If you are trying to get fit and shift some body fat, resistance training and weightlifting are excellent ways to get lean. And if you want to get even more out of your strength training, you can reduce your energy intake which might sound difficult, but there are ways to make it easier – and whey protein is one of them.
Before we get into whey protein, a word of warning about the bathroom scales. You need to know more than just your weight to monitor your progress. You need to understand your body composition. This is a term often used by doctors and health professionals to refer to the percentage of fat, bone and muscle in your body. Unlike the scales, your body composition gives you a better picture of your overall health.
For example, if you hit the gym regularly and start putting on weight, it’s probably because your hard work at the gym is paying off. Muscles weigh more than fat, so as you get leaner, you’ll start to weigh more.
But don’t forget, we all need a bit of fat to be healthy. In round numbers, men should ideally have 10-20% body fat and women a little more, around 20-30%. What’s more, as we get older, it’s okay to gain a little more body fat[1] But if you’re exceeding these figures, it might be time to consider losing some fat and build muscle.
Feel Full for Longer
So back to whey protein and how it helps you reduce your food intake. Whey protein contains a specific hormone called GLP-1. This hormone reduces the feeling of hunger so you feel full for longer. When you eat whey protein, you significantly increase the GLP-1 levels in the blood. This reduces your hunger pangs so you eat less[2].
Alongside reducing your hunger pangs, whey protein can also help you increase your metabolic rate[3]. That means that whey protein in combination with resistance training can help you burn more fat and build muscle. Studies have shown that adding whey protein supplements to the diet of people regularly participating in resistance exercise helped them shift fat compared to supplements of carbohydrates[4].
Whey Protein Is Proven for All Adult Age Groups
And it’s not just young gym goers who benefit. Older adults benefit just as much from supplementing their diet with whey protein alongside resistance training. A recent study of men aged 67 years showed that whey protein and resistance exercise reduced fat more than resistance exercise on its own[5]. Similarly, older women undergoing resistance training lost more fat with a whey protein supplement than with a carbohydrate drink[6].
So if you want to get more out of your workouts and increase your muscle and reduce your fat mass, remember to add some whey protein to your diet. It’s not a miracle cure but a helping hand to getting in shape.
[1] WebMD
[2] Chungchunlam et al 2015; Hall et al., 2003, Rigamonti et al 2019, Veldhorst et al 2009
[3] Acheson et al 2011, Alfenas et al 2010, Bendtsen et al 2014
[4] Castro et al., Nutrients. 2019 Sep; 11(9): 2047.
[5] Griffen et al. Physiol Rep. 2022 Jun;10(11):e15268
[6] Nabuco et al. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (2019) 29, 290e300
And you’ll be pleased to know that whey protein is easy to use in your daily diet. It can be added to lots of different foods and meals that taste great and are easy to prepare. See our delicious recipes with whey protein.