Is Protein The Key To Successful Weight Loss?

13 Jul Is Protein The Key To Successful Weight Loss?

Posted at 07:59h in Food, Weight Loss by

Many people believe that the key to losing weight is simply eating less. While a calorie deficit is a key consideration, what we eat, as well as how much, is vitally important. Protein is a key part of our diet, but why is it so necessary for healthy weight loss? We are a team of qualified, experienced nutritionists who specialise in weight loss. Here we answer some of the frequently asked questions around protein and weight loss. 

If you’re looking to overcome your weight challenges, achieve your desired weight and maintain it long term, we can help. Schedule your complimentary call today to find out how our Intelligent Weight Loss Method can help you. 

DO YOU NEED PROTEIN TO LOSE WEIGHT?

Yes, protein is essential for healthy weight loss. Protein fills us up and keeps us satisfied far more effectively than digestible carbohydrates do. It ensures we preserve muscle mass while fat is broken down, which is key for long term health and weight management. It is also vital for skin collagen and elastin production and maintaining the structure and integrity of the skin as we lose weight, helping to prevent skin sagging. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN?

If you don’t eat enough protein while trying to lose weight, you’re likely to experience increased hunger and cravings, making it significantly more challenging to maintain a healthy diet. Protein is highly satisfying because it takes longer to digest compared to carbohydrates and fats, leading to a prolonged feeling of fullness. It helps regulate hunger hormones by reducing levels of ghrelin, the ‘hunger hormone’ responsible for stimulating appetite, and increasing the production of peptide YY, a hormone that promotes satiety. This reduces overall appetite and calorie intake and can help us feel more in control of our food choices.

Protein is essential for preserving lean muscle mass, which helps maintain a healthy metabolic rate and supports fat loss. If you don’t eat enough protein while you’re losing weight, you may experience muscle loss resulting in a slower metabolism, which will make losing weight harder, and maintaining your ideal weight a challenge.

Suboptimal protein intake is also a primary cause of skin sagging. Our skin’s collagen and elastin are made of proteins and are reliant on us consuming adequate protein in our diets in order to be maintained. When skin sags significantly as a result of weight loss, low protein intake is often to blame.

From a health perspective, not consuming enough protein can lead to weakened immune function and slower wound healing. It can result in fatigue, poor skin health, and increased risk of infections to name just a few of the consequences.

WILL EATING MORE PROTEIN HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

Yes, if your diet is lacking in protein, eating more can certainly help support your weight loss. Studies suggest that higher protein intake increases satiety and perceived fullness, as well as elevating satiety hormones after meals. Studies consistently show the benefits of increased protein consumption for weight loss and the evidence suggests that higher protein intake may provide benefits for long term weight management. It’s also important to ensure that you are eating nutritionally balanced meals that provide your body with the nourishment is needs, while also maintaining a calorie deficit.

HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD YOU EAT WHEN LOSING WEIGHT?

Protein recommendations are worked out based on body weight and given as grams of protein per kilogram body weight. If your goal is to lose weight, it is advisable to base this on your ideal body weight, rather than your current weight. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends consumption of 0.8g protein per kg body weight for sedentary individuals. However, this is a minimum intake recommended to prevent deficiency. Most people do better with more. If you’d like to work out your ideal protein intake and how to ensure you’re getting that amount in your diet, read our guide to perfecting your protein intake.

HOW WE WORK WITH CLIENTS TO IDENTIFY THEIR PROTEIN NEEDS

To arrive at the conclusion of an optimal protein intake for our clients, we have taken into account scientific literature, as well as many years of clinical experience. We have also researched and observed the protein intakes that ensure satiety for an optimal duration of time after eating. One thing that is sure to compromise compliance to a dietary strategy when losing weight is excessive hunger!

We work with calculations of between 1.2-1.5g protein per kg (ideal) body weight. Working one to one with clients we can monitor protein intake and adjust their intake if we believe this to be necessary. 

WHAT IS THE BEST PROTEIN POWDERS FOR WEIGHT LOSS?

Good quality protein shakes can be a convenient way to increase your protein intake when you’re trying to lose weight. The quality of protein powders varies significantly but here are five I like: 5 Of The Best Protein Powders. These protein powders are made from high quality ingredients and contain no added sugars or synthetic additives.

Protein powders can be added to smoothies or consumed alone as a snack. If you’re experiencing a cravings for something sweet, a high quality protein shake is a good option.

CAN YOU EAT TOO MUCH PROTEIN?

Yes, you can have too much of anything. When losing weight, you don’t want to over consume protein. If you do it’s likely to end up stored as fat, just like any other macronutrient. Consuming too much protein long term can also have negative impacts on your health over time. Chronic high protein intake may result in digestive, renal, and vascular abnormalities and should be avoided. However, it’s harder to over consume protein rich foods than it is to consume those based on refined, starchy carbohydrates due to the satiety hormones stimulated when we consume protein. You’re more likely to eat too many crisps than too much steak! 

WORK WITH US

We are a team of qualified nutritionists who specialise in weight loss. If you’re ready to overcome your weight challenges, achieve your goal weight and maintain it long term, we can help. You can use this link to book in for a complimentary call today. This is an opportunity to talk through your challenges with a member of our team and decide together whether one of our Intelligent Weight Loss programmes is right for you. Or contact us to request a copy of our brochure and we will get back to you soon.

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LINDA ROBINSON

Linda is our Practice Coordinator, helping to keep the clinic running smoothly.

 

Originally from Texas, Linda completed her MBA at SDA Bocconi in Milan. Linda has worked as a Strategy Consultant across multiple industries globally in cities including Kyoto, Paris, Chicago and San Francisco. She developed an interest in nutrition whilst volunteering for an organisation that provides cooking and nutrition education to children and families.

Linda is now settled in London with her husband, two children, and her very bouncy, sociable dog.

SARAH LAW

Sarah has worked with hundreds of clients over the past decade to help them live in a healthy body that they feel confident in.


Sarah spent a large part of her teens and 20’s as a professional dancer battling with orthorexia and an unhealthy relationship with food and her body. This created a desire to understand the human body more so she could finally cut through the confusion and end the cycle of yoyo dieting. This fuelled her passion to help other women do the same.

 

Sarah specialises in supporting women who are struggling to lose weight due to underlying health issues. She’s helped many women manage their weight during and after the menopause, as well as clients with thyroid disease and immune system dysfunction. Sarah loves food and sharing healthy recipes with her clients. Her aim is to ensure that clients don’t feel deprived and instead, achieve their weight loss and health goals in a positive and sustainable way.

 

To enquire about working with Sarah, please contact us.

AILSA HICHENS

 

Ailsa is one of our most experienced practitioners. She specialises in helping clients to lose weight, develop a healthy relationship with food and finally feel comfortable in their skin. Ailsa’s mission is for everyone she works with to enjoy the journey and that working with a nutritionist should not be a punishment, but your access to a new possibility.

 

Ailsa is not only an experienced weight loss nutritionist, she is also a skilled coach. She helps our clients overcome emotional eating, destructive habits and self-sabotaging behaviours that have prevented successful weight loss in the past. Ailsa has spent years in clinic working with clients who have experienced yo-yo dieting and have discovered that long term weight loss is not just about eating less until you can stand it no longer.

 

Working with Ailsa you will be comprehensively supported, not only in improving your nutrition and lifestyle, but also your eating habits and your relationship with food. When you work on all these elements together, the results can be truly astonishing.

 

To enquire about working with Ailsa, please contact us.

Test Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team of practitioners and heading up the day-to-day running of the business. Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, coming from a strong business background in town planning. A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 with her husband and two children.

NIKKI ANDRIANI

Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team and heading up the day-to-day running of our clinic.

 

Coming from a background in town planning, Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, continually ensuring we are delivering the very best service to our clients.


A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 where she lives with her husband, two children, and her rescue dog Skyy.

STÉPHANIE ACHAR

Stéphanie is a skilled nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner with additional training in eating disorders, disordered eating and obesity. She believes that working towards both physiological and mental health is key in achieving optimum wellbeing.

 

Stéphanie’s personal experience of emotional eating and the ongoing struggle to find the right support led her to combine the science of nutrition with behavioural coaching to motivate and empower her clients. She specialises in helping people who struggle with their weight and their relationship with food. She helps them develop a healthier and more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies.

 

To enquire about working with Stéphanie, please contact us.

INNA WEARN

Inna is passionate about supporting women on their journey to improved health and wellbeing. She believes that the solution to effective weight loss does not lie in ever more restrictive diets, but a more sophisticated approach that optimises health and vitality, as well as promoting effective weight loss.

 

Working with Inna you will benefit from her in-depth knowledge of female health and hormones. She will support you in developing a healthy diet, lifestyle and mindset that ensures you reach your ideal weight and maintain it in the years to come.

 

Inna is passionate about food with a wide repertoire of delicious healthy recipes and meal ideas to ensure your weight loss journey is as enjoyable as possible!

 

To enquire about working with Inna, please contact us.

ANIA MASON

 

Ania is a firm believer that improving your health and losing weight should be a positive, empowering journey, not one centred around deprivation.

 

After being diagnosed with two autoimmune conditions in her twenties, Ania spent several years educating herself on the power of food and nutrition. She put it all into practise and changed her diet and lifestyle, reversing her endometriosis and thyroid disease. After experiencing such a significant improvement in her health, Ania had a big desire to help others. She embarked on a four year journey to study nutrition, graduating from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition with distinction.

 

Ania specialises in autoimmunity and works with clients who have underlying health issues preventing successful weight loss. Her expertise enables her to successfully support our clients with conditions such as hypothyroidsm (underactive thyroid), PCOS and diabetes. 

 

To enquire about working with Ania, please contact us.

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