The #1 nutrition change to lose fat & build muscle

The number one nutrition intervention you can make to look better naked?

• It's not cutting carbs

• It's not "superfoods" like kale

• It's not raw beef liver

It's protein.

And who doesn’t like focusing on MORE of something instead of less??

So why is protein so important?

Well…not all weight loss is equal.

Yes - any diet that works for losing weight is done through a caloric deficit...

• Keto reduces calorie intake by removing food options

• Fasting reduces calorie intake by removing meals

• Calorie counting reduces intake by direct measure

And all of these can work - as long as they are adhered to.

The key is finding what feels least restrictive for you and your lifestyle.

BUT...

Weight loss ≠ fat loss.

You can look drastically different at any given weight depending on how much muscle and fat you have - this is what makes up your body composition.

So when considering losing weight, don't forget that you want to lose fat, not muscle.

There are 3 ways to maximize fat loss while losing weight:

• Protein intake

• Strength training

• Speed of weight loss

I'll cover strength training and speed of weight loss in future letters.

But protein isn't just about fat loss - it's a game changer for many reasons.

Here are 5 Reasons You Need to Eat More Protein

Let’s get into WHY this is so important - and then I’ll provide some resources on how much and how to get it.

1. Fat Loss

As you can see above, most diets result in about the same distribution of fat/muscle loss while losing weight...

Except high protein diets - which lead to 90% fat loss!

This is SO important for actually improving how you look in the mirror.

In fact - if you're lifting weights - we may even be able to keep all of our muscle - or even gain some (if you're new to lifting).

These 2 groups lifted weights, ate in a calorie deficit, and consumed either high or low protein diets.

The high protein group added muscle, lost more fat, and looks a hell of a lot better in the mirror - despite similar weight loss!

By the way - this isn't just for those losing weight…

High protein intake:

• Maximizes fat loss during a caloric deficit (Weight loss)

• Minimizes fat gain during a caloric surplus (Weight gain)

• Can lead to fat loss & muscle gain during maintenance

So no matter what your goals are - protein is essential for looking better in the mirror.

2. Volume & Satiety

A high protein breakfast has been shown to decrease activation in the reward centers of the brain when looking at savory foods later in the day.

Protein is super filling and leads you to eat less of other foods.

If 80% or more of your food is coming from protein, fruits, & vegetables - it’s just going to be damn hard to overeat.

The importance of mostly whole foods cannot be overstated, and I’ll cover this in a future letter.

A chicken breast is going to take you 5-10+ minutes to eat merely 300 calories - and you’ll be pretty damn full.

Compare this to a double cheeseburger or soda...

You can eat these foods so fast that by the time your brain realizes you’ve got food, you've already smashed 1,200 calories.

There’s nothing poisonous about processed foods - they just make it way easier to over eat, and you're not getting many micronutrients.

3. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

Your body burns calories digesting calories.

But this is different depending on the food you're digesting:

• Fats are 0-3%

• Carbs are 5-10%

• Protein is 20-30%

What this means is that for every 100 calories of protein ingested, you burn 20-30 calories in the digestion process.

By eating higher protein, you essentially get a lower "net" calorie after accounting for digestion.

This isn't going to be that big of a difference, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

P.S. - TEF also lowers depending on how processed your foods are - another reason it’s beneficial to eat more whole foods.

4. Chewing

A downstream benefit of higher protein intake is going to be more chewing with the increased meat consumption.

Our soft food diet today has a major disadvantage when it comes to simply chewing our food.

Extensive chewing is good for digestion, jaw development, and breathing over the long term.

Our teeth react to force, and most Americans are missing the consistent chewing forces that our body responds to best.

This has many more effects than you'd think and I will elaborate much more in another letter.

Aim to chew each bite (protein or otherwise) 20-30x.

Instead of counting, just aim to get the food to an oatmeal like consistency before swallowing.

This stimulates digestive processes and slows you down - allowing your brain to turn off hunger signals earlier during your meal.

5. Metabolic Rate

So we've seen that high protein will maximize muscle and minimize fat on our body.

This leads to a higher metabolic rate.

Muscle burns 3 times more calories per pound when compared to fat.

So as you improve your body composition - you burn more calories at rest.

This means you get to enjoy more food every day without gaining weight simply because you are burning more calories at rest.

This is why getting strength training and protein intake on board is so important.

You can diet down fast and gain it back with fad diets - but if you start building muscle (even without losing weight) - it’s going to be easier down the road due to your metabolic rate being higher.

So how much do you need?

There’s lots of advice on this - and it changes slightly based on your goals, but a great starting point is to get 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass.

How to find out your lean body mass:

1. Use the chart below to estimate your body fat percentage.

2. Take that percentage multiplied by your body weight to get your total fat mass.

3. Subtract this from your total body weight to get your lean body mass. Eat this many grams of protein per day.

Example:

• You're 200 lb and estimate based on the chart that you are 30% body fat.

• 30% * 200 lb = 60 lb (fat mass)

• 200 lbs - 60 lbs = 140 lbs

• You need to eat 140 grams of protein per day

A few notes:

• Protein is more important during weight loss than weight gain. A caloric deficit is an energy depleted state, and stimulating muscle protein synthesis is vital to signaling your body to hold on to muscle

• These numbers assume quality protein sources - and if you are plant based you’ll want to supplement meals with BCAAs to meet your needs.

• You don’t HAVE to count grams individually - if you’d like to use your palm size as a serving guideline, aim to get 1-2 palm size servings of quality protein 3-4 times per day.

• More is not always better, and you begin to make tradeoffs from carb or fat intake which can provide useful for recovery and health. Adding more won’t harm you, but it’s unlikely to give you extra benefits.

What about timing?

As a general rule - aim to get your protein in a minimum of 3 meals per day.

The maximum muscle protein synthesis (MPS) response caps out around 25-50 grams of protein, depending on the source and quality.

This doesn’t mean you can’t absorb more than this - it just means it won’t provide extra MPS.

In regards to training - the “anabolic window” seems not to be as important as previously thought - though it doesn’t hurt to get protein in after lifting.

I recommend adding a meal within 3 hours before exercise and within 2 hours after.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT IS TOTAL INTAKE IN THE DAY.

Beyond this - just aim to spread it out in 3-5 meals and you’re golden.

Protein Sources

This is from my free food guide here:

Note: The only reason whey protein powder is in the “Sometimes” column is because it’s not as filling as whole food sources.

If you can effectively keep your intake under control while consuming shakes - don’t worry about having a couple a day, but realize it will make it harder to keep calories down due to less fullness compared to whole food options!

In addition to the food guide, here are my protein hacks to get enough in your day.

Some additional tips to get you there:

• Start adding 1-2 shakes per day as you find whole food options that work for you. This is an easy way to add fruits & vegetables as well if you blend it.

• Double down on any meat at each meal. If you’re having chicken salad, go with 6-8 oz instead of 3-4.

• Spike your breakfast with egg whites. If you’re having 2-3 eggs anyways, add egg whites for an easy, low calorie spike of protein.

• Titrate your intake up slowly over a few weeks as you find what works best for you.

• Always cook double the meat to have leftovers ready to reheat.

• MEAL PREP - this doesn’t need to be every meal - just cook a ton of chicken or beef to have available. This channel has great resources on quick, balanced meal prep.

FAQs

Won’t this damage my kidneys?

Nope.

A meta analysis of over 100 studies has shown no effect of high protein diets on kidney function.

I’m plant based - how do I get this much protein?

Animal foods are rich in complete protein, while plant-based sources have lower quantities of lower quality protein.

Combining protein sources (e.g. legumes and grains) and considering a plant-based protein supplement will be key.

Other supplements that may be beneficial due to low availability in a plant based diet include Vitamin B12, Calcium, Iron, and Omega 3s.

I’m trying to tone, I don’t want to get bulky

This is exactly what you need. In order to tone we want to decrease fat mass (and maximize muscle) at any given body weight. As seen above, protein intake is vital to minimizing body fat no matter what the scale does.

Won’t red meat kill me?

The noise in the data with processed red meats is very hard to dissect - and the benefit to completely avoiding processed red meat FOREVER is pretty damn low - especially when comparing larger impact items like adding more fruits & vegetables or walking more.

So in the context of killing you, probably not a big concern - just aim to balance your intake with fish, chicken, and dairy sources.

TLDR:

Hight protein intake:

• Maximizes fat loss

• Minimizes muscle loss

• Improves your metabolic rate

• The fullness from protein makes it easier to keep intake down and lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

• Your body burns more calories digesting protein than any other macronutrient.

• 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass is a great starting point.

• These benefits apply during weight loss, weight gain, and maintenance.

• Focusing on adding MORE to your routine is a great way to start your journey instead of focusing on LESS of anything.

That's a wrap.

I'd encourage you to hit that 1 gram / lb of body mass consistently and see what it does for your hunger.

It's an absolute game changer and is a great building block for your nutrition strategy.

Until next time,

Brooks

P.S. If you find my newsletter valuable and want my personal guidance to get to your goals, apply for a FREE health audit here to see if you'd be a good fit for my program.