What are the effective methods to lose weight?
Rebalance your diet
The first step in weight loss is to rebalance your diet. Keep one thing in mind: whey alone will not help you lose weight.
It is indeed the context in which it is used that will help you achieve your goals. Rebalancing your diet consists of:
- Consume more whole fruits and raw vegetables, proteins (meat, fish, eggs, legumes), whole-grain starchy foods, dairy products high in protein and low in sugar and fat
- Reduce your consumption of processed foods (cookies, chocolates, cakes, fried foods, breaded items…), of processed fruits and vegetables (juices, compotes), of white starchy foods (white baguette, pasta and quick-cooking white rice), of very sweet, fatty dairy products (rice pudding, dessert cream) and added fats (butter, cream)
Create a slight, well-calculated calorie deficit
Your body will lose weight if you don’t provide it with enough calories. With insufficient calorie intake, your body will naturally draw on your fat reserves to provide energy.
Understand that adding a whey shake (about 150 calories) in addition to your usual unbalanced diet will absolutely not help you lose weight, quite the opposite!
Increase and adjust your level of physical activity
To create a calorie deficit, you can also increase your level of physical activity. Without even talking about sports, a simple daily brisk 30-minute walk will burn you about 150 calories.
Physical activity should be adapted: that is, the activity you choose should above all make you happy and not be a constraint. Otherwise, you risk abandoning it as quickly as you began.
What are the benefits of whey?
For athletes
Athletes stimulate their muscle mass daily. Muscle fibers are partially damaged during exertion and rebuild during the recovery phase. Proteins are the main nutrients that help with muscle rebuilding.
Athletes’ protein needs are therefore about 50% higher than those of non-athletes. Whey will help you more easily meet these high protein needs.
For non-athletes
Non-athletic people also have protein needs. These needs, however, are lower than for athletes and are about 1 gram / kilogram / day.
A 60 kg woman will therefore need 60 g of protein per day. Whey can also help you reach these amounts, but a balanced diet makes it fairly easy to do so.
For people who want to lose weight
As you might have guessed, no matter your goal, the benefit of whey is the same for everyone: a source of protein. So why and how do proteins help with weight loss?
It is indeed the context in which whey is used that will ensure weight loss, not simply its use.
This study shows that a high-protein, low-fat diet helps with weight loss.
Also read | Best whey: 10 brands tested by a dietitian-nutritionist
How can whey help you lose weight in a healthy way?
Protein intake to preserve muscle mass
When trying to lose weight, the goal is to eliminate excess fat. The idea is not to reduce muscle mass. That is the whole point of effective and sustainable weight loss: maintaining muscle mass and primarily eliminating fat.
Whey will precisely help you maintain an adequate protein intake to preserve your muscle mass despite the calorie deficit. This study also shows the link between protein-rich meals and weight loss.
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Achieve good satiety and avoid snacking
Proteins, and by extension whey, help you feel full during meals. Indeed, as shown by this study, protein is the nutrient that takes the longest to digest.
This simply means that a diet high in protein will help you become satiated more quickly… and to limit overeating during your meals and snacking outside of them.
Whey is not miraculous
As I explained in the introduction, whey will only be effective as part of a healthy lifestyle and a varied and balanced diet.
Using whey to lose weight can be a good solution provided that you adopt new healthy habits.
My tips for an ideally balanced day
☕ Breakfast eaten at 7:00 AM
Quick bowl cake with 40g of whole rolled oats, 1 egg, 1 mashed banana, 2 tablespoons of Skyr, and 2 squares of 70% dark chocolate
Coffee or unsweetened green tea
🍽 Lunch eaten at 12:15 PM
Mixed salad with whole grain pasta, raw vegetables (cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grated carrots), 120g of chicken breast, 20g of parmesan shavings and a drizzle of olive oil
1 Granny Smith apple for dessert
Coffee or unsweetened green tea
🏃 Short 30-minute walk to aid digestion before returning to work
🏋️♀️ Physical activity at 6:00 PM
30 minutes of bodyweight circuit training at home
Consume a whey shake immediately after the session: it will help rehydrate you, provide protein for muscle recovery, and keep you satisfied before dinner
🥗 Balanced dinner
Starter of soup or raw vegetables with a light dressing made with 0% fromage blanc, vegetables and oven-baked white fish, fresh lemon juice, salad of homemade fruit and 120g of Skyr
Whey can be a very useful dietary supplement for losing weight, but it’s really a change in your lifestyle and habits that will help you achieve your goals in a sustainable way!
