is 'more protein' just the latest new fad?

[BarrelOfOtters]

Like no carbs or intermittent fasting....

I don't mind eating more protein but I don't want to go the protein shake route.

Can doesn’t mean the same as will

you can’t make a statement that it is guaranteed to happen, it’s just a possibility/risk

you can know the risks and manage them yourself

It is the same scenario that women who eat years and years of a low fat, low carb, low calcium, low protein diets can get osteoporosis and are at higher risk of falls, muscle wasting etc.

Not new at all. Ever heard of Atkinson diet? Published in the 1970s and was rampant in 1990s, was everywhere, many countries seemingly all at once.

I find this as well.
I do wonder though if it’s partly because I enjoy eating the carbs so much more than I do the protein?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32669325/#:~:text=High%20dietary%20protein%20intake%20can,a%20role%20in%20kidney%20health.

Plus low protein, low phosphate diets are recommended for early kidney disease.

the ever onhoing problem of causation and correlation
for some people a high protein diet might cause existing issues that they don't know about (yet).

I have genuinely found high protein great for satiety but I do only by processed high protein products as a treat (with the exception of yoghurt which I eat most days).

I eat chicken breasts and chia seeds quite a bit and I do feel fuller and just better? But I've also been upping fibre which helps.

I do believe in high protein but I no longer believe in really low carb diets. I find they make me sluggish and miserable. I personally find counting calories and grams of protein the easiest way, no punishment for having a chocolate bar or a good spoon of honey and fruit with my yoghurt. But equally I'm sure there are plenty of people who have found high protein faddy and ineffective and swear by low carbing! So it's very individual 🙂

I am not a science person at all, but my partner was watching a fitness video last night about an athlete or body builder or something who had been on a low carb diet for ages, then added carbs and suddenly felt so much better, no longer sluggish and had way more energy.

I would hazard a guess that depleted glycogen levels cause cravings, moodiness and hangriness and generally make people feel that diets aren't sustainable for them.

Okay I just did a quick search before I posted this comment and my supposition does seem to be at least partly backed by science:

Low-carbohydrate diet induces metabolic depression: a possible mechanism to conserve glycogen | American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology

The NHS recommend 50g of protein a day which is similar to what many diets recommend.

Ok I apologise for misreading your post.

There is a school of thought apparently that lack of healthy fats in our diets is contributing to the dementia/Alzheimer's explosion. Low fat/low carb etc / more sugar probably will be found in the future to be as bad as smoking not being bad for you.

We'll cycle back to the everything in moderation thing and limit refined sugar.

I’ve lost count of how many posts I’ve seen here from people trying to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet and when they post what they eat it’s so incredibly poor nutritionally and not at all well rounded and they have no idea what they should be eating or how to eat well. How many people are posting they are tired, their hair is falling out and they feel like crap with no energy… perhaps they are not eating enough protein? As these are common symptoms from too little protein. You aren’t going to get much protein from eating just fruit and veg even though people assume it’s healthier.

I assume if you bother to spend time considering macros you are aware of balance and what works for your body far more than just following a ‘trend’ - I eat more carbs on the days I exercise more heavily, I try to get calcium in my diet, I eat a decent amount of protein and try to avoid too many UPF’s. I sleep well, my hair and skin look great, I’m not constantly tired, I’m able to go between meals without having low blood sugar wobbles, my mood is stable - all of which I would mainly attribute to making sure I am eating enough protein (I wasn’t before) and less carbs (I ate far too many and always felt sluggish and crap)

I love it. With blueberries, chopped walnuts and a sprinkling of cassia cinnamon. Perfect breakfast - about 200 cals and you don't feel hungry for hours.

I didn't know that. But have noticed I crave protein more as I get older. At nearly sixty, I want protein at every meal. When I was younger I could go without it for days. I also crave it after weight training.

Not a new fad at all- Mr Strong has been advocating high protein diet for years

@suki1964 how do you make your thick yoghurt? Do you make yoghurt with skimmed milk and then strain overnight? I really want to get into habit of making some thicker yoghurt for myself, already make plain yoghurt for the whole house

Yes I strain through a muslin overnight. In the winter just in the kitchen, its cool enough and in the summer out in the garage.

I make it in my ninja 15 in 1. Just 3 or 4 cartons of Lidl UHT skimmed milk. My starter was a cheap fat free natural yoghurt from lidl ( 36p for a large carton ) . I big tablespoon per litre of milk. Ferment for 8 hrs and strain. No need for milk powder unless you want to add to the protein content

Seriously it comes of the cloth like a brick. I add back a bit of whey just to slacken to the consistency I want, which is drop of the spoon leaving it clean :)

I make it so very thick as I use it for making pate and hummus and add it to cooking instead of cream. I find this combination gives a really smooth taste, barely any tang at all. No need for any sweetener

Protein is important if you're expecting muscle gain in the gym but for weight loss (unless you're doing keto or another low carb variant) it isn't.

@SlowlyLurking that’s not completely true. If you increase your muscle mass you can increase your TDEE which will help you lose fat. It just takes longer than people would expect. It’s body recomposition. I will use myself as an example. I am losing weight, I.e fat, slowly, it’s visible that I am losing fat (wobble bits) but I am not weighing significantly less than if I just dropped fat/muscle quickly as I am building muscle. I still weigh a little under 12st ( am not body building so it’s not extreme) but I am a large size 12 and have a 30.5inch waist. I have about 30% body fat so still have some fat to lose which I am aware of. Muscle weighs the same as fat but takes up less volume so the scale makes me heavy but I am more toned and compact now. I am trying very hard not to lose muscle in the process of weight loss but I’m sure I did initially.

Your body doesn’t really equally discriminate for you muscle vs fat if you go into a VLCD or low carb low protein diet you can drop body mass from both muscle and fat. So this is why nutrition is important so this doesn’t happen to you. Well it’s up to you if you don’t care about muscle strength but that’s not a good thing to not care about

Protein can preserve your muscles from wasting through weight loss as you don’t just lose fat - you lose muscle tissue as well.

Being thin but weak shouldn’t be a goal for anyone, especially not women in their 40’s/50’s. I think that’s all anyone is trying to say when they are encouraging protein. Look after your strength you will need it when you get frail

@Menora Protein can preserve your muscles from wasting through weight loss as you don’t just lose fat - you lose muscle tissue as well.

You need to exercise to preserve muscles. Just eating protein won't do it.

@Menora You need exercise to preserve muscles. High amounts of protein alone in the diet won't do it.

Nutrition is of course important but it isn't the big idea for weight loss. Weight loss is just calories in vs calories out and sticking to a calorie deficit. Nutrition is far far more complicated and nutrition with weight loss can be even more complicated.

For the average person, a protein yogurt or protein shake as is saturating the supermarkets right now is a 'fad'

This thread is like wading through a sea of pedantry. Obviously but if you don’t care about exercise you likely won’t bother to work out macros or bother with protein?

If you don’t want to eat protein and do any exercise then don’t. I honestly don’t care 😂
If people ARE wanting to preserve muscles then do some exercise and eat protein. Or just lose all your fat and muscles to look good on an holiday and be at risk of frailty long term. It’s up to every individual what they do but you can look up the information themselves if they want to

Why are you talking about weight loss? I wish people would correct the narrative - it's fat loss you want, not weight loss. When you go into a calorie deficit you will lose muscle first as it requires huge amounts of energy to maintain muscle, unlike fat. A high protein diet, combined with resistance training can help retain muscle and lose fat instead.
This meta study https://doi.org/10.1002/jcsm.12922 shows improvements in lean body mass through increased protein intake as well as increase in strength.

As a hard core cardio exerciser I was always skeptical about the effect of weight training and muscle gain on calorie burn, I thought running was the best way to burn calories but not now. I lift weights and run less I can eat so much more than when I just ran 60 plus miles a week.

This thread is like wading through a sea of pedantry.

Isn't it, just.

They literally do though. What are you basing your comment on? I'm also quite perturbed at your use of the word funny. Very odd choice.

They don't, they still recommend 50% carbs per meal to diabetics.