High Protein Diet : A Meal Plan to Get You Started to Lose Weight
3 Power Protein Foods for Weight Loss
When there's no time to diet, enjoying just one of these high protein foods per day can jumps-start weight loss, helping you lose weight fast and for good.
EGGS
Eating two eggs a day helps women lose 65 percent more weight and 83 percent more belly fat than eating a bagel of equal calories, a study at Baton Rouge's Louisiana State University reveals. Each egg has 6 grams of protein to promote satiety. And amino acids (like leucine) in the yolk stimulate muscle cells, resulting in a 25 percent spike in metabolism.
SOY
Snacking on protein-rich soy foods like edamame activates lipolysis (the burning of fat for energy), initiating weight loss in as little as three days, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Soy is rich in branched-chain amino acids that stimulate fat-burning mitochondria, which can reduce the production of new fat by 57 percent. An easy soy snack: Genisoy Soy Crisps
(comes in different flavors: Deep Sea Salted, Roasted Garlic & Onion, Tangy Salt and Vinegar, Creamy Ranch).
A daily serving of low-fat dairy increases fat oxidation (the breakdown of fatty acids for fuel) as much as twenty fold, according to research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Studies suggest this can help women lose 60 percent more body fat than if they'd shunned dairy. The credit goes to dairy's protein and calcium, which inhibit the production of parathyroid hormone, a compound that spurs fat storage.
Quick Overview of the High Protein Diet Plan:
Studies indicate that 75 percent of women are currently protein-deficient. According to researchers at Stanford University, a deficiency becomes more pronounced once women reach 40, due to the declining production of enzymes that are needed to break down and absorb protein's amino acids.
Compounding the Problem: "Many weight-conscious women are consuming as little as 13 percent of their total calories as protein", notes nutrition researcher Tom Venuto. "Yet for optimal health, permanent weight loss and easy maintenance of strong, trimmed, slimming muscle tissue, that number should be 30 percent."
For amazing results, aim to eat approximately half your body weight in protein grams daily. So if you weigh 6 pounds, enjoy about grams of protein each day. And to ensure weight loss is both fast and permanent, follow these study-proven strategies:
Eat your first protein meal within an hour of awakening:
An early-morning dose of protein stimulates the brain's hypothalamus to send out powerful fullness signals, resulting in more reliable appetite control throughout the day, according to research in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Indeed, extensive studies at Tufts University and elsewhere indicate that women who begin their day with a protein-rich mini meal eat 55 percent fewer calories overall- than those who shun protein until the afternoon. The early eaters are also 75 percent less likely to struggle with stress, blue moods and fatigue since eating protein soon after awakening stabilizes blood sugar and dampens cortisol production, explains weight loss expert David Heber, M.D., Ph.D.
Snack on at least two types of fruit a day:
Fruit provides hundreds of slimming phytonutrients, like grape's resveratrol (which promotes belly-fat loss), apple's pectin (which increases satiety) and banana's magnesium (which helps inhibit muscle breakdown).
"But more importantly, eating fruit is a great way to quickly satisfy your sweet tooth, which makes sticking to a healthy weight-loss plan significantly easier," says Venuto.
And studies at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine suggest that fruit is an essential component of this mini-meal plan since it does what protein alone can't do: It quickly stabilizes blood sugar, cutting the risk of binge-triggering blood sugar swings by 31 percent or more.
Sneak in 10 minutes of Muscle Motion:
To double fat loss, consider spending at least 10 minutes each day weight training. "You can get the same results you would get using fancy equipment at a gym by lifting your own body weight at home, doing exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, lunges and squats," says Venuto.
Research at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta shows that women who pair a protein-rich meal plan with such exercises lose up to twice as much as those who simply diet. That's because muscle motion increases the pituitary gland's production of human growth hormone, a compound that encourages the formation of calorie-hungry lean muscle mass and helps keep resting metabolic rate at its peak.
A Sample Day to Get You Started to Lose Weight:
Breakfast: 2-egg omelet with 1 slice low-fat Swiss cheese, 1/2 cup spinach and 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, seasoned to taste. Total protein: 24 grams.
Mid-morning meal: 1 oz. low-fat Cheddar cheese with 1 medium Granny Smith apple, sliced. Total protein: 8 grams.
Lunch: 3 cups salad greens mixed with 2 slices turkey, 1 slice cheese, 1/2 cup shredded carrots, 1 Tbs. chopped red onions, 5 cherry tomatoes and low-fat dressing. Total grams: 20 grams.
Mid-afternoon meal: 1 cup red-pepper slices with 1/4 cup prepared hummus. Total protein: 5 grams.
Dinner: 4 oz. grilled salmon (with lemon, if desired), 1/2 cup brown rice and 10 large asparagus spears, roasted. Total protein: 38 grams.
Dessert: 3/4 cup frozen cherries, micro waved 1 min., or until bubbly, topped with 3 Tbs. part-skim ricotta cheese and 1 Tbs. slivered almonds. Total protein: 5 grams.
Source: First
on her belly twice a day. 
