Why Protein is Critical For Fat Loss

by Nick Nilsson

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 much protein do you need? The standard recommendation for athletes is between 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (or 0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight per day), though some research indicates a ratio as high as 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.9 grams per pound) is beneficial. This means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should try to eat between 75 and 105 grams and up to around 135 grams of protein per day. Essentially, you should experiment with your protein intake to find out what works best for you. As far as importance in your supplement program goes, I would rank protein as next in importance to a good multi-vitamin. When I made my first grand attempt at fat loss, I made the mistake of neglecting protein and it cost me. Don’t make the same mistake I did!

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.