It seems everyone I know who is concerned with fitness or weight loss has been, or is currently on a high protein diet. Protein diets are a good healthy way you can reduce your carb intake and replace it with one of many quality high protein foods out there. This causes your body to deplete its stored energy cells (fat cells) and because you’ve reduce your energy intake your body will use what is available to it. The result is healthy weight loss and if done properly minimal muscle loss. I must warn you, if this is not done properly your body will burn muscle before fat, because it is easier to convert to energy. So it is very important not to eliminate carbs completely.
Even I was involved in the NO carb fad diet for a time. I ate nothing but chicken breast for about eight months and I did lose weight but I started to get very weak. I was losing muscle because, as I mentioned earlier, it is easier for your body to convert muscle to energy. High protein diets like this, that have you completely cutting carbs out and eating nothing but protein, are very unsafe and are very unhealthy. One way you could cut out carbs would be to eliminate all processed carbs and replace them with vegetables and fruit giving you the vitamins and minerals that is lacking in meat. This is the healthiest high protein diet I can recommend, because it is more balanced and it is all natural.
Another good reason to consider a high protein diet comes from a study done recently where it was discovered that protein satisfies hunger better than fats or carbs. You can read about this study at The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’s website. I will summarize it for you, the subjects in the study reported that they were less hungry and more satisfied after eating. They also averaged just below 450 calories per day fewer that on a typical 30/30/40 diet. That is huge when you are trying to create a calorie deficit for weight loss. This could be the ticket to building more muscle, losing more weight, getting ripped and ultimately keeping the weight off.
A one day example of a high protein could go like this
- Breakfast – Eggs, fruit and a whey protein shake
- Snack 1 – Tuna salad and veggie
- Lunch – Lean turkey patty wrapped in lettuce with a fruit
- Snack 2 – 4 – 6 oz chicken breast with veggie
- Dinner – Salmon with a veggie
- Snack 3 – Post workout protein shake (move this where it need to be according to your daily schedule)