Does protein reduce hunger?
Hunger is an inevitable side effect of cutting calories, but the type of foods you are choosing might help curb your appetite more than others.
Protein is thought to have some well-documented satiating effects, particularly while on a diet (5,6,7).
In one study, consuming 30% of calories from protein caused participants to eat almost 450 calories less per day - leading to twelve pounds of weight loss in 3 months (8). Some research has even suggested 25% of your calories coming from protein can help curb cravings (9).
It is no wonder popular high protein diets recommend roughly 30% to 40% of calories come from protein, which would equal out to 150 to 200 grams of protein per day on a 2,000 calorie diet (or 1 to 1.5 grams/pound for a 150-pound adult, eating 2,000 calories a day).