An Easy Way to Beat Belly Fat Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Diet & Fat LossEating An Easy Way to Beat Belly Fat The Simple Protein Fix by Chris Shugart July 7, 2022July 13, 2022 Tags Diet Strategy, Losing Fat, Protein Belly Fat and Protein Pacing Scientist Paul Arciero and his team are big fans of "protein pacing" – eating protein 5-6 times per day, spreading the feedings out. Basically, it's what most bodybuilders have been doing for decades: eating 5-6 meals a day, all containing whole-food protein or protein supplements. These researchers also like "multi-dimensional exercise regimens." That just means a little of everything: weights, intervals, stretching, and a bit of endurance work. The team has published several studies supporting both methods, but a more recent one looked into protein intake and how it affects belly fat and training results. Arciero recruited 50 people (30 women, 20 men) who were already physically fit. All of them were put on a multi-dimensional exercise program, and all of them practiced protein pacing. All consumed the same amount of calories for the 12-week study. The only difference was protein intake. Half the group consumed 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day. The other half consumed 1 gram per kilogram of bodyweight. After 12 weeks, both groups were leaner, stronger, and had built muscle. But the group that got more protein had lost more abdominal and visceral fat, built more muscle, and could even bench and leg press more. Weirdly, they even got better results from their flexibility training. That's what scientists call "enhanced training-induced adaptations." Meatheads just call it "more gains, bro!" Even if calories are kept the same, when you eat more protein you get better results from your training, and, all else being equal, you lose more belly fat. In these studies, even though the "high" protein group consumed less than a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, researchers didn't rule out the idea that more would've led to even better results. The old "eat a gram per pound of bodyweight" is a pretty good place to start, as long as you're not morbidly obese, of course. If eating 5-6 meals per day seems daunting and inconvenient, just use a quality protein powder like Metabolic Drive between solid meals. In another extensive study, this same group of researchers concluded that protein supplements and whole food protein sources were equally effective. Arciero PJ et al. Timed-daily ingestion of whey protein and exercise training reduces visceral adipose tissue mass and improves insulin resistance: the PRISE study. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2014 Jul 1;117(1):1-10. PubMed. Ives SJ et al. Multi-modal exercise training and protein-pacing enhances physical performance adaptations independent of growth hormone and BDNF but may be dependent on IGF-1 in exercise-trained men. Growth Horm IGF Res. 2017 Feb;32:60-70. PubMed. Arciero PJ et al. Protein-Pacing from Food or Supplementation Improves Physical Performance in Overweight Men and Women: The PRISE 2 Study. Nutrients. 2016 May 11;8(5):288. PubMed. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Supplements Tip Eat This Much Protein Per Meal The experts were horribly wrong about how much protein you could absorb in one meal. Here's the new science. Dietary Myth Busting, Nutrition & Supplements, Performance Proteins, Protein, Tips TC Luoma March 10 Eating The Hot-Rox® Transformation Plan A simple guide to help you lose fat quickly while using Hot-Rox. Bodybuilding, Diet Strategy, Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements T Nation March 14 Diet & Fat Loss Tip What Alcoholics Can Teach You About Diet Want to lose fat and, more importantly, stay lean for life? Here's what you can learn from alcoholics. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Chris Shugart October 16 Eating Tip Does Muscle Growth Require More Calories That's an easy question, right? Well, not so fast. Check this out. Building Muscle, Nutrition & Supplements Nick Tumminello August 18