Understanding the Protein Diet

Understanding your physiology

To lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, it is essential to lead a healthy lifestyle, make wise dietary choices, and stay motivated. However, reaching this goal is often difficult, especially when overweight is significant. And in a society obsessed with thinness, miracle weight loss solutions abound. But caution is needed; there are no shortcuts to losing weight effectively and sustainably.

The scientific basis of the protein diet

The protein diet is based on recognized scientific principles. It harnesses the body's natural physiological mechanisms to induce healthy weight loss by creating a significant energy deficit (fewer calories consumed than burned) while ensuring that this calorie reduction results in fat loss and not muscle mass loss. In other words, daily nutrition is temporarily modulated to achieve a specific result, as in the case of diets for top athletes.

Energy deficit and body reserves

The human body uses calories as a source of energy. To maintain their weight, a sedentary woman and man aged 30 to 50 need 1,800 and 2,200 calories per day, respectively. On a protein diet, caloric intake will drop to less than 1,000 calories per day. By creating such an energy deficit through a reduced-calorie diet, the body must tap into its energy reserves to fill this deficit: first sugars (stored in the blood, liver, and muscles), then, once sugars are depleted, body fat and muscles. The goal of the diet, by reducing carbohydrate and fat intake but increasing complete protein intake, is to force the body to burn its fat reserves while preventing muscle mass from degrading as well.

Appetite-suppressing effect of the protein diet

The burning of body fat to supply the body with energy produces small particles called ketones during a process called ketosis. As the number of ketones in the blood increases, they have the properties of suppressing hunger and providing a sense of well-being. This is known as ketosis (or the comfort zone of the diet). Combined with very satiating complete proteins, these effects help significantly reduce the sensation of hunger, making it easier to stick to the diet. Ketosis sets in about 72 hours after starting the diet (or after a deviation from the diet) when the sugars present in the body have been used.

Decrease in insulin levels

By limiting carbohydrates, the protein diet quickly lowers insulin levels in the blood, making it easier to burn body fat. Insulin secretion (by the pancreas) is stimulated by an increase in blood glucose, which occurs with the digestion of dietary carbs. Insulin lowers blood sugar in three ways: by promoting the immediate absorption of part of the glucose by the body, by storing another part of the glucose (in the form of glycogen) in the liver and muscles for future use, and by converting excess glucose into fat, which will be stored in adipose tissues as an eventual energy reserve. An excess of insulin due to a diet too rich in carbohydrates prevents the use of body fat as an energy source. On the other hand, a significant reduction in insulin allows the secretion of glucagon, a hormone that, unlike insulin, promotes the breakdown of body fat to provide energy.

Importance of vitamins and minerals

With a protein diet, calorie restriction can lead to micronutrient deficiencies, which are nonetheless essential for the proper functioning of the metabolism. Vitamins facilitate biochemical reactions, improve blood quality, and are involved in digestion and collagen production. Minerals, especially potassium, are essential for body fluid composition, cell formation, and oxygen transport. Vitamin and mineral supplements are therefore essential additions to a protein diet to prevent discomfort.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 (essential fatty acids) are necessary for the proper functioning of the body but cannot be produced in sufficient quantities by the body. Present in certain vegetable oils and fatty fish, they must, therefore, be supplied through food or supplements intake. Omega-3s reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, lower blood pressure, decrease triglyceride levels, and preserve good cholesterol. They also improve immune responses and help prevent certain cancers. This is why we recommend adding Omega-3 supplements to your protein diet.