 Hi friends, welcome back to my channel and a very special welcome if you're new here. My name is Jen. I'm a certified weight loss and nutrition coach and I'm on WW personal points. Today, today we're talking about a very important topic. I get DMs, messages in my Facebook group, comments here on YouTube, literally every day about why is protein so important for weight loss? So today we're going to deep dive in to the importance of protein when it comes to reaching your weight loss goals. I have put out a couple of other protein-related videos, one talking about all of the foods that I eat on a daily basis that help me reach my protein goal and six tips to get in a little bit more protein every single day. I will make sure that I link both of those videos down below for you if you have not seen them. But today, today we're deep diving into why it's important to have a protein goal every day to see success. Subscribe if you're not because I upload five videos every single week. Check out that description box for nutrition coaching. I highly recommend personalized macros and calories. I will tell you your calorie goal, your protein goal, your carb goal and your fat goal specific to you. Those online calculators unfortunately aren't accurate. So invest in yourself and have your macros and calories done, you won't regret it. I also have one-on-one coaching for accountability as well. You'll find links and discounts to my favorite things and last but not least, come join my Facebook group. We'd love to have you. So let's jump into why protein is important for weight loss. There are mega, mega benefits when it comes to eating enough protein every day while you're trying to lose weight and actually even while you're in maintenance. Protein is one of the three macronutrients. I get asked a lot, what are macros? Macros are fats, carbs and protein. Protein is mostly known for its notorious role in muscle synthesis which supports weight loss by cultivating lean body mass to innately boost metabolism. Protein is also considerably satiating, thus lowering the risk of overeating and controlling your caloric intake. And we all know that the only way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. So if we're eating a lot of protein, we're less hungry throughout the day and a lot less likely to overeat and take ourselves out of that calorie deficit to see weight loss. Since protein can be found in so many different sources including animal-based proteins, plant-based proteins, obtaining an adequate amount of it every day is actually relatively easy if you structure your meals around protein. So let's talk about why the heck is protein so important for weight loss? The importance of protein stems from multiple factors. If you follow me here on my channel, you know that I've lost over 125 pounds. The majority of that weight loss has come from following my personalized macros and calories and reaching my protein goal every single day. One benefit of protein for weight loss is it actually stimulates muscle growth. It repairs and grows muscle and we're not talking about body-building muscle. I mean, we are talking about body-building muscle but we're also focused on lean muscle which is what our body needs as we age as well as to help us look leaner and stronger and healthier as we continue to lose weight. Have you ever heard the term skinny fat? That is what we don't want. We want to build, develop and maintain lean muscle and protein does just that. Another great aspect about protein is it increases your metabolic rate substantially. A higher metabolism means you burn more calories throughout the day, leading to weight loss. Protein also leads to greater satiety meaning that you're more satisfied and fulfilled with the foods that you're eating throughout the day and again, less likely to overeat. One of the biggest aspects of protein with weight loss is its ability to make you feel satisfied. Protein is more satiating than fat and carbs especially in the long term. Decrease hunger rates actually coincide with increased protein as well. So making sure that a big chunk of your calories every day is dedicated to protein is not only going to help you build lean muscle, lose weight but will also keep you fuller and more satisfied throughout the day. Like I mentioned in my video of the biggest mistakes I made on WW and how I lost 100 pounds, I'll link those videos for you as well if you miss them. I talked a lot about when I was on WW only I was never satisfied. I was always hungry. I was suffering from binge eating on foods that I was restricting during the week. I would binge eat them all on Saturday. And now that I have a protein goal every single day I'm satisfied throughout the day. I don't eliminate or restrict any food so the binge eating is completely gone partially because of my protein goal keeping me full but partially because having enough protein in my diet has really helped me heal my relationship with food which is huge for not only losing weight but maintaining that weight loss long term. Another great thing about protein is it actually regulates our hunger hormone. There are a series of hormones in our body that regulate our hunger. I'll go ahead and pop the different hormones up here on the screen for you. One of these big hormones that plays a factor in hunger that is decreased with eating enough protein is the hunger hormone, garolin. This actually stimulates our appetite and generally makes us reach for foods that sometimes aren't the healthiest choice. A high protein diet decreases garolin and food consumption therefore leading you into weight loss. Another great thing about protein is it curbs your carb fluctuations. Carbs is what our body reaches for for energy. Fast acting carbohydrates, things like rice cakes and chips and cookies that is going to deliver immediate energy for our body. However, it's not going to keep you full and satisfied for very long. Slower digesting carbs like rolled oats, quinoa, brown rice, these can keep us fuller for longer but they're still an energy source for our body. So eating protein with our carbohydrates can prevent a lot of that fluctuation that we see with fast acting and even slow digesting carbohydrates. If you've ever heard to include protein with all meals this is precisely why. I feel like a broken record with my coaching clients because that is something I tell each and every one of them you have to eat protein with every single meal. Complex carbs, slow digesting carbs, these are ones that contain fiber. These are released slowly into your body. That's why they keep you a little bit fuller for longer whereas opposed to those fast acting refined carbohydrates they're going to give your body the energy that it needs but it's going to be fleeting. And like I said, you'll be hungry relatively soon after you've eaten them. It can cause your blood sugar to drop which tends to cause us to be more hungry not long after. That is especially prevalent with those fast digesting processed carbohydrates. So pairing protein with carbs actually prevents the absorption of the sugar in those carbohydrates. It stops it from entering your bloodstream therefore stabilizing your blood sugar and eliminating that need for more food in a short period after eating those faster acting carbohydrates. So anytime you're eating a carbohydrate source whether it's a fast acting carb or a slow digesting carb make sure you pair it with protein. Better yet make sure every meal and snack throughout the day is based around protein. Protein actually increases our energy expenditure throughout the day. Otherwise known as TEF or the thermic effect of food. This is the energy that the body uses to digest food into smaller absorbable components. Protein has a higher TEF compared to carbs and fats which essentially means the body burns more calories through the digestion process than any of the other macro nutrients. So what that means in a nutshell is that as our body digest the protein that we're eating it's burning more energy AKA more calories. So the more protein we eat throughout the day the harder it is for our body to digest and the more calories we burn just through the digestion process. And I don't know about you but sitting on the couch watching TV digesting my protein and burning calories sounds pretty good to me. Protein also increases fat burn. I get asked a lot does protein actually burn fat? And then intricate answer to that is yes. The body cannot effectively burn calories without the inclusion of carbohydrates and protein. This is why we do not eliminate or restrict carbohydrates. We need carbohydrates for weight loss. Our body needs carbohydrates for energy and our body needs protein and carbohydrates to help burn fat. And remember without significant protein and carbohydrate intake every day we're burning our lean muscle. That's the muscle we want to keep on our body. That's the muscle that burns calories doing absolutely nothing. Calories, fat burn, carbohydrates and protein are absolutely essential for weight loss and for maintaining that weight loss long term. The biggest mistake that we can make is not doing what we're doing to lose weight when we get to maintenance. A lot of times we'll revert back to old habits. We'll stop focusing on protein. We'll stop getting in good food. We'll eat out a little bit more. We'll have a few extra sweet treats and maybe not even track them. And that's eventually why the scale increases and we are now out of maintenance into a mode where we need to lose weight again. So it's really important to do whatever you're doing to lose weight when you get to maintenance. And that includes eating all the macronutrients, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Protein also supplies metabolic supporting B vitamins. The majority of lean proteins out there are rich in B vitamins. Well, each of the eight essential B vitamins has its own function. They cohesively provide the body with energy and keep our metabolism revved and working at its prime. Our goal is to eat as much as we can to still lose weight. We wanna be able to fuel our body. We want to be able to see the scale go down and we want to feel full and satisfied. By eating a protein-filled diet, you're getting those essential eight B vitamins that help with just that. So how much protein are you supposed to have for weight loss? This is another question that I get asked all the time. And the short answer to that is it depends. Every body is different. Every single person has different protein needs every day. We could be the same height, same age and same weight and our protein needs and our macro needs in general will be different. The factors that lead into how much protein we need are things like our age, our weight, our activity level and even underlying health conditions we may suffer from. The only way to know how much of each macronutrient we need every day. Protein, fats and carbs is to have your personalized macros and calories done. That is a service that I offer. That is what I did for myself. That's led me to lose over 125 pounds, heal my relationship with food. I've never been more satisfied and not hungry throughout the day. I've never had more energy. My workouts have never been better. It really truly has been the best decision that I have ever made when it comes to my health journey. Not all protein is created equal. We really need to focus on high quality protein for weight loss. So instead of choosing things like bacon or hot dogs or other highly processed meats, we really wanna focus on lean whole real food when it comes to protein. The following lean meats and fish reduce unwanted fat, salt and additives to our diet. So some great options for whole real cuts of protein are things like beef sirloin, which is going to give you 19 grams of protein per three ounces. Chicken, which is 17 grams per three ounces. Egg, six grams per one medium egg. Shrimp is going to give you 19 grams for three ounces. Tilapia, 23 grams for one cooked filet. And tuna is 25 grams per standard can. Those are some great options, low calorie, high density lean protein choices. Also things like milk and dairy can really deliver a huge being of protein. If you follow me, you know I love cottage cheese and Greek yogurt and even some low fat yogurts to help reach my protein goal. I'm also getting in calcium when I'm choosing milk and dairy products. Research also shows that full fat dairy is actually better for your body overall. If you can work it into your day it is recommended to consume full fat dairy. Now there's nothing wrong with the lower fat or light options. It's just optimal for our body to have full fat dairy. Some great options are dairy milk, which is going to give you eight grams of protein per eight ounces. Greek yogurt, one of my favorites will give you 20 grams per one cup. Just be mindful of added sugar and cottage cheese, another staple for me is going to deliver about 13 grams of protein in a mere half of a cup serving. Maybe you're following a vegetarian lifestyle. This is another question I get asked a lot. Is it, can I even reach my protein goal if I follow a vegan, vegetarian or plant-based lifestyle? There are so many fantastic meat alternative protein sources out there for these particular lifestyles. These include things like black beans which actually will give you 19 grams of protein in a half of a cup. Lentils, nine grams per half of a cup. Peanut butter, eight grams per two tablespoons. Quinoa, four grams per half of a cup. Soybeans, this is something I love, like edamame is 22 grams per one cup. Tempeh is 31 grams per one cup. And tofu will give you 20 grams per one cup serving. All of these protein sources are fantastic ways to reach your protein goal, eating a high quality whole food diet. We're not eliminating or restricting anything. That includes processed foods. You can still incorporate processed foods into your diet. We want to follow about an 80-20 approach. 80% whole real food, 20% foods that we love. And like I mentioned, we want to build all of our meals and snacks around protein. So what are my final thoughts on protein and weight loss? What are my final tips for you? Being one of the macronutrients, protein is absolutely essential for health and for weight loss. It is an absolute key for weight loss because of so many different factors. It's thermic and metabolic impacts on our metabolism and our TEF, the thermic effect of food, is huge when it comes to maintaining our weight and losing weight. To maximize your protein for weight loss, to hit your protein goal every single day, focus on those lean cuts of meat, those dairy items or those alternatives that offer a big bang of protein for a little amount of calories. And remember, three ounces of chicken isn't a lot for some people. The more ounces you eat, the more protein you're going to get. So you don't have to only eat the bare minimum. You can add to that to help reach your protein goal. And remember your protein targets and your protein needs are going to vary from person to person. I will go ahead and put my nutrition coaching website here on the screen for you. It's linked down in the description box. Let me give you your personalized macros and calories. It literally will change your life. It has changed so many lives. If you're in my Facebook group, you see all the testimonials on how tracking macros and protein has really played a big part in so many people healing their relationship with food and losing tons and tons of weight really, truly effortlessly. If you have any questions regarding protein, definitely leave them down in the comments for me. And don't forget, build your meals around protein, focus on protein to lose weight. And if you enjoyed today's video and if you found it helpful, give it a thumbs up. Subscribe if you're not for lots and lots of weight loss content. I do meal preps, grocery hauls, what I eat in a day. We do these educational videos. We do try on hauls. We do everything here on this channel. So make sure you're subscribed and your bell notification is turned on. Check out that description box down below for nutrition coaching, links and discounts to my favorite healthy things, all the videos that I mentioned. If you haven't seen them, I highly recommend watching them. They'll probably answer a lot of the questions that you have and give you lots of tips and tricks on how to reach your protein goal. Last but not least is my Facebook group. Come on over, join us. We'd love to have you. Let's go eat our protein. Let's hit our weight loss goals and let's make this a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. I'll see you all in my next video. Bye.