Are You Overeating Protein?

Adding more protein to your diet isn’t always the panacea it’s advertised as. Energy balance still reigns supreme when it comes to weight loss!

I’m going to jump right into it… adding too much protein to your diet could very well be the reason why you’re struggling to lose weight.  But before you go ahead and throw away all those steaks in the freezer, let me explain:

I’m going to paint you a picture.  You just started going to the gym a few months ago, and you even hired a trainer!  You’re beginning to feel stronger and even see a little muscle definition.  You’ve got the gym bug now and you want to know how you can continue this trajectory and get the body of your dreams, so you decide now’s the time you’re going to up your protein.  

You read somewhere (actually a few somewheres) that the way to get your best body is eating your bodyweight in grams of protein, so you do just that. 

And all of a sudden, you find that your weight loss progress has stalled.  Maybe you’re even seeing some upward trend on the scale!

Before you freak out: No, protein is not bad for you, it will not make you fat, and eating enough of it is crucial for good health and body composition! (I put that in bold because if you’re skimming, I want to make sure you see that!!!)

The problem here is simply increasing protein in the absence of a calorie deficit and/or being so tied to perfectly hitting a protein goal that you end up going over calories to meet it.  

There is a difference between prioritizing protein and simply adding it in.  If you’re adding a protein shake or bar to your existing day of eating, that is still a calorie addition, so you will be eating more overall, even though it’s good stuff!

And if you’re increasing meal size and snacks to meet your protein goal at the expense of going over your total calories for the day, you will take yourself out of a calorie deficit.

The only way to lose body fat is a calorie deficit - a.k.a. eating fewer calories than you are burning.  

So if you want to stay in a deficit while eating enough protein for your healthiest, leanest, strongest body, you will need to optimize your meals for protein content rather than simply stacking more protein foods and supplements on top of your already existing meals.  

Here’s how: plan your meal around the protein.  Make the protein source the star of the show, then add other foods around it in portions that make sense for your diet.  

Get the plate builder I use with my online fat loss clients here: 

Same with snacks: rather than adding additional snacks to up the protein, focus on swapping your current snacks for higher quality, higher protein snacks.  

Lastly, when evaluating protein sources, be sure you’re opting mostly for less processed lean proteins if you are trying to lose weight.  These will be high-quality protein sources that are lower in fat and closer to their original form.  For example, rather than opting for a pork sausage, which has quite a bit of fat added in, you may want to choose a lean pork chop, which will be much less processed and less calorically dense.  

Here’s to the strongest, healthiest, happiest YOU!  Keep working hard; you’ve got this.  

And if you need help, I coach clients for fat loss, performance, and more online, and I have always got your back!  Send me a message and we can set up a consult to figure out your best nutrition and fitness strategy together.