Quality protein also helps you sustain muscle during weight loss, which contributes to optimal weight management efforts over time.
In my field of weight management, 90 percent of the participants I come in contact with are women so this article will be geared toward the ladies this week. Many of us women are truly misinformed and often confused when it comes to the importance of adequate protein consumption and weight loss.
Many women believe they should only be concerned with their protein intake if they are trying to go into bodybuilding. Well, I’m here to debunk that myth and express how it’s as important to have a sufficient protein intake for weight loss as it is for muscle building. The amount of quality protein in your diet is the single most important calorie that influences your metabolic rate, favorably influencing weight loss.
Quality protein also helps you sustain muscle during weight loss, which contributes to optimal weight management efforts over time. With excessive amounts of cardio, we tend to lose muscle. Maintaining an adequate amount of protein for your fitness needs will help retain more muscle thus, allowing you to burn more calories. Here are a few protein sources I’m often asked about. What is Whey?
Milk protein is 20 percent Whey. Whey is by far the most popular protein choice, perhaps because Whey protein contains large amounts of branched-chain amino acids as well as the full spectrum of amino acids (which is all the muscle building blocks you need to build muscle). Compared to the other proteins on the market, Whey is one of the fastest digesting proteins (hydrolyzed = fastest, isolate = faster, concentrate = fast).
Protein concentrates are created by pushing the protein source (milk, whey, etc.) through a very small filter that allows water, minerals, and other organic materials to pass though. The proteins, which are too big to pass through the filter, are collected, resulting in protein powder. When this process is used to make Whey protein concentrate, it yields a protein powder that is 70-85 percent protein and up to 5 percent lactose.
People with lactose intolerance will have trouble consuming large amounts of Whey protein concentrate.
Protein isolates. This is the next step up in purification. The protein is purified again using more filtration or a technique called ion-exchange or cross-flow microfiltration. Protein isolates have very low levels of carbohydrates and fat and are almost exclusively pure protein.
Protein nutrition is very simple. To keep your body in an anabolic state to grow and build muscle the important thing is to consume between 25-50 grams of protein (depending on your needs) every three hours. I’ve used Whey for a while now but I still get 80 percent of my protein from whole food sources such as eggs, egg whites, chicken, lean red meat, nuts, and tuna. You should look at both isolate or concentrate for what it really is a supplement and it should never replace whole foods!
Miesha Wilson is the owner and master trainer at Nu Life Fitness Camp, a lifestyle based weight management and group fitness facility that specializes in providing high impact training in a supportive environment for reasonable prices. Wilson is certified in the state of Ohio for personal training and group fitness by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and as a nutrition advisor by American Fitness Training of Athletics. She is also holds a BBA from Tiffin University and a MBA from Indiana Wesleyan. For more information on Nu Life Fitness Camp visit www.nulifefitnesscamp.com or call (216) 391-4442.
