A high protein diet can improve the effects of exercise in helping people lose fat without losing muscle.
New search shows obese women who exercise regularly and ate a diet reduced in protein. It lost more fat and less muscle than those who ate a high diet high in carbohydrates. Both diets contained the same number of total calories and percentage of fat calories.
"Both diets work because when you restrict calories, you lose weight. But people in the upper protein diet have lost more weight," says Donald Layman researcher, PhD, Food Science and Human Nutrition Professor. at the University of Illinois, in a news version.
Researchers say women in high protein diet also lost more weight around the abdominal area.
"interactive effect when a protein rich diet is combined with exercise. The two work together to correct body composition; dieters lose more weight, and lose fat, not the muscle," says Laye.
Exercise For Thigh Fat Loss - Protein + Exercise May Promote Weight Loss
In the study, the researchers compared the effects of a high protein diet, low-carbohydrates against a high-carbohydrate, low Protein diet combined with exercise in 48 obese women.
Both diets contained 1,700 calories, 30% of the calories of fat, and about 17 grams of fiber.
But women in high protein diet have replaced high protein foods such as meats, dairy, eggs, nuts, for carbohydrate foods such as breads, rice, cereals, noodles and potatoes, to get fence of 30% of its total protein calories.
Women in the high-carbohydrate diet compared, ate about half of this amount of protein and has about 60% of its daily calories of carbohydrates.
Both diets fall within the levels of acceptable nutrients prescribed by the Medicine Institute, according to the researchers.
Both groups participated in a high-level exercise program. The high-exercise group consisted of five 30-minute walk sessions and two minutes of lifting / stretching sessions per week.
Exercise for the low intensity group emphasized voluntary lifestyle recommendations of a minimum of 30 minutes of walking five days / week.
After four months, the results showed that both groups of dieters lose weight, and those who exercised more more lost muscle tissues and more fat.
High protein dieters in the high exercise group lost an average of 22 pounds and less than a pound of thin muscle. High carbohydrate dieters in the high exercise group lost an average of 15 pounds, but lost more than 2 kilos of muscle.
But the actual key to lose weight, keeping the muscle seems to be exercise.
High protein dieters, low exercise lost an average of 19 pounds, but lost more than 4 pounds of muscle. High-carbohydrate, the low exercisers lost 17 pounds, but almost 6 pounds that came from the muscle.
almost 100% of the weight lost in the high protein exercise group was fat, while 25% -30% of the lost weight in the high-carbohydrate exercise group was muscle, says Layman.
"Diet works because the extra protein reduces muscle loss while the low-carbohydrate component gives you low insulin, allowing to burn fat" says lay. "Some people refer to this as the metabolic advantage of a protein rich diet."
It says that the average American diet contains about four or five grams of leucine and to get the metabolic effects seen in this study that you need 9 or 10 grams. The study, which appears in the question of August of the Journal of Nutrition, was funded by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, the National Association of Cattlemen Beefa, the Meat and Kraft Council.
