The Power of PROTEIN

Previously, I have blogged about the "all encompassing calorie." When people talk about the calories in food, what do they mean? A calorie is a unit of measurement — but it doesn't measure weight or length. A calorie is a unit of energy. When you hear something contains 100 calories, it's a way of describing how much energy your body could get from eating or drinking it.

Which Foods have calories? Carbs, Protein and Fat. My last blog "The Almighty Carb" discussed Carbohydrates as a contributing Macro-nutrient to energy in the body, how it is processed, utilized, and stored.

Protein, the second of the three Macro-nutrients that contributes to energy in the body follows a similar, but different path.....

Protein- is a macronutrient that is essential to building muscle mass. It is commonly found in animal products, though is also present in other sources, such as nuts and legumes.

Protein has many roles in your body. It helps repair and build your body's tissues, allows metabolic reactions to take place and coordinates bodily functions. In addition to providing your body with a structural framework, proteins also maintain proper pH and fluid balance.

Both Protein and Carbs provide 4 calories per gram, fat provides 9 calories per gram.

In a healthy diet, about 12 to 20 percent of your total daily calories should come from protein. Your body needs protein for growth, maintenance, and energy. Protein can also be stored and is used mostly by your muscles.

When thinking about diet, it's best not to get rid of any macro-nutrient, unlike our popular diets suggest. It's the balance on the plate that matters. People don't gain weight from eating a balanced, healthy diet, We gain weight from over doing it, heavy

portion sizes, eating "second portions", eating when we are not hungry, even though it's a scheduled meal time, eating late at night before going to bed, and having dessert later in the evening, "just because".

If you are wanting to lose weight, wanting to get off the "roller coaster" of weight loss and gain, start thinking about balance. Balance in food choices, eating and exercise. "You cannot out exercise a poor diet."

xoxo,

K