What Everyone Gets Wrong About Protein

EPISODE 405. Ever feel like you have to put protein in everything or worry you’re not getting enough? This episode of Fit Friends Happy Hour puts an end to protein confusion! Whether you’re bombarded by myths on social media or stuck in a “must eat protein at every meal” mindset, we’re digging into what science really says so you can finally eat with more confidence and less obsession.

What We Cover:

1. The top 5 protein myths—busted! (Your kidneys, your muscles, and plant-based eaters will thank you)
2. How much protein your body actually needs—and why most of us are overshooting it
3. Simple, non-obsessive ways to meet your protein needs—without tracking or stressing

Ready to stop letting protein misinformation get in the way of your goals? Tune in and take the guesswork out of eating well!

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Transcript

0:01

Have you ever wondered if eating too much protein will wreck your kidneys, or if you really need to chug a shake right after your workout? Today we're busting the biggest myths about protein, the nutrient that everyone talks about, but few truly understand. A lot of my clients have been coming to me either transitioning off of keto or just feeling like they have to have protein in everything, especially my perimenopausal clients, which really inspired this episode I thought. Pump the brakes. We need to clarify some things around protein so that you can get rid of all the noise. And by the end of this episode, you're gonna know what the science really says about protein, how to make it work for you and your goals and why it's not just easier, but more important than you think. So you can stop obsessing over whether or not you get protein into each meal and just feel confidence around. You're eating now a disclaimer. This is not for medical advice. It's for educational purposes only. And if you are looking for more support on your non-diet journey, go to katie ha.com/nutrition coaching. We'll put the link in the show notes about ways to work with me. Welcome to Fit Friends Happy Hour, the podcast where we help you redefine the word fit so you can stop quantifying and start living. I'm Renan Diet dietician, personal trainer, and host Katie. Join me each week for solo episodes and expert interviews where self-care meets science, whether you're a group fitness. Front row diva, or just starting out on your wellness journey, whether you choose oat milk or full fat in your latte, all foods, all backgrounds, and all bodies are welcome here as you embark on your non-diet journey. Let's start with a few protein myth busts. I feel like I wanna play the Ghostbuster theme song or something laying like that, but I wanna go through five of the biggest myths that I see. Just talking clients on social media, talking to people and in the world. And I think you might relate to some of them too. So the first myth is that high protein hurts your kidneys. Now the fact is that there is no evidence to support kidney damage from high protein diets in asterisk. Healthy people, even at intakes much higher than the rga. I'll talk about that in a second. A high protein diet may worsen how well a kidney works in people with kidney disease. Now this can happen because the body may not be able to get rid of all the waste products of protein that's broken down. I do want to give an asterisk and a caveat though. I did know a friend who got very much into bodybuilding and she was doing protein, everything, and she did end up discovering sub kidney damage. She's fine now, but I think she's a great example. Like with any extreme, when we are cutting out a certain food group or overdoing it in one area, someone may have underlying issues. That could be exacerbated from that restrictive eating. Mid Number two is that only bodybuilders need protein. The fact is that everyone needs protein for muscle maintenance, for metabolism, for overall health, regardless of your activity level. And I'm gonna dive more into why in a little bit here. Myth number three is that you can't get enough protein on a plant-based diet. The fact is that with variety, with planning. Vegans and vegetarians can easily meet their needs. Now they are at a higher risk of certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies, but it can be done. It can be done. And also we don't always need to label it. Like I have a lot of clients who just prefer to eat mostly plant-based. Now are they vegetarian? Not a hundred percent, but when we remove the labels, it gives us a lot more flexibility. Bid number four is that you need to eat protein immediately after exercise. The fact here is that total daily intake matters actually more than timing. So when we spread our protein intake throughout the day, that's actually going to give us the best results. And myth number five is that animal protein is superior. The truth is that both animal and plant proteins have benefits and it's combining these sources what is, what ensures a full amino acid profile. And again, we'll talk more about that later. So if you've heard of those things, just know that. There's more to the story. Things are not black and white, so why do we even care about protein? Why is it having its moment? Why is cottage cheese in everything? Like why am I seeing cottage cheese, cookie dough and everywhere? Well, yes, there are some real benefits of protein. Protein helps to support our muscle mass. It helps us maintain muscle, helps us grow muscle, especially when we combine it with resistance training. And it's especially important as we age. Protein is like the period at the end of the sentence. It helps keep you fuller longer. It helps to kind of rev your metabolism if you will. Therefore helping you feel more satiated, and it helps to stabilize your weight, right? It helps prevent that metabolism or the breakdown of your muscle when we're consuming enough through food.\ The next reason protein is so important is. It helps to stabilize our blood sugar. It can actually lower our blood pressure and cholesterol. When we have this incorporated in our eating pattern, it leads to better heart health. It leads to better bone health. Contrary to old myths, higher protein intake actually supports stronger bones because it increases what's called insulin-like growth factor one. IGF one you maybe have heard of that. This is a key mediator, if you will, of bone health. It helps increase intestinal calcium absorption. So where you absorb calcium, which helps with the bones, it helps suppress parathyroid hormone, and it also improves muscle strength and mass, all of which may benefit the the skeleton itself. But here's the catch, like I could spit all these facts at you all day. It will only do all these things if we are consuming enough energy and enough calories overall. I see so many clients who are eating so high protein that they are so full, they're so constipated, and then you throw the mental gymnastics of food rules and they're chronically under fueling, so therefore they think they've been sold, that they're getting all these benefits of high protein and. Yes, there's some, but if we're chronically still under nourishing ourselves, we're doing more harm than good. Step two in the reboot bootcamp is to restore your metabolism. And you learn about all these things from a neutral lens so that you can easily take information like, how much protein should I be eating and apply it to you and what matters to you and your goals without obsessing. I have a guy, yes. I work with males. I have a male who I'm working with right now, and we started bumping up snacks. I know. Yes. Snacking is not bad. We started adding in snacks throughout the day. Adding a little bit of protein to these snacks, and he came back just last week and was like, wow, I have so much more energy. I have so much more focus in my day. Okay, this is working. But again, going back to, it's not that he wasn't eating enough protein, but it was the timing of how he was eating it throughout the day. So how much protein do you really need? The recommended dietary allowance, and maybe you've heard of the RDA, this refers to the average daily level of a nutrient that meets the needs of nearly all healthy individuals within a specific age and gender group. It is a guideline that is used to plan and assess diets or eating patterns for healthy people, ensuring that they receive adequate amounts of nutrients. So. The dietary guidelines of America. They pull all this data, like I think it's every five years or so, and they're always updating the research, Hey, what's the latest research say about this nutrient and how can we apply it to the general population? So it's applicable to a lot of people, but not to everyone. And that is why working one-on-one in many cases with a licensed and registered professional can be really beneficial if you fall outside of that, quote unquote general population. So. Applicable to a lot of people, but not to everyone. So the RDA hope you're following me is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. But research suggests that one to 1.2 grams per kilograms. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it, it makes a little difference. It more optimal for most adults and even higher for athletes or older adults. Now what I see a lot of people. Go overboard with this is that they're doing 0.8 grams per per body point, eight grams per pound, not kilogram kilogram. If you're thinking numbers kilogram is much lower. I think it's 2.2. So if you take your body weight divided by 2.2, that would be kilograms. So people are overshooting how much they need. So for example, a 150 pound person, that would be 68 kilograms. That's about 68 to 82 grams of protein per day. But the great thing I tell clients is that get rid of the numbers. Like we can get you to a place, where you're consuming enough protein. Adequately and consistently without counting, without tracking, without feeling like your stomach is full of rocks and you can't go to the bathroom. There are so many easy ways to boost protein. A lot of times I'll work with clients on building meals around a protein source, so chicken, tofu, fish, beans, whatever they prefer starting there. With protein being the star, we can focus on ways to incorporate protein into our snacks. So things like Greek yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese. Yes. It can still have a place jerky at Mame, and there's different ways that we can add it in kind of these sneaky ways that you see in marketing. That may or may not be necessary, maybe sometimes, but not always. For example, using Greek yogurt in dips or in chicken salad, putting a little protein powder in our oatmeal, putting little hemp seeds on salad. But there's other ways that we can get it without just adding it to everything in places where it doesn't need to be. Doing things like batch cooking proteins, keeping high protein snacks handy for busy days when you know it's going to be difficult to nourish yourself based on your schedule. We talked a little bit about plant versus animal protein. I always encourage clients to mix plant sources, so beans, lentils, tofu, quinoa, mix them together so that you are getting that complete amino acid profile. Our bodies need amino acids. They're the building blocks of protein. We need the ones that we don't make in our bodies. We need to get those through food. So. Don't stress about perfection. It's about eating more variety. And when you practice intuitive eating, when you become an intuitive eater, research shows that you actually eat more variety. Therefore, you are more likely to get this variety of nutrients that your body needs. This week, I wanna challenge you to try adding 10 grams more protein to your breakfast and notice how you feel. Or if you are the person who's like Kodiak Waffles, protein, everything, you're getting like a hundred grams of protein at a meal. I want you to try getting 10 grams less. If you're counting, maybe that's a step for you. Again, this is a big asterisk. I don't know where you are at on your journey, but the key takeaway, what I want you to know today is that protein isn't just for bodybuilders. It is for everyone who wants to feel stronger, who wants to feel fuller, who wants to feel more energized, and you don't have to let these myths and these misinformation hold you back from reaching your goals. Start small. Maybe you add an extra egg. Maybe you swap your afternoon snack for Greek yogurt. Or maybe you try a new plant-based protein like tofu or Tempe. Every little bit counts. I would love to hear what is one protein myth that you believed before today? D me on Instagram, or share your story with our fit friends community. Go to katie ha.com/. That's not where you go. I wanna send you to my Instagram. Go to instagram.com/kt ha. Or you can send me a message at Fit Friends happy hour. I'll respond to either of those, but I would love to hear a myth that you either heard, and I hope I dispelled, or maybe you need a little more clarification on something, send me that as well. Next week we're going to dive into motivation, but if you like this episode, if you like the topic, the structure of this episode and you want me to do another dive into carbs or fat or something else, would you send me a message and let me know? That would mean the world. And if you haven't already, could you leave a review? Those are like my tip jar. I don't get paid for this podcast. Every now and then we do sponsorships, but they're very few and far between. It's very difficult for small audiences like myself to get sponsorships. However, when you leave a review, it's like. A million dollars in my book. It just, it fuels my soul. I've been doing this for years and it just helps me to know that I'm helping you. I think words of affirmation are my love language. So thank you so much for listening to today's episode, and we'll talk to you next week.