Protein Powders and Healthy Weight

In order to shape and maintain your body slim and healthy, you should burn more calories than you consume – as simple as that. No magic pill will help you unless you restrict the amount of calories you eat and supplement your lifestyle with vigorous exercise, to burn more energy than you get with food. However, once you are on the right dietary path, weight-loss supplements and other aids can be very helpful in overcoming metabolic resistance and coping with other problems that might prevent you from achieving healthy weight. Protein powder is one of those practical additions to your low-calorie diet, which is capable to boost your metabolism and help you build muscles and get rid of undesirable fatty deposits.

Most doctors agree that optimal weight could be achieved through a proper macronutrient balance – a healthy distribution of nutrients and calories coming from proteins, fats, and carbs, which have to be eaten as part of balanced meals, several times throughout the day. Therefore, in order to obtain all necessary body-building, health-supporting, and fat-burning nutrients from food, you should choose the right foods. In addition, regular exercise is necessary to support and maintain fast metabolism – one of the most important factors of effective weight loss.

A weight-loss promoting diet should focus on a variety of natural foods, evenly distributed among four to six daily meals. Eating small snacks every three to four hours speeds up metabolism and allows to burn more calories. Ideally, every meal or snack should include high-fibre carbs (whole grains, fruits, or vegetables), lean proteins (beans, tofu, egg whites, fish, protein powder, etc.), and a bit of healthy fats, such as olive oil, nut butter, or fatty fish.

Adding protein powders to your menu can be important, to ensure that you ingest enough amino-acids to support your muscles and further facilitate metabolism and weight loss. Different types of high-quality, affordable protein powders are available from supermarkets, health-food outlets, and a variety of online stores. You can choose hemp, rice, soy, egg, whey, or pea protein powders for making healthy, tasty shakes. Protein shakes will:

- Help you create a balance among all necessary macronutrients for your weight-loss purposes;
- Curb your appetite by increasing your feeling of satiety, slowing down the absorption and transport of other nutrients through your digestive system, and helping your brain produce feel-good hormones, especially serotonin;
- Help you build and maintain lean body mass (muscles); and
- Increase your strength, endurance for exercise, and a general feeling of well-being.

To lose weight effectively, try to eat carbohydrate-rich meals early in your day, for breakfast and lunch, and choose meals higher in vegetable oils and proteins for your snacks and evening meals. The following sample dietary plan, which incorporates fat-burning protein shakes, will help you compose your own healthy weight-loss menu for every day of your life:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with strawberries and a glass of soy milk.

Snack: Whole-wheat toast with nut butter and one apple.

Lunch: Grilled salmon steak and mixed green salad with a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.

Snack: Protein shake blended with orange juice.

Dinner: Tofu with stir-fried vegetables (pepper, onions, kale, mustard greens, etc.) over brown rice.

Snack: Protein shake blended with frozen berries.

Jennifer Colin