The “Ribeye Effect”: A Case Study in Misleading Nutrition Advice
Why This Matters
When people struggle with weight loss, they often look for a simple explanation. That makes them vulnerable to catchy ideas dressed up in science. The problem isn’t just wasted effort—it’s the creeping belief that failure means you are broken, instead of the advice being flawed. This is why I’m taking apart public claims like the so-called “Ribeye Effect.” By showing how to spot exaggeration and misuse of science, my goal is to help you think critically and avoid getting misled.
The Claim
Candi Frazier of Primal Bod recently described something in an email I received she calls “The Ribeye Effect.” She argues:
Eating ribeye steak can cause blood sugar to spike (above 200 mg/dL).
The fat in ribeye “blunts insulin absorption,” requiring 3 to 10 times more insulin than lean meat.
This supposed effect explains why many women plateau on keto or carnivore diets.
She supports this idea by citing her husband’s Type 1 diabetes data from his continuous glucose monitor.
At first glance, it sounds convincing. But the details don’t hold up.
The Problems
Protein isn’t automatically turned into sugar. In healthy people, gluconeogenesis (making glucose from protein) is tightly regulated and only happens when needed—not as a guaranteed spike.
The “3–10× insulin” claim is unsupported. In Type 1 diabetes, high-fat/high-protein meals often cause delayed glucose rises, but that does not translate into a universal multiplier for insulin requirements.
Data from Type 1 diabetes cannot be generalized to everyone. A pancreas that doesn’t make insulin is very different from one that does. Healthy individuals regulate blood sugar automatically.
Sloppy use of science. Phrases like “saturating your body with fat-storing hormones” are not how physiology works. Insulin does regulate fat storage, but fat gain depends on energy intake, sleep, stress, and activity—not a single food.
Marketing overreach. Statements like “it works every time” and guaranteed weight loss numbers are not only unrealistic, they’re legally questionable without proper disclaimers.
The Truth
Protein-rich foods like steak support muscle and satiety. Only under specific conditions does protein contribute significantly to glucose levels, and it rarely produces dangerous spikes in non-diabetics.
Fat can delay digestion, and in people with diabetes, that can complicate insulin timing. But in those with normal insulin function, the body handles this balance naturally.
Plateaus in weight loss usually come from broader issues: eating more calories than realized (especially from energy-dense foods), lower non-exercise activity, stress, or poor sleep.
Insulin is part of the picture, but it’s not the only switch that determines fat gain or loss.
The Takeaway
Catchy names like “The Ribeye Effect” can make bad science sound like breakthrough insight. But oversimplified explanations create confusion and misplaced blame. If your weight loss has stalled, the solution is not demonizing ribeye steaks or inventing mysterious fat-storage effects—it’s looking at the bigger picture: energy balance, sleep, movement, and consistency.
The next time you see a claim that sounds too neat, stop and ask: Does this really explain the whole story, or is it just a sales pitch?