long. This is
especially useful if you tend to have long periods of time in-between
meals. It could mean the difference between losing muscle and building
or keeping muscle!
6. With Meals
Taking a protein supplement with meals is a handy way to increase
the protein content of a meal. This is perfect for when you make
a meal that is somewhat low in protein.
7. In The Middle Of The Night
This is a trick that bodybuilders sometimes use in order to keep
their muscles supplied with protein throughout the night. Keep a
pre-mixed protein shake right beside your bed. Although some trainers
have been known to set alarms to wake up to drink it, I prefer to
have it there waiting just in case I wake up, but I don't try to
wake up on purpose. If I don't wake up, it's right there ready for
me to drink first thing in the morning! This strategy is more targeted
for muscle growth rather than fat loss.
The Best Protein Powder and How To Get It Dirt Cheap!
Without a doubt, whey protein is king when it comes to protein
quality and digestability. Ironically, whey used to be considered
a useless by-product of cheesemaking and was just dumped into ponds
as waste!
There are two main classifications of whey protein, which are essentially
based on how processed the whey is. The two forms are whey isolate
and concentrate. The major difference between the two is that whey
isolate is more processed and is thus a purer source of whey. Whey
concentrate is still a very high quality protein however.
If you have the money to spend, whey isolate is the higher quality
protein. If you're looking to get the most protein bang for your
buck, I'm going to let you in on a little secret:
Whey concentrate is very nearly as good as isolate and
is a whole lot cheaper!
I would compare it to driving a sports car. Imagine whey protein
as the Ferrari of protein. It is a top-quality protein and a top-quality
car. If you put a manual transmission into that Ferrari, you are
going to get more performance out of it. This is what happens with
whey isolate as compared to whey concentrate. Whey concentrate is
your basic Ferrari, while whey isolate is your souped-up Ferrari.
My favorite protein supplement, which I always recommend to clients
and friends, is the EAS brand whey concentrate protein powder called
"Simply Protein." EAS is a very high-quality, well-known brand name
and is a pioneer in scientific supplement development. They know
their stuff! Want some? Choose your flavor: Chocolate
- Strawberry
- Vanilla
