Diet culture and health fads have long been accepted into mainstream culture, influencing what we eat and how we talk about our bodies. In recent years, the conversation around “healthy eating” has most notably gravitated toward protein intake. To preface this article, I am not a dietician, nor even a health studies student, just a person who overanalyzes everything I see on social media. However, with every new “solution” to health and eating, our once well-meaning attempt at nutrition has once again dissolved into obsession and shame around food.

For us frequent-scrollers on Instagram, Tik Tok, and other social media platforms, cooking and health videos have demonstrated a sharp uptick in “high protein meals/snacks,” boasting numbers such as 35 grams of protein for only 350 calories and no added sugar. The goal of eating has become to maximize protein intake and reduce caloric intake. The rationale behind this mindset differs from person to person, from wanting to build muscle to wanting to stay full longer, but the methods are always the same.

This phenomenon is built on the concept of swapping out the food you enjoy for a food you’ll enjoy less but that will be slightly better for you. This is great in theory. But in practice, people become hypercritical of their own and other people’s eating habits, finding ways to shame themselves out of eating the food they like. What was once a thoughtful and deliberate approach to eating transitions into restrictive and ultimately mentally and physically harmful practices. I frequently see both social media content creators and casual commentators alike apologizing and lamenting over not choosing the healthiest/highest-in-protein meal option, and sharing their guilt for noteating more protein with every possible meal or snack.

Brands are catering to this guilty obsession. Now, coffee chains are offering “protein cold foam,” and grocery stores are carrying “protein cheesecake” and “protein bread.” At the end of the day, our unrelenting fixation on health will always be capitalized on by the brands and corporations catering to our demands. Our obsession with shaming our eating habits and hating ourselves for not doing the absolute best we can in every situation is more beneficial for the CEOs offering “solutions” to our craze than it is to us in our everyday lives.

I’m not saying that protein is bad for you, nor am I saying that eating a little more of it couldn’t be beneficial. What I am saying is that hyperfixating on one aspect of nutrition while deprioritizing everything else is ultimately worse for you than “not always eating enough protein.” The stress around eating is enough to drive anyone crazy and makes “healthy” eating less accessible or sustainable for the vast majority of people. The average person does not have the time, money or energy to plan every meal to its peak nutritional potential and that’s okay. Not every piece of food we put into our body must be high-protein, high-fiber, low-calorie, no-sugar, no-joy. It is perfectly acceptable to eat something because you like it, because it’s comforting, because it’s convenient, because it’s cheap, or because that’s all you have in the house. You do not have to feel guilty about your eating habits. Protein is important! But it is also important to acknowledge that the role protein plays in nutrition is not the end-all-be-all of food. So let this be a reminder that if you didn’t eat enough protein today, that does not make you unhealthy, and don’t let any person or any brand make you feel like it.