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Hold the cottage cheese.
Pro rugby player Ilona Maher — whose team won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics — spends plenty of time training to dominate on the pitch.
But there’s one fitness-focused diet trend that she thinks is a bit over-the-top — and she points to herself as evidence that it’s unnecessary.
A former athlete herself, Kylie Kelce complained about how “everything is trying to be high protein” on a June episode of her podcast, Not Gonna Lie, arguing that not everything needs added protein powder.
Maher was on the same page, and she’s no fan of a low-carb lifestyle either.
“I have a high-protein diet, but I also have probably the highest-carb diet ever,” the 29-year-old Bristol Bears player said. “I was raised on very high-carb diets. And carbs are really the energy that you need — that’s science, truly.”
That isn’t to say she doesn’t eat protein too.
“I get protein in for most meals, but I’m actually not as committed to the bit as I maybe could be. I think I could be leaner … if I was really focusing on protein. But I just don’t see — I think I’m fine,” she added.
A big issue for both women is the trend of swapping “real” food for protein-heavy substitutes. In recent years, for example, cottage cheese recipes have blown up on social media, with people using it in place of cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta and even mayo and butter.
It’s low in fat and high in protein, a combo that can keep you full, increase metabolism and preserve muscle mass. Plus, the curdling process creates bacteria that are good for your gut.
But Kelce said her concern is people blending up cottage cheese and pretending it tastes like ice cream.
“Don’t lie to yourself,” Maher added in agreement. “I saw a recent one, it was like protein tiramisu. She dips the rice cake in espresso and then she puts Greek yogurt on there. I was like, that’s not even f—-ing close!”
“I think we really lost the plot on that,” she said.
Though she is working to eat more protein at the urging of her dietitian, for her that means more “real food.”
“So after training I’ll have a quick protein shake — that’s very easy, quick protein. But if I can, I’m gonna have the eggs. I love like beef jerky,” she said.
“I just think, I mean maybe I’m wrong in science, but I don’t know if we need that much. Because I’m doing fine and I just had a bagel this morning.”
She’s not the first star to take issue with the high-protein craze. This month, Bethenny Frankel also called out the fad.
“The obsession with protein is an out-of-control fad that everyday people are fixated on as if they’re training for the Olympics,” she told The Post.
“They can also be calorie-dense. It’s another marketing gimmick like keto or carnivore or low carb or all the absurd fads I’ve witnessed over the years. Balance is key.”
In fact, studies show that there is such a thing as eating too much protein — and it can make you gain weight and clog your arteries.
“Consuming excessive protein, particularly from animal sources, raises insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels,” Dr. Joseph Antoun, CEO of the longevity company L-Nutra, previously told The Post.
Primarily produced in the liver, IGF-1 is a hormone, that plays a crucial role in promoting growth and regulating metabolism.
“While it’s essential in childhood and for muscle repair,” Antoun said, “chronically elevated IGF-1 in adults has been linked to accelerated biological aging and therefore an increased risk of age-related conditions, notably cancer.”