Consume protein at every meal to promote weight loss and weight control

beef steak

You have probably heard how consuming adequate dietary protein promotes muscle recovery and optimises strength, power, size and fitness gains after exercise (more info about protein intake for muscle recovery here: What should I eat after training?). What you may not have heard is how regular protein intake can help you to lose and control body weight. Consuming small amounts of protein at every meal is a powerful weight loss and weight control strategy that is easy to implement.

Consuming protein in a meal or snack has a number of weight controlling benefits:

1. Earlier and prolonged satiety - protein makes you feel full sooner and for longer. This helps to reduce appetite, snacking and the amount of food consumed.  
2. Better blood sugar control - protein converts more slowly to glucose and results in less of an insulin response. This helps to reduce appetite, cravings and conversion of consumed energy to fat stores.
3. Increased metabolism - protein requires more energy to metabolise and digest then carbohydrate and fat. This increases the amount of energy expended at times when you are not exercising.

Protein is in a variety of different foods:

• Dairy foods contain 10g of protein per serve (250ml milk, 200g yogurt, 40g cheese):
• Meat, fish and poultry contain 10g of protein per serve (40g)
• Eggs contain 6 g of protein per serve (1 egg)
• Beans and legumes contain 6-10g of protein per serve (100g, 1/2 cup)
• Nuts contain 10g of protein per serve (50g, 1/4 cup)

Recommending regular protein intake is not the same as recommending a high protein - low carbohydrate diet. A well balanced, varied diet that meets protein requirements is recommended. Try to achieve daily protein requirements by including protein containing foods at every meal and snack spread evenly across the day (3 meals and 2-3 snacks). Some quick and easy serving suggestions include:

Breakfast:

• 3/4 cup of oats, 1/2 cup (100g) of berries, 1 cup of low fat milk or
• 1 piece of wholegrain toast, 1 egg, 1/2 cup (100g) of salad

Lunch:

• 1 wholegrain wrap, 40g of meat, 1 cup of salad or
• 40g of chicken, 200g (1 cup) of salad or
• 2 slices of wholegrain bread, 40g of meat, 1 cup (1200g) of salad

Dinner:

• 80g meat with 200g (1 cup) of non-starchy vegetables (ie stir fry, meat and veg, casserole) (more info about starchy and non-starchy vegetables here: Starchy vegetables: a weight loss pitfall) or
• 1/4of wholegrain pizza base, 100g (1/2 cup) of mixed beans, 200g (1 cup) of salad, 40g of cheese or 
• 80g of tuna, 200g (1 cup) of salad

Snack:

mixed nuts

• 40g cottage cheese, 4 crackers
• 200g yogurt
• 50g (1/4 cup) nuts, 1 piece of fruit
• 1 scoop of protein powder mixed with water or low fat milk