Double Your Protein, Lose More Fat?

I’m afraid there’s been another outbreak of Misleading Nutrition Headlines (MNH)–a dangerous condition that seems to have reached epidemic proportions. (See for example my recent episode on Red Wine and Cholesterol). .

If you follow health and nutrition news, I bet you saw some variation on the following: “Double your protein to prevent muscle loss.” Now, I’m a big fan of protein, for reasons I explained in my episode, “How Much Protein Should You Eat   But before you order that 16-egg omelet, let’s take a closer look at the study behind the recent headlines and figure out what (if anything) it really means for you.

How to Lose Fat without Losing Muscle

When we try to lose weight, we want to lose the extra fat on our bodies. Unfortunately, dieters often lose a lot of muscle tissue as well, which is not desirable. Researchers wanted to see if increasing the amount of protein in the diet might protect against muscle loss during weight loss. And it turns out, it does! 

What Exactly Did the Study Find?

Researchers wanted to see if increasing the amount of protein in the diet might protect against muscle loss during weight loss. And it turns out, it does! 

They divided a bunch of overweight people into three groups. One group ate the Recommended Daily Allowance for protein, which amounts to about 10% of calories, or 50g per day. The second group ate twice that much and a third group ate 3 times that much.  All of these diets, by the way, fall within the Institute of Medicine’s acceptable range of 10-35% of calories from protein.

Then, the researchers put all three groups on a calorie-restricted diet, during which everyone lost about the same amount of weight–approximately 2 pounds a week. But there was one big difference….

The group that ate 20% of their calories from protein (which translates to about 100 grams or approximately 3/4 of a gram per pound of body weight) lost less muscle and more fat than the group eating half that much. That’s great news!

First, it means that more of that hard won weight loss was actually due to fat loss. Secondly, it means that more muscle tissue is left behind to burn up calories, making that weight loss easier to maintain. Interestingly, the group that was eating the most protein (30% of calories) didn’t do any better than the folks in the middle group.

So, what’s wrong with the headline I quoted at the beginning of the show: “Doubling protein prevents muscle loss”? It would appear to be completely accurate. Except for one thing. 

According to the most recent figures available, most of us are already consuming between 80g and 90g of protein per day. According to this study, doubling our protein intake wouldn’t help us hang on to more muscle, because the vast majority of us are already pretty close to the ideal muscle-preserving range. I didn’t see that fact mentioned in any of the media coverage of this story.

See also: How the Media Sensationalizes Science

And here’s another thing that didn’t get mentioned in any of the stories I saw: When they weren’t actively losing weight, the subjects at the lowest protein intake preserved their muscle just as well as those at the highest intake.  In other words, this study only applies to dieters…and only to those whose protein intake is on the low side to begin with. 

Tip for Dieters Who Want to Lose Fat, Not Muscle

If you are cutting calories in order to lose weight, don’t cut back on protein foods.  Instead, start by cutting out empty calories such as sweets and sweetened beverages. Next, cut way back on fried foods. If you’re still looking for calories to cut, scale down your portions of bread, pasta, cereals, and other grain-based foods.  

See also: Do Low Carb Diets Work?

If you have a suggestion for a future show topic, send an email to nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com or post it on my Nutrition Diva Facebook page.

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