Choosing the Right Protein Powder for Fast, Lasting Fat Loss
15 Dec 2025 · 9 min
JJ Virgin argues whey protein causes insulin spikes and lactose issues, recommending plant-based blends with pea, rice, chlorella, and chia instead, or defatted grass-fed beef protein for fat loss.
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Welcome to the Virgin Diet lifestyle show with your host, celebrity nutrition and fitness expert and New York Times bestselling author.
JJ Virgin whey protein for weight loss. I say no whey. In this show, I'm going to share why I tell my clients to walk away from the whey and some better options out there for protein shakes. So why do I say no whey? Well, here's why. And this one, honestly, this is a shocker. Whey can raise insulin more than a piece of white bread. What does that mean? Well, when insulin's up, the message to your body is store fat. Now, I'm guessing you're drinking whey shakes because you want to lose fat, not store it. So the last thing you want to do is have the Ray's insulin message go into your body. Next, whey contains traces of lactose. Okay, so lactose, here's a big deal with this. Lactose intolerance, which is a genetic condition, affects 25% of the people in the United States and 75% of the people worldwide. So whey contains traces, but dried whey, which is a common food additive, contains almost 77% lactose. And with lactose intolerance, it just takes a little bit to create a huge problem. And if you have lactose intolerance, you know exactly what I mean there, it's not pretty. The other thing that whey contains is a little bit of casein. And when I did food intolerance testing with people, I found that 70% of people seem to react to casein, a protein in dairy. And whey is dairy, by the way, which leads me to my next point. Whey can trigger or exacerbate food intolerances. So what is a food intolerance? Well, genetics, like the lactose intolerance, Right. Immune like that, delayed food reaction to casein, and hormonal, like the insulin response that you get from eating whey. Those are all different food intolerances. And how do you know if you have those? A couple different things happen. Number one, gas and bloating, joint pain, headaches, skin problems. A huge correlation, by the way, with Dairy intake and skin problems, food cravings. Casein, as we know, actually has a drug like effect on your brain and can make you crave even more of it. But we tend to crave the very foods that are hurting us. You can't lose weight no matter what. You have fatigue. All these things we've been taught to think of as normal for us are actually signs of food intolerance and can be actually signs that whey is not working for you. In the virgin diet, I have you take that whey out. I'm going to show you some other things to substitute it with so that you can flip this around very quickly. Now, another challenge is whey is often very cheaply produced and has added sugars and other additives that can be problematic. So I'm assuming that you're using whey to start your day with a morning protein shake. So what can you use instead? Okay, there's two different options here. You can either go plant based or animal based. So I'm going to talk first about plant based options, what you want to have, what you should avoid at all costs. Because again, I don't want to trade one bad thing for another bad thing. So please don't trade your whey for soy, because soy based proteins are just as problematic, probably more so because they can actually lower thyroid function and they're estrogenic. So again, just like whey can tell you to store fat, soy can tell you to lower your metabolism and store fat. Bad. So don't do the soy. But here's some good options. Pea and rice and chlorella and chia are my favorites. Hemp's one too, but it's got higher carbohydrates. So I tend to go with the pea, rice, chlorella or chia. And by the way, if you can get a plant based blend as opposed to just a plant based single. Tough to say. I prefer that because all of these plant based shakes tend to have kind of weird mouth feels. But if you get a blend tends to taste better and also it's going to lower the possible reactivity. You know, when you eat the same type of protein on a regular basis, you tend to develop issues with it. So by having a blend, your JJ virgin here.
Okay, real talk.
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I'm going to share one that I really love. So if you do better with clean lean animal protein, again, I want you to avoid the dairy, so whey or milk protein and I want you to avoid the egg because just like I found all those people reacting to dairy, I find a lot of people react to egg protein as well. So it wouldn't be something you'd want to use on a regular basis. If you can handle egg, it's something you rotate into your diet. What I love I found a new animal based protein. I'm going to give you some buildup here that's very bioavailable. It has the same bioavailability as an egg but without that reactivity. So there's none of that allergenicity that you tend to get. And because of the way it's produced, it also has collagen that's great for your hair, skin and nails, your connective tissue. But more importantly than that, because you know you gotta love the shake you're using every single day. That's one of the challenges with a lot of these shakes. They have all these added sugars and stuff because hey, otherwise they taste crappy and you won't use them. This has the mouthfeel of a milkshake without the downsides of whey. Wanna know what it is? Defatted grass fed beef protein. And again it's not gonna taste like you're drinking a burger. It has the mouthfeel of a milkshake but with all those benefits of great amino acid profile, very bioavailable and it's not gonna create fat food intolerance over time. So there's your great transition over to either a plant based or an animal based shake. Getting rid of that whey. You know my number one needle mover strategy on the Virgin diet is to start the day with a high quality protein shake. And of course the protein you choose makes all the difference. So you've got to be sure to say no way and choose one of the healthier options I've just shared with you. If you'd like a free transcript of today's show, text 58885 and enter way spelled WH space your first name, put another space and your email address. Again the number is 58885 and then you enter whey. Put a space, your first name space and your email address. In the Virgin Diet I have you swap seven foods for three weeks to uncover your hidden food intolerance so that you can finally lose the weight and feel better fast. Why wait? Start that three weeks today.
Hey everyone, did you like this episode? Be sure to subscribe for the next one and tell a friend. If you'd like world class training and cutting edge information, visit thevirgindiet.com foreigners this.
Is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading Next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything you'll learn something about yourself as a reader, and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So so join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website what Should I read next podcast.com to find out more.
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