One of TikTok’s latest health trends is the “30-30-30” method: eat 30 g of protein 30 minutes after waking up and then do 30 minutes of low-to-moderate intensity aerobic physical activity. Supporters of the 30-30-30 method claim that it helps you lose weight steadily and sustainably while preserving muscle mass. But is it really? Professor Sinead Roberts assessed the trend from a scientific point of view.
One of TikTok’s latest health trends is the “30-30-30” method: eat 30 g of protein 30 minutes after waking up and then do 30 minutes of low-to-moderate intensity aerobic physical activity.
Supporters of the 30-30-30 method claim that it helps you lose weight steadily and sustainably while preserving muscle mass. But is it really?
Maybe so, but the bigger benefit may actually be the fact that “trending” can be a way to help create healthier habits in your life.
Let’s first consider eating 30g of protein 30 minutes after waking up.
Proteins are the building blocks of the body. We need to eat protein so that our cells have what they need to repair and recover from the wear and tear of daily life.
The amount of protein you need varies depending on the stress you place on your body.
If you exercise, your body needs more protein to aid in muscle repair and recovery, typically around 1.2g-2g of protein per kg of body weight.
It may also be important to eat more protein when trying to lose weight, as research shows that high-protein diets (consuming more than 2g of protein per kg of body weight) can help preserve muscle when you lose weight.
For many people, breakfast is typically the low-protein meal of the day, usually consisting of toast, cereal, sweets, or other carbohydrates.
By eating 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, the 30-30-30 method can help you immediately increase your total daily protein intake.
However, this alone doesn’t mean you’ll automatically reach your daily protein intake goal. The other food choices you make throughout the day are also important.
To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn throughout the day. Eating protein in the morning doesn’t directly cause weight loss, but protein is satiating.
This means it can help you feel fuller and eat fewer calories throughout the day.
This is one of the reasons why the diet encourages protein intake immediately after waking up.
But the key word is “can”. Some people may not find protein filling them up, may have high levels of hunger, or may snack throughout the day just because they feel like it.
30 minutes of cardio
Now let’s look at the exercise component of the 30-30-30 method.
There are three parts of the workout we need to think about: early morning timing, the “steady state” nature, and the 30 minute duration.
Some research suggests that exercising in the morning can lead to positive health outcomes, such as improved metabolic health, which can reduce the risk of certain conditions, including type 2 diabetes and obesity.
But there’s just as much, if not more, research that suggests the opposite: that the time you exercise doesn’t matter for your health or fitness.
Therefore, we cannot say that exercising early in the morning is inherently better.
The best time of day to exercise is probably what is most comfortable and enjoyable for you. This will make exercise more likely to become a habit, which is key to being consistent and getting benefits from exercise.
The 30-30-30 method also states that the exercise you perform first should be “steady-state.” This is continuous exercise done at low or moderate intensity, basically anything that increases your heart rate, such as brisk walking or running.
There has been a lot of discussion about which exercise is best for health and weight loss.
World Health Organization guidelines recommend including cardiovascular and strength training for good health.
But if we look specifically at cardiovascular exercise, there is little evidence that “steady state” training is more beneficial for health or weight loss than other types of exercise.
A 2015 study compared “steady state” cardio with high-intensity training at certain intervals. Both had similar impacts on fitness levels in sedentary young adults.
Just like the time of day you exercise, the best type of exercise for you is the one you can do.
Finally, the 30-30-30 method prescribes 30 minutes of exercise. While this may just be because it’s a catchy title, there may be some practicality to it.
It’s short enough to be relatively doable even on a busy day and not too tiring. It’s also long enough to sweat, burn calories, and it’s also long enough to create cardiovascular benefits. In other words, a stronger and more robust heart.
But again, if you have less than 30 minutes or want to do more than 30 minutes, this can be effective too.
But it’s important to note that exercising more won’t necessarily help you lose more weight. Although exercise requires energy (so it burns calories), this effect does not increase linearly the more you exercise each day.
This is because the body appears to compensate for excess energy expended during exercise by reducing the amount of energy used to perform other bodily functions. This effect seems to be more pronounced when we are on a diet.
But while longer workouts may not equate to a commensurate increase in calories burned, exercise still has many other benefits that are arguably more valuable to your health than simple weight loss.
For example, it improves cardiovascular health and respiratory function and may even be beneficial for cognitive function as well.
*Sinead Roberts is Professor of Sport and Sports Nutrition at the University of Westminster, UK
*This article was originally published on the science outreach site The Conversation and has been republished here under the Creative Commons license. Read the original version here (in English).
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
