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If you watch your diet and keep track of your calories, great. You’ve been using the traditional formula of counting calories to avoid consuming more than you spend. It seems as important as the total calories is the source of them. According to a recent study, the amount of protein you eat can play an important role in maintaining weight. How are your bills?

Eating a balanced diet, along with an exercise routine is the most advisable to maintain a healthy weight and fitness in general. So far, one of the main ways to control weight is to keep at bay the number of calories as named and discredited. But this is not the only factor you should consider. A new study published in PLoS One, developed by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia has identified an important link between the protein and the success of a diet to maintain weight and that in turn leaves you satisfied.

To better understand this, one must first understand what are the calories and proteins, which are the differences between them and what does each one in the human body, as both are necessary (and yes, calories as well).

Protein is a substance found in every living cell in the body, which fulfills important functions such as building and repairing the skin, muscles and organs. Therefore it is necessary to consume protein from food. For example, we obtain the protein in meat, dairy products, nuts and some grains and legumes.

Cal, however, is a unit of measure that lets you know how much fuel is in this case, food. All foods contain calories, some more than others, and we all need to consume calories for energy. However, eating too many calories and not eating them can make you gain weight. So have been so neglected when thinking about lose those kilos or pounds.

Now, the food is composed of different substances that provide different amounts of calories. For example, for each gram of protein has 4 calories provide a product, whereas each gram of fat provides 9 calories and each gram of carbohydrate also provide four calories.

Given these values, researchers from Australia tried to detect whether the protein affected the consumption of total calories, so they asked a group of thin women and men with a mean age of 24 who take an allowance with total protein levels, specifically 10%, 15% and 25%. Participants ate their meals for 4 days at the research center, but in addition to controlled meals, had unrestricted access to other types of extra food (all you ate was properly registered). The results were as follows: the more reduced the percentage of protein (up to the lowest with 10%) men and women tended to eat more foods rich in carbohydrates and fat, thus increasing the risk of gaining weight. When the protein level increased (15% to 25%) there was no difference in weight regardless of total calories.

According to the researchers, one of the reasons for these results is that people feel more satisfied (satiated) to eat protein and eat it when a lesser extent, tend to look for other products that replace them, mostly based of fats or carbohydrates. The conclusion is obvious: eat more protein is more satisfying, so we tend to eat less and therefore amounts to less fattening.

Therefore, as expressed by these findings, the ideal is that 15% of dietary calories we eat come from protein. But how can you do the calculation? It’s not that hard. For example, if you’re on a diet of two thousand calories a day to maintain your weight, 15 percent are 300 calories of protein you should get. Remember that every gram of protein has 4 calories, which should consume 74 grams of protein (and to know how much protein each food you can orient yourself by reading the product labels).

Finally, remember accompany animal protein with fruits and vegetables. Eating a balanced diet is important not only to maintain weight but also good health, while having an exercise routine is also helpful when thinking about attaining and sustaining the weight that you both like to have.

If you have any particular health condition such as diabetes, heart problems, high cholesterol or celiac disease, to name a few examples, please consult your physician before making changes in your diet, so you can show you the most appropriate way to change your diet without compromising your health.