What Determines How Many Calories You Burn?
All of us have heard about diets that are the “latest”. Many of them are one-word diets such as Paleo, Vegan, Atkins, Zone, or Grapefruit. They ALL focus on what you eat, the calories you take in, and the type of calories you choose. One thing is certain: if you don’t burn the calories, your body will store them.
Understanding Why Fad Diets Miss the Full Picture
Why is there so little focus on what you burn? One reason may be that companies promoting diets can sell you something to eat, but they can't sell much that directly increases calorie burn, except for a few exercise companies.
Many factors affect how many calories you burn. These include age, genetics, body composition, exercise, and more. Even diabetes and depression can play a role.
Why Muscle Mass Matters for Metabolism
Muscle mass is especially important. Muscle tissue burns far more calories than fat tissue. Fat burns almost none. For example, someone with 75 pounds of muscle will almost always burn fewer calories than someone with 110 pounds of muscle. More muscle means more calories burned, as long as the other factors, such as age, genetics, body composition, and exercise are similar.
As we’ve mentioned before, most people lose muscle as they get older. We also lose a significant amount of muscle during the first year after bariatric surgery. Losing 25% or more is common.
However, you don’t have to lose muscle. If you get enough of the right protein throughout the day and include the right exercise, you can maintain and even gain muscle.
Why Protein Timing Supports Better Muscle Health
Medical research shows that 30 grams of protein three times a day is optimal for maintaining muscle for anyone over 40 years old.1 We suspect the same is true for younger people as well.
It has to be the right kind of protein intake:
- High-quality protein with the right amino acid profile
- Three protein occasions spaced across the day, such as 8 AM, 1 PM, and 6 PM
- At least 2.5g of leucine in each 30-gram serving1
How to Meet Your Protein Goals
No protein meets these criteria better than Unjury® protein. You can get 30 grams of protein by adding one scoop of Unjury protein powder to 8 oz. of skim milk. You can also use a scoop and a half of protein powder in a beverage that doesn’t provide protein, such as water, coffee, or Crystal Light. Both approaches give you more than 2.5 grams of leucine.*
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