Is protein best for satiety?

Is protein the best macronutrient for improving satiety? The answer is yes — with some caveats. In this video I go through what you need to know about protein and satiety, and how you can determine if you may benefit by upping your protein intake.

About us:

[michaeldillon]

One thing's for sure - when I was eating a high wholegrain vegetarian diet I had no satiety whatsoever! Indeed certain foods recommended for satiety like whole oats just increased my appetite enormously!

[brettmasonmedia]

I’ve tested this hypothesis. I had remarkable weight loss eating high fat moderate protein. I had multiple deaths in my family. Depression came. So did the weight. After getting better I started back and decided to adopt this higher protein approach. And I have lost weight. I committed to it for the first 6 months of this year. There was some satiety. I lost some weight. But it was a struggle. July 1 I went back to high fat moderate protein and satiety through the roof and weight loss accelerated.

You can quote studies. I rely on what works in my life.

[hardassevents]

Brett, I really appreciate that you repeat the importance of protein intake over and over. Seeing reports of athletes and knowing athletes having mid-life bone breaks is just heartbreaking. The fear of protein has significant impact on their lives

[jobrown]

When I started eating low carb I was only having chia seeds and nuts for breakfast and would start getting truly hungry about 3 hours later. Then I started adding an egg, and that was the only difference, and now I don't start getting hungry (just a slight "niggle") until at least 4 hours later and have no problems waiting until 6 hours after breakfast to have my lunch.

[Lee.b]

My usual diet consists of between 170-200g of protein daily (2100 calories total) and when I stick to this my hunger is minimal throughout the day and night however when I have high carb weeks I do tend to find I become way more hungry and In turn means I tend to over eat, this strategy has helped me get from obese to a normal weight and has helped me maintain this weight

[AzaleaBee]

Hedonic hunger vs homeostatic hunger.. something to chew on this week. Thank you.

[CarbageMan]

I think this helps, not only for satiety, but for prioritizing protein. I think many people doing keto will find they're getting a shockingly low amount of protein—particularly if doing any form of fasting. If fasting, you probably want to average out your protein intake to make sure you're not shorting yourself. If you do time-restricted eating, this means even more per meal, and if you're doing other forms of fasting, you may want to average it over the week and NOT do aggressive time-restricted eating (because it's harder to get the protein in.)

[ny]

I am glad you referenced what amount of food you have to eat to reach 1.6 grams per kilo. After the hefty breakfast that you described, with a cup of coffee (you never mentioned), I am stuffed and ready for a nap. Then to eat a 30 gram protein lunch, as boring chicken breast on top of a salad, I just might be done eating for the rest of the day. I am about 95 kilos (after converting) which means I need A TON OF PROTEIN. You also mentioned the affect that protein has on hunger which in turn means you aren't necessarily the eating machine you used to be. I have adapted by eating the whole pound of bacon for breakfast with maybe a little dish of high fat cottage cheese (or ricotta). Then for mid day I eat a can of sardines with some chopped onions and almonds. Liverwurst or boiled eggs are also a very effective lunch protein and you don't smell as bad when you get back from lunch. Then for dinner (if I must) it is some slab of meat such as a big rib eye or a humongous hamburger with "real" cheese on top or maybe consume half of that fatty pork loin cooking in the oven. For now, you are trying hard to finish the protein goal for the day...early enough so you aren't sleeping on it! You virtually become "carnivore" and maybe haven't even reached that magical protein goal. On my menu I probably barely reach the RDA .8 gram/protein per kilo. And you certainly can't consider including many carbs, or you will also be in the bathroom often. When I talk to friends who have no idea, I tell them to reach for as many grams of meat protein and as few of grams of carbs as possible at every meal. AND NEVER EAT GRAINS UNLESS STARVING!! But you MUST look at the numbers and consider the protein mark to hit for every meal above all else. If you don't count the numbers, you will never shoot for anything. Sometimes I eat ZERO carbs for the day and still ate like a horse. 100+ grams of protein everyday, is virtually impossible for any normal functioning person not into trying to be a body builder. And it's hard to lose a lot of weight when your stomach is that stuffed. Although the protein burns in your body differently and you can still drop small increments eating that much protein. All that protein and you still might drop a pound overnight.

[Elexyr]

An interesting study would be to answer the hypothesis: For 10 dollars, you are more sated on meat from animal sources, than carbs from plant sources (Both having a budget of 10 dollars each, if any confusion occured).

In essence, check if one is more sated on 10 dollars worth of pasta/rice/vegetables versus 10 dollars worth of meat from animal sources. Add on to that, how long are you sated.
Do this over time, and see how it affects the budget. Perhaps you end up spending less, but having more nutrients?

Just example numbers, but hope you get it.

[shiplesp]

It makes me sad that with surging prices that so many are cutting back on protein and shifting to lower cost carbohydrates especiallypasta and rice. Many people, in an effort to balance a family budget are eliminating meat/animal protein or limiting it to once a week. This has nothing to do with wanting to adopt a plant based diet, but simply what they can afford. In light of the economic realities, maybe you could do a video suggesting lower cost options to those meals, with specific foods? Smoked salmon, Canadian bacon, steak and even eggs and chicken are getting out of reach of many. We don't want good health to be limited to those who can afford the groceries.

[SuzanneU]

It would be interesting to see how the genome of the Okinawans compares to that of other population groups. In multigenerational situations of low food availability, those who are fittest will be those who have the lowest nutritional requirements.

[carnivore-muscle]

High protein for me is around 350g and moderate around 275g

[swordmary]

Always got longer lasting muscle strength AND satiety from Protein v. Carbs.

[Straightdeal]

I'm pretty much around there, LCHF 65/25/10, weight 68kg and stable, and roughly 2000 cal per day. I eat twice a day, occasionally once.

[pointshealthcoaching]

In the context of animal based very low to zero carbs diet, this relative relationship between protein and fat happens naturally, you can tweak it either way depending on your body's signals... no need to count calories... in my humble opinion .

[cassieoz]

Almost all studies publish averaged data which loses the detail showing the folks it didn't work for. It's absolutely individual so test it for yourself. Protein gives me immediate satiety but it doesn't last. Fat gives me "stop eating" signals at the same time but lasts longer and limits my total calorie intake. I can't stomach breakfast, never have. For me 70-85g (out of 1600Cal diet) seems to suit me and is do-able in my TMAD regimen

[PeopleHealthTec]

2:25 Protein minimum RDA is 0.8g per kg body weight. Best is 20-25% of calories is 1.6g per kg.

[fredsmit]

I definitely feel satiated with protein. I'm in ketosis and only eat one big meal a day. I first eat meat and some fat (avocados) and I feel satiated. I can totally stop eating and I feel no hunger. In order to increase my calories and vary my diet, I then eat some healthy carbs like blueberries, kimchi, pecans or yogurt, and I can keep eating more carbs! I initially feel satiated with protein and fat, but when I start eating carbs, I can just keep eating them non-stop. In order to control my calories and hunger, once I eat the carbs and feel hungry again, I switch back to protein such as ham and my cravings for carbs go down. It's amazing to me how I can feel satiated and stop eating after I eat protein and fat but when I start eating the carbs as part of the same meal, my satiety goes out the window! For me the interesting part is not so much that protein and fat create satiety, it's that carbs completely remove the feeling of satiety.

[johnsonpaul]

High natural (animal) fat medium protein is what is the bes for me. My protein limit at my 160 lb weight is 80 grams per day for bg control. I never look at calories or the amount of fat that I eat

[Philly]

What about MTOR stimulation and longevity