What Is Protein Water and Is It Good for Weight Loss?
Are you looking to lose weight while adding more protein mass to your body? If you’re someone who has fitness goals that you closely adhere to, then we have something that will bring you one step closer to your goals. Maintaining a healthy diet along with an active gym life is one of the toughest things to do especially if you have a busy schedule. However, with the use of protein waters, you can turn this around for yourself. Don’t know how? Here’s how you can do it!
What Is Protein Water?
Protein water is a combination of protein powder and water. It’s sold as a prepackaged product and has become quite popular in recent years. It works as a great alternative for anyone who takes post workout rehydration seriously. Despite popular demand, you may have doubts about protein water being a healthy option or just another product on the shelves that you can ignore.
Protein waters are made with water-soluble proteins such as Whey protein isolate which is extracted from cow’s milk and is considered to be one of the most common proteins used to manufacture this product. Besides this, other types of proteins are also used, such as plant-based proteins and animal-based collagen peptides. You can read more about collagen proteins and their benefits here.
Your protein water can include several flavor extracts as well that make your experience of having protein water all the more amazing. You have a choice ranging from rhubarb, lime, strawberry, watermelon, or even peaches and raspberries that can enhance the taste and nutrient mixture.
However, while you consume a protein drink, you have to make sure that your calorie count stays in check. Also, you must add other sources of protein to your drink as well and your diet in general to ensure you get a complete amino acid profile.
The main reason why protein water has gained massive popularity in recent times, especially amongst those who want to take their fitness game to the next level.
As we know that protein helps to increase satiety, build lean muscle mass, and aid in your weight loss journey, it can truly work as a remarkable supplement to boost you in reaching your daily caloric and protein intake.
Nutritional Facts About Protein Water
The best thing protein water does for your body and diet plan is that it helps you get very close to your daily protein intake while accounting for very few calories. The calorie count varies from product to product and there is no fixed number, but it usually doesn’t add up to much.
Another thing that protein water does best for your overall health is that it includes various vitamins and minerals including vitamins B6, B12, C, and D. These vitamins keep your body healthy and make sure that whatever macronutrients you consume are absorbed faster and used by the body as well.
Protein water is also considered to have a good percentage of calcium and magnesium that boosts bone, heart, skin, and muscle health. This is especially true for protein waters made with whey protein or collagen.
Does Protein Water Assist Those Aiming For Weight Loss?
Many of us think protein water is an ideal choice to enhance the protein intake for them to lose weight. This is because the consumption of proteins can improve metabolism and give you a feeling of fullness. These things help to reduce overall caloric intake.
They also prove to be great protein supplements that you can include in your diet besides the egg, chicken, fish, and other proteins that you are consuming.
Now that we know that protein waters help in weight loss, let’s take a look at how it helps you to lose weight.
Protein Water Reduces Hunger And Appetite
Protein can decrease your appetite by having an impact on your hunger hormones. It can also help you to feel full for longer periods, which tends to make you eat less and lose body fat. Proteins have the property of reducing hunger and appetite in two ways.
Firstly, it enhances the levels of appetite-reducing hormones such as GLP-1, PYY, and CCK. Once these hormones increase in quantity, you are left with feelings of satiety. It also reduces levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin which doesn’t make you hungry as often.
Research conducted for those people who consume high-protein breakfasts showed that these participants consumed just 135 fewer calories later in the day.
Not only was there a drop in the calorie count, but the study showed that at the end of a 12-week study period, participants lost an average of 11 lbs (5 kg).
Thus, protein waters can be a convenient way to add an extra amount of protein to your diet. However, you have to make sure that adding too much can still cause problems because of the caloric excess.
Experts suggest that those protein waters that have around 20 grams of protein can decrease hunger by 50-65%. So if you’re on the path to weight loss, 20 grams per protein water serving seems to be sufficient enough to cut down hunger.
Protein Waters May Boost Metabolism
A diet that is rich in proteins can boost your metabolism like nothing else. This means that you will be burning slightly more calories each day making your weight loss journey run smoother. Protein consumption boosts metabolism because our body spends great amounts of energy digesting and assimilating it.
That’s partially because a high-protein diet when combined with strength training helps you in building muscle. This leads to a faster metabolism speed because your muscle burns more calories than the fat content in your body.
It should be kept in mind that your ability to gain muscle mass during a weight loss plan may heavily depend on the amount of existing muscle mass. Protein can also work to increase the metabolism rate due to the number of calories needed to digest it. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF).
For example, 15-30% of protein calories are lost during digestion, while only 5-10% of your carb count and 0-3% of fat calories are used during digestion.
The primary goal of consuming protein waters is to keep a check on your body's protein content. There are certain essential amino acids packed into these protein drinks that our body requires for an adequate muscle-building process to occur at a rate that is up to to the mark.
Once the body suffers from a critical period of oxidative stress, the amino acid content goes down, which creates a negative shift. After consuming protein water, your body decides to enter into a positive balance drive that helps your muscle bulk to grow more effectively.
Protein Water May Help Reduce Belly Fat
Why is it important to lose belly fat? Why do most healthcare professionals encourage us to reduce belly fat? Well, belly fat contributes to waist circumference which is one of the most principal risk factors for various metabolic disorders.
In men, increased belly fat is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases. In females, it can lead to several reproductive issues for example insulin resistance leading to PCOS. Therefore, we need to pay special attention to our belly fat. This is where protein waters help us. Researchers agree that high-protein diets can help you lose fat, especially around your belly area.
Protein waters help to get rid of the stubborn fat around our bellies and give us a much more defined abdominal region. It is one of the main reasons why many models and fitness enthusiasts opt for protein waters because they contribute heavily towards getting a flat belly.
Protein Water Prevents Weight Re-Gain After Weight Loss
Isn’t the fear of regaining weight after putting in months of hard work one of the most daunting thoughts? Something that everyone struggles to keep off their mind despite working harder every day? Well, it is true that as you lose weight and come closer to your goals there is an inevitable fear of losing your progress by regaining that weight. The possibility is always there but here’s how protein waters can help in reducing this to a minimum.
Protein’s effect on our body’s metabolism, appetite, and muscle mass may also keep us from regaining the fat we worked so hard to reduce. A balanced intake of proteins keeps your body working at its optimal levels which reduces the risk of gaining the weight back that you once lost.
Additional protein that comes from shakes or whole foods, can help reduce the amount of weight you regain after you have lost it. it is always a good idea to monitor the levels of proteins you are consuming even after you have reached your fitness goals. This will give you a chance to have a better assessment of what your body needs so it can adjust accordingly and prevent you from regaining the lost weight.
Are There Any Other Benefits Of Consuming Protein Waters Besides Weight Loss?
Some of the most commonly reported benefits include more hydrated and supple skin along with higher energy levels.
· Boosting Energy Levels
When your muscle mass experiences a boost, your energy levels will begin to rise exponentially. With higher energy levels, your body gets the chance to work intensely and for longer durations without tiring out or feeling fatigued.
A research done in 2016 concluded that consuming 40 grams of protein daily especially before bed enhances the adaptive response of your skeletal muscles. Your muscle’s adaptive response will train it to overcome long hours of resistance training. Therefore, consuming protein waters before you go off to sleep gives your skeletal muscles a fair chance for repair and growth before your body is ready to go through the workout again the next day.
· Hydrated Skin
Your skin is composed of different protein compounds called collagen. Collagen serves to enhance the elasticity of your skin which makes it look young and supple.
Without sufficient collagen reserves, your skin starts to sag and lose its youthfulness which makes your skin look dull and dehydrated. Thus, consuming protein-rich waters gives you the right amount of collagen.
· Enhanced Muscle Recovery
Consuming a protein drink helps athletes to recover faster and get better at performing every day at the gym. They even notice a difference in their daily lives. It works to regulate the metabolism of skeletal muscles, which makes them grow stronger and better.
You will also feel that protein waters give your muscle repair rate a rapid increase that decreases the frequency at which your muscles feel sore. You don’t end up with aching muscles and feel much better the next day.
There is an enhancement in the overall body strength that you will also experience during high-intensity workouts and cardio sessions. These protein drinks also help in improving your body’s lean mass that will give you the ability to work out as much as you want until you can achieve your fitness goals!
Is There Any Reason For You To Avoid Protein Water?
We all know that consuming anything in moderation is always the top and healthy choice. Similarly, drinking protein water in moderate amounts may not be harmful to most healthy individuals who are trying to increase their total protein intake.
However, issues might arise for those that have existing kidney disease or decreased kidney function. It’s not a great idea as well for people that are suffering from certain metabolic disorders and they are advised against the consumption of protein water.
We always recommend users to refer to a proper guide before they can start taking protein water in case of any complications that they may face. Another thing to take care of if you’re interested in protein water is to ensure that you’re not allergic to whey protein.
Interested in trying a protein water? Vieve's collagen protein waters have 20g protein per bottle, with zero sugar and only 80-85 calories per bottle. Made with a hydrolysed collagen formula, our protein waters dissolve rapidly into your body without the bloating or after-effects of other protein drinks and powders.
Did you know Vieve has launch the world's first vegan protein water? With 10g plant-based pea protein, zero sugar fat or dairy and only 50 calories. Available in two flavours: wild cherry and peach orange. It's the easiest plant-based protein top-up ever!
You can pick-up our protein water protein drinks in the UK from Amazon, Ocado, Holland & Barret or directly via our shop. Learn a bit more about why you should drink Vieve here.