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Question: Modifying diet to lose weight - protien vs carb/sugar calories?

(Posted by: BP on 2010-02-08 07:37:49)

I have been trying to make changes to my diet to lose some weight, and kind of reached a stopping point, so I was analyzing some things I am eating - caloric intake wise, I am doing fairly well, but the content of what I eat I think may be causing me to keep weight on my body. For instance most mornings I eat cereal and fruit with skim milk, and hot tea or coffee. Its fine calorie wise, about 300- 400 calories. But I am wondering, would it be better for shedding pounds if I changed to a mostly protein breakfast instead of the carbs/ sugars? For example if I ate say poached eggs and turkey bacon or turky sausage, no toast. If I consumed that same 300- 400 calories in egg/ meat (protiens) then would my body respond better and would I lose more weight ? Thanks for any information on this.

Posted by: harshathlete on 2010-02-08, 07:43:28

Nope. In the end calories are calories. Eating excess protein will not help either. The body will store excess protein OR carbs as fat. If you have stopped losing weight, then most likely , you are eating more calories than you are burning. The first thing to do is write down what you eat for a week to see where you could be overeating. Even if you eat junk food in moderation, you should be fine. Just dont overdo it. For starters, replace 3 meals out of your week ( be it lunch or dinner ) with just a salad with protein and low fat dressing. This change alone will save you about 1000-1500 calories a week or even more. Then add an extra 30 minute of cardio ( walking or jogging ) on the weekends. You should start losing your weight again.

Posted by: Munch2477 on 2010-02-08, 07:44:33

Although exercise is extremely important, there have been many studies that show that your diet is the single most important thing to lose weight. You are correct in your analysis of what you eat. The latter meal you spoke of is the better type of calories. Protein is very important and much better than the carbs/ sugar. Also make sure you drink around 64 ozs of water per day. Just keep modifying your diet little by little and stick to your changes. The most important thing is getting on the road to eating healthier. You don't need to make many drastic changes at once. Change one thing at a time and make sure you stick to it. Do some research on different foods and meals. It will all be dependent on what you enjoy. I promise you will be able to find good stuff that is healthy.

Posted by: vpapazol on 2010-02-08, 07:51:30

Do you do some exercises? I have tried non-carbs diet - no results. Some sport will help you better, I think.

Posted by: cyn_texas on 2010-02-08, 08:19:34

Protein triggers the fat burning hormone glucagon. Carbohydrates trigger the fat storage hormone insulin. As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories because insulin, the fat storage hormone is not activated. This a calorie is a calorie myth will cease to die. The worst part of your carb on carb on carb breakfast with non fat milk (sigh) is the fat tempers the insulin release and fat is needed to make the vitamins & minerals in your food bioavailable so that it can be incorporated into the body structure.