There is a right way to lose weight and there is a wrong way to lose weight.  As a newsletter subscriber, hopefully you have taken advantage of the numerous articles written by our staff to help clear up many of the myths and misconceptions in the weight loss world.  There is a ton of misleading information out there in cyberspace, printed in books, and in magazine articles.  Some information is posted to stir up controversy and other information is not necessarily incorrect; just incomplete or one sided.  Writers do such a great job convincing readers that their way is the right way.  After all, if the article is written by an expert and is full of "facts" cited by other experts, studies, and medical research; why would you or anyone else doubt what was written?  Allow me to show you how accurate information can still be misleading without a complete understanding of how your body responds to the foods you eat.  
High protein diets have been around since the 60's.  These diets were first made popular by Dr. Adkins and years later were re-invented by the Zone and Protein Power diets.  As we all know, there is much controversy surrounding these diets, but high protein isn't all that bad.  If you focusing on the quality of protein, how much you eat and meal balance; an increase in protein can help change your physique, help regulate blood sugar levels, boost your metabolism and fight hunger.  Here are some common concerns regarding high protein diets and with a little understanding you'll soon be able to make sense of all of the protein hype.

"Extra protein doesn't make extra muscle.  If you eat more than your body uses, it will be stored as fat"

True, true, true!  This statement is very real and valid.  Imagine the gas tank in your car.  The tank can hold a specific amount of gas and once the tank is full, it's full.  Your car can only use what is in the tank and when it's empty, it's empty.  Your muscle is the same way.  The cells in the muscle can only assimilate a certain amount of protein and the body can only use what it can use.  So if your body can assimilate 40 grams of protein at one time and you feed it 60 grams, where does the extra 20 grams go?  If you're active, your body will take the extra protein and either burn it off into heat or store it as fat.  However, if you feed your muscles 40 grams of protein 5 times a day, your body would use every single bit of that protein for a purpose without having any extra to store as fat.  So an active male theoretically could consume 200 grams of protein per day with out it turning into fat! So while extra protein doesn't make extra muscle, if you eat the correct amount of protein at the correct time of day in conjunction with the proper workout, you can experience muscle growth.

"Protein shakes may add as much as 200 gm or 300 gm of protein a day".

I don't know about you, but I have NEVER come across a protein shake that has 200-300 gm of protein per serving.  That would be a whopping 800-1200 calories from the protein itself, not including the calories that come from fats or carbs!  Most of the high quality protein shakes that I've seen have 25-60 grams of protein per serving.  Even if one were to use 2-3 per day (which I would only recommend one for athletic females and a maximum of two for athletic males), you would still not ingest more than 120 grams of protein from shakes.

Other critics of high protein diets may suggest that the use of protein shakes are unnecessary and I agree to a point.  I would much rather you meet your protein requirements from real foods as opposed to the many protein shakes and powders on the market.  Though, depending on your lifestyle, reaching for a shake here and there for snacks between meals (not as replacements for breakfast, lunch or dinner) is a reasonable option.  Be sure to pick a shake that has a mixture and blend of different proteins (soy, milk, egg etc.), one that is moderate in carbohydrate and low in sugar.  A word of caution; using too many shakes may result in stomach cramping, bloat, or abdominal distention. 

"High protein diets may cause bone loss, kidney damage and can increase the risk of heart disease."

Many times high protein diets are lumped into the same category as low carb diets.  This harsh restriction of carbs is the reason why many high protein diets have such a bad wrap.  Do high protein diets yield faster results?  In most cases yes, but what you don't know is that when on an extremely low carb diet most of the weight loss is water weight and muscle.  When there is not enough carbohydrate to convert into blood sugar, your body is forced to use stored blood sugar from the liver and muscles which results in muscle breakdown.  Because muscle is mostly water, you will lose weight very rapidly in the first few days.  If the carbohydrate restriction is continued, the brain eventually will run on fat stores for fuel.  This is called ketosis.  Ketosis can cause irritability, headaches, nausea and may also cause heart palpitations.  Because your body has to work over-time to eliminate ketones from the body, the liver and kidneys are forced to work over-time.  In addition to damage that is done to vital organs, staying on a high-protein/low carb diet for weeks can throw of the acid/base balance in the body.  Most high protein foods increase the acidity in the blood which then causes the bones to release calcium as a basic mineral to help neutralize the body's pH, thereby leading to osteoporosis. 

Science is science.  There is no denying that eating a high protein diet that is extremely low carb is very unhealthy.  That is why it is so important to balance all meals that contain protein with a complex carbohydrate.  Doing so will maintain the acid/base balance in the body therefore maintaining muscle and losing body fat.  Reducing the stress that is placed on the liver and kidneys and preserving calcium in the bones. 

The American Heart Association doesn't recommend high-protein diets for weight loss.  Some of these diets restrict healthful foods that provide essential nutrients and don't provide the variety of foods needed to adequately meet nutritional needs.  People who stay on these diets very long may not get enough vitamins and minerals and face other potential health risks. True, most foods that are high in protein can also be high in saturated fat.  The Adkins diet is notorious for advocating the use of high fat cheese, beef, pork and other meats.  But, there are plenty of low fat sources of protein as well; chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, seafood and egg whites.  By eating mostly low fat sources of lean meats you eliminate the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.  In fact, a diet that is well balanced with protein and complex carbohydrates can actually improve many of those ailments. 

"There is some debate about the types of protein.the bottom line is, you probably don't need added protein."

There isn't some debate about types of protein. there is a huge debate regarding what type of protein is best.  In my opinion, not all protein is considered equal.  There are two types of protein: incomplete and complete proteins.  Incomplete proteins contain some essential amino acids in small amounts while complete proteins contain all essential amino acids in significant amounts.  Most incomplete proteins include plant based proteins: beans, nuts, seeds, cheese, milk and soy.  Complete proteins include animal based proteins: beef, poultry, fish, seafood and other meats.  The higher in quality the protein, the more available the protein is for absorption. 

The type of protein and the amount that is eaten (more on this later) can greatly affect muscle gain or muscle loss.  There is no doubt that weight lifters and athletes benefit from eating animal sources of protein (low fat of course).  In the eight years of my practice I have yet to see a lean, muscular athletic vegetarian.  I take that back.  I counseled a young man in his late 20's who was completely vegan.  He had a very difficult time losing fat and gaining muscle.  He was open to the idea of using a couple of protein shakes during the day and he voluntarily added egg whites to his eating program and within three weeks, he experienced an increase in strength, energy and muscle restoration.  So if you ask me, the type of protein eaten can make all of the difference in the world.

"Multiply your body weight in pounds by .36 to determine your protein needs.  So if you weigh 180 lbs, you need about 65 gm of protein per day, or about 47 grams per day if you weigh 130 pounds."

The RDA makes this recommendation for the average person.  There is no doubt that an athlete or weight lifter has more requirements.  If a male weighed 180 pounds and could only have 65 grams of protein, he would only be able to eat a total of 8 ounces of lean meat per day and a woman would only be able to eat 6 ounces of lean protein per day!  Now, that seems ridiculous to me.  If I were to spread out 47 grams of protein 5 times a day, that would limit me to just under 10 grams of protein per meal or 1.5-2 oz of chicken, fish, turkey etc.  When was the last time you ate 2 ounces of chicken for dinner?  There is absolutely no way that an active person would be able to maintain muscle eating such a miniscule amount of protein. 

Rather for an active person, I suggest 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass.  The best way to figure that out is to take your current body weight and multiply it by your percentage of body fat to find how much of your weight is fat.  Then take the fat pounds and subtract it from your scale weight to find out your lean body mass.  For example if the 180 pound male was 15% fat his body composition would be:  27 fat pounds and 153 pounds of lean body mass.  Therefore he would need 153 grams of protein per day to maintain that amount of muscle.  That is almost 2.5 times the amount of protein suggested by the RDA!  Remember, the protein must be spread out in equal portions throughout the day, so this person would need about 30 grams of protein five times a day, (or approximately 5-6 ounces of lean meat per meal).  Now, that sounds like a meal!

For every study I find that discusses the dangers of high protein diets, I can find other research that suggests otherwise.  While there is some truth to the potential dangers of high protein, not all of those issues apply to everyone.  (Individuals that have kidney disease, those that are prone to kidney stones, or those who are extremely acidic, and young children should avoid extremely high protein diets.)  Perhaps that is why so many Americans struggle to reach their goal.  We are so confused about which foods are truly healthy, and we are easily influenced by the media's reaction to new science in regards to nutrition and overall health.  So before you increase the protein in your diet, make sure that it is low in fat, high quality and space out your intake over the course of the day.