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
