Protein Question

angelicrock

angelicrock

New member
If I primarily doing cardio right now (meaning no lifting but some pushups, squats and sit-ups) does a high protein diet still benefit me? Or, will it hurt my weight loss?

Cardio meaning spin classes, running, swimming ect.
 
Getting adequate protein is always beneficial.

If you're looking for anecdotes, I was getting about 35% of my calories from protein while I was losing, and it didn't slow my loss down any. I still get 25-30% of my calories in a day from protein.
 
I'm curious to know why you think it would hurt your weight loss...

Protein does a body good.

Too many calories are what hurt weight loss attempts..
 
My thought process here may be flawed but most high protein foods (that I would have in my diet) would also contain high calories. Not a huge concern for me because even keeping my high protein diet I can stay under caloric intake so I was wondering if protein helps retain weight in some way. I know my dad uses high protein to help him gain weight.
 
angelicrock said:
most high protein foods (that I would have in my diet) would also contain high calories.
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I personally haven't found that to be the case. Pork tenderloin, skinless chicken breast, beef eye of round, and shrimp all have 5-6 total calories per gram of protein provided - and 4 of those calories come from the protein.

Protein (nor fat, nor carbs) in and of themselves cause weight gain. Eating more calories than you burn causes weight gain.
 
so, something like a protein shake will help weight gain because of the amount of calories it contains?

That would make more sense since I havent really gained much weight on a high protein diet, I just wanted to make sure that it will not hurt my over all weight loss.
 
angelicrock said:
so, something like a protein shake will help weight gain because of the amount of calories it contains?
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There's no magic in protein shakes. Anything you eat, if eaten in sufficient quantity, will help weight gain because of the amount of calories it contains. Protein shake, swig of olive oil, bowl of oatmeal - doesn't make a huge amount of difference which way you go. Likewise, you could have any or all of those things and still lose weight, if you have an overall caloric deficit.
 
I will take that as a yes?

The question wasnt about how to lose or gain weight but more about why the protein (or I guess shake) helps gain weight. It would be the calories not the actual protein? Or does the fact my dad lifts weight a lot increase the weight gain as well due to the protein in his diet?
 
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