#46: Can Increasing Protein Help Me Burn Calories Because Of Its ‘Thermic Effect’?
TEF (the Thermic Effect of Food) is the number of calories required to digest and use one of the three macronutrients:
protein
carbohydrate
fat
It may sound insignificant. But in actual fact, TEF accounts for around 10-15% of your total daily energy expenditure.
One’s Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is determined by four things:
Basic metabolic rate (BMR)
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)
TEF.
The Thermic Effect Of Each Macro Is Different
Each macronutrient (carbs, fat, or protein) differs in its thermic effect within the body.
Your body will likely burn:
5-10 kcal for every 100 kcal of carbs
0-3 kcal for every 100 kcal of fat
20-30 kcal for every 100 kcal of protein
This is all because the body actually needs calories to burn and absorb these foods. It takes a whole lot of work to break that food down into smaller bits, prior to absorbing it and using it as a fuel.
Looking at the figures, one may wonder: why not just eat more protein, then? Protein is great for satiety and it has a higher TEF. Could this mean greater weight loss?
What If We Bump Up Our Protein Consumption?
This theory was very well explained by Nutritional Science expert: Layne Norton.
Imagine you eat 2000 kcal/day on a Standard American Diet:
25% protein
45% carbohydrate
30% fat
At 2000 kcal/day, the TEF of this macro distribution would be around 208 kcal (10.4%).
Now if we doubled the protein to make:
50% protein
25% carbohydrate
25% fat
Then at 2000 kcal, the TEF of this macro distribution would be around 270 kcal (13.5%)
Guys - that is literally only 62 kcal more.
If you think doubling your protein needs for a measly 62 kcal is worth doing, then be my guest. But you won’t see much of a difference.
TEF aside, protein has been shown to have a greater effect on satiety in general. So eating more protein has been associated with greater weight loss (although this can’t be due to TEF alone).
