If there is a holy grail of weight loss, it would be a programme that allows someone to shed fat rapidly while hanging on to or even augmenting muscle. Ideally, it would also be easy. A new study describes a workout and diet regimen that accomplishes two of those goals remarkably well. But it may not be so easy.
For most of us, losing weight and keeping it off is difficult. If you consume fewer calories than your body requires, you lose pounds. Much of such a pound consists of fat. But about a third or more can be made up of muscle. The problem with losing muscle is that, unlike fat tissue, muscle burns calories. Therefore, less muscle means that you burn fewer calories.
So researchers have long been looking for weight loss programmes that produce hefty amounts of fat loss but diminish any decline in muscle.
40 young men began a diet in which their daily calories were cut by about 40%. But for half of them, this consisted of about 15% protein, 35% fat and 50% carbohydrates. The other 20 volunteers began a diet with 35% protein, 15% fat and also 50% carbohydrates. All of the men also started an intensive workout routine. The diet and exercise routine continued for four weeks.
After this time, the men in both groups weighed about 11 pounds less, on average. But it was the composition of that weight loss that differed: Unlike most people on low-calorie diets, the men on the high-protein regimen had actually gained muscle during the month.
These results strongly suggest that extra protein is advisable during weight loss, to avoid stripping yourself of muscle. But of course exercise is also a key.
text adapted from an article on well.blogs.nytimes.com