Much like weightlifting, eating enough protein leads to a few favorable metabolic conditions.
First, protein has the highest thermic effect out of the macronutrients — meaning your metabolic rate increases more during the process of using and storing protein than it does during the process of using and storing fat or carbs.
Protein also plays a major role in both muscle growth and muscle maintenance — as we saw earlier, more muscle leads to a faster resting metabolism and holding on to more muscle while dieting prevents the metabolic slowdown associated with prolonged calorie restriction.
