Time to Keep the Weight Off

Ask Glen!





Q. Glen, I lose weight all the time! Any suggestions on keeping the weight off?

A. You lose weight, you fit into your best looking pair of jeans, you check yourself out in the mirror (admit it, you do!) and you say, "I look purrrty darn good!" But the months creep along and what happens? Those jeans are fitting tighter. What happened? What went wrong? I can help.......

Finding help in protein
As far back as 50 years ago, it was common for athletes to eat more than your average daily serving of protein. Why is protein so important? First of all, you need the amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein) for the repair and rebuilding of muscle that’s been torn down from exercise. And you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to tear down your muscles from exercise.

Your Uncle Joe and Aunt Winnie working out on the stairstepper or doing some new Yoga move will experience delayed-onset muscle soreness (which is the result of tiny rips or tears in muscle). So eat protein to repair this.

But here's the kicker. Protein has another great benefit. It helps you maintain your weight loss!

The answer, my friends...
You go on your favorite diet, you lose weight and then you gotta figure out how to keep those pounds off. The answer is protein, my friends.

Here's the proof!

A recent study examined 113 overweight subjects who followed a low-calorie diet for four weeks; they followed up with a weight-maintenance (WM) diet for six months after that.

During WM, subjects were divided into a protein group or a control group. The protein group consumed an additional 30 grams per day of protein (an extra 120 calories) in addition to their own usual diet. The control group didn't consume anything extra.

Both groups lost similar amounts of weight during the four-week low-calorie diet. That makes sense: You eat less, you lose weight. But what happened in the next six months is as amazing as David Copperfield making an airplane disappear. Only in this case, it wasn't magic, it was reality!

During weight maintenance, the protein group had a higher protein intake, which makes sense since they consumed an extra 30 grams daily. But they also had the following great things happen. The protein-consuming group gained less weight and had smaller waist measurements!

Also, the weight gained by the protein group was fat-free mass (which is mainly muscle)! Satiety in the fasted state before breakfast increased significantly more in the protein group compared to the control group

So what does this all mean?

First of all, if you lose weight, it makes sense to consume an additional 30 grams of protein daily to help maintain the weight loss. Now you might be scratching your head and asking yourself, "So you mean I can eat more calories [120 calories] in the form of protein and keep the weight off and whatever weight I do gain back is mainly muscle?"

The answer to that my friend is a resounding "yes"! Why do you think fitness enthusiasts so strongly embrace and consume protein? Because it’s good for your muscles, helps you feel more satisfied, and helps keep the fat off after losing weight. This is further proof that not all calories are created equally. So don't think an extra 120 calories of a doughnut will work as well as 120 calories of lean protein, cause they won't.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

Wishing You Great Health!

Any questions? Ask Glen!