My friend at work is following Weight Watchers and although she's done really well by losing 2 1/2 stone since September, things have slowed down somewhat (the first 2 stone came off by Christmas).

Anyway my friend asked me for advice and showed me her food diary, I noticed that her daytime food is virtually all carbs (mainly fruit, veg soup, melba toasts, salads with white pasta/rice) and the evening is mostly carbs (potatoes/pasta etc.) with a little protein. When I said it didn't seem very balanced she asked what difference it made if she went all day without protein - and to be honest I'm not sure! Does anyone know the answer? Thanks!

Protein tends to make you feel fuller, so high protein meals will make you feel less hungry later than high carb meals. Also, very starchy foods such as potatoes and pasta can produce blood sugar spikes. I think you really need about 40g + of protein a day to allow your body to function properly.

Indeedy, what piddling said.

If you eat 50kcals of protein, not ONLY will you gain lots of good stuff from the protein (growth and repair) it is actually harder for the body to digest protein, so that eventually you will only reap about 40kcals from the food (I'm guesstimating here). So the body uses energy to burn protein. Protein also does not need much insulin to be broken down/stored in the body. So it will keep your blood sugar stable and result in fewer mood swings, energy crashes and energy spikes.

If you eat starchy carbs for breakfast that are very easily digested (like rice crispies or cocoa pops or other refined cereals like Special K and sugar puffs) then you get a rise in blood sugar. This makes the pancreas put out insulin to try and bring the blood sugar down. What then happens is after the initial "high" (where you have lots of blood sugar in your system), you can then crash lower than you were before you ate breakfast because the insulin has done its job of clearing out the sugar in your blood.

If you eat too many refined carbohydrates then you get a big old see-saw in insulin and blood sugar and can cause horrid horrid mood swings. This can also make you hungrier than if you were to eat a balanced meal of protein and whole-grain carbs. Which in turn means that it's more likely for you to get very hungry and eat more than you "should".

So protein will help to avoid hunger pangs, keep you fuller longer AND aid the growth and repair of muscle tissue, which is especially important when you're exercising. Protein is also essential for good hair, teeth, nails, the immune system AND losing fat! The body needs protein to function.

I would advise your friend to eat whole-grain, complex carbs with protein and fruit or veg at every meal. For example, porridge with fruit for brekky, OR for a higher-protein option go for eggs on whole-grain bread. A chicken pitta with salad for lunch, and a meat n 2 veg option for dinner.

Carbs + fat at a meal together make it very easy for the body to store fat. If protein is added to the mix, it slows the fat-storage down.

Hope that helps...

Thanks for the replies, I will bombard her with the facts tomorrow!