BIG FOOD GETS JACKED

HOW PROTEIN MANIA TOOK OVER THE AMERICAN GROCERY STORE.

- Chris Gayomali

A few years ago, dreading the slow but inevitable approach of my 40s, I began working out five times a week. I became one of those guys who know what a psoas is and settled on a preferred brand of moisture-wicking T-shirt. And a brand-new fear wormed its way into my subconscious: the worry I wasn't getting enough protein.

Put simply, despite my virtuous exercise habits, I still felt like shit most of the time.

After rigorous research (listening to some health podcasts), I figured that eating more protein would give me more energy and steer the fragile container that is my body in the right direction. I decided to shoot for 120 grams daily: a nice round number that, according to online macro calculators, still felt ambitious for someone of my modest stature. But hitting that number, I soon found, required a moment-to-moment calibration that structured the rhythms of my day. Let's call it low-grade protein anxiety.

At the grocery store, I wouldn't even look at a product if it didn't promise me double digits. Despite our lack of cabinet space, I started to purchase enormous tubs of whey protein and collagen. I started cooking a lot more meat-especially grass-fed beefwhich required me to meal plan carefully and treat our freezer like a Jenga puzzle. At the bodega, I found myself drawn to items like the Core Power Elite High Protein Milk Shake, which contains 42 grams of protein, the rough equivalent of a six-ounce sirloin.