The High Protein Myth- Exposed Again
I hate to say “I told you so.
But… I told you so. For years now I have been getting a lot of flak from other fitness industry insiders and so called experts because I exposed the great protein myth at every chance I got. They all either thought I was insane or were upset that I was blowing the whistle on their scam and costing them tons of money every year.
But now, due to a recent study that everyone is talking about, people are starting to change their tune and realize what I have been telling you all along… You DON’T need 2-3 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight to
build muscle. It’s a lie promoted by the supplement and meat and dairy industry. That’s it. Just another way to make money. But hardly a scientific fact.
Recently Tarnopolsky performed a study in which weight trained individuals consumed a drink containing either: 5, 10, 20 or 40 grams of protein immediately after their workout. Each of the groups increased protein synthesis, but their results were dose dependant. Up to 20 grams, that is. While the 20 gram group significantly increased protein synthesis over the 10 gram group, the 40 gram group did not significantly increase protein synthesis over the 20 gram group.
So any more than 20-30 grams of protein at one sitting isn’t necessarily going to benefit you in any significant way.
The conclusion to be drawn from this most recent study is what I have been saying all along… You don’t need all that protein. In fact, eating too much will force your body to burn protein instead of fat for energy and can make getting leaner a more difficult process. Twenty to thirty grams of protein, every few hours is all that’s needed to build muscle. For most people that will be no more than about 150 grams per day. Before I ever recommended a lower protein intake to you guys I tried several experiments on myself and my clients for years. Back in the early 90’s I slowly increased my protein intake all the way up to 450 grams per day. I also recruited a few training partners and clients for the experiment. And after eight weeks nothing happened.
Then I tried experimenting with protein cycling and went on low protein for a while, thinking that if I desensitized my body to protein I would grow like a week upon reintroducing it. Well, that never happened.
But during the low protein phase I actually gained muscle and lost fat. I even remember my brother commenting one day, about three weeks into it that he had never seen me in better shape. Even after experiencing better results with less protein it shames me to admit that there were several times during the 90’s where someone would make a convincing enough argument to make me try super high protein again. And all I ever did was end up fatter and poorer.
Admit it; you’ve tried it too. You added another steak or protein shake to your diet and thought, “this will be just what I need to really start growing.” And nothing happens. Then you increased the size of your daily omelet from 3 eggs to 10. Still nothing. Stop the insanity.
From now on instead of ordering 3 chicken breasts, save the money and just get one. Or order an extra baked potato or two for the extra calories and throw down a few tablespoons of olive oil when you’re done. Instead of ordering “The Old 96′er” (”There’s nothing but gristle and fat on that plate.”) settle for a more human sized 8 ounce steak. Instead of 4 scoops in your
protein shake use one or two. Instead of a dozen eggs I think you’ll be just fine with 3-5, depending on the size.
The first time I ate breakfast with Jim Wendler, Dave Tate and CJ Murphy, all of whom were around 300lbs at the time, I ordered extra eggs in my omelet while they simply ordered theirs as is.
I thought, “Man, what a douche, I am. These guys all outweigh me by 80 pounds. What’s wrong with you?” I have been fooled many times. But like The Who, I won’t get fooled again. I hope you don’t either.
An educated man is a dangerous man,
Jason Ferruggia
