How protein powder and protein shakes support your diet
Are protein shakes really useful for losing weight? Certainly not as the only meal, but as a supplement to a balanced diet, yes. Protein powder and protein shakes can be an efficient source of protein and can effectively support weight loss through several mechanisms. The different flavors of the powders available and the wide range of uses mean that they can be easily integrated into a varied diet and are also a valuable addition to a calorie-conscious diet. But how exactly can protein powder help you lose weight and what are the benefits? In our guide, you will learn how you can easily incorporate protein powder and protein shakes into your everyday diet without having to forego delicious recipes.
How do protein shakes help you lose weight?
When you are on a diet, your body not only loses fat, but also muscle mass. To prevent this, it is a good idea to use protein shakes. The high-quality protein in protein shakes can help you lose weight and at the same time support muscle building and maintenance. In addition, a sufficient protein intake from protein powder can help you feel full for a long time. This helps you maintain the calorie deficit that is fundamentally necessary for losing weight. Protein powder also has the advantage that it is versatile and very easy to integrate into your diet.
Lose weight and maintain a calorie deficit with protein powder
In order to sustainably reduce body weight and fat, fewer calories should be consumed than the body uses. The principle of negative calorie balance is the cornerstone of every diet. The best way to achieve a calorie deficit is to reduce carbohydrates and fat while simultaneously increasing protein intake. For this reason, it is recommended to include protein powder in your diet when losing weight. This is because the powder scores with a high protein content and at the same time low carbohydrates and fat.
The thermic effect of food also plays a role in achieving a calorie deficit with protein. At 20 to 30%, protein has a significantly higher thermic effect of food than carbohydrates and fat.[1] This means that more of the calories consumed are used up again when protein is digested than with the other macronutrients. With a normal mixed diet, the thermic effect of food accounts for around 10% of calorie intake.[2] If you increase your protein intake and reduce your carbohydrate and fat intake, this effect is increased.
At the same time, protein-rich meals ensure a long-lasting feeling of satiety, which helps to achieve and maintain the calorie deficit without cravings. Protein shakes are also suitable for losing weight because they are a good alternative to sweet snacks and high-calorie desserts. Shakes not only have fewer calories, but also have a better nutrient profile.
Protein ensures a long-lasting feeling of satiety
In order to stick to a diet in the long term and see an effect when losing weight, it is essential to maintain a calorie deficit. However, many people find this difficult because reducing calories and losing body weight is often accompanied by feelings of hunger. If you approach it incorrectly, this can even lead to unbearable cravings. Protein powder for weight loss can help. This is because the digestion of protein is much more complex than that of carbohydrates and fat. This is why meals with a high protein content keep you full for much longer. This has even been confirmed by the German Nutrition Society (DGE).[3] In addition, excess protein is converted into body fat less efficiently.[4] A high protein diet that contains moderate amounts of carbohydrates and fat and does not prohibit any nutrients also provides enough energy for training despite a calorie deficit. This makes it an optimal diet as part of a low-calorie diet for athletes and people who cannot and do not want to do without performance in everyday life.
Lose weight and build muscle with protein shakes
Protein shakes not only help you save calories and avoid cravings when you're losing weight, they also have a positive effect on maintaining and building muscle. With low-calorie diets in particular, there is a risk that the body will not only burn fat, but also muscle. The loss of muscle mass is also partly responsible for the yo-yo effect that often occurs after weight loss. The reason for this is that fewer muscles also mean fewer calories being burned. However, this can be prevented by consuming enough protein. Protein powders are ideal for muscles, as they contain all essential amino acids in a ratio that is very readily available to the body. Supplementing your diet with protein shakes in combination with regular workouts is particularly good for losing body fat and weight while maintaining muscle mass. With a diet with a not too large calorie deficit, protein powders can even help build additional muscle mass.[5]
Brad Schoenfeld, an American researcher who has been working on muscle building and fat loss for many years, conducted a study on 17 women to investigate the role of adequate protein intake during a diet with a calorie deficit. Over eight weeks, one group received 2.4 g of protein per kg of body weight and the other group only 1.0 g. Both groups lost body fat, but only the women in the high protein group also gained muscle mass.[6]
Another American study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined the change in body composition after a four-week diet. The 40 young male subjects were divided into a high protein group with 2.4 g of protein per kg of body fat and a low protein group with 1.2 g/kg. During the diet, strength training and intensive interval training were carried out. Here, too, both groups lost a similar amount of body weight. However, the high protein group lost significantly more body fat and gained muscle mass. The low protein group, on the other hand, did not show any increase in muscle mass.[7]
Casein or whey? What should the protein shake for weight loss contain?
There are different types of protein powders that differ based on the protein they contain. Many protein powders contain only whey protein. Whey protein occurs naturally in milk at a rate of 20% and is left over from cheese production. The advantage of whey protein is that it is absorbed and utilized particularly quickly by the body. This means that whey stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) particularly effectively and a whey shake supports weight loss, especially through its effective effect on muscle building after fitness or strength training.
In addition to whey powders, there are also protein powders that rely entirely on casein as a protein source. Casein is found in milk, curd, yoghurt and cheese and makes up a total of 80% of milk protein. The main advantage of casein is its long-lasting satiety effect due to the significantly slower digestion and the slower release of the amino acids it contains.
But which protein powder is best for losing weight? For optimal results, protein powders with a combination of whey and casein - such as More Protein - are recommended. TOTAL PROTEIN's combination of whey and casein ensures that protein intake is covered and the muscles are optimally supplied. Whey contributes to increasing muscle mass by stimulating muscle protein synthesis, while casein inhibits muscle breakdown after training. The ideal mixture of the two milk proteins results in an extremely high-quality protein source that is superior to the individual intake of the two proteins and is optimally filling. [8],[9],[10],[11]
How much protein powder per day is ideal for losing weight?
In order to use protein powder as a supplement to your diet for weight loss, the question naturally arises as to how much protein you should consume per day. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for people who are mostly sedentary and not very active.[12] However, this recommendation is not the optimum. More recent scientific data recommends 1.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight even for people who are not very active.[13] The protein requirement increases particularly through strength training and a calorie deficit in the diet, which is why the DGE published a position paper on protein intake in sports in July of this year with a significantly higher recommendation - 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.[14] This recommendation is also largely supported by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN).[15] According to current scientific findings, the lower the body fat percentage during a diet, the higher the protein intake should be.[16]
According to this recommendation, one or two protein shakes per day should be enough to cover your protein needs. For example, a protein shake in the morning with breakfast and a protein shake after exercise can help you lose weight. After training is a good time to take protein shakes , as this provides the muscles with the optimum supply after exercise and stimulates muscle protein synthesis particularly effectively. However, it should always be remembered that protein shakes and protein powder are particularly promising as a supplement to a healthy and balanced diet, and a diet consisting exclusively of protein shakes is not advisable.
Protein powder with a variety of flavor combinations
If you want to use protein shakes in combination with a healthy diet to lose weight, you don't have to settle for the same shakes day after day. Discover the various delicious flavors of Total Protein and enjoy a different shake every day - how about cinnamon sugar cookies, the summer flavor raspberry yogurt or iced coffee? If you don't feel like having a protein shake, you can easily add protein to various meals with the flavorless protein powder without having to taste any of the powder. We want to show you that calorie-conscious weight loss and protein shakes don't have to be boring with our diverse recipes for your own shakes.
Make your own protein shake for weight loss with our protein powder
It doesn't always have to be protein shakes for weight loss
In order to increase your protein intake during a diet, you don't always need protein shakes to lose weight. Because of the wide variety of flavors, there are different ways to incorporate protein powder into your meals and diet. You can try a variety of recipes with a high protein content and few calories for both savory and sweet dishes.
Lose weight long-term with protein shakes and a healthy diet
Successful weight loss is not just about saving calories, but also about regular training, a balanced diet and, ideally, a good protein intake. The recipe for success for losing weight is quite simple: choose a diet that is easy to implement and that you can stick to. Protein powder can help you in many ways. The big advantage of protein powder and protein shakes for losing weight is that they can be easily integrated into your daily diet - and therefore especially in the long term - and that they bring with them few unwanted extra calories due to their low carbohydrate and fat content. If you also pay attention to a balanced diet, you don't have to torture yourself with a diet, but can also enjoy it. The easiest way to do this is to cleverly reduce carbohydrates. You don't want to give up sweets, but at the same time sweets and desserts contain too many calories for you? With the CHUNKY FLAVOUR flavor powder you can also give products like low-fat quark an exciting taste and conjure up delicious desserts that don't feel like you're giving up anything, but save unnecessary extra calories.