BUILD WITH PROTEIN.

Every meal or snack you eat should contain protein, for the following reasons:

Your body needs roughly double amount of energy (=double amount of calories) to burn digest, absorb and break down protein, every time you eat, than carbs or fat. This means for you, including protein in your meals and snacks will boost your metabolism during digestions all day long.

Protein foods are very thermogenic. Simply put, it requires more energy to digest protein. The human body has to work 30% harder to digest protein foods then it does to digest and process carbs and fats. For this reason, a high protein diet boosts your metabolism and aids in fat loss.

Proper protein intake is also required for the body to properly mobilize stored fat for energy. If you under eat protein, your body will have a harder time drawing on fat stores, and may cannibalize muscle tissue for energy. This is one of the reasons why low protein diets can make you feel weak and tired.

Eating protein leads to release of glucagon, a hormone that helps coax fat out of your fat cells so it can be burned up by your muscles. It also will make your fat cells less receptive to storing fat.Eating protein will increase muscle building.Elevating daily protein intake increases body fat loss, spare muscle mass, decrease feeling of hunger, and improves the blood sugar levels.

Protein plays a vital role in muscle recovery and workout “rebound.” When you work out, two things happen: Your muscles are depleted of glycogen & damaged, and are in need of repair. The faster your muscles repair, the faster you recover. Conversely, under eating protein foods creates a negative nitrogen balance. In this state, it will take longer to recover.

Eating protein keeps your body in an anabolic state. In terms of muscle building, “anabolism” refers to the construction, and not destruction of muscle tissue. The opposite of an anabolic state is a catabolic state. Not eating enough protein can cause muscle tissue to be catabolized.

Growth Hormone Regulation. Proper growth hormones levels are essential for good health. Growth hormone contains 190 amino acids. Eating enough protein insures that your body has the necessary building blocks to construct growth hormone. Growth hormone deficiency slows the metabolism, and can lead to lower bone density, muscle loss, and numerous other health problems.