6 Protein Myths Costing You Progress and Money

Free stock photo from Pexels.com.

1. “As a trans man, you need less protein than cis men.”

Protein needs aren’t based on sex, but on body mass.

To be truly anal, they’re based on lean mass, but, since this is hard to estimate, most scientific recommendations are based on body mass.

The point is, you don’t need a certain amount of protein because you’re a cis or trans man, a cis or trans woman, or a non-binary person.

You need a certain amount of protein because of your body mass.

Trans men tend to be shorter and lighter than cis men, so their protein requirements are usually lower on average, but the reason isn’t their sex.

If you’re a trans man and you have a similar weight and body composition to another cis man, your protein requirements will also be similar.

Having said that, some research suggests that females may need less protein than males relative to their lean mass.

For instance, this paper by Refalo and colleagues shows that females may need less protein to maintain muscle mass in a deficit.

However, as far as I know, there isn’t yet enough high-quality data on this topic, we don’t know for sure why this difference may exist, and the discrepancies in protein requirements in the papers I’ve seen so far don’t seem significant.

That’s why, until more data emerges, I’m still recommending protein targets based on body mass, not sex.

Caveat: If you’re overweight or have obesity, you can use your goal bodyweight instead of your current bodyweight to calculate your protein needs, so you don’t get an unnecessarily high recommendation.

The Masc/Fem Physique Blueprint includes a guide on how to work out your protein needs.

If you’re a bit nerdy, I also have an article on protein needs here.

2. “This expensive high-protein Babybel is better than standard Babybels.”

Not all that says “high-protein” on the packaging is worth the extra money.

For example, a high-protein Babybel contains 48 kcals and 5.2g protein. In the UK, they cost £20.42 per kilogram.

A Babybel light contains 42 kcals and 5g protein… and costs £14.45 per kilogram.

Don’t get me wrong, some “high-protein” products are great.

For example, high-protein pasta made of legumes or lentils is great because it usually packs about twice the protein as standard pasta (and a ton of fibre, too).

But other products are just a costly scam.

The bottom line: Compare nutrition labels before investing your hard-earned money into a supposedly “high-protein” product.

Bonus: If you want to watch me rant about this, click here.

3. “Source of protein” vs “High protein”

In the UK and EU, food manufacturers can label a food as:
 

• “A source of protein” when “at least 12% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.”
• “High-protein” when “at least 20% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.”

 
By this logic, peanut butter can be labelled as “a source of protein” because it contains ~25g of protein (100 kcals) and ~600 kcals per 100g.

But is it a meaningful source of protein?

Not really.

A typical serving of 15 to 30g of peanut butter contains 90-180 kcals and 4-8g protein.

4g of protein in a 90-calorie portion is a pretty shitty calorie-to-protein ratio.

As another example, due to these regulations, protein balls like this product can be marketed as “high-protein,” even though they only contain 10g of protein per 181-calorie portion.

In comparison, the average protein bar contains ~20g protein and ~240 kcals.

To hit 20g of protein with these protein balls, you’d need to consume 360 kcals – again, a pretty shitty calorie-to-protein ratio.

For this reason, don’t rely on marketing terms like “a source of protein” or “high-protein” when choosing your protein sources.

Instead, use the calorie-to-protein ratio: How much protein and how many calories do you get per portion of a certain food?

For example, chicken breast contains 106 kcals and 24g of protein per 100g. This is an excellent calorie-to-protein ratio – far better than peanut butter and protein balls.

As a handy rule of thumb for when you’re dieting and don’t want to blow too many calories on protein, foods with the best calorie-to-protein ratio contain ~20g protein per 100-kcal portion.

Some examples:
 

• Chicken breast
• Egg whites
• 0% fat Greek yogurt
• Whey isolate and clear whey isolate

 
4. “Animal protein is better than plant-based protein.”

Five years ago or so, I used to believe that animal-based protein sources were “superior” because they’re all “complete,” meaning they contain all the essential amino acids in the right quantities to maximise muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

On the other hand, most plant-based sources are incomplete.

However, recent evidence (example 1, example 2) suggests that, as long as your total daily protein intake is high enough, animal- and plant-based protein produce similar results.

Having said that, when your protein is low, protein quality seems to become more important. For example, if you’re only eating 50g of protein per day, you’d benefit most from sources with a complete amino acid profile.

In this case, animal-based protein has an edge.

However, the amino acid profiles of plant-based protein sources can complement each other: by eating a variety of these sources, you can end up with a similar amino acid profile as animal-based protein.

In summary, to get the most from plant-based protein:
 

• Eat the right amount of total daily protein for your goals to neutralise the differences between animal- and plant-based protein
• Eat a range of different plant-based protein sources across the day to create a complete amino acid profile (you can Google complementary plant-based sources if you’re interested)

 
5. “Collagen is a great protein source.”

It isn’t.

Collagen is classified as an incomplete protein because it lacks tryptophan, one of the nine essential amino acids.

It’s also very low in leucine, isoleucine, and valine (collectively known as BCAAs), which are critical for muscle protein synthesis.

Unfortunately, collagen has been getting a lot of hype in the last couple of years, so food manufacturers have been adding it to protein powders and bars, and charging more for it, like this product, which is about three times more expensive than a well-known UK-based whey protein powder brand.

Beware of this marketing strategy.

It seems like a quality boost, but it’s really just a costly downgrade.

While I did mention that incomplete protein sources can be part of a high-protein diet, marketing collagen as though it’s the same or better than whey, casein, soy, or a vegan pea-and-rice blend is incorrect.

So, if you’re going out of your way to purchase a protein powder or bar, I’d steer clear of collagen.

Not only are you likely to be paying a premium because of the hype. It’ll also probably be worse for muscle protein synthesis than the same product formulated with a cheaper protein source, like whey or soy.

6. “The phytoestrogens in soy will affect your estrogen production.”

Yet another myth – and one that can give you a headache as a trans person.

According to research, soy isoflavones don’t seem to have a significant impact on human estrogen in the amounts most people usually consume, including vegetarians and vegans.

To all my trans and cis men and masculine-leaning readers: Don’t worry, soy protein won’t make you any less manly.

And to all my trans and cis women and feminine-leaning readers: I’m sorry, but soy won’t meaningfully increase your estrogen production.

As one of the few plant-based protein sources with a complete amino acid profile, soy protein is excellent in all its forms – protein powder, tofu, etc. – but it’s not so powerful as to affect hormones.
 
In summary:
 

1. Protein requirements are based on body mass (or lean mass if we’re being anal).
2. “Protein” products aren’t all worth the extra money.
3. The labels “Source of protein” and “High-protein” may be correct by law, but they’re useless in practice.
4. Plant-based protein is comparable to animal-based protein under the right circumstances.
5. Collagen is a shit protein source.
6. Soy won’t affect your estrogen production.

Thank you for reading. May you make great gains.
 
Download my free copy of The Masc/Fem Physique Blueprint: a set of four programs to choose from, with an evidence-based guide to training and nutrition for your goal physique.
 
To receive fitness articles like this every week, sign up for my newsletter.

To learn how to develop an effective mindset for long-term fat loss success, sign up for my free email course, No Quit Kit.

For more audiovisual content, check out my podcast on all audio platforms or on YouTube.