![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMGP0049.JPG\"\/)
<\/p>\nThe duo deadpanned at the camera. On the other side of the gym, the group had moved on to half-hearted dumbbell lunges.<\/p>\n
Then, finally, it was time for protein. The proteinmaxxers leapt on the buffet, heaping spoonfuls of hummus and shreds of rotisserie chicken onto paper plates. They unwrapped jerky and grabbed slices of cold cuts. The crinkle of protein bars being unwrapped blended with the jostle of conversation. Someone cracked a raw egg directly into their mouth. Aitor filmed as 23-year-old Jason Paz estimated how much protein was in each item.<\/p>\n
\u201cForty grams,\u201d he says, pointing to a rotisserie chicken breast. \u201cEleven grams,\u201d he says, pointing to one of the cups of Chobani.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Photo by Sam Stone<\/p>\n
But although he seemed to be a macronutrient guru, Paz wasn\u2019t particularly concerned with proteinmaxxxing. \u201cI like to work out,\u201d he tells me. \u201cMost of the time it\u2019s just sprinting to work. Or just sprinting when I feel like it.\u201d But protein? Meh. \u201cI just know I have to eat well, eat enough, and eat when my body demands it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His ambivalence toward protein was not unique. \u201cProtein is gross,\u201d says Mabi Moeng, a 22-year-old paralegal. \u201cIt comes across my mind sometimes, but I\u2019m not thinking about protein all day,\u201d 21-year-old Jline Inez confesses. Pen Gerow was just passing through town, and like many other attendees, he mostly came to meet new people. The protein was simply a bonus. \u201cI was hungry,\u201d he says. No one at the Protein Slop Potluck could possibly care less about protein.<\/p>\n
Except Francisco Pincay, one of the few potluckers in real sweat-wicking workout clothes, who told me he dutifully eats at least 170 grams of protein every day. Sometimes that\u2019s in the form of shakes, steaks, chicken, or fish. Other times, it means full-on protein slop: a bowl full of whatever protein you can find, some carbs, and a drizzle of hot sauce. \u201cMix it up, and that\u2019s the dog bowl,<\/a>\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The duo deadpanned at the camera. On the other side of the gym, the group had moved on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[76665,17,232,9,56,63,65,64,19769,4967],"class_list":{"0":"post-191576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-bon_appetit","9":"tag-culture","10":"tag-lifestyle","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-nyc-headlines","15":"tag-nyc-news","16":"tag-textabovecenterfullbleed","17":"tag-trends"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}