Bite Back with Abbey Sharp - Protein PANIC! How the Protein Craze Got Out of Control with Liam Layton

Starting point is 00:00:00 They try and pick all of the lowest calorie things and the highest protein things and combine them and then try and convince me it's going to be good. Welcome to another episode of Bite Back with Abby Sharp, where I dismantle Diet Culture Rules, call out the charlatans spinning the pseudoscience, and help you achieve food freedom for good. Today on the podcast, we're diving into one of the biggest nutrition trends dominating the grocery aisles, social media feeds, and even our coffee cups, the protein craze. I think all of us can agree when I say protein has nailed the PR game. Of all the macronutrients or food components out there, protein is really the only one that hasn't been cancelled at some point. I mean, fat was bad, carbs are bad, but protein has always been diet culture's little darling.

Starting point is 00:00:59 But as of 2025, our obsession with all things, protein has really been kicked into high gear. Protein cereal, protein pasta, protein ice cream, protein creamers. If a food can hold a label, someone has slapped high protein on it. But are these protein enhanced innovations necessary or even healthy? To help me unpack all of this, I'm going to be joined by my friend and fellow nutrition educator Liam Layton, better known as the plant slant. We're talking myths, marketing tactics, moralization, and macros.

Starting point is 00:01:39 And why adding protein to cookies doesn't equate them to a tofu steak. Now before we get into it, a quick reminder that my brand new book, The Hunger Crushing Combo Method, which, by the way, goes deep into the science on protein, is officially on bookshelves. And honestly, I've been overwhelmed by all of your feedback so far, and I cannot wait for you all to get your hands on a copy and tell me what you think. So please check out the links in the show notes for where you can order. All right, friends, let's dive in.

Starting point is 00:02:21 All right, Liam, I'm so excited about this. Thank you so much for being just like a great ally in this crazy dumpster fire that is nutrition dogma online. Thank you. I try. I'm very excited. Okay, so all right, before we like air our grievances, which is what I'm waiting for. Yes, obviously. We got a lot of that to do.

Starting point is 00:02:43 Just like all the protein maxing trends we see going on right now. I want to start by just giving credit where credit is due because obviously protein is like very important. From your perspective, what are like the evidence-based reasons why, you know, focusing on protein and getting enough protein can be so helpful for a lot of folks? This, listen, protein is all those things that start off with such great intentions and there's great reasons for it. And I love it. It was like I saw people focus down. I'm like, let's go. This is great. Oh my goodness. What have we created? It's Frankenstein's monster. So for me, basically, a lot of, okay, what is the goal of a lot of people, especially in America, right? Weight loss. That's what a lot of people are seeking, right? Protein, more satiating. That's why a lot of people lose weight on keto. Yes, you cut the carbs. Yes, you eat more fat. But you're also eating more protein. And that's one of the main reasons people lose weight. You're eating more protein, it's satiating. So it's great. Like, you know, if you're trying to lose some weight, I think it's fantastic.

Starting point is 00:03:40 Add a little protein to your meals. It can make it weight loss easier. But then it just took over. And I'm sure we'll get into that. Yeah, I just feel like that's the way, like, nutrition trends work. Like, diaculture loves to take something grounded in an ounce of truth and then make it so sensationalized and black and white and extreme. It's like, you know, it can only be about protein. It can be the only thing that we think about.

Starting point is 00:04:04 in our diet. You know, like you said, we've got loads of great evidence that, you know, focusing on a higher protein diet can help to support healthy body composition, metabolism, longevity, protein supersatiation, help support muscle mass, stabilizes blood sugars. And, you know, as far as, like, people say, like, can you, like, really, you know, is it really dangerous to be on a, quote, unquote, high protein diet? You know, what are your thoughts on that? I mean, I mean, of course, there's, there's, for everyone's different. Right? We say that all the time. If you have renal failure, if you have kidney disease, of course, it's very important to always talk with your doctor. But if you're talking to someone who just has healthy kidneys, then having some extra protein, probably going to be handled just fine by your kidneys. That's low down the list. Let's put it that way. That's low down the list. But that's the thing, though, it's like, okay, we get so worried about like, oh, too much of this. What is it replacing? That's my question. Exactly. Because you. you add protein, something else has to go down. If one thing goes up, the other thing goes down. I'm not great at math, but I'm pretty sure that's the case. So that that's more my concern is when people do the high protein types.

Starting point is 00:05:16 100%. It's basically like what are we displaceing. What are we displacing? And in some cases, we may be displacing what we should be displacing, which might be like higher sugar, you know, low satiety, low nutrient foods, which is exactly what we want to use protein to replace. But obviously, we don't. We don't want to be displacing fiber. We know he's placing healthy fats. We're going to talk more about that. But, you know, I think one of the, again, one of the distortions, the truth that ends up getting kind of twisted here is this assumption or this suggestion that, you know, we as North Americans are quote unquote protein deficient. So we need to get more, more, more, more, more. Do you want to talk a little bit about that? Like, are we somehow as a society just not getting enough protein? in our diets? I don't know where that came from. And I would be very curious where this idea that we're like, yeah, we're deficient protein. I'm not going to say no one in America's deficient protein, right? Of course. Everybody's different. Yada yada. But for the most part, everyone's eating up protein. In fact, like, from what I've seen in the research, people are consuming more protein than they need to for a healthy, quote, healthy diet. It's really just,

Starting point is 00:06:29 I think the problem is in the fitness space, it's with this idea that. that you need to get one gram of protein per body weight has been pushed very hard. So if you're not getting that, then you're deficient in protein. That's when they tell you like you're deficient. You don't even need anywhere near that for a healthy diet. And even if you're trying to, you know, build muscle. Yes, getting closer to that is helpful. I think that.

Starting point is 00:06:53 I think that's the thing is that idea has been put. It's like the eight glasses of water a day or the 10,000 steps. If you're not getting that, then you're water deficient or walking deficient or whatever. know what I'm trying to say. I know. I know. I think like one of the reasons for this myth is that, yeah, like, when we look at the data, we very clearly see that most people are getting more than enough protein in absolute grams. And especially when we're talking about North Americans, you know, considering that, you know, a lot of North Americans could have some excess fat to lose. It's because, yes, they're getting enough protein, but they're also kind of getting excess calories with that protein. Like we're just kind of everything, all of it. Everything in that mix. So, you know, to me, where we see value here is about choosing more kind of efficient sources of protein. That give you the best protein to calorie ratio because we do look at, when we look at the data, we do see that when we, for example, move from 10 to 15 percent of our total calories from protein, which is kind of the basically where most North Americans lie to about 20 to 30 percent. That's when, you know, in some cases we may see greater fat loss, better satiety. management, those kinds of benefits.

Starting point is 00:08:06 So it's not just about absolute grams of protein. It's like, well, are you also, you can get an approach on your diet eating Big Macs, but you're also getting a lot of refined carbohydrates and excess satri of fats. Did you know a slice of Costco pizza has more protein than a chicken breast? Whoa. Yeah. So that's why we were like, oh, yeah, let me get my protein. Hot protein diet.

Starting point is 00:08:28 Yeah, exactly. So let's ignore the fact that it's 800 calories for one slice of pizza, you know. So, like, yeah, that is, there's definitely truth to that, I think. So this kind of brings me to the whole commercialization of protein in the ultra-processed snack food world. Because we've seen protein popcorn, protein cookies, protein pop tarts, like candy, all the things. Like, food manufacturers just adding protein to everything. Yes. Why do you think it is that, you know, here we are 2025, 2026, why are we seeing every damn food manufacturer trying to find a way to put?

Starting point is 00:09:14 protein in their product? Like, what is happening right now for protein to have this kind of peak moment? It's, it comes down to what it always comes down to. Okay, like, listen, I'm trying to be nice with it. Abby, you and I, like, okay, how do I put this? We, we can be sassy. We can, we don't, we don't, neither of us probably know what six, seven means. Let me put it that way. We're not the youngest. Let me just, like, let me just say that. I'm an older guy. Like, I'm, especially on, like, TikTok. I am. I know. We are geriatric TikTokers here. But this is always how So if we think back to like, let's take eggs, let's take eggs, right? How, how, like, let's say 10, 15 years ago, how many pasture raised eggs were there on the shelf?

Starting point is 00:09:54 One option, maybe. And now there's 37 and a half out there. Like, half of it is like pasture raised, free range, all of that stuff. And that is because people were calling for it. They were like, hey, I learned about how chickens are treated. And I want something that has, you know, the chickens are treated. less poorly. And then we got all these eggs. And that's what has come down with the protein. People have heard protein's important. And now it's in everything. All your cereals. And oh, there's some of

Starting point is 00:10:25 I've tried so many different protein things. Can I call out things by name or am I was? Yes, I want you to call them out. I want you to call them out. We're going to call them out. Two things that are the worst tasting things that I've ever had that made me go, how, how, how did this get past research and development? There's no way. And that is one is eat your mouth off cereal by, I think it's like Kellogg. Yeah. Okay.

Starting point is 00:10:52 So it's like 23 grams of protein per serving. It tastes like sawdust, had sex with cardboard, and you just, it's, and then you put, I don't know, it's so unbelievable. It made me physically gag. I had one bite and I threw out the rest of the box. And it's like, and the thing is like, it's, like, it's, $12 or $10. Yeah, they're so expensive.

Starting point is 00:11:15 For a box of cereal. And those cereal, there's like five servings in there. I'll just take my frosted many meats or whatever, the off brand, probably cheaper. But that and oh my goodness. I think, I don't remember which one, but it was, uh, it was an oatmeal cream pie that they tried to make high protein. Oh my goodness. It tastes, you know, like, okay, okay, people say like that tastes like chemicals.

Starting point is 00:11:36 And we're like, oh, everything's made of chemicals. But when people say that tastes like chemicals, that is the epitome of what they are talking about that. There's like that and like Gatsby chocolate, which some people like that, but that's like a high, it's like a low calorie chocolate. Yeah, it's a low calorie. I don't know if it's really high protein. I haven't tried that. I haven't tried any of these. Well, I'm Canadian. So like, we don't get a lot of these things. But whenever I go to the States, I like, I bulk up on all these kind of specialty snack foods. Just like see what the hype is about. Most are so bad. Most are really bad. I bought some protein pop tarts the other day. I don't remember the brand. But I brought

Starting point is 00:12:12 legendary probably or or flips. Oh yes, it was legendary. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I was like, he's like sadness. Very.

Starting point is 00:12:19 Yeah, 100% sadness. I even gave him to my kids. My son who's like, he was like a pastry with frosting on it for breakfast. Mama. Yeah, let's go protein. And then he took one bite and he was like, I don't like it mom. Like you eat it. I was like, I'm not eating.

Starting point is 00:12:34 The box. Do not put in toaster or you will burn down your house. You know it's going to be a rough time. Like it says, don't put in toast. because of... It's a... It's a poster. It's a toaster popter.

Starting point is 00:12:47 No, but it's not, though, is the problem. And there's, like, there's, like, flings and... Oh, yeah. Flings is another one and legendary. I've tried all of these. And, like, if you're, like, deep into, like, the fitness community and you're, like, all about gym and, like, you microwave it, you can force yourself to eat it and I've done it. But for the most part, all of these are just really bad.

Starting point is 00:13:10 They're just so unbelievably bad. Yeah, it has protein. But that's what's been driving me crazy. It's like a dessert, it's supposed to be sugar and fat. And you can work that into a healthy diet. It's fine. Yeah, I often find with a lot of these kind of, quote, health-fied snack foods, like this often causes what I often call like the satisfaction hunter, like eating around a craving.

Starting point is 00:13:34 So like, let's say that you really just like want a toaster straddle or a potter, like the OG. Okay, I'm going to eat the protein version. that does not hit. Like you can't even finish it. It's so bad. Then you plow through some like protein crackers. No. Then the protein ice cream.

Starting point is 00:13:49 Uh-uh. Protein cookies. Then you're like, fuck it. I'm going to eat the pop tart that I actually want and you plow through an entire box. So you're not like emotionally satisfied on these foods on the healthified version. And if you if you don't actually enjoy it, it's just going to leave you a little bit longing. And it just makes you more susceptible to this kind of binge, basically. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:14:10 It's rough out there. I've got to just get I get like a small bowl and I get some like some chocolate cherry chip ice cream. Oh, so one of my favorites. And then I'm good with that. But like and that's, okay, here's the thing. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. Here's the thing.

Starting point is 00:14:26 You know, so like with the pints of ice cream that are like high protein and whatnot, it's almost like they're daring you to eat the whole pint. Right? Like they literally put because they literally like plastered on the front. only 20090 calories and 80 grams of protein whatever like it's all right there so it's like it feels like it's it feels like they're daring you to eat the whole pint and it's like instead of that just a little bit of like ice cream made with with milk and sugar 100% deliciousness it's fine yeah I kind of forgot about all those terrible like low calorie protein rich ice creams and because you're right like they They advertise the macros as if you should eat this entire very large, like,

Starting point is 00:15:15 abnormally large portion. Like you wouldn't normally, I would say, for folks who. Eat a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's or whatever, right? Exactly. Like, you wouldn't sit down to a Ben and Jerry's pint every single night before you're like that. I would totally do that. Like, I get it. There are people out there that want to sit there and eat the whole pie.

Starting point is 00:15:30 And that's why they created this like Halo Top. And all of these ones. Halotops. They've changed just a little better, but it's still not. I'm telling you, listen, I'm not sponsor, but like the Ninja Creamy, that's one of the few things I think I've actually done. It's very good. That is very good. You can actually put, you know, whole food ingredients in.

Starting point is 00:15:50 You can, you know, put Oreo cookies in if you want to make it taste like, you know, an Oreo. Throw it in there. And basically that's all. Oh, that's good. But, okay. But the other things, like, yeah, they're like daring you to eat the whole thing because there are people that, that want, like, I want the whole pipe. But I think for, for most people, if you're just like, hey, you can have a. serving of, you know, whatever, you know, full fat, full sugar ice cream. And like, I think

Starting point is 00:16:13 serving sizes are a weird thing, especially in America. Like, I don't, you know, okay, I remember when ice cream was like half a cup. They're like, that's, that's, that's a serving, half a cup. And we were like, what are you talking about? No one eats half, no one eats half a cup. So they up to like, two thirds of a cup. And then I was like, okay, that's, that's at least a little better. So, like, I think we're moving in the right direction to just kind of show like, hey, this is a reasonable portion of this actual dessert that you can have and then you'll be satiated with that hopefully hopefully yeah i i do find with those kinds of anytime that you are being essentially nudged like you said to eat the entire pint or i've seen kind of like cauliflower like protein pizzas

Starting point is 00:16:54 where you are kind of encouraged to eat the whole pizza in one go and again like these kinds of messages teach people to override their innate body wisdom in a lot of ways right like you're just being you're just eating by numbers essentially. Yeah. You're just going through the motions based on what the numbers say on the package and you're like, I'm not actually that hungry for this entire, like this entire pizza

Starting point is 00:17:18 that has 50 grams of protein in it. But it says on the box that I got to eat the whole thing to get these macros. Have you seen the Quest pizza? Have you seen the Quest pizza? I've seen it. And not, I mean, listen, I'll give them that. They also throw so much fucking fiber into there.

Starting point is 00:17:33 I don't know if you've seen this, but it's like 38 grams of fiber for one pizza. this is my actual issue with it because it's like who is going to feel good eating 38 fucking grams of inulin or like oligosaccharide like you know

Starting point is 00:17:47 any kind of added isolated fiber the whole pizza is only 600 calories though the whole pizza and I want a whole pizza so I think that's where they know their demographic so I also want to kind of talk about some of the kind of like most egregious examples

Starting point is 00:18:03 of these like protein recipes because you've kind of made a name for yourself testing these things out online. What are some of the, like, really rough ones that you've seen pop up on your feed that you're like, oh, God, this is not going to be good. And you try it and you're like, fuck no. That's a good question. And there's so many.

Starting point is 00:18:24 But my thing is, especially when it comes to desserts, like we're talking about desserts here, is there seems to be this idea that you have to remove any sort of flour. Like, any flower is terrible. And so that's what they all try and do. So like, we're starting off with a two cups of egg whites. I'm like, this is going to be rough. This is going to be rough. And then what, but we're going to put in a fourth cup of coconut flour.

Starting point is 00:18:49 That's not saving shit. That's going to take that texture is going to be awful. And that's what I see a lot of the times is just like they try and pick all of the lowest calorie things and the highest protein things and combine them and then try and convince me it's going to be good. And even when I say it's bad, that's the thing is people like, Well, you didn't make it right. You got to cook it for 13 and a half minutes and let it cool for the other six and a half. And then you have to add these specific things.

Starting point is 00:19:16 Not though. I'm like, it's bad. It's not, I'm not going to like it. Listen, if other people like it, that's totally great. But if you take egg whites and protein powder and mix them together, I'm not going to like it. I'm not going to like it if you just bake that. And then it needs, for me, desserts, like need some high calorie things. You can add, like, protein to things, I think just fine.

Starting point is 00:19:37 You want to make muffins or something and you want to add some, I don't know, peanut butter powder or something like that. Totally. Fine. Fine. Fine. But don't take all of the highest protein lowest calorie things combined together and try and sell me on that because it's going to be awful. Yep. Yep.

Starting point is 00:19:53 I mean, I'm just going to call out a little sipper today because I'm pretty sure everything she makes. It starts exactly like you just described. It's just eggs and then like one other ingredient. Like I saw her a post for. a bread recipe, again of obviously no flour, with just eggs and almond butter. That is not fucking bread. That is, that is, like, that

Starting point is 00:20:15 is so far removed from bread, you know, and like you said. Have you seen carnival bread? Have you seen carnival bread? What is it, like beef? It's like ground beef? Like, with butter on it? Listen, listen, I'll give them, they

Starting point is 00:20:31 do try and make something that resembles bread. It's not bread, but no, it's more like egg whites. and like cheese. There's like certain types of cheese they'll use. And it's, it's, but you, you can see like, you're like, that's not bread for sure. But like they, again, yeah, you try. Oh, oh, oh, oh, I remember what ingredient.

Starting point is 00:20:52 You remember, okay, you want to know what one of the ingredients in, in, okay, okay. It is chicken flour, chicken flour. So, hard to get extremely expensive. Yes, so they take chicken, they dehydrate it down. They remove all of the H2Os there is. And then it's just this powder that is just basically chicken. And they throw it in with egg whites and like cheese. And people were asking me to bake it.

Starting point is 00:21:18 I'm like, you're fucked. I'm not paying $100 for like chicken flour. It's not happening. And so yeah, they try and could be cause that's the thing. It's like these with like carnivore and all these super restrictive diets. People of course are craving for normal human foods that we've been eating for. as long as we've been humans, well, maybe not as long, but a long time, like bread and whatnot. So they try and recreate these things and it's never the same.

Starting point is 00:21:45 It's always just some kind of just, yeah, Frankenstein's monster version of said thing. Yeah, I mean, if the carnivore diet itself and like literally just existing on that was not reason enough for people to have very poor retention on a diet like that, having to spend your entire day making fucking flour out of chicken breasts. That is got to, that's got to put the nail in the coffin for a lot of dieters. But you can, but Abby, you can buy these things. Have you heard of the, do you know the, the carnivore bar? Have you heard of the carnival bar? Okay. So it's for one bar, it's only $16. It's only $16. So you can just buy that. And I'm not joking, it is $16. Now, if you buy it a 12 pack, then it's only like $100 and something dollars. So it does come down a little bit.

Starting point is 00:22:33 But yeah, you can just buy these things and then you're good. Now you're doing the carnivore diet. So this, folks, if you're wondering why people lose weight on the carnivore diet is because you cannot afford to eat more than one carnivore bar per day. And they're all eating the grass-fed grass. You know, everything's grass-fed and pasture raised. So, like, who can afford all that? I've, many thought.

Starting point is 00:23:10 Yeah, we kind of got off topic on the carnivore thing, but I guess because it leads there because of protein. But yeah, protein, yes, two. And okay, I just want to like say, I don't want to paint all these things with a, with a bad paint brush, paint brush, whatever. I don't want to paint all the products with the same brush. I think, you know, my kind of takeaway here is that like if you're already eating eggo waffles every single day, switching to the protein eggle waffle, fine. It's not that idea.

Starting point is 00:23:39 You know, you got an extra six grams of protein. Is it going to change your body? Absolutely not. I think where the issue really lies with a lot of these kind of protein enriched foods is that, you know, in a lot of cases, A, you might be getting a ton more calories in these things. Like I was looking at the Lenny and Larry's protein cooking the other day that has 16 grams of protein in it. It also has 420 calories in it, you know, versus you can get 16 grams of protein with, you know, in less than 100 calories worth of protein powder or Greek yogurt

Starting point is 00:24:11 or quash cheese or whatever. So yeah, you're getting more protein, maybe, but you're also getting a lot of other calories. I think this, now we're getting into the problem here. There's many problems. One of the problems is, is one of the problems is one of when we ask for protein, then there's no rules. There's no regulations on this. So a company is going to write. So I don't know if you've seen there are protein pop tarts that are made by who makes pop tarts. I don't remember who makes pop tarts, but they are pop tarts.

Starting point is 00:24:36 Kellogg's. We'll just say they make everything. So yeah, it's pop tarts, but they are protein versions. They have 10 grams of protein for 400 calories. So it's not actually a protein pop tart. It just says protein on the label. There's Skippy protein peanut butter that, again, has 10 grams instead of seven. I tried it.

Starting point is 00:24:52 It tastes awful. So even if they're adding a few more grams, it doesn't even taste good. But they're just, and they're saying anything has protein. Like the Lenny and Lary's is a great example. They did very well with their marketing. Great marketing. They just added wheat and they added a little bit more wheat and then it's protein. I'm pretty sure corn has more protein per calorie than Alenians Larry's cookies, or at least

Starting point is 00:25:11 is close last time I checked. 100%. So, yeah, that's one of these issues is now there's no regulations and you can just put protein on anything. thing. So it actually doesn't matter. Oh, what is it? The, what's it peanut butter and jellies ones, the little like in the freezer section. Oh, the Uncrestables. They have protein versions now, which are like two more grams. So yeah, all of these things now have protein. Yeah. I think what bothers me about these health halos that we see on front of label packaging is that it tricks people into

Starting point is 00:25:42 thinking that, oh, I can replace my cottage cheese or Greek yogurt in the morning with a protein cookie because, hey, it says protein out front. We're losing our critical thinking skills. We're losing our label reading skills because we are just seeing that protein, protein, protein, and we're automatically assigning it to be a good choice. When like we talked about whether it's like a protein cookie, Lenny and Larry's or a protein pop tart,

Starting point is 00:26:09 these foods still contain a lot of sugar, perhaps a lot of calories that go with it. It just feels like a really huge waste of proteins like satiety super, superpowers in a lot of cases. Because you're not actually getting it. You're getting like you just have, I would say for most people, you're better off just picking a few protein sources that you like. You know, you can just look up with you. You're like, oh, yogurt, the tuna, the edamame, whatever it is. And then just kind of seeing, how can I get those into my diet? I like those. What can I add to this other thing I like? You're much better doing that

Starting point is 00:26:43 than searching around and trying to find this new latest protein thing. That's going to be really expensive and probably tastes like she is. 100%. And generally, like basically always more expensive than the OG. Are there any products that you've tried that are like protein enriched or like advertised as high protein that you actually think were pretty good? The only, so like they do a pretty good job with shakes, like drinks with protein. I think do pretty well, your fairer lives, your Nourries. I have a bunch of, I buy them.

Starting point is 00:27:15 I stock up at like Sam's got whenever I throw them in the few. fridge. I have one here and there. And that's really nice because it's 30 grams of protein for 150-ish calories. Exactly. Super easy. You throw those on. I love those sort of things. I love the dry roasted edamomame. Like, I'll snack on those. Again, get your fiber as well. So it's, there's, there are a few things that I think really, we talked about the, the ninja creamy. I think it's really like the only gimmick. I'm going to call it a gimmick because it only does one thing. Any gadget that does one thing, I kind of just call it gimmick. I think it's the only gimmick. device product, whatever, that I'm like, okay, that's worth the money it costs, which is still

Starting point is 00:27:52 like $150, wherever, so it's kind of expensive. But it is really good. So there's a few of them, most of them, I think you're better off just buying the foods you like and just had protein to them with the other things you like. I 100% agree. I was actually going to say the enomomomies, those little crispy, crunchy enamamis or the chickpeas. I'm obsessed with those. I put those in everything. Fair life milk. Okay. The only controversial one that I, the only controversial one, that I do kind of like are the Quest protein chips. And I think that I like them. I mean, they're not great, but they have pretty good ratio.

Starting point is 00:28:26 They're like 18 grams of protein for like 140 calories. And when I was pregnant, I had like a strange craving. I had a real aversion to all protein, but I had a craving for salt and vinegar chips. So these saved me because I was just like, uh, they don't have a salt vinegar version though. What were you eating? They used to. They used to. They used to.

Starting point is 00:28:45 They used to. They did. I don't know why I swear to God, I lived off that my first pregnancy. And then my time my second came around, it was gone. Yeah. So they, unfortunately, they were great. But to wrap up, I'm hoping you can kind of leave our audience, which is like a tip on how to maximize the benefits of like a protein rich diet without getting into obsession or restriction. Hmm.

Starting point is 00:29:10 That's a tough question because it relies so much like on the person, like everybody really when it comes to protein. is different. But again, I think I would just have to go back to try some different products. Like, I like another one is Bear Bell's protein bars. I got a whole bunch of them right in front of me. I keep them on my desk. I keep them in my desk. So you'll find some products you like. Don't hyper fixate on those products. Find one or two. Keep those in the house, right? Then find the other whole or more minimally processed, whatever, sources of protein, the milks, the yogurts, the whatever it is. And then, you know, figure out how you can add those to meals. I like curries with beans.

Starting point is 00:29:51 I'm like, oh, I'll add yogurt to that. That's super easy. Whatever. And then, you know, just as long as you're not doing crazy things with cottage cheese, people, please stop. Please stop turning cottage cheese. Like, microwave cheese is not pizza. It's not brownies.

Starting point is 00:30:08 It's not cake. Every time I see one of these, it's cottage cheese. I like it. Just stop doing these things to it. not meant for that. So, yeah, I like cottage cheese just with a, like a normal person sitting in front of my fridge with the door open and a spoon. That's how normal people eat cottage cheese. And then I go to bed, okay? So, 100%. Don't go crazy. Yeah, I love those suggestions. I think that there are so many ways that you can amp up other, you know, naturally nourishing foods without displacing

Starting point is 00:30:43 other nutrients by kind of adding in little boosts of protein where it makes sense. For example, like peering some white beans into your soup or adding, you know, some edamame puree that with some avocado on your avocado toast. There's just like so many tiny little things. But when it comes to- I like tuna mac. That's a good one. You ever put to tuna in the macs?

Starting point is 00:31:07 You can have peas to it too. Guess what? Protein fiber, boom. Protein and fiber, baby. Hunger, crushing. combo. That's what we're all about here. I love this. Thank you so much, Liam. I'm going to be leaving links to where everybody can find you and I really appreciate your time. And just Google cottage cheese guy. Just Google cottage guy. I'm the first result. I'm not joking. It's true.

Starting point is 00:31:27 No. Just Google Conchise Cheese guy. That's how people tell me they find me. That's protein royalty right there. So congratulations. Oh my God. I love Liam's energy. Very rarely do I get to shoot the with someone who I feel is operating at my kind of energetic wavelength, so I loved that. And as I alluded to at the top of our interview, you know, the benefits of a high protein diet is well documented in the literature. And I talk about this between several chapters of the book, The Hunger Crush and Combot Method. But I thought I would share some more little factoid on why protein is having a media moment. Even if the execution in the snack food aisle, leave something to be desired.

Starting point is 00:32:13 So, first of all, protein is king of the satiety hierarchy. It stimulates satiety hormones like GLP1 and leptin, quiets our hunger hormones like graylin, slows digestion to even at our blood sugars, increases calorie expenditure through digestion, and supports our metabolism through fueling our muscle. It also seems to quiet food noise and craving better than other food components. So in one study, for example, they found participants that

Starting point is 00:32:46 were on a high protein diet with 25% of total calories from protein, experienced greater fullness levels throughout the day, and significantly less food preoccupation and desire for late night snacking compared to diets with 14% of calories from protein. Research has also found that doubling the proportion of your diet that's coming from protein from 10 to 15% to 20 to 30% protein helped result in a threefold bump in fat loss and a 400 calorie deficit completely spontaneously. That is 400 fewer calories consumed without ever letting the word diet or restriction leave your lips. And this is why protein is such a critical component of the hunger crushing combo, especially for folks who are trying to maintain a

Starting point is 00:33:40 healthy body composition by minimizing excess visceral fat and building or at least maintaining muscle mass without obsessing over the details. In the book, I offer a big cheat sheet on some ideas on how to access what I call a full dose of protein, aka around 20 to 30 grams in the most efficient ways. Because as I alluded to earlier in our conversation, we all get enough protein for our base needs, but it is about choosing higher quality, more efficient sources of protein that get us the best satiety for our caloric buck. In other words, a chicken breast is going to be a far more efficient source of protein than a protein cookie with 12 grams each of sugar and fat and over 400 calories. Likewise, you get better protein bang for your chloric buck by choosing Greek yogurt

Starting point is 00:34:35 over quinoa as your sole protein source. The good news is, you get better protein. The good news is, you get better protein, news is we generally don't need to micromanage any of the details when we are choosing more whole food efficient sources of hunger crushing compounds because these foods keep us fuller longer and naturally edge out some of the less satiating, less nutritious foods. And I'm going to far more detail on best practices, tips, and strategies in the hunger crushing combo method to help you make choices that fuel your body and your goals without it running your life. So again, I've got links in the show notes to where you can order your copy today. And on that note, a big thank you to Liam for helping me bite back against problematic diet culture.

Starting point is 00:35:22 Signing off with Science and Sass, I'm Abby Sharp. Thanks for listening.

Bite Back with Abbey Sharp - Protein PANIC! How the Protein Craze Got Out of Control with Liam Layton

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