The Best Protein For Weight Loss
When we think of protein powder, we often picture bodybuilders and mass gain. Yet, protein powder can be a great ally in weight loss and weight management.
Protein acts in several ways to help achieve a healthy weight. First, it ensures satiety, meaning you will easily feel full on a high protein diet. This prevents snacking by making it easier for you to go without a treat between meals.
Protein is also more complex to digest than carbohydrates and fat. The body has to exert greater effort to digest protein, thus boosting metabolism.
In other words, you will burn more calories by digesting protein than you will by digesting other macronutrients.
Protein further helps with weight loss by maintaining steady blood sugar levels. Protein reduces spikes in blood glucose, which helps eliminate cravings. It is much easier to stick to a weight loss plan when you are not longing for treats.
Last but not least a high protein diet prevents muscle wasting by maintaining lean muscle concentration. A side effect of weight loss can be muscle loss, which may end up hindering your progress.
Indeed, muscle burns calories at a higher rate than fat. The more muscle you have then the higher your metabolic rate will be - ensuring you burn fat even at rest!
When it comes to protein powder NZProtein offers various options to assist with weight loss. If the taste of protein powder bothers you then we also carry unflavoured options. It's worth noting that in our flavoured varieties we mostly use sucralose as it has no effect on blood sugar levels. More can be found on our blog post The Truth About Sucralose.
Milk Proteins
Milk is made of two types of proteins - whey and casein.
The benefits of whey powder in weight loss have been well researched. Studies comparing whey to other protein powders such as soy and egg white show it is more efficient than other products in inducing weight loss and lean muscle growth, regardless of physical activities.
A possible explanation resides in its high leucine content, an essential amino acid that plays a significant role in muscle gain. As previously mentioned, to keep your metabolism up and to ensure you burn calories at rest you need a good ratio of muscle to fat. For women dreading to bulk up fear not. Muscle does not have to look big to be dense and healthy, and to burn calories.
If you want to give whey a try, have a look at our Whey Isolate protein powder. Isolate whey means that the whey has been stripped down to its protein content by removing lactose and fat. NZProtein Whey Isolate contains a whopping 29 grams of protein per serving, with only 0.1 grams of carbohydrates and 0.3 grams of fat (unflavoured).
If you are on a budget then casein will do the trick as well. Casein is digested slower than whey and thus releases leucine and other amino acids at a slower pace. By doing so, it keeps you full for longer. It is especially useful prior to sleep to prevent late-night cravings.
Our Micellar Casein provides 25.3 grams of protein per serving, with only 1.6 grams of carbohydrates and 0.5 grams of fat (unflavoured).
Alternative to Milk Proteins
A number of people avoid milk proteins as it can cause stomach upsets. For anyone still wanting to get an animal-based product then beef protein powder is a good substitute and is considered hypoallergenic.
Beef protein has not been as researched as milk proteins for weight loss, but it has a nutritional profile that can benefit anyone focusing on weight loss.
Our NZProtein beef powder is highly concentrated in protein with a huge 30.6 grams per serve, and with under 0.3 grams of carbohydrates and 0.5 grams of fat (unflavoured).
It is, however, lower than whey in branched amino acids (BCAAs) - including the precious leucine. Beef powder contains roughly 3.7 g of leucine per 100 grams, versus 9 grams in whey.
This could potentially reduce its efficacy in inducing weight loss and maintaining a healthy muscle profile. To get the best of both worlds you could add a BCAA supplement to your beef powder.
Vegan Options
If you are dairy free or vegan then do not despair - there are vegan options for you as well. Pea protein is a great alternative to whey, with the added benefit of being easier to bake with.
Although vegan, pea protein isolate is a complete protein. When consumed thirty minutes prior to a meal pea protein even seems to have a greater impact than whey on reducing food intake.
If you are on a weight loss journey, a protein shake might not be the best option for you. Depending on what ingredients you put in your smoothie, it can become highly concentrated in calories and sugar.
A good alternative is to use protein powders in baking. For a healthy desert that will leave you feeling full and satisfied try our low-calorie pea protein cookies.
Our NZProtein pea protein has a similar protein content per servings than our casein powder with 25 grams of protein per serve, and only 1.1 grams of carbohydrates and 2.4 grams of fat (unflavoured).
The Takeaway
If you are looking to trim down it's important to choose a protein powder that fits you and your nutritional requirements.
A protein powder with a high concentration of carbohydrates or fat may do the opposite of what you want.
If your goal is to shed fat it is better to stick to a powder with a high protein to carbs and fat ratio.
All of our protein powders are high protein with low carbohydrates and fat.