2nd way protein helps with fat loss...

Today's post: Friday, 2-29-2008

1. In a recent post, we wrote on the research that found that one of the ways high protein diets or eating helped with fat loss that is not well known as yet is that of the three kinds of food components carbohydrates, fats, & protein, only protein worked well to turn off hunger & do so for quite some time.

(You may already know or have read here that strength training increases your muscle mass which helps increase the amount of calories you burn because muscle simply uses more calories than fat. So the more muscle you gain, the more calories you burn even when you are not exercising and the easier it is to lose fat & the more you can eat without gaining it back.

And foods high in protein help the strength training you do to build more muscle for you, as you may already also know.)

2. It seems there is a second little known way that eating protein foods helps lose fat. It seems that eating protein foods will increase the calories you burn directly !!

I found this in last Tuesday’s Early To Rise email.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

“Calorie-Burning Foods

By Craig Ballantyne

How would you like to get the benefits of one cardio session per week, without having to do any work? Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, all you have to do is eat more protein.

That's right, eat to burn calories.

Greek researchers gave 30 women a meal rich in either protein or fat in tests spaced one week apart. And they found that diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT - calorie-burning caused by the digestive process) was three times greater after the protein meal than after the fat meal. The scientists concluded that, over the long term, a low DIT associated with eating fat may contribute to the development and maintenance of obesity.

To benefit from this information, base your meals on lean protein sources and fruits and vegetables. Substitute broiled chicken breasts for fried chicken, grass-fed beef for ordinary hamburger, and poached fish filets for breaded shrimp[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is the creator of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system.”

X * X* X* X* X

It’s important to note that this article suggests more of a villain role for eating fat than other research supports. In some extremely important ways that conclusion of a villain role is totally incorrect.

It’s extremely clear that lean protein (& he uses excellent examples) and nonstarchy vegetables are MOST of what you should be eating if you want to lose excess fat & keep it off.

You’ve just read several ways that eating lean protein helps lose fat. (And, it also helps reduce your intake of animal based saturated fat which improves your health.)

(Organic, nonstarchy vegetables have abundant nutrients so you will be healthy. They have lots of fiber which also helps you feel full & NOT hungry. And, they have so few calories that Weight Watchers lists them as having zero points.)

However, it’s also been found that, given eating lean & health OK protein & abundant nonstarchy vegetables & controlling your total calorie intake that:

People who include health OK fats, monosaturated & omega 3 fats or oils get three astonishing benefits all of them critical to successful fat loss.:

(These fats include fish like sardines & wild caught salmon; purified fish oil or cod liver oil; avocados & guacamole; nuts; & extra virgin olive oil.)

a) You will be MUCH healthier as this suggests that you get ample omega 3 oils & very few omega 6 oils or animal based saturated fats.

b) Research shows that people who include these foods are MANY TIMES more likely to eat right long enough to lose all the fat they want & are MANY TIMES more likely to keep doing it & have the fat stay off.

c) Prevention Magazine has a new diet book out on the 3rd benefit. They found that calorie controlled meals that include a healthy fat in virtually every one don’t just lose fat from your body, they remove your ABDOMINAL or tummy fat !!

THAT provides outstanding health benefits because excessive abdominal fat tends to cause heart disease and type II diabetes. AND, social psychologists have found it makes you more visually appealing to members of the opposite sex.

So that’s the recipe for eating right & fat loss.:

Abundant lean protein; abundant nonstarchy vegetables; and controlled amounts of health OK fats & whole fruit -- & as little high glycemic carbohydrates & other junk foods as you can possibly do without.

Lots of total regular exercise each week (such as tai chi, walking or being physically active; vigorous interval cardio; & progressive strength training) is also a key addition that sharply improves your health; increases your muscle mass; & will help you lose fat and keep it off.