Are high protein diets effective for fat loss? | Peter Attia and Don Layman

This clip is from episode 224 ‒ Dietary protein: amount needed, ideal timing, quality, and more with Don Layman, Ph.D. Don Layman is a Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In this clip, Don and Peter discuss:

- Peter's three strategies for approaching weight loss
- How Don thinks about manipulating macros to achieve energy deficit
- Why the high satiety of protein is very helpful for weight loss
- And more

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About:

The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 70 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.

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[MrQuadcity]

The discussion between Peter Attia and Don Layman provides several key takeaways on the effectiveness of high-protein diets for fat loss and their implications for metabolic health:

1. **High-Protein Diets for Weight Loss**: High-protein diets are effective for weight loss, helping individuals lose more fat while preserving lean muscle mass compared to lower-protein, high-carbohydrate diets.

2. **Protein’s Satiating Effect**: Protein is more satiating than carbohydrates or fats, which can help reduce overall calorie intake by minimizing hunger and the desire for snacking.

3. **Thermogenic Advantage**: Protein has a higher thermogenic effect, meaning its digestion and metabolism burn more calories compared to carbohydrates and fats, contributing to greater energy expenditure.

4. **Insulin and Glycemic Control**: A diet higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates can stabilize insulin levels and glycemic responses, reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

5. **Importance of Protein Distribution**: Distributing protein intake evenly across meals, especially ensuring adequate protein at breakfast, can enhance muscle protein synthesis throughout the day and support metabolic health.

6. **Individualized Caloric Needs**: While weight management fundamentally involves caloric balance, individual metabolic efficiencies and dietary preferences necessitate personalized approaches to diet planning.

7. **Research Support**: Layman's research, through controlled and free-living studies, consistently shows the benefits of high-protein diets in weight management, metabolic health, and satiety, challenging traditional high-carb dietary recommendations.

8. **Muscle Preservation with Aging**: High-protein diets are particularly important for older adults to prevent muscle loss, which is critical for maintaining physical function and metabolic health as one ages.

9. **Practical Dietary Strategy**: Layman advocates for a dietary approach that includes about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, moderate carbohydrate intake to avoid insulin spikes, and sufficient fats for energy, structured across three balanced meals a day.

These insights affirm the role of high-protein diets not just in effective weight management but also in enhancing overall metabolic health, satiety, and quality of life across different age groups.

[jjnelson]

Don is great. My dad used to be his pastor. Have known him 45years.

[JeffCahill-tpik]

Everything I've read says gaining muscle mass after age 60 is really difficult.   I just transformed my body radically at age 62 with 6 weeks of ignoring expert advice and listening to my inner voice.   Supposedly,   it's overtraining to do more than 5 sets of one exercise and you should  not go to failure, or rarely. 

For instance, I did 30 sets of bench press with dumbbells,   every one to failure, then followed with 10 sets of pushups to failure, so 40 sets to failure.   I don't mind the pain, and they truly were to failure ... not "I can’t do another",   but actually failing on the last set.  Similar workouts for shoulders, back, legs and core, though for legs I did 20 or 30 sets of squats holding a dumbbell in my hands in front of me, but for the squats I didn’t go to failure because it's too exhausting.  This routine sounds insane, but the results amazed me.  In fact, due to the danger of sarcopenia I was considering doing a cycle of steroids, thinking the benefits of gaining skeletal muscle outweighed the risk.  I'm  no longer considering that because it's  clearly unnecessary.   I just wish I took some "before" pictures to show the difference.

All the while, my diet was almost only protein.  Protein powder, chicken breast or thighs, hamburger, steak, with green salads.   I lost quite a bit of weight and gained significant  muscle.   Am I an outlier?  I  don’t know.  Almost  no one correctly guesses my age, but I don’t believe  I've ever had the genetics to pack on muscle  easily.  And this is not "muscle memory".  My pecs, shoulders, abs, back are bigger and more defined than at any point in my life.  I rarely and sporadically trained in my younger days.

The side effect  to this routine  was many days in that period feeling completely drained.  It's not a sustainable lifestyle  at age 62 at least, but the point I'm making is I did the opposite of the expert advice regarding diet and exercise and got results that defied conventional wisdom, or at least commonly reported advice. 

I would love to see a study on this type of routine.

[janiceg]

I’ve been experimenting with more meat, especially in the am. However, I find I want carbs later in the day. I never believed in not mixing protein/ carb or carb/ fat but I’m starting to rethink it. Last year I tried vegan 6 months, which I thought I’d like, but I couldn’t sustain it, even working with a coach, expensive program. I’m going to stick with meat am, light carb lunch, and meat for dinner and see how that works.

[ambition]

0:26: 💡 Strategies for reducing energy intake in weight loss: calorie reduction, macronutrient focus, and time restriction.
2:55: 💡 Optimizing meal composition for fat loss by prioritizing protein intake and managing carbohydrate levels.
6:28: 💪 High protein diets resulted in more weight loss, specifically fat, due to thermodynamic effect.
8:53: 💪 High protein diets are crucial for weight loss, preserving muscle mass, and preventing lean mass loss, especially in older adults.
12:31: 💡 Effectiveness of protein distribution on protein synthesis and fat loss.
Recapped using Tammy AI

[willbrink]

Nice to see someone like Dr Layman "get" it. Protein is the least likely macro to convert to BF from a thermic, hormonal, satiety etc POV. It's odd how fixated some researchers are on fat and carbs, ignoring protein. While cals are still the key driver of weight loss (note I didn't say fat loss...), higher P diets are going to be superior. No, all cals are not created equal in an in vivo system. I have been saying that for 3+ decades now...

[irunslowNC]

@PeterAttiaMD I am 67, 5 months post op rt shoulder surgery. Just now lifting again. Albeit 1/3 to 1/2 what i was lifting 8 months ago. Atrophy was expected, but biceps, triceps and chest really dropped in size. It is mentality painful to barely do pushups, using 25s for incline press where last summer i was using 60 for reps. Definitely taking in a lot of protein, but i am a cyclist and figuring out my carb needs is tough. Good luck with your recovery, I know i can get back to what i want, just beed to take time.

[CapybaraCM]

I’m a mid 50’s cycling junkie (previously 250-300miles/week). I had a tibia/fibula fx which required an implant rod to fix and I was non weight bearing for a month and hobbled around for much longer. I saw noticeable muscle atrophy within a week. 14 months later, I’m not back to previous level of training even though I’ve put in many hours a week to regain muscle mass throughout body. Sarcopenia is F’n real.

[appl]

Wow. I'm from an old farm family. Big meals and heavy manual labour.. The very first think my mum always thought of was protein then variety of vegetables plus potatoes. They knew about the value of protein and surprise, she would refer to it as meat protein and vegetable protein. She was born in 1913.

[jimfife]

As I understand it, protein synthesis won't start until leucine levels are high enough. This argues for eating protein in sizeable chunks. Can I supplement leucine with smaller protein portions, to get synthesis with fewer calories?

[KRN]

Yeah Peter, got a hip injury from deadlifting. My 45 yo body feels so weak now sitting on the sofa/bed for a week.

[katerobinson]

Great interview, Don is awesome! However, I found it somewhat difficult to listen to, as Peter kept interrupting him at times, which was frustrating.

[keithzastrow]

It sure is! I lost 45 lbs eating a high protein, moderate fat and low carb diet which is called....wait for it....Atkins....NOT keto. I swear by this and IMO is FAR easier to sustain than keto.

[livincincy]

The Minnesota Starvation Study took place in WW2. The test subjects were military age men that were conscientious objectors. They cut their calories in half to 1750 per day. They were kept in a metabolic ward.

Note human caloric needs at the time were 3500 for sedentary males not active service men or workers. This was a diet of every macronutrient. Meat, fat, fat other than butter, and carbohydrates from plants & grains. The men averaged 5’ 6” tall and 144 pounds. So they were fit.

Why can modern Americans 70 years later not eat 3500 calories per day eating the recommended diet ?

The recommended diet has 5% of calories from bioavailable sources. This is in stark contrast to eating 15% of caloric energy from bioavailable protein sources. Americans 70 years ago ate bioavailable protein. Plant protein was viewed as carbohydrates energy not bioavailable protein. ( legumes)

[hikedayley]

Breakfast like a King! Get a good dose of high quality protein at breakfast. Small amount of protein for lunch and a good dinner with about 40 grams . Keep fat moderate and carbs on the lower amount.

[Jimeo]

Some of the people Dr. Attia interviews say you need 30 to 40 grams per sitting to stimulate muscle protein synthesis; some say 20 is enough.
Frustrating.

[TangoMasterclassCom]

I have build 2 kg muscle mass in 2 months (DEXA Scan), joining a fitness & nutrtion program with a coach. 5x per week strength training (2x UB, 3x LW), 1x per week cardio zone 2, every day 10000 steps. Nutrition is whole food plant based, high plant protein, high calorie, high whole food carbs, high fiber. I've been eating mostly plant foods my whole life, and I have never had any problems with weight, satiety or insulin and glycemic control. Eating fiberrich plant foods, avoiding junkfood and high sat fat, and not eating more calories than you need, living an active lifestyle, etc.

[candicec]

I love how Attia poses a question, then, with his arrogant attitude, answers his own question before Layman can answer. 😂

[adayfortea]

I find it interesting that a lot of blue zones are minimal animal products and live to be over 100... But north America is obsessed with meat protein

[Eysc]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 *🍽️ Understanding Weight Loss Strategies*
- Different strategies for reducing energy intake for weight loss:
- Simply reducing calories.
- Focusing on macronutrient composition to indirectly limit energy intake.
- Implementing time restriction as a strategy.
01:09 *🥩 Importance of Protein in Weight Management*
- Weight management primarily revolves around calorie control.
- Protein plays a crucial role due to its satiety, thermogenic effect, and impact on muscle preservation.
- Initial studies indicated the significance of protein-carb ratios in various diets.
04:17 *📊 Study Design and Findings*
- Three studies conducted comparing diets with varying protein levels and durations.
- High-protein, low-carb diets led to more significant weight loss, fat loss, stabilized insulin, and lower triglycerides.
- Higher protein intake correlated with reduced hunger and increased compliance over time.
08:31 *💪 Importance of Protein in Lean Tissue Preservation*
- Higher protein intake during weight loss helps spare lean tissue.
- Protein distribution throughout the day influences net protein synthesis.
- Aging exacerbates muscle loss, emphasizing the importance of protein intake, especially in middle-aged individuals.

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