How many of you have heard that weight loss is all about calories?While total calories should be considered in your quest for permanent weightloss, there is a way to lose weight without having to eat less. If you are one ofthose people that can’t seem to get those last 5-10 pounds off, then thisarticle is a must read.
Simply put, your metabolism is directly responsible for the amount ofcalories your burn each day. One of the components of metabolism is known asthe Thermic Effect of Food or TEF. Basically, our bodies have to use someenergy in order to chew, swallow, digest, and extract the energy from the foodswe eat. In general, the typical thermiceffect of food from fat is about 2% of calories consumed, and for carbohydrates,this number is about 8%. Protein has thehighest thermic effect by far, burning up to 30% of calories consumed. Witha greater consumption of dietary protein, your body will automatically burnmore calories throughout the day.
By increasing your protein intake as a percentage of your totalcalories, you could lose a significant amount of weight while eating the samenumber of calories. Let’s take a look at this mathematical example as proofthat calories are not created equal:
Let’s assume a 150 pound woman eats 1800 calories dailybased on a typical diet of 15% protein, 25% fat, and 60% carbohydrates
15% protein = 270 calories x .3(TEF)= 81 calories burned to digest dietary protein
25% fat = 450 calories x .02(TEF) = 9calories burned to digest dietary fat
60% = 1080 calories x .08(TEF) = 86.4 caloriesburned to digest carbs
176.4 total calories are burned daily just to breakdown,digest, and extract the energy from food with this current ratio.
Let’s shift the ratios to a diet that has the sametotal calories but twice as much protein (30%) with a slight reduction ofcarbohydrates and fat.
30% protein = 540 calories x .3(TEF)= 162 calories burned to digest dietary protein
20% fat = 360 calories x .02(TEF) =7.2 calories burned to digest dietary fat
50% carbs = 900 calories x .08(TEF) =72 calories burned to digest dietary carbs
241.2 totalcalories are now burned daily just to breakdown, digest, and extract the energyfrom food with this new ratio.
With an increase of 64.8 (241.2 – 176.4) calories burneddaily just by switching the ratios, you would lose almost 7 pounds in 1 year bydoing no additional exercise and eating the same number of calories .
Some good sources of lean proteininclude egg whites, egg substitutes, low-fat yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese,skinless chicken and turkey breast, salmon, tuna, lean sirloin, 96% lean groundbeef, sandwich meat like turkey or ham (preferably hormone-free), protein bars,and whey protein. Vegetarian sources of protein include beans, peas, andlentils.
What’s the take home message here? Look for ways to increase your metabolism. As anutritionist and certified fitness trainer, I know that diets equal deprivationand ultimately a downgrade in metabolism. Focus not on eating less, but burningmore, and you will be more likely to stick with it. For more information,please visit www.HealthyHabitsNY.com
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Saturday, September 06, 2008 View other articles written by Mitchell Lee(49)
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