Over the years there always seem to be some sort of liquid diet that comes out and many people that are desperate to lose weight will actually try out these diets. These liquid diets usually restrict any food to be consumed except the very specific marketed drink. Unfortunately this type of diet is not meant to be a long term method to help you lose weight and the weight loss is also temporary. The minute the dieter consumes normal foods again the weight will pile back on and is often accompanied by even more weight.

Another bad side effect of liquid diets is that the dieter will not only lose body fat but they will also lose a significant amount of lean muscle mass. Muscle mass is what gives your body a lean, toned and healthy shape.

There is an easy method to losing weight that does incorporate the use of quality protein shakes that not only can help you lose fat but it helps you maintain your lean muscle mass. There are only 3 simple rules for this diet to work:

1.) You must consume your daily protein grams based off of the formula of 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean muscle mass on your body. To find your lean muscle mass, you need to follow a simple formula. Body weight – body fat = lean muscle mass. You can find out your body fat percentage by either using an online calculator or by using a caliper to measure the body fat. Once you have the body fat percentage plug it into the formula above. So for example if a 150 pound woman has 25% body fat then her lean muscle mass would be 125lbs. 150lbs – 25 body fat = 125lbs, which means she would need to consume at least 125g of protein a day.

2.) You do not need to do any cardio workouts if you wish but you do need to do 3 days a week of weight training with alternating muscle groups. For example on Monday you might focus on chest and back weight training and on Wednesday maybe do shoulders, biceps and triceps then on Friday perhaps do glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.

3.) You must count calories and make sure you are eating at a – 500 calories deficit. You will need to figure out what your BMR (basal resting metabolic rate) is which is the amount of calories your body requires for basic function each day. This does not include any calories burned from extra activities such as gardening or workouts. So a 5’5″ woman that weighs 150lbs has a BMR of 1,742. She would need to eat 1,242 calories each day in order to lose 1-2 lbs a week, 1,742 calories – 500 calories = 1,242 calories.

Now 125g of protein may seem like too much to consume in one day. The easiest and most cost efficient way to get in all your protein grams is through the use of protein shakes. 1 scoop of protein powder may have anywhere from 15g-30g of protein. If she consumes just 4 protein shakes a day that has 25g of protein per serving, then she will easily hit 100g of protein right there. Those 4 shakes will equal to about 600 calories, so 1,242 calories – 600 calories = 642 calories. She will still have 642 calories to eat through her day that can help her reach her remaining goal of 25g of protein. That 25g of protein can easily be reached by just eating 4 egg whites. Some breads, cereal, pastas and yogurts also contain protein so getting that last bit in through the use of whole foods will be easy to do.

The best part about this diet is that you only need to pay attention to getting those protein grams in and calculating up your calories. I usually add up all my shakes for the day and subtract my shakes from my total calories so that I know how many calories I have to plan meals with. You can easily eat a satisfying meal for just 300 calories. I also know some men that prefer to make a 100g protein shake first thing in the morning and then they proceed to sip on the large shake throughout the day until it is finished.

Try this protein diet for just 2-3 weeks and you will easily lose 3-6 lbs without feeling hungry and without sugar and carb restrictions

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Everyone knows that exercising can help speed your metabolism and help burn fat. But did you know that nutrition is actually more important than exercise when it comes to staying lean? And that if you cut back on exercising, you can still stay lean as long as you eat well? (That’s where the best protein drinks come in!)

 A recent study conducted by Loyola University, University of Ibadan, Howard University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Wisconsin, and published in the September 2008 issue of the journal Obesity, showed some very interesting results when it comes to exercise versus nutrition. 

The study took a group of obese African American women from metropolitan Chicago (average weight: 184 pounds) and compared them to slender women in rural Nigeria (average weight: 127 pounds). It was expected that the slender Nigerians would be much more physically active and burning more calories than the obese Americans, but the researchers found that both groups of women, slender and obese, had the same activity/energy expenditure levels! 

Their diets, however, were dramatically different. The women from Chicago ate 40 – 45% more fat and plenty of high processed foods. The women from Nigeria, on the other hand, ate plenty of fiber and unprocessed carbs and skipped the fat and animal protein, or just ate small portions of them. 

So what can you do to eat right to stay lean? Follow This High Protein Shake 3-Point Plan! 

#1. Eat the right ratio of foods at every meal. What’s the right ratio? A fist-size of lean protein, a fist-size of unprocessed carbs and a thumb-size of healthy fats. Your body needs the carbs to: 

• provide glucose to fuel your body and brain — glucose = fuel 

• provide fiber to curb hunger and stabilize blood sugar 

• burn body fat — if you don’t get a steady supply of glucose your body thinks it’s in emergency “starvation” mode and stores everything as fat instead of using it as energy You need the protein and fats to turn the carbs into glucose and create that steady supply. 

#2. Cut out processed carbs and other processed foods. They provide no nutritional value whatsoever. And when you eat processed foods, your body maintains excess water weight. It also stores fat because it’s in emergency “starvation” mode because it’s not getting any nutrition. 

#3. Eat a high protein shake for breakfast and plan ahead by having the ingredients on hand. This is so you can actually do points one and two. These shakes are easy to make, taste great and contain the optimum nutritional ratio. Plus, you can have them as a snack or as a meal substitute. To make the best protein shakes, add the following ingredients to a blender and mix to desired smoothness: liquid (water, non-fat milk, plain soy milk or plain almond milk); pure protein shake powder; good fat (omega oil, flax; green powder; fresh fruit; ice; optional essences and spices (vanilla, mint, cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger). 

Ready to stay thin without exercising all the time? Start by getting the ingredients for your fast-metabolism smoothies that you can eat all day long…

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