Even though people still ate more calories than they burned, eating high-protein, low-carb ultra-processed foods made them much less likely to store excess energy as fat compared to normal-protein ultra-processed foods.

When healthy young people eat ultra-processed foods that are high in protein and low in carbs, they naturally eat about 200 fewer calories per day than when they eat ultra-processed foods with normal protein and carbs—even if both meals taste the same.

Eating ultra-processed foods with more protein and fewer carbs makes your body burn about 130 extra calories per day just to digest and process the food, even if you’re not moving more.

Whether you eat a high-protein diet with carbs or without carbs, your body burns about the same number of calories — carbs don’t make you burn more energy.

Eating more protein every day for weeks or months makes your body burn more calories even when you’re resting, which might help prevent slow weight gain over time.

Eating more protein every day for weeks or months makes your body burn more calories even when you’re resting — even if you don’t lose weight.