Try A High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet for Fat Loss and Better Health: Make It A Lifestyle

Try a high-protein, low-carb diet that favors a low glycemic response to lose fat and feel better. A low-carb diet intervention that results in better glycemic control will help you maintain an optimal body composition with ease so that the food you eat becomes a pleasant lifestyle rather than a diet struggle.

Research shows a high-protein, low-glycemic diet will improve various biomarkers including high cholesterol, systemic inflammation, a lack of healthy enzymes, and insulin resistance—a combination that all feed off each other and cause a downward spiral of poor health and fat gain.

A new study in the journal Nutrition showed that a simple lifestyle intervention of eating a diet that is low in carbs and high in protein will induce fat loss, reduce inflammation, and improve health markers. The study analyzed biomarkers in 322 participants, 15 percent of who were type 2 diabetic, following a 2-year dietary intervention.

Researchers compared fat loss and waist circumference in participants who ate one of three test diets:

• a low-carb, high-protein, low-glycemic diet,
• a low-fat diet, or
• a Mediterranean diet.

All of the dietary interventions were effective at “inducing a cascade of changes within biomarkers of lipids, inflammation, liver enzymes, and glycemic control.” The high-protein diet induced the greatest body composition improvements of the three interventions. The diabetics on the high-protein diet had the greatest change in insulin health markers.

Most important about this study is that with the high-protein diet, better lipid markers, insulin health, and lower systemic inflammation were maintained despite some weight regain by the end of the study period in some of the participants.

Researchers suggest better dietary habits, such as filling up on protein and avoiding high blood sugar, helped manage insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake. This led to a cascade of benefits: more fat loss, a decrease in waist circumference, a decrease in inflammation, and a rapid metabolism.

The key to better short- and long-term metabolic results is to make a “lifestyle” change rather than a temporary diet change to induce short-term weight loss.

It’s great if you can eat a low-carb, high-protein diet for a few months to drop weight and improve insulin sensitivity, but if you return to bad diet habits that include lost of carbs, high-glycemic index foods, or lots of liquid fructose, you’ll regain the fat and the cardiometabolic benefits will be eliminated.

In contrast, even if you gain some fat, which is unlikely if you exercise and eat a low-carb, high-protein diet, you’ll maintain the good lipid balance and decreased inflammatory levels, making it easier for you to get back on track. Pair strength training with a low-carb, high-protein diet and you can’t fail.