Is Protein Maxxing the Key to Weight Loss?

Protein maxxing is where people try to maximize the amount of protein they eat to improve fullness, build muscle and generally feel better. 

There’s been an explosion of protein based food products lately too with protein bread, protein crisps and protein soups filling the supermarket shelves. I’ve seen people aiming for over 150g of protein a day and it feels a bit overkill I must admit.

Why do we need protein?

Protein is one of the 3 macronutrients that are essential for our bodies. It has crucial roles including:

• Growing and repairing muscle
• Helping with regulating blood sugar levels
• Producing digestive enzymes
• Helping the body fight infection
• Creating hormones that support fertility 
• Carrying nutrients and molecules around the body

Most people know about protein and its role in building muscle, but it does so much more than that and our bodies wouldn't function without it.

How much protein do we need a day?

For the average person, you need 0.75g of protein per kg of body weight. For example, if you weigh 70kg, you’d need 53g of protein a day. 

People that exercise a lot will need more, with numbers from 1.4-2g of protein per kg depending on how intensely you workout.

Evidence shows we’re likely getting more than enough protein, with the average man getting 84g of protein a day and the average woman getting 66g. 

Is too much protein a bad thing?

There is an idea that too much protein can be bad for you, as it puts extra strain on your kidneys which is where protein is processed. But research shows that someone can consume up to 2.8g/kg of protein with no negative effects. 

How does protein help you lose weight?

Research shows that having a slightly higher amount of protein, between 1.2-1.6g/kg of body weight, can help you lose more weight. 

A quick summary of weight loss: you need your energy expenditure to be more than your energy intake i.e. calories in should be less than calories out in order to lose weight.

Protein helps this equation in a few ways:

Protein increases something called diet induced thermogenesis (DIT). This is the energy your body uses to break down and digest food. Protein is a bit more ‘difficult’ and so takes a longer time to digest. This means you use more energy digesting it, which helps the calories out. 

As it takes a longer time to digest, it stays in your digestive system for longer which can help you feel full. If you’re feeling full, you’re less likely to snack or graze between meals which helps with reducing calories in.

A higher protein diet also influences the digestive hormones in the body. You’ve likely heard about the weight loss jabs Mounjaro or Ozempic that are flooding the market currently. These injections contain a replica of the GLP-1 hormone that naturally occurs in the body, and its main role is increasing fullness. 

When you eat a higher protein diet, more of this GLP-1 hormone is released which makes you feel full. Higher protein also reduces the amount of the hunger hormone ghrelin. So you feel less hungry and more full which helps reduce your calories in.

Also, a higher intake of protein supports muscle growth and more muscle means a higher metabolic rate, even at rest. If someone has more muscle on their body their energy expenditure will be higher so more calories out. 

How to increase protein, without overdoing it:

People often repeat the phrase ‘your body can only absorb 20g of protein at a time’ which isn't totally true. In theory, your body can use up to 100g of protein in one sitting, depending on what you’re doing e.g. after a very very intense strength training session, your body could intake all that protein at once. But for most people, this isn't practical or what their goal is. 

To make it simple, protein should be evenly spaced throughout the day to ensure optimal absorption. Depending on your protein goal, this could be 15-30g per meal.

If you’re someone that doesn't want to use protein powders or protein bars, you could try these small changes to add a bit more protein into each meal:

Breakfast: 

• Butter and jam on toast → peanut butter and jam on toast - adds 5g of protein (per 20g of peanut butter)
• 2 slices of white bread → 2 slices of multiseeded wholemeal bread - adds 4g of protein
• Activia yogurt → 0% fat Greek yoghurt - adds 6g of protein (per 100g of yoghurt)
• Cereal/porridge + small handful of nuts or seeds - adds 3-5g of protein
• Semi skimmed cow milk → higher protein milk e.g. Arla protein milk or Supernutrio (1.5-2x the protein than regular cow milk)

Lunch/dinner:

• Tin of lentils + beef mince/cubes - adds 16g of protein to your bolognese/casserole 
• Plain greek yoghurt + curry - adds 10g of protein (per 100g of yoghurt)
• Silken tofu blended into soup - adds 6g protein (per 100g of tofu)
• Light cream cheese stirred into a pasta sauce - adds 10g (per 100g of cream cheese)

You don’t need to protein max but if you’re looking to lose weight, a slighter higher amount of protein each day can help you get there. 

I’ve got more weight loss tips in my book How to Lose Weight for Good.

Key points:

• We need protein to maintain and grow muscle, to produce hormones, regulate our metabolism and support our immune system.
• The average person needs 0.75g of protein per kg of body weight. This can increase up to 1.6g/kg if you strength train and want to add more muscle.
• Protein helps you lose weight as it keeps you fuller for longer and reduces your appetite.
• Evenly spacing protein throughout the day is optimal, aiming for 15-30g of protein per meal.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post!

Bye for now 👋

References:

High protein and weight loss: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7539343/ 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8017325/ 

Protein requirements: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a749fece5274a44083b82d8/government_dietary_recommendations.pdf  

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5477153/ 

Protein intake https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey-2019-to-2023 

Protein harms: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11022925/