In some cases, consumers are encouraged to replace their entire meals with a protein shake, in order to lose fat, whilst also building muscle. However, is this behaviour really healthy, or maintainable in the long-term?
I’m inclined to say no.
To state the obvious, I believe protein shakes should always be a ‘supplement’ that adds additional nutrients to someone’s diet, rather than someone’s sole calorific input.
This view is supported by science, with nutritionists frequently pointing out that, for all they contain generous amounts of protein, these shakes simply can’t contain all of the nutrients and anti-oxidants found in ‘real’ food. Moreover, the average shake contains just 200-400 calories. Even for someone who is on a diet, this is an extremely low amount of energy. For reference, the NHS recommends that dieting women should still aim to eat no less than 1400 calories a day, in order to lose weight at a safe rate, and dieting men should aim for 1900 calories. If someone ate less than a thousand calories of solid food in a day, they’d be accused of eating far too little, so I fail to understand why it’s become socially acceptable to eat this amount, as long as it’s in liquid form. Evidence suggests that protein shakes can take a considerable amount of time before they contribute to significant fat loss, so consumers may be expected to maintain this dangerously low calorific input for prolonged periods. Long-term, consuming excessive amounts of protein can actually be detrimental to our health, even increasing our risk of developing certain types of cancer. From a scientific perspective, it seems that using protein shakes as a meal substitute simply isn’t maintainable long-term.
However, my biggest problem with the protein shake trend is actually the fact it could lead to a seriously toxic relationship with food. Let’s face it- undertaking a liquid-only diet is an EXTREME measure to take for aesthetic purposes. If someone who appeared very thin said they lived off liquid, they would be accused of having an eating disorder, yet it’s somehow become socially acceptable for gym-goers to state this openly. Just because something is done in the name of “fitness”, doesn’t mean it’s not disordered behaviour.
As someone with a history of obsessive dieting, I can also almost guarantee that this behaviour is likely to lead to a cycle of bingeing. By the time you “allow” yourself to eat solid food again, you’re bound to be so hungry, and deprived of the foods you love, that there’s a tendency toward binge eating. This will inevitably lead to a cycle of restricting again, then bingeing again, over and over.
Society seems to have brainwashed us into believing that achieving an athletic physique is worth any extent of misery, hunger, and even damage to our bodies. At the end of the day, food is meant to be enjoyed.
In fifty years’ time, I firmly believe you’re more likely to regret denying yourself of the foods you loved, than not consuming enough protein.