Healthy Protein Low Carb Diet For Weight Loss And Build Muscle

The topic of proteins is on everyone's lips at the moment: after the festive season, many people want to get rid of the pounds they have gained and decide to eat healthier, more balanced, less etc ... Protein-rich foods can support this desire, because they play an important role in building muscle, make you full longer, get your metabolism going and usually have a relatively low calorie density.

With a balanced diet, around 20% of the calories consumed daily come from proteins. This amount is significantly higher in a protein-rich diet; this is about 50% proteins, 35% fats and 15% carbohydrates. This form of nutrition is also called low-carb (few carbohydrates) nutrition. There are also much stricter low-carb forms - but in another post.

What are animal and vegetable protein foods?

Foods containing protein are per se all foods that contain protein - regardless of how much. A food is considered a source of protein if at least 12 percent of the calorific value (calories) is due to the protein content. Protein-rich foods may only be labeled as such if at least 20 percent of the total calorific value (calories) of the food are protein.

There are two sources of protein-containing foods: animal-based, such as in meat and dairy products, and vegetable, such as in legumes or soy products. Both have their advantages and disadvantages - it is good to combine both - and also to choose different sources from animal / vegetable sources. This ensures that you get all of the essential amino acids (necessary for the body). In addition, one hundred percent of the protein in the diet cannot be converted into the body's own protein. How much can be used by the human organism is the so-called biological value. A high biological value means that a large number of protein components (amino acids) in food can be absorbed and incorporated by the body.

With a biological value of 100, chicken egg white has the highest protein quality and is used as a reference quantity. With a good combination of different protein sources, a biological value of over 100 can be achieved; This means that the amino acids (proteins consist of amino acids) from different foods complement each other and so deficits can be compensated.

Below are two tables with the biological value of animal and vegetable proteins and the combination of different protein sources

Food / biological value

• Whole egg (reference value): 100
• Soy: 96
• Tuna: 92
• Soy milk: 91
• Buckwheat: 90+
• Cow's milk: 88
• Edam cheese: 85
• Quinoa: 83
• Rice: 83
• Potatoes: 76
• Rye flour (82% grinding): 76–83
• Beef: 80
• Beans: 72
• Corn: 72
• Oats: 60
• Lentils: 60
• Wheat flour (83% grinding): 56–59

Food combination / value

• 65% potatoes and 35% whole eggs: 136
• 75% milk and 25% wheat flour: 123
• 60% chicken egg and 40% soy: 122
• 71% chicken eggs and 29% milk: 122
• 85% rice and 15% yeast: 118
• 68% chicken eggs and 32% wheat: 118
• 77% beef and 23% potatoes: 114
• 55% soy and 45% rice: 111
• 75% milk and 25% wheat: 105
• 55% potatoes and 45% soy: 103
• 52% beans and 48% corn: 101

The mixing ratio refers to the protein contained in the food, not to the total weight of the food.

Which proteins containing protein are more valuable for humans?

Various «Top10» lists of the foods richest in protein are circulating on the internet - depending on whether you are measuring the amount of protein in terms of biological value or in terms of calories per hundred grams. For example, the biological value of the egg is 100, as I said - but with about 13g protein per 100g, the percentage is not very high.

Food groups with a high protein content:

Meat

The protein from animal foods is more valuable to humans than vegetable proteins, because it is more similar to the protein naturally occurring in the human body; so it generally has a higher biological value. On the other hand, protein-rich animal foods usually also contain a lot of fat and cholesterol.

It doesn't make a big difference whether the meat is chicken, pork or beef, the protein content is around 20 grams per 100 grams of meat. However, the fat content of the individual pieces of meat is very different - and if you want or have to pay attention to your weight, it would be wise to keep an eye on it!

Fish

Fish is also a protein-rich food. For example, 150 grams of tuna contains 35 grams of protein, i.e. 20 grams of protein per 100 grams. By the way, it doesn't matter whether you eat fresh tuna or canned tuna. 50 grams of canned tuna contains around 13 grams of protein. Here the biological value is 92. Therefore, tuna is also ideal for building muscle. Salmon is also a good source of protein if you want to build muscle mass. 150 grams of salmon contain 30 grams of protein. Salmon also provides the body with unsaturated fatty acids, the valuable omega-3 fatty acids. Just like with vitamins A, B1, B6 and B12 as well as selenium and zinc 

Eggs

An egg contains many minerals, including calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium. In addition, all vitamins - except for vitamin C - are included. The high-quality protein (see biological value), which the body can use almost completely, speaks in favor of the breakfast egg. Due to the high cholesterol content in the egg yolk, only around two to three eggs per week are recommended 

Dairy products

Milk is highly praised as a source of protein. However, 100 milliliters of milk, i.e. a small glass full, only provides three grams of protein. Also only three grams of protein are contained in 100 grams of yogurt. If you want to increase this number, it is better to use skimmed quark, cottage cheese or the protein yogurts, quarks and drinks that are now available almost everywhere on the market. There protein powder is added and thus the products reach 10-15g protein per 100ml / g.

Legumes

Even if you follow a vegan diet, you can fall back on many protein suppliers. Legumes are one of the most important of these. These include, for example, broad beans, lentils, kidney beans, white and black beans, peas, lupins and even peanuts.

They all provide good amounts of protein. However, don't be fooled here: the super values ​​relate to dried legumes. The legumes absorb water through soaking and cooking. Result: 100 g of dried lentils contain a good 27 g of protein - 100 g of cooked lentils only contain approx. 11 g.

Nevertheless, it is important to incorporate these proteins into your food, because vegan protein sources not only provide protein, but also many good vitamins and minerals.

Soy products

Soybeans are actually also legumes, but are often classified as a separate group because there are so many different soy products. The high protein quality of soy products makes them an attractive alternative for all those who do not eat any animal protein sources or who suffer from lactose intolerance. Soy protein is a complete protein with a high concentration of amino acids. Compared to other pulses, such as peas, beans and lentils, soy scores significantly better in terms of protein quality (see table).

Soy protein is also a potential allergen, which is why soy has to be declared separately on product packaging. Recently, soy protein has come under increasing criticism because the chemical structure of the substances present in the bean is similar to the female sex hormone estrogen (source Fodspring / magazine). In general, however, the same applies to soy protein as to all foods: The dose makes the poison.

Nuts and kernels

Most nuts are often demonized as fattening foods because they are very high in calories and therefore high in fat. The nuts are really healthy with their relatively high protein content and many unsaturated fatty acids. In fact, nuts can even help you lose weight. As I said, this is not due to their calories - nuts have plenty of them - but rather to special ingredients that can prevent cravings.

Almonds, for example, have 25.5 g and pistachios 24 g protein per 100 g. Here you have to take the golden mean when it comes to the right amount, because with a nut or core amount of about 300 g, the entire daily energy requirement can be covered!

Whole grain cereals

Whole grains play a major role in the search for alternative sources of protein. Amaranth, spelled, quinoa, oats and millet are particularly rich in protein. In contrast to white flour, whole grain still contains all the components of the grain. In addition to fiber, the higher protein content is one more reason to eat whole grains as often as possible!

In the vernacular, the different types of grain are classified more as carbohydrates. That's true - and that's why they're not exactly low in calories. But these carbohydrates are only used slowly by the body and thus keep you full for a long time; they are often referred to as "slow carbs".

100g oat flakes, for example, come with an impressive 13.5 g protein - although here too, of course, it must be taken into account that this value refers to the dry flakes and not to 100 g of cooked porridge. Bread provides an average of 9-10g of protein.