New research published in Obesity Science and Practice reinforces what many nutrition experts, including those at Men’s Health, have long emphasised: while calorie intake and energy balance are the key drivers of weight loss, focusing on protein and fibre is crucial for long-term success. These nutrients not only help sustain weight loss but also ensure that the reduction comes primarily from body fat, making them essential allies in your dieting strategy.
The Study
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign had participants take part in what they labelled as an ‘Individualised Diet Improvement Program’ or ‘iDip’. Rather than being given a strict meal plan or eliminating various types of foods from their diets, participants instead took part in intensive dietary education sessions.
The aim was to increase dieters’ knowledge around nutrition and help them better understand the role of key nutrients, enabling them to create a personalised weight loss plan tailored to their needs. The researchers hypothese was that this would then enable them to create their own personalised weight-loss plan, which would be more suited to them and motivated by knowledge of the health benefits of weight loss and healthier eating, as opposed to simply following a prescribed diet.
Speaking on the study, head researcher Professor Manabu T. Nakamura said: ‘Flexibility and personalisation are key in creating programs that optimise dieters’ success at losing weight and keeping it off. Sustainable dietary change, which varies from person to person, must be achieved to maintain a healthy weight. The iDip approach allows participants to experiment with various dietary iterations, and the knowledge and skills they develop while losing weight serve as the foundation for sustainable maintenance.’
This echoes our sentiments that education and experimentation are key to finding long-term success in healthy eating in order to maintain body fat, muscle mass, and performance at healthy levels.
As part of the education programme, dieters were given a data tool that provided the participants with a visualisation showing foods’ protein and fibre density per calorie and provided them with a target range for each meal.
The Results
After one year of the trial, 41% of the dieters had successfully lost 12.9% of their body weight. The rest of the study group had lost on average slightly more than 2% of their starting weight. When researchers analysed the data, comparing food diaries to weight loss data they had gathered from Wi-Fi-enabled scales, they found a strong correlation between those who had successfully lost the most weight and an increased protein and fibre intake.
While we already know that a caloric deficit is necessary for successful weight loss — and this is something that all of the participants were educated in and aimed for — this research demonstrates that the composition of these calories could be just as important when it comes to effective and sustainable fat loss. Mindy H. Lee, one of the authors of the study, noted, ‘The research strongly suggests that increasing protein and fibre intake while simultaneously reducing calories is required to optimise the safety and efficacy of weight loss diets.’
What Does This Mean For Us?
If you want to lose weight in the short term, sure, calories are all that matter. But, if you want to sustain that weight loss, make your dieting efforts more effective, and avoid tanking your health and performance in the gym, protein and fibre should have pride of place on your plate at each and every mealtime.
Professor Nakamura highlighted that this consideration is more important than ever, especially as we’re now seeing a rise in weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic that affect your appetite. ‘Recently, the popularity of injectable weight loss medications has been increasing,’ says Professor Nakamura. ‘However, using these medications when food intake is strongly limited will cause serious side effects of muscle and bone loss unless protein intake is increased during weight loss.’
Protein, alongside resistance training, will help to preserve lean muscle mass during times of energy restriction, vital for health and longevity.
In summary, even if your goal is weight loss – in fact, especially if your goal is weight loss – pile up the protein, be liberal with the veg, and get cracking in the gym.
