Just because you lose weight once doesn’t mean you can keep it off without any effort. Keeping the weight you’ve lost through dieting can be just as difficult as losing it. It is generally believed that diets that only restrict food intake are prone to rebound. But diets that combine exercise can also lead to rebound weight gain if attention is not paid to nutritional balance.
It’s Not Just About Returning to Your Pre-Diet Weight! The Fear of Rebound
“Rebound” refers to the situation where the weight you have worked so hard to lose through dieting returns to its original state (or even exceeds your original weight). Not only does this waste your efforts in dieting, but it can also make you more prone to gaining weight.
Maintaining Muscle Mass is The Key to Successful Dieting
It is incorrect to believe that just because I shed XX kg, my diet was effective. It’s fine if the weight loss was due to a reduction in body fat. But if you lose not only body fat but also muscle, your basal metabolism will be low and you will be prone to gaining weight.
If you lose muscle mass as a result of dieting your basal metabolic rate drops compared to before you started dieting. You will end up gaining more weight than before you stopped dieting and went back to your old eating habits.
Therefore, to prevent rebound weight gain, it is important to prevent muscle loss while dieting. The key to successful dieting is not only to lose weight but also to prevent muscle loss through a nutritionally balanced diet and moderate exercise.
The Main Causes of Muscle Loss When Dieting
- Extreme dietary restrictions
- Nutritional imbalance (especially protein deficiency)
- No exercise (diet with food restriction only)
etc.
Don’t make yourself fat by dieting! Protein is essential to prevent rebound weight gain
It is easy to imagine that dieting that only involves restricting food intake will result in loss of muscle mass along with body fat. However, there is also a theory that even dieting that combines dietary restriction with exercise will inevitably result in loss of muscle mass. This shows that it is not easy to maintain muscle mass while dieting.
However, the U.S. Army Department’s Institute of Environmental Medicine has published research results on the amount of protein intake that can prevent muscle loss due to dieting.
Research Results Show That Dieting With Diet and Exercise Can Prevent Muscle Loss By Consuming Twice The Recommended Amount of Protein
In this study, subjects were divided into three groups men and women. One group took in the recommended amount of protein, one group took in twice the recommended amount of protein. One group took in three times the recommended amount of protein. They were then given control over their exercise and diet to lose weight, and their body composition and muscle protein metabolism were examined for one month. The study results showed that the group that took in twice the recommended amount of protein did not experience any loss of muscle mass. (There was no particular benefit to taking three times the recommended amount.)
These results prove that the recommended amount of protein intake is not enough when dieting through exercise and food restriction. Of course, the amount of protein required varies depending on the amount of exercise. However, it has been confirmed that to prevent protein deficiency while exercising and dieting without losing muscle mass, it is necessary to increase protein intake.
The study lasted one month, with participants maintaining their weight without reducing calories for the first 10 days. Then restrict their energy intake for the remaining 21 days to lose 2 pounds (about 1 kg) per week. The researchers say that when dieting for a short period (such as a month) through diet and exercise, it is important to pay particular attention to protein intake.
What is The Recommended Amount of Protein?
The recommended protein intake in the United States, where this study was conducted, is 56g for adult men and 46g for adult women, while the recommended protein intake in Japan is similar, at 60g for men over 18 and 50g for women over 18.
Food Name Calories per 100gProtein content per 100g of ingredients Approximate amount of food needed to consume 20g of protein (approximately one meal)
- Chicken fillet (young chicken meat/raw)105kcal23.0 g About 90g(about 2 chicken fillets)
- Pork loin (with fat/raw)263 kcal19.3 g Approx. 100g
- Tuna
- (Bluefin tuna/Red meat/Raw)125kcal26.4 g About 75g(7-8 slices of sashimi)
- Sardine (raw)217 kcal19.8 g About 100g(about 1 fish)
- Eggs (raw)151kcal12.3 g About 162g(about 2.5 pieces)
- Processed cheese339 kcal22.7 g About 90g(about 5 slices of cheese)
- Milk (regular milk)67 kcal3.3 g About 600g(about 3 cups)
- Natto (sticky natto)200kcal16.5 g Approximately 120g(about 2.5 packs)
- Tofu (cotton)72kcal6.6 g About 300g(about 1 piece)
Main foods containing protein and their content food Name Calories per 100gProtein content per 100g of ingredients Approximate amount of food needed to consume 20g of protein (approximately one meal)
*The figures are calculated from the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2010.
Is Consuming Twice The Recommended Amount of Protein An Overdose?
There is no tolerable upper limit for protein. However, this does not mean that you can consume as much as you want, and you must also consider nutritional balance.
The energy intake ratio of protein, fat, and carbohydrates is called PFC balance, and the ideal PFC balance is protein: fat: carbohydrate = 9-20: 20-25: 50-70. When increasing protein intake, it is necessary to consider the balance with other nutrients. To increase protein intake without increasing fat intake too much, it is a good idea to incorporate high-protein, low-fat foods. Examples of this include chicken breast and natto, which were introduced earlier.
Also read: https://techdigitaltrend.com/smart-earnings-smart-future-how-ai-can-help/
