Whey Protein - Does it help promote weight loss?

No, but what it does do is help you get more protein, which when losing weight is important, because if you don't get enough protein while losing weight (in a caloric deficit) you risk burning a large % of lean muscle instead of just fat. Protein combined with strength training helps you maintain as much muscle as you can while losing fat.

as for the amount of protein, I am a big proponent of a balanced diet, and a balanced diet can consist of protein up to 30% of total calories (MFP defaults to 15%), but others like an even higher protein diet.

As far as I have read protein helps promote muscle gain which will in turn help with weight loss. I recently switched to a 40-40-20 diet which is 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat. To be able to do this you need to eat lots of meat, fish, things with high protein in them. I also use protein powder in shakes to help get enough protein. The brand I use is bodylogix for women. It has 20g of protein and 117 calories per scoop so it's also low cal. There are many brands out there to try out! I hope this helps

1. It is very difficult to get "too much protein" in your diet. As long as your kidneys and liver are healthy (if you don't have some pre-existing damage or disease), then you can eat a LOT more protein than the recommended amount. For example, my doctor told me to eat 50g protein every 3 hrs as long as I'm awake, which works out to about 350g a day. I know people who have been on diets like this for over a decade and it hasn't hurt them a bit; in fact, many Type II diabetics have been more-or-less "cured" by eating like this. So you shouldn't worry at all about going over! :-)

2. Protein promotes weight loss when it replaces carbs as your source of energy. Your body can get quick bursts of energy from carbs, or it can get steady, slow-burning energy from burning a combination of fat and protein. I won't bore you with the chemistry, but it's roughly one part protein to three parts fat. So if you eat plenty of protein, this will help in burning off your fat (without losing muscle).

3. Protein promotes weight loss when it fills you up & keeps you from getting hungry. Like I said, carbs provide a quick burst of energy, but when it's gone you're hungry again. Protein digests more slowly and provides longer-lasting energy, so it will keep you feeling full & satisfied for longer & help you resist the temptation to overeat.

I haven't found that the kind of protein makes much difference to me. Some people swear by soy, some by whey. Just see what your body likes. And find a powder without a lot of carbs and/or sugars.
Good luck to you!

Protein also keep you from getting hungry as often, which could help you loose weight.

http://www.jacn.org/content/23/5/373.full.pdf+html

The above link is to a summary of 15 studies compiled by to people with Ph.ds in Nutrition. The summary shows that in every longterm study done , people with a higher protein intake lose more weight than people that are not.

Of course, you have to eat less than you burn, no matter how much protein you eat.

However, the TEF of protein is 15-30%, that means it can require upto 30% of the calories to digest protein. So, if you eat 100 calories of protein, it may take as much as 30 calories to digest it or as little as 15. The TEF of Carbs and Fat is closer to 7-8%, so increasing your protein intake actually boosts metabolism.

A person eating a typical diet of 12-15% protein could switch to 40% protein. Figuring 2000 calorie diet:

@ 12% protein:
Burn due to TEF from carbs and fat would be around 140 calories.
Burn due to TEF rom protein would be ~60 calories
Net calories= 1800

Switch the diet to 40% protein
Burn due to TEF from carbs and fat= 96 calories
Burn due to TEF from protein= 200 calories
Net calories= 1704

Seems like a small change but over a course of 6 months that's an extra 6 pounds or so.

Helpful broken down like that, thanks! :flowerforyou: