I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with Dr. Rob Wildman, the Chief Science Officer, at Premier Protein this week. Our conversation reminded me of how I recently lost five pounds — by accident. Check out the interview above for the reasons why protein can help you feel better and lose weight. My also tell the story about losing weight in the interview, but here’s the full story below.

My Grandma has a tendency to always tell me I look like I’ve lost weight when I see her. I usually say, “thanks Grandma” because she means it as a compliment, but recently I weighed myself and realized she was right.

What? So I’ve weighed about the same weight (except for pregnancy) for the past 7-8 years. My lifestyle has stayed pretty much the same. I’ve always been active (you probably know that if you’re reading this!) and eaten fairly healthy but no diets (aside from my recent trek into macros.)

Despite always being an exercise person, I never really got on the protein bandwagon. But when I was approached by Premier Protein to be an ambassador, I decided to really give it a shot. You are talking to a girl who has literally given away tubs of expensive protein in the past because I didn’t plan on using them.

I wanted to improve my strength and give my body what it needed so I learned a bit from Macros Lab and began incorporating Premier into every day back in January. I remember in the past it seemed like such a waste of calories! Spend nearly 200 of them on a protein drink? No way!

But my mindset is totally changed now. I view food so much more as fuel regarding my workouts. So..it’s about getting the right fuel before and after to ensure the strongest performance. Never mind that, protein is filling and so I’m less likely to hit up empty carb calories.

Long story short, incorporating protein into my diet accidentally got me to lose over 5 pounds. If you are trying to lose weight, I would seriously consider ensuring you are getting enough protein in your diet. It’s difficult to do without supplementing with shakes, powders or bars — which is why so many people use them. Premier’s pre-made shakes and bars have 30 grams of protein per container — and that’s a lot! Plus, they have have tons of flavors and you can also buy big batches of the powder to save money.

Now that I’m not able to exercise as much — because of my back — it’s even more important to get enough protein and stay full with what my body needs.