They say you can stave off hunger by making sure to have enough protein.
Well, I have plenty of that in my fridge. Per this logic, I should never want chocolate or candy.
Turns out I still do.
I also crave wine and other things that the body doesn't need.
Here’s something interesting. Protein is a net loss metabolically. It takes more energy to break down the structure than it gives back. Incomplete protein is processed into blood glucose and promotes metabolic syndrome in much the same way carbs and sugar do. If you want to avoid hunger, eat plenty of saturated fat. Fat inspires the hormone leptin to be produced and blocks the secretion of ghrelin the hormone that triggers hunger. Leptin produces satiety.
Last time I checked, protein is not a net loss. If it were, there would be nothing left to convert to blood sugar. Proteins do provide energy - albeit slightly less than carbs per gram. Proteins are broken down into amino acids and only a surplus of amino acids is converted into sugar.
Close. Incomplete proteins are surplus amino acids because synthesis of proteins for use by the body takes complete sets of amino acids. Energy and molecules aren’t the same thing. It takes energy to break chemical bonds. The net energy taken to break protein down is more than the energy provided by the resultant glucose, there is junk left over that has to be dealt with by the kidneys. Excessively high protein diets are taxing on your kidneys over long periods of time. Protein molecule on the left, glucose on the right. 
Ah, good point! Without enough essential amino acids, you’ll have a surplus of non-essential amino acids and the liver can only store so much, so your kidneys take the hit and have to get rid of it.
Just keep in mind that incomplete proteins =/= only non-essential amino acids. Incomplete proteins also contain essential proteins, just not all 9 of them. Though, I would need to look up actual breakdowns to get a feeling for the essential / non-essential ratios.
I did look up some more information on the metabolic cost of processing proteins and it seems like there are more energy costs involved than I was taught in uni. Next to breaking down proteins into amino acids, there’s also the conversion of amino acids into other amino acids, protein synthesis, folding, transportation, posttranslational modifications and other processes.
yes, excess protein leads to two things: ammonia production and conversion to glucose, depending on the ratios of aromatic ring containing amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan) and this pH raising can cause problems with blood solubility of all kinds of things
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