How a high protein diet can help you!

One of the most promising ways to lose weight is to follow a high protein diet, together with an intense exercise program. This will turn your body into a fat burning machine.

High protein means that you should target a daily average intake of around 1 gram of protein per pound (2 grams per kilo) of lean body mass. You can roughly establish your lean body mass by calculating your weight if you would have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 20.

With your high protein diet you should try to eat around 300 to 400 calories less than your calorie base rate in order to lose 0.5 to 1 kilo / 1 to 2 pounds a week of body fat. To achieve this eat 5 protein rich meals/snacks a day and include a wide variety of healthy foods in your diet.

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Your workout program should include at least three intense cardio sessions and three weight-training sessions per week. One single session should be a maximum of one and a half hours. And well, they should get you sweating...

If you have the time, it can be ideal to include 30-minute cardio sessions 6 times a week in the mornings before breakfast. Additionally, aim for a weight training session three times a week in the afternoon. Limit the session to one hour and do 15 minutes of cardio to warm up. Why is a high protein diet so effective?

A diet rich in proteins combined with an intensive workout program is a great way to lose weight because:

• It will allow you to lose body fat and build a moderate amount of muscles. Muscles require more calories so you will burn more – even if you are resting!
• You should feel less hungry compared to other (traditional) diets as protein acts as a natural appetite suppressant!
• Proteins and exercise means that your metabolism is getting fired up. Your food will actually be fuel for your fat burning engine!
• If you eat 5 meals a day and include a good portion of proteins in each of them, you can keep your metabolism up and running the whole day. You will feel great and full of energy during the day. And you will burn fat the whole day as your body constantly regenerates from the exercise program!

How to get your daily proteins? During your high protein diet you can get your proteins through natural sources like eggs, (ideally lean) meats, fish, soy and so on.

You can also get your proteins through protein supplements. Use protein powders for milkshakes or mix them into yoghurts. And you can of course also use Protein Bars as an easy-to-carry-around snack.

But always remember: protein shakes and bars are nothing magical. You can lose fat and build up muscles without them! Natural proteins are equal or better than any protein shake supplement.

Of course you get the impression in some advertisements that you cannot lose weight without protein supplements...but well, these are just people trying to sell their product in a crowded industry...

O.k. so what it the great thing about a protein supplements?

Well, they are very convenient. As you should spend a good chuck of your time on your exercise program, protein supplements can help you to save time during your diet. You will simply need less time to prepare your food. And that is the main advantage - nothing more, nothing less.

But is this protein powder stuff not unnatural?

Well, not really...for example we eat refined carb powder all the time -- It is mixed with water, baked in an oven and then called white bread!

We certainly recommend using protein supplements during your fast weight loss phase if you are comfortable with the idea. Give it a try for a week or so and then see how you feel and how it fits your daily routine!

What about carbs and fat during a protein based diet?

O.k., we said that a high protein diet is based on five protein rich meals a day and on an intensive exercise program. This way you keep your body in fat burning mode all the time.

Such a high protein diet is based on the principle that you lose fat by burning it through exercise and eating right, not starving yourself!

But that does not mean that we should eat whatever, of course.

We generally recommend following the guidance of the South Beach Diet with regards to carbs and fats. Focus on good carbs and good fats and of course avoid foods that are simply "bad".

However, during a high protein diet you can include more pasta, rice, whole wheat bread and potatoes if you keep an intense workout program going. If you want to get started with a protein rich diet right now you can check out our following two, free one-week diet plans:

protein rich 1500 calorie diet plan
protein rich 1800 calorie diet plan

And click here to check out our recommendation for an unlimited supply of high protein diets plans!

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