Lose weight with protein powder
introduction
The diet market is full of products, powders, and pills designed to help consumers lose weight - not without making a significant amount of money, of course. Protein powder is part of the basic equipment of health and professional athletes.
But can protein powder actually help you lose weight? Or is it just another scam of the weight loss industry to at least make the user's wallet easier?
Can protein powder be useful for losing weight?
An important point in advance: protein powder is not absolutely necessary to lose weight. Weight loss occurs when the calorie intake through diet is less than the energy that is consumed daily, for example through basic metabolism and physical activity.
If you want to lose weight, you should stick to a balanced, protein-rich and low-carbohydrate diet as well as exercise in everyday life and sport.
In terms of nutrition, protein powder can actually be useful if you want to achieve weight loss with the least possible loss of muscle mass. A change in diet with reduced calorie intake is initially associated with considerable weight loss due to the emptying of glycogen stores.
With a small amount of training, such as just endurance training, the next step is mainly to reduce muscle mass. Unfortunately, the most stubborn ones are the fat reserves, which one mainly wants to tackle when losing weight. An increased intake of protein through the diet in combination with strength training can partially prevent muscle loss. Meat, fish, eggs or vegetable sources of protein can be used, but also protein powders.
Protein powders have the advantage that they have a high protein (or protein) content with a low carbohydrate content and fewer calories. However, you should pay close attention to the composition of the protein powder. If you want to lose weight, you should use products such as whey or whey isolates.
Also read: What should be considered when buying protein powder?
How does losing weight with protein powder work?
There are several ways to lose weight with protein powder. If you want to lose a few kilos quickly for a goal that is very close in time, a turbo diet with protein shakes from Almased or Yokebe is popular. This diet results in quick weight loss, but has a high risk of a yo-yo effect.
Losing weight with protein powder is very often designed in such a way that individual meals are replaced by a protein shake. The protein powder is mixed with water or low-fat milk and drunk. It should be ensured that the protein powder contains as few carbohydrates as possible and few unnecessary additives. At the same time you can choose the protein powder to taste, there are different directions such as vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. The delicious taste makes it much easier to persevere. In order to achieve maximum weight loss success, the other main meals should be low in fat and balanced. Exercise also boosts the metabolism and burns calories.
Further information on the topic can be found here:
- Protein shakes
- Diet shake
How much protein powder do you need to lose weight?
With healthy kidney function, the intake of up to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is generally not associated with any serious side effects. If you want to change your diet in order to lose weight, you should consume a large part of the daily calories through protein, the recommendation is between 40 and 60% of the total calories.
Natural sources with a high protein content are meat, especially the low-fat meats such as chicken and turkey, fish, eggs (preferably pure egg white), low-fat quark and other dairy products as well as legumes.
Protein powder is a dietary supplement and cannot replace a balanced diet. No more than two servings of protein powder should be consumed per day, and an additional serving after intense exercise.
Many consumers also do not tolerate the protein powder well and have gastrointestinal complaints, such as flatulence or diarrhea.
Read more on the topic:
- Protein-containing foods
- High protein diet
When should you take the protein powder?
In general, the time of ingestion is not decisive. As long as the daily balance of ingested calories falls below the consumed energy, a decrease can be expected.
However, a time interval should be kept to sports units, it is best to add the protein powder after training. A high protein content can lead to gas and nausea, which is why it is not recommended before a training session.
In the world of athletes, the myth of the so-called “anabolic window” persists. Accordingly, a lot of protein should be consumed in the first 45 minutes after the end of a sporting session, as the muscle is said to have the highest capacity for metabolizing nutrients. However, this myth has already been refuted several times.
The regenerative metabolic processes, for which not only proteins but also carbohydrates are needed, take place within several hours to days after the training session.
So it is not absolutely necessary to take in huge amounts of protein immediately after exercising. Rather, emphasis should be placed on a balanced and regular intake of proteins. Protein powder with water or low-fat milk is suitable, for example, as a small snack in the morning or afternoon.
Also read our topic:
- Low carb diet
- Low fat diet
Where can I find recipes for "losing weight with protein powder"?
There are numerous tasty recipes on the Internet for losing weight with protein powder, but special cookbooks also provide good ideas with instructions.
It is important to ensure that the recipes do not contain too many calories, sugar and fat due to the food that may be added. You can also find smoothies that contain protein powder. You can often find appropriate recipes for the protein products you buy when you search for the brand on the Internet or if you lower the label.
Are there any side effects to be expected?
Healthy adults with normal kidney function usually do not have to reckon with harmful side effects with a moderate intake of protein through food and dietary supplements. In addition to a balanced diet, it is particularly important to ensure adequate fluid intake, because an increased amount of fluid is required to metabolize protein. The recommendation is at least 2 to 2.5 liters per day, preferably water or unsweetened teas.
However, if you overdose on the protein powder over a longer period of time, kidney function can be impaired.
Many protein powders contain lactose and gluten and can lead to side effects in the case of intolerance and intolerance. Even people who are free from intolerance can react with a high intake of protein with gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gas, abdominal pain and diarrhea. The digestibility also depends on the chosen product.
What are the risks of "losing weight with protein powder"?
Health risks arise when losing weight with protein powder in principle only if the protein powder is extremely overdosed, since the proteins can strain the kidneys at enormous levels when they are excreted.
You can drink a protein shake every day without hesitation and thus successfully boost your metabolism without stressing the kidneys.However, the turbo diet with Almased or Jokebe should not be taken radically with three protein shakes instead of the main meals for six months. Deficiency symptoms would occur and the kidneys would suffer.
What other supplements are helpful for losing weight?
The success of the weight loss project depends largely on nutrition. Instead of adhering to a strongly reduced-calorie diet for a short time, the diet should be changed over the long term and made balanced. Those who eat a balanced diet and consume all the nutrients from unprocessed, natural foods as far as possible, generally do not need any supplements.
In summary, it can be said that protein powders can support weight loss, as they protect against excessive muscle breakdown with reduced calorie intake and have little carbohydrates and fat with a high protein content.
Since fatty foods are often avoided in a low-calorie diet due to their high calorie content, the intake of essential omega fatty acids may be recommended or even necessary.
In addition, there are numerous other supplements whose benefits have been marginally or not at all proven. Ultimately, weight loss can be achieved through a balanced diet, exercise and stamina, without slimming your wallet at the same time.
You may also be interested in this topic:
- Healthy eating
- Nutritional advice
How much can you lose weight with protein powder?
There are several ways to lose weight with protein powder.
On the one hand, advertising promises quick success through a "turbo diet" with protein shakes from Almased or Yokebe. Individual or all meals are replaced by protein shakes for a short period of time. Those who follow this diet in a disciplined manner can actually lose weight quickly. However, after the end of the diet, the yo-yo effect occurs when eating normally again.
If you eat almost exclusively protein (products), you often lose up to 3 kilos in a week. This also includes a not insignificant proportion of water. The yo-yo effect can be avoided if you use the diet as a transition to a long-term balanced and healthy diet. The shakes should be slowly reduced after the diet and replaced with healthy meals.
On the other hand, protein powder can be added to the diet without replacing meals. You can z. B. Mix protein powder into muesli or smoothies.
Read more on this topic at: Tips on how to best lose weight
How can you avoid a yo-yo effect?
The yo-yo effect can be avoided if you use the diet as a transition to a long-term balanced and healthy diet. The shakes should be slowly reduced after the diet and replaced with healthy meals.
Read more on the topic: Lose weight without the yo-yo effect
What alternatives are there?
Losing weight with protein powder is a good start to a long-term healthy diet because you don't go hungry.
If you want to lose more weight faster because the summer vacation is approaching or a big event, more radical diets are often followed, such as the turbo diet with protein powder or mono diets such as the fruit or vegetable diet. The cabbage soup diet or the apple cider vinegar diet also helps to lose weight quickly. A major disadvantage of these mono and radical diets, however, is the dreaded yo-yo effect that often follows after the diet has ended.
Another good alternative to losing weight with protein powder is a long-term low-carb diet, in which the carbohydrates in the food are replaced with protein, vegetables, and other nutrients. Both diets are based on the muscle-friendly and fat-hostile effect of proteins. In order to maintain the desired weight in the long term, it applies to every diet that after the end of the diet there must be a slow transition to a balanced diet. A slow transition here means that the daily calories have to be increased slowly to prevent a yo-yo effect. But even then, weight gain is to be expected if the metabolism has been "shut down" through a longer diet and then eaten normally again.
Read more about this under Lose weight by changing your diet
How high are the costs if you want to lose weight with protein powder?
You can spend an average of € 5-30 per 500g can of protein powder in drugstores, pharmacies and on the Internet.
This means that such a can lasts for about a month. You have to pay attention to the ingredients and avoid unnecessary sugar content. Vitamins and other nutrients are sometimes added to the powder and you can choose the types of protein powder to suit your taste.
You might also be interested in: Lose weight with amino acids
Criticism of the diet
You have to make sure that, in addition to drinking protein drinks, you eat healthy, balanced, low-fat and low-calorie food. Otherwise, the extra shakes will lead to weight gain rather than loss.
In addition, it is particularly important with this diet to buy the right protein powder, as these contain different amounts of sugar. For maximum weight loss, the protein powder for this diet should contain a lot of protein and very few carbohydrates.
Medical evaluation by Dr.Gumpert.de
Losing weight with protein powder is basically a healthy and effective weight loss method. Proteins are an essential part of the menu in a balanced diet, because they prevent the breakdown of the body's own protein, the muscles, and at the same time promote the breakdown of sugar from the fat deposits. The prerequisite for this effect to work best is that protein and carbohydrates are absorbed almost separately.
Therefore, it helps the body to lose weight effectively if a main meal is replaced by a low-calorie protein shake for 1 - 2 weeks. With protein powder, however, you have to be very picky to find the right product. Often there is a lot of sugar in the powder that makes the drink less effective. If you use low-sugar and low-calorie protein powder, this diet is a great way to achieve your desired weight. With a gentle transition to a balanced lifestyle with sport and good nutrition, you can finally keep your desired weight successfully.
