Protein Powders For Weight Loss: Do They Work?
Weight loss is among the most common fitness goals people tend to create for themselves while journeying toward a healthier and active lifestyle. That’s possibly why the market is flooded with weight loss supplements, pills, and diet plans to lose weight fast. Most people often underestimate the effectiveness of protein powders for weight loss.
Many believe that protein powders are only for those that heavily work out and wish to gain muscle. However, they can be fairly effective for your goals of maintaining a healthy weight too. Let’s understand how protein powders work to aid with weight loss.
How Does Protein Powder Support Weight Loss?
Helps Keep You Satiated For Longer
Proteins are known to be stomach-filling and keep you satiated for long. This is because the process of protein disassembling into essential amino acids in our body takes longer as compared to carbohydrates. Thus, protein powders effectively aid in helping you feel full for longer and beat hunger pangs.
In this way, you most likely will have fewer food cravings and then won’t resort to mindless snacking. However, note that the intensity of how full you feel will depend on your overall food choices.
Helps Build Lean Muscle Mass
Every weight loss journey has some form of physical activity involved. You might be doing low intensity cardio or something of high intensity to burn those extra calories and fats.
Helps With Metabolic Rate
Exercising is surely not enough to maintain healthy weight. Besides a great workout routine, you also have to plan healthy meals that act as fuel to your body and speed up your metabolism. One of the most convenient ways to do so is to incorporate sufficient protein in your diet.
This is mainly because the thermic effect of protein is much higher than carbs and fats. The thermic effect is nothing but the rate at which our bodies spend energy to get nutrients from meals. Studies also show that proteins temporarily increase your metabolism by 20-30% as compared to 5-10% of carbs and 3% or less of fats.
What To Keep In Mind While Choosing Your Protein Powder
- Choose the best-fitting protein for your needs based on your food sensitivities and dietary preferences.
- Read the label of your preferred protein powder to ensure you are well-informed on the nutritional information and ingredients.
- If your protein powder is low in calories, you can add fresh fruits and berries to your shakes to get the essential calorie requirement. [1]
- Pair your protein powder with regular physical activity to maintain lean muscle mass.
- Finally, make sure you’re not overdoing your protein powders. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein (per kg of body weight) is the recommended dietary allowance of protein for an average Indian adult.
Summing Up
Protein powders can certainly aid with weight loss all the while maintaining a healthy status quo within your body. Simply ensuring that your protein powder isn’t replacing your diet and you are partaking in some form of exercise can go a long way toward an effective weight loss goals.
FAQs
Are Protein Powders Good For Weight Loss?
Protein powders may help with weight loss as they keep you satiated for longer periods, curbing your appetite. Combined with a balanced diet and daily exercise, protein powders are efficient for weight loss.
When Should I Have Protein Powder?
Protein powders can be consumed either before or after your workout for effective and maximum nutrition from the protein intake.
Do Protein Powders Cause Weight Gain?
Generally, protein powders alone cannot cause weight gain. Weight gain depends on the amount of protein intake, the other ingredients in the powder like carbohydrates, any physical activity that the person does, and the physiological condition of the individual.
Can I Use Protein Powders As A Meal Replacement?
No, protein powders shouldn’t be used as a meal replacement supplement. Rather consuming protein powders alongside your meal or simply swapping one of your three meals with a protein shake is good enough.