5 key benefits of eating protein in your first meal of the day
Are you looking to lose weight/fat but can’t seem to find the right balance with your nutrition?
For anyone looking to improve their physique, whether it be for fat loss or muscle building, fuelling your body with sufficient daily protein is essential.
This of course starts with your first meal of the day.
Here are 5 key benefits……
1️⃣ Increased thermogenesis:
Out of the 3 macronutrients (protein/carbs/fats), protein is the front runner when it comes to thermogenesis
👉What is thermogenesis I hear you ask?
This is the rate at which the body digests the food you consume, this in turn will result in an increase in metabolism, and we all know what that leads to……increases fat burning 🔥🔥🔥
2️⃣ Improved satiety:
👉Another posh word, so what is satiety?
This is used to describe the duration of fullness after a meal.
High protein meals are proven to help you feel fuller for longer and help prevent over eating between meals.
Think about how you feel when you consume a bowl of cereal such as cornflakes with milk. Initially it will fill you up..but because of the higher sugar content and lower protein content you are more than likely going to be feeling hungry very quickly, which in return can lead to poor food choices for the rest of the day.
3️⃣ Regulate blood sugar levels:
Higher protein breakfasts will keep your blood sugar levels steady, reducing the chance of unnecessary headaches, drowsiness and mid‑morning hunger which can be brought on from consuming refined carbohydrate/higher sugar breakfasts such as cereals as mentioned above.
This also helps prevent known illnesses such as type 2 diabetes which is generally brought on as a result of obesity which is brought on through……yes you guessed it, a diet rich in sugary, refined foods.
4️⃣ Preserve/build muscle:
We all know high quality proteins are vitally important to fuelling your muscles so it makes sense to consume these with your first meal of the day. Consuming adequate protein in your first meal of the day provides your muscles with key amino acids required to repair and build muscle fibres as well as giving your immune system a boost first thing in the morning.
5️⃣ More Muscle = Improved metabolism.
Fitter, stronger, healthier muscles burn more calories and as a result increase metabolism which as mentioned before, leads to far better fat burning stores.
How much protein each individual requires varies from person to person depending on certain factors such as daily calorie intake, goals and current body fat percentage.
A good rule of thumb for fat loss purposes would be at least 2g of protein per kg of your body weight, but this of course can vary.
For optimal fat loss purposes you will be better consuming a higher protein content and consuming carbs on training days only in your post workout meal.
I won’t get into the details in this blog but the leaner you get the better your body can tolerate carbs.
Incidentally the government guideline suggests 0.8kg of protein per Kg body weight which is so far of it is scary. Ever likely obesity rates continue to rise in the UK.
From a fat loss perspective it is especially important to fuel your body with the right amount of protein to ensure you retain as much muscle as possible whilst you are in a calorie deficit.
Although in a calorie deficit you will lose ‘total’ body weight, if you are not consuming enough daily protein it is highly likely the majority of your weight loss will be due to muscle loss and not body fat.
This will result in decreased metabolism as well as a host of other negative side effects mentioned above which in turn will more than likely result in falling back into old habits and gaining weight.
This is why it is also important to monitor your total body composition regularly (muscle and fat). Using the scales alone does not tell the whole story as you could well be losing weight but not actually fat.
For a more detailed look into macros check out http://kmfitnessuk.com/know-your-macros/
If you require help with your nutrition free to drop us a DM and we will be happy to help.
Thanks
Kevin 😊