Protein Drinks for Weight Loss | Are They Effective?

There are several protein drinks for weight loss to choose from. But which is one that you should choose and actually work for your weight loss diet? Well, it is undeniable that some people are more likely to choose the practical options instead of the conventional ways in order to reduce their overweight problem. And protein drinks are one of these practical ways that increasingly popular in these days.

You may also like to read about losing weight without exercise and weight gain supplements for men, before continuing!

Some studies found that high-protein diets can be more effective to satisfy hunger better than other options. That’s why high-protein diet is often associated with weight loss!

But one thing you should clearly understand, there is no any weight loss drink /supplement that can be your magic bullet to lose your weight. Whatever the great & expensive weight loss supplement that you have, always remember that the key is still on ‘how to burn more calories than you consume’!

Therefore, don’t forget also to keep your balanced diet with healthy foods (such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, & lean sources of protein) and get adequate physical activity to burn more calories!

Protein shakes

As well we know that there are some body’s main building blocks for our body (including for skin, bone, muscle, & other tissues) -- one of them is protein. Generally, adults require about 56-46 grams of protein /day -- depending on your weight and health condition.

As long as we eat a healthy diet, the body can get their adequate protein from the food that we eat without needing protein shakes or other supplements. But sometimes, you may need protein shakes to help your weight loss diet.

Using protein shakes to replace your certain meals may be effective to decrease your daily calories, which then eventually will promote weight loss. Protein shakes are also helpful to encourage the endurance, so thus you can do your exercise longer to burn more calories.

But you should also understand that protein shakes also contain calories, and if you use them too much (particularly if consume them in addition to your usual diet) will be not good for your weight loss diet.

Too much consumption of protein shakes may also increase the chance of replacing your regular meals, which then can affect your body in losing the nutritional health benefits of whole foods. That’s why you need to read carefully the label, ‘how to use them’, and make sure you choose one with the right composition.

1. If losing body fat is your goal -- choose one that contain a little bit of fat, fewer carbohydrates, and more protein (ensure the product has about 50 % or more of protein); such as ‘Slim-fat’.
2. And for the middle range, a protein shake product like ‘Muscle milk’ is one of popular options. This protein shake usually contains high amounts of carbohydrates and protein which usually also contain higher amounts of fat than other average protein shakes. Talk more with professional sport nutrition or professional trainer for more in-depth information.

Additionally, some familiar types of protein in the protein shakes are soy, casein, whey, egg, and milk.

Other drinks for weight loss

Coconut water

It has essential electrolytes, minerals, vitamins and free-fat. It may help boost up your metabolism and also give you more energy to workout longer. A cup of coconut water contains about 46 calories. The following benefits of coconut water may be helpful for your weight loss diet:

1. The high electrolytes in the coconut water may also help you to keep hydrated. And by keeping hydrated helps you feel full longer which then will be helpful to control your meal portion. Furthermore, adequate water in your body is also important to keep well the level of your metabolism -- good metabolism that you have helps you to easily burn more calories. You may also be interested to read how to boost your metabolism!
2. 1 cup of coconut water also contains about 3 gram of fiber. And as well we know that fiber is good for your digestive system.
3. There is also about 2 gram of protein from 1 cup of coconut water. And as mentioned before, protein can be your good guide of your appetite suppressant.
4. Furthermore, coconut water also contains high amounts of potassium and vitamin C. Potassium is essential property to help convert food that you eat to energy and also good to build your muscle. And for vitamin C, a study in Arizona State University; individuals with high vitamin C level had less fat in the blood and lower in BMI (body mass index).

Whey protein

According to a study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center, whey protein may decrease the levels of ghrelin (a kind of hormone that has important contribution in regulating food intake).

Lower concentration of ghrelin may help you to feel fuller and longer. On the other hand, higher concentration of ghrelin will make you to feel hungry easily. In other words, whey protein helps your body to release appetite suppressing hormones that can be so useful to curb your cravings.

Green tea

Some studies in Japan and Netherlands found that green tea can be helpful to lose more pounds of weight and also promote good level of cholesterol (lower LDL levels). But however, you should drink green tea in moderation because it also contains caffeine. Read also how much caffeine in green tea!

In addition, there is an opinion that drinking about 10-8 glasses of ice-cold water a day may help you to burn an extra 250 calories a day. This opinion is based on the mechanism of the body that needs to burn fat /calories in order to heat/burn the ice cold water back to the normal temperature. But unfortunately, there is still no adequate evidence to confirm this opinion. More researches are required to find the clearly answer!

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