Could the Protein Craze Be Over?

Published 6.9.2026: I admit that the protein craze was one that I portook in, as did my husband on my advice. I’m actually glad that stuffing my face with protein might be over with for the short term. I found it hard to eat more than 100 grams of protein in a day. My current trainer suggested that I eat 120g of protein a day.

For those that don’t remember (and why would you?): I meal prep my breakfasts, except for a smoothie that I make each morning. For the smoothie, I add 51 grams of natto (a fermented soy bean product that we buy at an Asian grocery), raw garlic (based on something Dr. Joel Fuhrman said), sprouts (which I’ve been growing myself) as my fresh greens, one kiwi (for fiber and gut health) and then whatever other fruit happens to be around. I've been using Kirkland’s frozen trio of berrires, because it’s easy and they don’t go bad. If we have bananas I will add those, and I’ll add frozen mango if we have it. Altogether I estimate that the smoothie has 300 calories.

The natto has protein, but overall the smoothie is a fiber bomb, which is not a bad thing, Fiber is one of those things that Americans do not get enough of, unlike protein. Even before RFK Jr announced the “end of the so-called war on protein” 85% of US eaters were already consuming 1.2 g per kilogram (and let’s face it, most of them were just eating, NOT trying to maximize protein).

In addition, I eat a breakfast cookie before I head to the gym. The recipe was found online (somewhere, I don’t remember where) but I have altered it significantly. The original recipe was to use up older bananas, I replaced the fuirt with prunes. In addition, I use okara (the left over soy bean mass after I make soy milk) in the recipe. So there is a decent amount of protein in the cookie. I used to make 12 cookies from a recipe, now I make 24.

In addition, I eat a braekfast pudding, made with Calcium set silken tofu (I know people are weird about soy, but I eat plenty of it), prunes, chia seeds, unhulled sesame seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds. The pudding also has cocoa, cinnamon, dried ginger, dried nutmeg and cloves added to it. Silken tofu recipes, particularly turning them into pudding, are not uncommon on the internet, but this pudding was designed to be as high in calcium as possible. I don’t take calcium as a supplement, but the idea of getting a very high amount from food appealed to me.

The result is that I know (except for the smoothie) rughly how many calories, calcium, and protein I have with breakfast/brunch each day. I included brunch because occasionally (more than occasionally) I eat a late breakfast, thus I skip lunch. At that point it’s more of a brunch than breakfast.

I’m not vegan (though everything I’ve mentioned thus far is plant based) so dinner is a huge hit of protein usually (my husband and son would be carnivores is I let them). We almost always have a chunk of animal flesh on the table, so dinner is always high in protein.

I do lift weights, and I am hoping to body recomp, so higher protein is usually the way to achieve that. There is some disagreement as to how much protein is needed, but I know body builders (I am NOT one) eat a high amount of protein. But absent weight lifting, I’m not sure that the high amounts of protein are needed.

Since I started a personal update above, I think I’ll go ahead and continue it. I have changed trainers again, and think that my time of working with a trainer is coming to an end. I have experienced body recomposition lifting weights, but my last dexa scan was not good. For the first time in a decade my bone mineral density actually fell. I had a dear friend die this year of thyroid cancer… in part because she waited so long before she had her cancer operated on. (That's my NONmedical opinion. DO NOT TAKE MEDICAL ADVICE FROM ME!!) I think she was waiting until she had Medicare to pay for it, and by then it had metastasized. She couldn’t have the cancer growing on her bones cut out because her cardiologist didn’t think she would survive. Although, she did survive the thyroid operation, but I am NOT a doctor or a medical professional of sny sort. DO NOT TAKE MEDICAL ADVICE FROM ME!! Anyway, I thought of her while thinking about going on the drugs.

I am on Evinity for the next year. And after that I have to go on a different drug to maintain whatever gains the current drug is giving me. Not at ALL thrilled at being on a drug… but I know what happened to my friend when she delayed treatment, so I am not. That doesn’t mean I’m happy to be on the drugs… and likely to spend my entire life on the drugs. Because the drugs that currently exist don’t really improve bone mineral density.

The drug I’m on is honestly one of the few that I know of that actually affects the cells that create bone. All the other drugs simply don’t allow bone to resorb, they don’t actually form bone. I can only take the drug for a year, after that it stops working. Recently I read that most of the drug’s affect is eralized in the first two months. After that the “gains” are incremental. And If you don’t immediately take a different drug, the new bone formed goes away— which suggests that the “new” bone isn’t real in any event.

Additionally, as noted above I continue to workout at the gym and lift heavy weights. I now take a Costco dupe or Centrum Silver (because it has no iron). It has B12, vitamin D, iodine, zinc, and a bunch of other stuff. I do think that my hair has benefitted from the mulit, mostly because I don’t use iodzed salt any more, and iodine deficiency (and zinc deficiency) is one way to affect your hair. No clue if that was the case for me, I just noticed that my hair was better (and confirmed that with the woman who cuts my hair).

So that’s the update on me. This piece began with the acknowledgement that maybe (maybe) the protein fixation is beginning to break. I listen to a lot of body building podcasts, and these people believe in the power of protein (and fiber!) for body recomposition and losing weight. But unless you’re lifting weights and/or a physique competitor, I’m not sure that more than 1 or 1.2 grams per kilogram is plenty. Not sure how to turn those into grams per pound, I’m sure there are calculators online that do it.

I think the next craze is going to be fiber… and Harvey Diamond would be proud! (He’s a diet book author, whose book first introduced me to the image of a human suckling the teat of a cow. He was a vegan naturally. The Skinny Bitch diet book was basically an update of his plan, including copious use of eclamation points— which is the other thing I remember from Diamond’s book). Anyhoo… Diamond’s prescription was for Americans to eat a ton of veggies (and the gastro-distress that people experienced was great enough that it received covereage on the news.) The diet didn’t last long...

Anyway, ultra-processed foods (UPC) don’t have a ton of fiber or water in them to increase shelf life. It also makes UPC very easy to eat (hyper-palatibility is a function of the ratios of fat, salt, and/or sugar— the so-called bliss point). Most Americans eat mostly UPC during the day. Either they don’t like cooking, or were never taught. But most of the health troubles in this country would go away if people began cooking at home (NOT from UPC! I’m not talking about warming up a prepared meal in the microwave!)

I guess I’m already on the high fiber train…