How Adding Protein Foods To Your Diet Speeds Weight Loss Efforts

Certain foods can be more helpful for weight loss than others. Despite the myths that suggest otherwise, you do not have to live on bowls and bowls of salad to start and maintain weight loss. You do not have to give up all of the foods that you enjoy. In some cases, you only need to make some small adjustments in the way that you cook them or the portion size that you are eating. Do not fall for the myths that surround food and nutrition, especially the myths that are a major part of a number of fad diets. Increasing protein is a good choice, but it does not need to be done in an extreme way. In fact, adding too much protein, even the right kinds of protein foods, can be dangerous for a number of health conditions including kidney and heart disease.

The Right Protein Foods

Protein foods can be either animal or plant based. Even within certain types of protein foods, there are a number of choices that are better than others. For instance, while poultry is an excellent source of protein, turkey breast is the best of these protein foods followed by other poultry types. Dark meat turkey and chicken are both higher in calories than white meat, and all pieces should be served without the skin to reduce the calorie count and the fat grams. How you cook these protein foods also affects their nutritional values, with roasting being one of the best cooking methods you can use and frying the worst.

Any type of cooking that allows the food’s fat to drip out and be disbursed like grilling or that does not add a lot of extra fat like baking is a better choice to make, no matter what type of protein foods you are eating. You can also learn recipes that allow you to increase the flavor of these protein foods without adding additional calories or increasing the fat content at all. For instance, a pungent marinade can bring depth of flavor to the average salmon recipe and dishes made with roasted turkey can be made better with the addition of fresh herbs and Indian spices masala. As a bonus, many of the most popular herbs and spices also have healing qualities.

In addition to protein foods that are animal based, there are a number of other protein choices that are from the plant world. Grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and other plant foods have protein in them.