11/11/2025
Hi...
Unpopular Opinion (but the right one). More Protein Isn’t Always Better.
Alright ya'll, let’s talk about this protein hype that’s taken over every feed and supplement aisle.
Everywhere you look it’s protein bars, protein chips, protein water, protein coffee — like the world discovered a new superfood overnight. But here’s the thing: too much of any macronutrient becomes a stressor, not a solution.
Protein doesn’t automatically equal muscle.
Protein equals POTENTIAL — energy and building blocks.
What you choose to do after you fuel (how you train, recover, rest, and move) is what drives your results — or your lack of them.
Where Things Go Really Wrong
Let me give you two real examples...
Example 1:
A friend of mine — she’s just under 5 feet tall — posted on Facebook asking for help after finding out she had high cholesterol. Within minutes, a personal trainer we both went to high school with commented that she needed to focus on protein and "get at least 130 grams a day.”
First of all… no.
It’s inappropriate to give anyone nutrition advice on Facebook without knowing their history.
Secondly, it’s bad science when you don’t even know someone’s height, weight, body composition, age or labs.
And third — it’s unethical.
This friend, based on her height, should ideally weigh around 100–110 pounds (about 45–50 kg).
If she followed that 130 g suggestion, she’d be consuming nearly 2.8–3 g/kg of protein — a level excessive for even a pro athlete. Fact: elite competitors rarely exceed 2.2 g/kg for short periods. That kind of intake is simply too high for the average person and, over time, can stress the kidneys and throw off nutrient balance.
Example 2:
I had a patient in perimenopause whose doctor told her to consume 150 grams of protein per day.
She’s 5’1" (61"). Again — terrible advice.
Here’s a little-known truth: the majority of physicians receive very little nutrition education.
Only about 25% of accredited U.S. medical schools require even one dedicated nutrition course.
So please, don’t take nutrition advice from your doctor unless they’ve done additional, specialized training in this area.
Before she came to me as a client, that 150 g recommendation pushed her into Stage 2 kidney disease, with a high BUN and creatinine and a low eGFR.
It wasn’t the protein alone — it was the chronic overload without the proper metabolic foundation, hydration, or individualized guidance.
This is exactly why nutrition needs to be personalized — and why the advice of an influencer, a well-meaning trainer, or even a physician without nutrition training can do more harm than good.
📊 How to Find Your Real Range
Protein needs aren’t one-size-fits-all. They depend on your body composition, height, weight, age, labs, and how you move — not a macro chart pulled from your favorite influencer’s page.
For most active adults training 4–6 days a week (around 45 minutes or more per session), a realistic, research-backed range is:
👉 1.2–1.6 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
So let’s say you have normal labs, no health concerns, a normal BMI, workout and move daily, and weigh 150 lbs (68 kg) — you’re looking at roughly 80–110 grams of protein per day.
Not 130. Not 150.
The upper limit in this case — 2–2.3 g/kg (136–156 g) — is for elite athletes training multiple hours daily, and even then it should be maintained for only 2–3 weeks. For everyone else, going that high adds unnecessary metabolic stress, increases nitrogen waste, and doesn’t improve results. Once your body’s synthesis needs are met, the rest goes into irreversible oxidization.
What Science Says About Absorption
Here’s where people get confused: your body can technically absorb all the protein you eat, but it can only use so much at one time for muscle repair and growth.
Research (Moore et al., 2009; Areta et al., 2013; Witard et al., 2014) shows that muscle protein synthesis tops out around 20–25 g per meal.
Beyond that, your body doesn’t build more muscle — it just converts the excess to energy or stores it as fat.
That’s where protein pacing comes in — eating about 20–25 grams every 3–4 hours to support steady repair and recovery without overwhelming your system.
🧠 The Real Takeaway
More isn’t better — better balance is better.
Protein is essential, but so are carbohydrates (for fiber, vitamins, and energy) and healthy fats (for hormones, brain function, and cell health). They all work together in harmony.
Keep your intake in the healthy, sustainable range (1.2–1.6 g/kg) and make sure your plan fits your body — not someone else’s poor macro math.
And please — if your nutrition advice comes from someone who hasn’t spent at least half a decade studying the body and thousands of hours reviewing research, take it with a grain of salt (and maybe a side of skepticism).
Our team of Sports Nutritionists and Functional Medicine RDs can calculate your personalized macros, optimize your metabolism, and help you fuel for real results — it's usually free with insurance.
Book here: https://pp.berrystreet.co/?practice=revh
Because wellness should be rooted in science, not guesswork. 💜
