Protein + Exercise May Promote Weight Loss
Protein + Exercise May Promote Weight Loss
Aug. 29, 2005 -- A high-protein diet may enhance the effects of exercise in helping people lose fat without losing muscle.
New research shows obese women who exercised regularly and ate a reduced-calorie diet high in protein lost more fat and less muscle than those who ate a similar diet high in carbohydrates. Both diets contained the same number of total calories and percentage of calories from fat.
"Both diets work because, when you restrict calories, you lose weight. But the people on the higher-protein diet lost more weight," says researcher Donald Layman, PhD, professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois, in a news release.
Researchers say women on the high-protein diet also lost more weight around the abdominal area.
"There's an additive, interactive effect when a protein-rich diet is combined with exercise. The two work together to correct body composition; dieters lose more weight, and they lose fat, not muscle," says Layman.
In the study, researchers compared the effects of a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet against a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet combined with exercise in 48 obese women.
Both diets contained 1,700 calories, 30% of calories from fat, and about 17 grams of fiber.
But women on the high-protein diet substituted high-protein foods, such as meats, dairy, eggs, and nuts, for foods high in carbohydrates, such as breads, rice, cereal, pasta, and potatoes, to get about 30% of their total calories from protein.
Women on the high-carbohydrate diet, in comparison, ate about half that amount of protein and got about 60% of their daily calories from carbohydrates.
Both diets fall within the acceptable nutrient levels prescribed by the Institute of Medicine, according to the researchers.
Both groups participated in a high- or low-level exercise program. The high-exercise group consisted of five 30-minute walking sessions and two 30 minute weight lifting/stretching sessions per week.
Exercise for the low-intensity group emphasized voluntary lifestyle recommendations of a minimum of 30 minutes of walking five days/week.
After four months, the results showed that both groups of dieters lost weight, and those who exercised more lost less muscle tissue and more fat.
Protein + Exercise May Promote Weight Loss
High-Protein Diet May Enhance Effects of Exercise in Weight Loss
Aug. 29, 2005 -- A high-protein diet may enhance the effects of exercise in helping people lose fat without losing muscle.
New research shows obese women who exercised regularly and ate a reduced-calorie diet high in protein lost more fat and less muscle than those who ate a similar diet high in carbohydrates. Both diets contained the same number of total calories and percentage of calories from fat.
"Both diets work because, when you restrict calories, you lose weight. But the people on the higher-protein diet lost more weight," says researcher Donald Layman, PhD, professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois, in a news release.
Researchers say women on the high-protein diet also lost more weight around the abdominal area.
"There's an additive, interactive effect when a protein-rich diet is combined with exercise. The two work together to correct body composition; dieters lose more weight, and they lose fat, not muscle," says Layman.
Protein May Keep Muscle, Burn Fat
In the study, researchers compared the effects of a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet against a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet combined with exercise in 48 obese women.
Both diets contained 1,700 calories, 30% of calories from fat, and about 17 grams of fiber.
But women on the high-protein diet substituted high-protein foods, such as meats, dairy, eggs, and nuts, for foods high in carbohydrates, such as breads, rice, cereal, pasta, and potatoes, to get about 30% of their total calories from protein.
Women on the high-carbohydrate diet, in comparison, ate about half that amount of protein and got about 60% of their daily calories from carbohydrates.
Both diets fall within the acceptable nutrient levels prescribed by the Institute of Medicine, according to the researchers.
Both groups participated in a high- or low-level exercise program. The high-exercise group consisted of five 30-minute walking sessions and two 30 minute weight lifting/stretching sessions per week.
Exercise for the low-intensity group emphasized voluntary lifestyle recommendations of a minimum of 30 minutes of walking five days/week.
After four months, the results showed that both groups of dieters lost weight, and those who exercised more lost less muscle tissue and more fat.