The Importance of Protein for Weight Loss & Maintenance

Weight loss requires commitment and care, and a great deal of dedication, willpower and education — but it isn’t rocket science. However, it’s important to understand what dietary choices play a role in your quest to shed those pounds, and how something like protein can be one of the most important aspects of your diet. Learn why protein is so important for weight loss maintenance, how it works in your body, and how a weight loss center can play a role in your diet.

Protein and Weight Loss Maintenance

Protein is the single most important dietary element you can take in to improve your weight loss maintenance plan. The more protein you take in, the better your metabolism will work, the less your appetite will grow, and the better your weight loss hormones will work. It can help you to drop belly fat and lose weight overall, and affects several body functions to this end.

Protein and Hormones

Did you know that the hypothalamus area of your brain regulates your body weight? It’s true, and this section of your brain is fed by appetite-related hormones like cholecystokinin, GLP-1 and peptide YY. These are scientific-sounding names but what they do is tell your brain when you’re full, and protein creates more of them, while lowering the ghrelin hormone, which tells your brain you’re hungry.

So, protein makes you less hungry and helps you get full faster. This means you’ll take in less calories, which leads directly to weight loss!

Natural Calorie-Burner

Another fact that many people are unaware of: protein is a natural calorie-burner. Some of the calories you intake while eating are actually burned up to metabolize food. This is called the thermic effect, and protein has a much higher effect than other kinds of food.

This means that a high protein diet will increase and improve your metabolism. The protein burns calories unto itself, and helps your body’s own ability to burn calories. Since weight loss is a simple formula of calories in vs. calories out, protein is essential to this process.

Cutting Cravings

Cravings lead to snacking, which leads to extra snacking, especially late at night, which leads to excess pounds. A high protein diet has been shown to reduce late-night snacks and cravings, which has a direct effect on weight loss. The more protein you consume, the lower your cravings will be.

Weight Loss in Las Vegas

If you’re looking for help with weight loss in Las Vegas, the various products available at a local weight loss center could be of help. We offer a variety of protein-heavy snacks and meals, including Proti-VLC Smoothies, Proti-Snacks, Proti-15 Soups, Proti-VLC pastas and meal replacement, and many other great protein-heavy products. At Advanced Medical Weight Loss center, we can help you build a dietary and exercise program under the supervision of medical professionals that will get you on track to returning to your ideal body weight. To schedule an appointment or for more information about our programs, give us a call today!