Downside of too much protein

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cstehansen
cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
When I lost most of my excess weight in 2015, it was through lower carb but staying fairly low fat and high protein. As I have learned through Dr Fung, you want to lose some "lean mass" because some of that is excess skin. Below is a pic from December 2015 where the facial wrinkles are quite pronounced. Then there is a pic from this December where the wrinkles are significantly reduced since being LCHF for the last 5 months. Losing the beard helped with making me look a bit younger as well, but wanted to show one example of why too much protein while losing weight is not a good thing.
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Replies

  • Patti2008
    Patti2008 Posts: 48 Member
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    Wow! Amazing change.
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
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    As a T2 diabetic, eating a low carb high protein diet can also result in a higher BG too. In my earlier attempts at going very low carb, I leaned too heavily on meat to overcome my carb cravings. It wasn't until I started swapping meat for fat that I really saw the BG plummet to new lows.
  • kimberlyb6682
    kimberlyb6682 Posts: 79 Member
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    wow it almost looks like 2 different people
  • asgentr
    asgentr Posts: 228 Member
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    No way! You look like a different person. Good advice.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
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    Thanks for sharing, very interesting!
  • SuperCarLori
    SuperCarLori Posts: 1,248 Member
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    Hey, high five! Congrats on your accomplishments!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    edited December 2016
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    I think you look great man, and congrats on your losses.

    I'm pretty skeptical of Fung's claim on this particular issue though. I don't think it's possible to somehow manipulate dietary protein in order to achieve protein breakdown and lean mass loss only in the skin. I would tend to think that if you're at the point that you're encouraging the loss of lean mass you'd also be risking unwanted lean mass loss to other areas as well.

    EDIT: I would tend to think that you'd be better off with higher protein intakes for collagen production which would (at least I would think) promote firmer skin.

    Either way, this isn't meant as a personal attack on you, you look great and congrats! I just am quite skeptical of the claim Fung is making.

  • MyriiStorm
    MyriiStorm Posts: 609 Member
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    @cstehansen that is fantastic!
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    I think you look great man, and congrats on your losses.

    I'm pretty skeptical of Fung's claim on this particular issue though. I don't think it's possible to somehow manipulate dietary protein in order to achieve protein breakdown and lean mass loss only in the skin. I would tend to think that if you're at the point that you're encouraging the loss of lean mass you'd also be risking unwanted lean mass loss to other areas as well.

    EDIT: I would tend to think that you'd be better off with higher protein intakes for collagen production which would (at least I would think) promote firmer skin.

    Either way, this isn't meant as a personal attack on you, you look great and congrats! I just am quite skeptical of the claim Fung is making.

    Losing muscle is not something that appealed to me. I consistently did/do strength training. I think this is key in not losing needed lean mass and only losing/primarily losing only the lean mass that is no longer needed.

    There is an older thread with a link for a study showing how the lean mass that is broken down will get repurposed within your body meaning you do not need as much in your diet as many people think.

    Like everything else here, YMMV, but while losing weight, I do see the value in lowering protein.
  • mandycat223
    mandycat223 Posts: 502 Member
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    Foamroller wrote: »
    ...
    I wonder if following the allegedly "heart healthy" diet of low sat fats and high plant and seed oils she taught us 30 yrs ago, made her even more wrinkly. She even talked about the "French Paradox". There's no paradox, only annoyingly inconsistent data contradicting Ancel Key's faulty conclusions.

    I'm secretly smiling at all the fake "anti-wrinkle" creams. Gimme some bacon and people think I'm a decade younger!

    I love that phrase "French Paradox." An entire nation has shown something to be false (i.e., eating low fat equals health and beauty) but somehow the demonstrable facts continue to amaze and confound the powers that be. It's like that old joke about "Who are you going to believe: me or your own lying eyes?"
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Wow! Congrats!
  • HomesteadGrandma
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    Wow! What an amazing difference! I've been concerned about weight loss causing me to look more wrinkled but after looking at these photos I feel much better. My sister lost a lot of weight using a low fat diet and a prescription diet pill (since gained most of it back) and in doing so she got very wrinkled. So far I've not had that problem except a bit in the neck area. These photos give me hope that I won't experience the wrinkling that she did.
  • Riche120
    Riche120 Posts: 154 Member
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    Awesome!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    That's great! You look wonderful; thanks for sharing!

    I did Dukan in the past to lose weight and I do remember noticing my facial skin getting visibly more wrinkled looking (I was 37 at the time; 3 years ago).

    I've now eaten LCHF for a year and I'm curious now to do a photo comparison compared to 3 years ago.
  • swezeytba
    swezeytba Posts: 624 Member
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    Wow! Who knew that LCHF could reverse wrinkles. Just another added bonus to this WOE!
  • RAC56
    RAC56 Posts: 433 Member
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    Wow! Congrats on looking 20 years younger! :)