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| This is me at the early stage of my weight loss, but look at that beautiful assortment of meats! |
That being said, I believe I have got a handle on how to lose a massive amount of weight in a short period of time, permanently. There are several components to my formula, but the one I will be focusing on today is also the most important to me - protein. Protein works in several functions in the body. One of my favorites is it takes a lot of work to digest, metabolize, and use, which in turn burns calories. As soon as it leaves you mouth, it starts burning calories for you. Amazing! It is also slow to leave your stomach, which makes you satisfied longer than carbohydrates will. So those of you who believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day better be ditching those wheaties and oatmeal bars for some eggs or a protein shake. There have been studies done that show that a breakfast rich in protein has been shown to regulate the appetite all day. A side note - a pet peeve of mine is when people don't eat breakfast at all or if they eat breakfast without protein. OOOOHHHH that makes me so mad. Think about the word people, Break-fast, you are breaking the fast of the night. When you sleep your body will start to go into a starvation mode that will slowly begin breaking down muscle as fuel. So to put an immediate halt to this you need to get a good amount of protein first thing in the morning.
Okay, rant over. Where was I? Oh yeah, protein's building blocks are amino acids, which help to build muscle in your body. When there is an abundance of aminos in your body, the ever elusive metabolism says "Oh, Yeah"! Why he sounds like the Kool-Aid man is beyond me, but anyway your metabolism kicks in and starts to burn the fat as fuel instead of your tasty muscles. This happens even when you are being a lazy bum on the couch watching Golden Girls or whatever you crazy kids watch nowadays. So the next time you are like "do I really need to eat protein every 2-3 hours?" think of me as the Kool-Aid man busting down the wall next to you saying "Oh, Yeah!!!" and throwing a steak in your face (don't tempt me, I will do it!!!). I am not going to go into all of the functions of the body in which protein plays a part, but it does build, make up, and maintain muscle, organ (skin included) hair, and most other bodily structures. The aminos also play precursors to hormones and neurotransmitters like serotonin (tryptophan) and dopamine (tyrosine). So yeah, if that doesn't get you eating your meat at every meal, I am at a loss for words.
NOW, on to the question that has been burning in the back of your eyes since starting reading. All together now! "Oh bearded wonder, how much protein do I need in a day?" Thank you, class; you may all be seated. Okay, well first let me give you the government's RDA on protein: For men, about 56 grams, and for women, 46 grams. ROFLMFAO!!! I have a hard time with this because, man, I usually have that in my first one to two meals and you all should too. BRA (Bob's Recommended Allowance) is slightly different, just a pinch. If you are trying to lose weight, you should shoot for 0.8 times your goal weight (so for those of you mathematically challenged individuals out there, an example is if your goal weight is 200 lbs then your goal is 160 grams of protein). This is a minimum and there really isn't a max per say but if I had to put a number to it, I would say 1 gram per lb of your current weight. I don't want to go into the reasons behind the discrepancy because it will make me look like a crazy conspiracy theorist, but if you really want to know, go to http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dietary-protein/#axzz27WobKnwQ.
So there it is in a nutshell, why protein is important to weight loss and, you know, functioning as a human. If you have any questions, leave a comment. If you have a complaint, do your research first!
Great job!
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