Protein delays gastric emptying which means that it stays in your stomach longer than carbs. You will feel hungry much later and feel satiated after eating too. It reduces the hunger hormone, ghrelin and increases the satiety hormone, leptin. On top of that, it boosts the appetite-reducing hormones GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin. All this means that you will have less calories, less cravings and more satisfaction of eating.
After we eat something, some calories are used for the purpose of digesting and metabolizing that food. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). Protein has the highest thermic effect with 20-30% compared to 5-10% in case of carbs and 0-3% in case of fats. This means that when we eat 100 calories of protein, we burn 20 to 30 calories just to digest that food and what remains is only 70 to 80 usable calories.
I share in my signature ‘Be Your Own Doctor’ workshop that ‘Insulin and Leptin resistance’ is a major reason for obesity today. And the reason it happens is constant blood sugar spikes. When we eat refined carbs and foods, we see an increase in blood sugar imbalance. That causes insulin resistance along with leptin resistance. Both of which cause you to gain weight or make it very difficult to lose weight. when you have sufficient protein in a day, it will ensure stable blood sugar as it cause slow release of sugar in the blood. Ultimately, it helps in losing weight.
Every craving or unnecessary snacking is a signal that you didn’t have enough protein in a day. When you take protein in your meals, your cells will receive required nutrition to get going. It is only when you bring an imbalance in macronutrients where you have more of carbs and unhealthy fats without having adequate protein, your body starts asking for more food. You mistake it with cravings and have sugar or salty foods.
As I said, right Weight loss = Fat loss. Protein helps you build muscle mass and lose fat. The main job of protein is to repair and grow. It also improves your metabolism which means you develop more efficient calorie-burning ability.
So, enjoy that glass of protein shake once or twice in a day to ensure you enjoy all the advantages protein has to offer.
