I am 26 year old male weighing 72.5 kg and height 169cm, I have started working out(Mostly of weight training and bit of cardio) since a month and have reduced from 74.5kg. There is improvement in muscle definition, reduction is tummy a bit. But I am not satisfied with the results. My diet does not contain much protein though i consume 4 egg whites almost daily. Have I made a good progress or should I include whey protein supplement in my diet or should I wait for a few more months of workout and then consider a protein supplement.? I have worked out before as well, but was never consistent.Now I have been consistent since a month.My goal is to reduce weight and to get a good muscle definition
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1I tried to give an answer below, but had to make some conjectures. For a better answer it would be helpful to know what routine you're doing, what your short term goals are and where you want to take working out in the long term.– user8119Jun 19, 2014 at 11:00
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1 Answer
Dieting Speed:
You lost about 0.5kg (1lb) per week, which is generally recommended for slower diets. The benefits of dieting slowly are that there's virtually no muscle loss (you really only lose fat) and better carryover of good habits to the time after the diet. Also, it's easier to stay sane and keep going, as you're probably not starving throughout the day.
So seeing how you're not really that much overweight I wouldn't recommend losing weight any faster, as that's when detrimental effects set in. You'd begin to lose muscle along with fat, performance drops, comes to a standstill or at least progresses slower. Also, a faster diet is not as sustainable and won't have that much carryover of good habits for after the diet, as faster diets don't work with good habits normally (think 'starving').
Protein Consumption:
You say you're not eating much protein, which could become a problem. Protein is very important to build and maintain muscle mass. No matter if you want to get better at your workouts or just not get worse while losing more weight, you will need sufficient protein. Opinions on what is 'sufficient' differ greatly and depend on what kind of activity you're doing, so it's a bit hard to say right now. If your were weightlifting, I'd recommend 2g/kg (1g/lb) per day. If you're 'only' doing cardio you might get away with less.
Regarding protein supplements: Seeing how you seem to have problems getting enough protein in, this could be worth a try. Generally, you should be able to get everything you need from whole foods, though. Should you for some reason not be able to meet your protein goals, a supplement can help. Keep in mind that it still has calories, however (~120kcal for 30g whey), which you'd have to compensate by either eating less or working out more.
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Thanks for the advice, I eat one whole egg and 3 egg whites a day which may amount to 20gm of protein in addition to normal food. Since my food habits is mostly vegetarian with less protein rich foods.My doubt is since i do mostly of weight training and if do not add protein supplement to my diet will it affect my muscle growth and any other problems?– VinayJun 19, 2014 at 11:35
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I'd say that's too little protein to support a weightlifting routine and this will probably hold you back. The problem is, with a (mostly) vegetarian diet it's even harder to get all that protein and still keep a caloric deficit for weight loss. You might want to look for low-fat cheese and other dairy products (I hope you eat those), as those have a very high percentage of protein. Other than that, supplementing would probably be a good idea then. Just try to get as much protein as possible from whole foods and supplement only when necessary.– user8119Jun 19, 2014 at 11:45