In this solo video, JJ Virgin explains how the nutrition industry’s shifting focus—from low‑fat to low‑carb to high‑protein—has led to a flood of processed “high‑protein” foods that are actually high in sugar, carbs, and calories, undermining fat‑loss goals. She critiques five common product categories (protein shakes, protein‑fortified oatmeal, granola/protein bars and cookies, flavored Greek‑style yogurts, and high‑protein mac & cheese), providing exact nutrition facts for each (protein, sugar, carbs, calories) and highlighting why they are poor choices. For each, she offers concrete, lower‑sugar alternatives: Koya plant‑based protein drinks, Reignite Wellness shakes, homemade gluten‑free oats with protein powder and RxSugar (allulose), Caramel Calm bars sweetened with allulose, Siggi’s plant‑based coconut yogurt or plain Greek yogurt with RxSugar, and chickpea/lentil pasta paired with grass‑fed beef and marinara. Throughout, she stresses the importance of reading labels, using low‑glycemic sweeteners (allulose/RxSugar), and choosing whole‑food protein sources to support fat loss and metabolic health. The video ends by directing viewers to a cheat sheet and a follow‑up video on the nine best foods for faster fat loss.
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Remember the '80s and '90s when fat was the bad guy? Everything you were eating was supposed to be fat-free. I don't know about you, I was starving all the time because of it. And we were supposed to graze all day long on these carbs, potatoes and bread and biscotti and muffin. Then it flip-flopped over to the 2000s. Carbs were the bad guys and everything was about fat. Fueling with fat, slathering butter on your steak, even putting it in your coffee. Now the attention has gone to protein, and rightfully so, because for years I was like, why are we focusing so much on these wars between carbs and fat and missing the most important macronutrient out there? So we're focused on eating more protein, and thankfully we're questioning the RDA and those crazy outdated protein recommendations that don't take into account things like our protein needs changing as we age due to anabolic resistance. But along with now getting more protein, we're seeing weird stuff coming out in the supermarket. Crazy high protein foods, chips, Pop-Tarts, cookies, ice cream, even mac and cheese. I kid you not. Now I want you increasing your protein. I've got a great cheat sheet for you to help you out and do that, but I don't want you to be fooled by high protein health food posers. So I'm gonna uncover some of the worst culprits I found and what you can do instead. First dishonorable mention, Bold House Farms Protein Plus Chocolate Shake. Now here's the thing, sometimes you just need a quick grab and go type of thing. So this kind of looks good. It says Protein Plus Chocolate, 30 grams of protein. Here's what they don't tell you. This is 400 calories of which 49 grams of this are sugar, 55 grams of carbs. That's more than a soda. And what do we have for the first ingredients? Milk. Water, and da da da, cane sugar. So what do you do if you are out and you want a grab-and-go protein drink? Here's a couple that I really like. The one I love is Koya, plant-based protein drink, 190 calories, and it has got 18 grams of protein and then a prebiotic fiber, cocoa powder. Way down here is organic cane sugar, and there's only 4 grams of added sugar and 7 grams of fiber. If you're home, Use one of my protein shakes from Reignite Wellness, paleo-inspired. If you're plant-based, plant-based. So do not be fooled. Dishonorable mention. This is like putting protein in a cola and thinking it's healthy. Ah, oatmeal. God, one of the most controversial foods on the internet. Is it peasant food or is it heart-healthy? Which is it? Well, it's definitely not heart-healthy here, even though it says it's protein-packed. This one's got 14 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber. So far it sounds good, except that it's got 12 grams of sugar in it for 230 calories. It doesn't have to be this way. Here's what you do instead. Get your own gluten-free oatmeal. Remember, make sure it's gluten-free. That means it's not been processed in a plant with other things containing gluten. So here I've got old-fashioned rolled oats. You can also get steel-cut oats. And all you need to do to pump up the protein is add in some protein powder. You can do plant-based, you can do paleo-inspired from my company, Reignite Wellness.. And if you want to add a little bit of sweet, here is an amazing hack you may not know about. It's called RxSugar. RxSugar is allulose, and this lowers your blood sugar. And this is a great thing to combine with oatmeal that might bring your blood sugar up a little bit more than you want. RxSugar will counteract that and give you that sweet that you want if you were going for this Kodiak one that's loaded with sugar. So you get all the goodness None of the badness. By making it yourself, you save money too. So this dishonorable mention goes to Kodiak oatmeal. Granola bars. Sometimes it's just really easy to take a bar, put it into your purse or briefcase. I call it emergency food so you never end up in trouble. So granola bar here, this Kodiak granola bar, 10 grams of protein, 11 grams of sugar. Come on, man. And 26 grams of carbs, 210 calories. But I gotta do another one since we're on these easy grab-and-gos, cuz this seems kind of compelling. It's a Complete Cookie. Like, I've always looked at these in the store, these protein cookies, and go, huh, sounds good, white chocolate flavored macadamia. All right, except when you look at the reality of it, it's 480 calories, 16 grams of protein, and wait for it, 22 grams of sugar. So let's trade these out for a way better choice here, my Caramel Calm protein bar. And here's what's awesome about these. They're also made with allulose. And allulose is this really cool therapeutic sugar that doesn't raise blood sugar, insulin, doesn't really have any calories, and lowers your blood sugar too. So delicious, tastes great. This is one you want to carry with you. I really love the idea of carrying emergency food with you so that you are never stuck somewhere, get hungry, and end up eating something like this. Or this. Keep the good stuff with you. All right, you've heard about Greek-style yogurt, super high in protein. So you go to the store and you go, oh, these ones look good. Wow, this Greek yogurt caramel sundae or the cookies and cream. Hopefully before you buy them, you read the label and you went, whoa. All right, well, this is 10 grams of protein, 190 calories, and 19 grams of added sugars. So what do we do instead? Here's some choices. Number 1, if you're plant-based or dairy intolerant, I love this Siggi's plant-based coconut yogurt. They added in some pea protein, and so you get 11 grams of protein in this one, and you only get 4 grams of added sugar. Or if you're not dairy intolerant, then get yourself some Greek-style yogurt. And if you want to sweeten it up a bit, throw in some RX Sugar, because this is going to give you the sweet without any of the bad effects. In fact, I try to add allulose into my daily diet because it lowers your blood sugar response to a meal. So it's a great way to sweet and also help your blood sugar balance. Okay, this is the one that really threw me for a loop. Seriously, Muscle Mac high protein mac and cheese. There's just some things that you don't mess with, and I think mac and cheese is just one of those ones. This one has 400 calories in it, 20g of protein, and 63 carbs. So this is just like a bomb in here. Now If you want some pasta, there's so many great choices out there. Like check out both of these. This is a great source of protein and fiber. How about some grass-fed beef and marinara sauce to up the protein? Boom. Next one you could do same type of thing here. 10 grams of protein for the 2-ounce serving of these plant-based protein. So there's some great options here for you. This is if you are not gluten intolerant. This one is a great chickpea one. Lots of fiber. So here's the deal— mac and cheese, I just don't think that's one of those things we mess with. But if you do want to eat some pasta, you can get yourself some skinny noodles. If you're looking for high protein, get yourself some chickpea or lentil noodles, and then add in some grass-fed beef and some marinara sauce for the win. Before you get overwhelmed now, wondering like, what the heck should I actually eat? Well, let me guide you with this next video where I share the 9 best foods you should eat for better and faster fat loss.
