Ending Fitness Myths: Protein Myths You Still Believe
- Jessica Koeman
- Aug 8, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 23, 2020
"Doesn't protein make you gain a lot of muscle?" "I'm not eating too much protein so I don't gain weight." "I'm trying to lose weight so I don't need to eat a bunch of protein." "Protein is for bodybuilders."
Ohh children...
We have all probably heard someone say one of these or you are currently thinking this as we speak. However, there are sooooo many misconceptions and myths about protein intake that I can't begin to believe. Most people who aren't trying to be the next Brandon Curry (talk about muscle) believe protein is "bad". However, you don't need to be a body builder to have a need to watch your protein intake. This is a food group that belongs in your body for a good reason.
Through this post, I'm going to be breaking down the common myths of protein that you still believe. So just sit back, grab your coffee, and let's get educated.
Before we dive in, we must first answer the question, "What is Protein?". Protein is one of the three macronutrients you will find in food (along with carbohydrates and fats). It is commonly found in animal products, though it is also present in other sources (i.e. nuts, beans, tofu, etc.). Protein is composed of amino acids, which are organic compounds that play critical roles in the body in the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs.
Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, and we now have a general idea of what protein is, let's dive into the hot mess of myths.
Myth #1: "I don't need protein. Protein is for BodyBuilders."
Sigh. This couldn't be further from the truth. However, it is true that almost everyone under consumes protein. Little do you know, protein is an essential macronutrient in anyone's diet. If you don’t consume protein in your diet, you body at some point will fail to thrive, consume itself and you will die. (Well that went from zero to one hundred real quick lol). With that being said, that is why it is essential!!
The truth is, it doesn't matter if you are active or not. Protein is not optional. There are 9 of the 20 amino acids found in protein that your body needs because it can't make them like it can with other macronutrients, like carbs. Amino acids serve as building blocks for our tissues including, hair, skin, nails, bones, and the most famous one, muscle. You can literally go the rest of your life without eating a single gram of carb. Now, that doesn’t mean you will run into some other battles later on down the road, but the point is that proteins are essential to your health and well being.
"Well if protein is so important, where did this myth come from?"
This myth that protein is for bodybuilders started when the fitness industry did a big (and a little too big in my opinion) push for protein in the bodybuilding world. People realized how hard it is to consume that amount of protein when bodybuilding, so the fitness industry started pushing protein powders and supplements to help bodybuilders consume the amount of protein they needed to. So now everyone thinks they should only eat protein to gain muscle which is both true and false, but we will get to that later ;)
Myth #2: "Protein will make me bulky"
Protein will not make you bulky, so let's just get this out of the way. Out of everything I hear, this is probably the most popular myth. If you eat excessive amounts of protein, you will not magically grow muscle. It takes a specific workout regimen combined with a specific diet to make you "bulky" AKA reveal your muscular definition. If you are working out, Protein is essential to your fitness regimen, whatever it may be. Simply put, when you workout, you are actually breaking your muscle down and creating microscopic tears in your muscle fibres. When this happens, your body sends cells that repairs the "injured" area resulting in a bigger muscle fibre so when you lift the same weights again, you muscles can do it. However, do we ever lift the same weight at the gym? Hopefully that answer is no! Due to this bigger muscle fibre, we should be able to lift more! So what do we do? We lift a bigger weight, and our body goes through the whole process of repairing that muscle that gets bigger and stronger.
But does this muscle growth magically appear? No. In order to see muscle definition, we must be on a very specific diet and exercise program that allows your fats cells that are stored on top of your muscle to reduce in size, therefore revealing your muscular gains and definition.
So that my friends is how you get "bulky" simply put. This takes YEARS to accomplish if you know what you are doing. So to the general population that just want to be "toned" and "fit", unless you are on a very specific fitness regimen with the intent of becoming "bulky", then no....you will not magically become bulky by just consuming protein.
Myth #2: "I'm trying to lose weight, so I don't need to eat protein"
I can't even begin to explain how false this statement is. In fact, a high protein diet can actually help you to lose weight if consumed appropriately. How is this? Well, in short, it takes more for your body to digest protein than it does with any other macronutrient (carbs and fats). Therefore, your body burns more calories simply digesting protein. When your body digests protein, 20-30% of the calories from protein are used just to break it down and digest it. As opposed to 5-10% for carbs and up to 3% for fats. So the more protein you eat (up to a certain limit), the more your body burns just by trying to digest it.
However, the TYPE of protein you eat is very important when you are also trying to lose weight. Yes, it takes more calories to digest protein, but if all you eat is a big, fatty, juicy steak as your protein source 24/7, you are not doing your weight loss journey justice. The key to consuming protein during weight loss is choosing lean sources of protein that are low in fat. Some examples of protein low in fat can be found in my FREE eBook located on the home screen of my website.
Lastly, it is well established that under most conditions, protein is more satiating. If you eat a high protein diet, you will be more satisfied and tend to not snack as much. As opposed to carbs, as they spike up your blood sugar and leave you wanting to eat more a lot sooner. Now don't get me wrong, certain types of carbs can be very satiating as well, but protein usually has a greater and prolonged satiating effect. This can mean you will be fuller longer, which will also help with cravings. However, fibre, protein and fat will make you the most satiated.
"Well Jessica, how much protein should I eat in a day?"
Studies are very clear on how much protein to consume. Basically, if you are just trying to stay in shape and build some curves (aka build muscle) then you should eat .6 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. So for simple math, if you weigh 100 lbs then you should be consuming 60-100 grams of protein a day.
With that being said, it is very important not to over consume protein as too much protein consumption can lead to digestive issues and can also effect sleep. (I.e. consuming 2 grams per lb of body weight.) YIKES.
It's called BALANCE!
I hope this cleared up some common misconceptions about protein for you guys. Protein is our friend and should be eaten as such! If you have any questions feel free to ask me!
Now go have a beautiful day with your beautiful self!
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