What’s more important for Weight Loss? Protein or Calories?
Recently I was working with a client. Let’s call her Sue.
Sue’s main goal was weight loss, and she was determined to lose 15-20 pounds over the next few months.
As we were talking about her nutrition plan, she hit me with a great question …
“What should my main focus be in trying to lose weight, calorie deficit or protein intake?”
It’s a great question because Sue understands the importance of sufficient protein intake on a daily basis. And she doesn’t want to sacrifice it or the subsequent skeletal muscle mass that it helps support while she is on a mission to lose weight.
WEIGHT LOSS DEPENDS ON AN ENERGY DEFICIT
At the most basic level, weight loss, in and of itself, is dependent on reaching an energy deficit.
And how do I reach that energy deficit?
By taking in less calories than I am burning.
So, even if I eat “unhealthy” foods and remain in an energy deficit, I should still lose weight.
Using more energy than we consume is a must in a weight loss.
PROTEIN INTAKE RELATIVE TO WEIGHT LOSS
Now let’s talk about protein.
Sue is right to bring protein into her weight loss discussion because protein and weight loss have been recently and heavily linked.
However, consuming enough protein won't directly lead to weight loss.
Actually, protein intake that consistently pushes your total caloric intake into a surplus, would cause weight gain.
Why? Because it's the caloric intake that dictates loss or gain, not more or less protein.
PROTEIN’S ROLE IN WEIGHT LOSS
But can the amount of protein you eat affect the likelihood of losing weight?
Yes! Consuming the appropriate amount of protein for your needs can assist with weight loss through greater feelings of satiety, and to a lesser extent, the amount of energy needed for the body to digest and assimilate it (i.e. Thermic Effect of Food).
Prioritizing protein at each meal and snack can reduce the psychological need and intake of other macronutrients (carbohydrates and fat), thus leading to less calories consumed.
LOSING WEIGHT WHILE MAINTAINING SKELETAL MUSCLE MASS
Part of the trickiness of losing weight is to do so without losing skeletal muscle mass.
This is where synching a caloric deficit with protein intake becomes critical, which takes us back to Sue and our original question ...
Which is most important, calories or protein for losing weight?
As stated, weight loss is dependent on an energy deficit.
To reach her overall goal of losing 15-20 pounds, Sue will need to find an energy deficit. Ideally though, she won’t want to lose muscle in the process.
And that will mean increasing protein (while continuing her strength training) to feel fuller and maintain muscle mass.
Keep this in mind …
There is an inverse relationship between energy and protein. The greater the energy deficit (through a reduction in caloric intake and/or greater energy expenditure), the higher the protein intake must be.
Hope this information helps. As always, if you have questions or need some personal guidance, let myself or our team at Functional Elements know … it’s what we do!
Eat with a purpose...Be well!
Jaime Rothermich RD CSSD LD PPSCxKB CSCS
@functionalelements
If you need a kickstart to get your fitness, nutrition, and recovery program properly synched, we can help. It's what we do. Check out our 14-day 360° to get you motivated, educated and aligned with the very best Functional Elements has to offer over a period of just 14 days.
