Protein Shakes?

[Andeh13]

Iv just started going to the gym quite seriously, going 3 times a week for the last 2 weeks. A couple of the lads i go with take protein drinks 2-3 times a day & swear by them. Its a powder they mix with the milk.

They have suggested i try it but I wanted a second opinion. I am doing a lot of weights, and really pushing myself and i am concerned that my diet might not be able to keep up with my gym routine, but tbh i know nothing of these protein supplements.

Before i take the plunge, is there anything i should be worried about by taking extra protein? Is it be necessary seeing as im going 3 times a week?

thanks guys

[Jiff Lemon]

A lot depends on your current diet; I'd be looking at getting that right before supplementing it.

[SiM]

A lot depends on your current diet; I'd be looking at getting that right before supplementing it.

I agree, diet before supps. If you can get enough protein in your diet, then you do not require protein shakes anyway.

[Andeh13]

On a typical day i will have some fruit and/or cereal with a big class of juice/milk for breakfast, sandwhich/left overs from the night before (see dinner) and an innocent smoothie for lunch, and then spagbol/pasta bake/etc for dinner.


Its not a drastically healthy/unhealthy diet, but I cant see myself moving away from it due to time, money & cooking ability.

[LWA]

I use protein shakes as it's difficult to obtain the extra protein I need to develop muscle and put on weight (as I'm 6' 4").

I'd also recommend eating quorn products - they are very low in fat and have a good amount of protein in them.

[GSte]

Same as Big Leon, I drink one a day as I can't really consume enough protein otherwise (or even if I can, it gets boring fast. ).

The only downside to them is the cost, and also some of the sweeteners used in them seem a bit dodgy, particularly acesulfame K.

[Barakka]

At only a few weeks your body is still getting used to the weights, i'd see how you get n for now, but maybe try to eat something like a banana straight after training (within 30mins is best) - bananas are good because of their chemical structure, not just sugars like most fruit. If you find you are then getting really hungry around an hour later then maybe you need more than that.

As for Protein shakes, I tried them a long time ago, even made my own, found the protein bars much better though, but with my diet now wouldn't touch either.

If I need something like that after a session of weights I would have a Trek bar, made from nothing but raw fruit and nuts, but gives 11g of protein per bar, designed for hikers. A specialist protein bar would only have around 20g of protein (shakes around 18g), but contains milk products, and tons of additives and chemicals, plus about as much saturated fat as I would eat in a day.

I have several friends who are fitness professionals, working full-time as personal trainers, nutritionist etc and it's amazing how much myth there is around the whole industry - everybody's body is different and changes when you start changing what you do with it, go with what you feel works for you, not what everyone else does

[Theo]

On a typical day i will have some fruit and/or cereal with a big class of juice/milk for breakfast, sandwhich/left overs from the night before (see dinner) and an innocent smoothie for lunch, and then spagbol/pasta bake/etc for dinner.


Its not a drastically healthy/unhealthy diet, but I cant see myself moving away from it due to time, money & cooking ability.

Not enough protein in your diet tbh. A portion pasta bake/spag bol might only contain a small portion of meat.

Chicken/Beef/Turkey/Eggs. Centering a diet around whole foods is a great way to start. All of which can be bought relatively cheaply, depending on source. That's unless you're vegetarian.. which I can't be sure as you haven't mentioned meat at all in your diet!

Protein shakes are great to have with a cereal breakfast where protein is often ignored, after a workout to aid recovery, and before bed to aid growth/repair during the night.

[GSte]

If I need something like that after a session of weights I would have a Trek bar, made from nothing but raw fruit and nuts, but gives 11g of protein per bar, designed for hikers. A specialist protein bar would only have around 20g of protein (shakes around 18g), but contains milk products, and tons of additives and chemicals, plus about as much saturated fat as I would eat in a day.

Not meaning to be a troll here, but nuts don't contain complete protein..... and milk protein is fine afaik, though more slowly absorbed by the body than some other types.

[SiM]

Not meaning to be a troll here, but nuts don't contain complete protein..... and milk protein is fine afaik, though more slowly absorbed by the body than some other types.

That is not trolling! It's a good point. I never realised that nuts were incomplete... Not that incompleteness is a problem though, you can just eat it with something else (cheese/milk/meat/egg) and the snack/meal becomes complete

[Butcher]

I'd suggest eating more meals - around 6 smaller meals a day is better for you than having 3 big meals.

Don't forget fish either as a good protein source, tinned tuna is a cheap and easy way to get protein; you can have it in sandwiches or add it to a pasta meal easily.

[Prime]

if you can stomach it - take your shakes with water, it is absorbed by your body ALOT quicker than milk.
ive been going for 6 months now 6 days a week with my Brother who has been training for 10 years. he initially used Pro-mass as he was VERY skinny when he started training, along with his diet he got the weight he wanted and just over 2 years ago he changed to pro-peptides which have a slow protein release with zero carbs - purely for definition. when i started i bought pro-peptides and am VERY happy with it, i couldn't say for certain if my body change is aided by this but i trust my brothers judgement. he also has a 'Recovery' shake after every workout which has a HIGH sugar content to feed your worked muscles (i skip this).

what i would suggest is starting on Whey Protein (if you are not looking for mass) it is a FAST release protein and you can have upto five or 6 a day - its also not as expensive as pro-peptides so you can try it out and see for yourself without burning a too big a hole in your pocket.

[kalniel]

if you can stomach it - take your shakes with water, it is absorbed by your body ALOT quicker than milk.

I thought milk was water...

[Stringent]

I thought milk was water...

Thats skimmed milk!

TBH some Protein Powders taste better with water than milk, the milk is a little bit too sickly for me now. Don't use Maximuscle, good adverts but VERY expensive and you can get equivalents for cheaper and which last a lot longer.

[mrb_no1]

skimmed some of the other responces and apart from a few, didnt see anything particularly useful in response to your problem.

so here are a few rules of thumb that i used when i was a weightlifter in my younger years (25 now). For progressive muscle growth you want to aim for about 1 gram of protein per pound of muscle to start, when you get a little more serious that number increases to between 1.3 and 1.8 per pound depending on how often you are training and how quickly your body actually can actually recover with the right diet. To obtain the right amount of protein from a normal diet can be hard for a weightlifter who wants to put on muscle fast, and it can be incredibly expensive buying lean meats!

typical day for someone serious about muscle gain, as soon as you get up, 1 scoop of why with water and some honey so that the protein is sucked straight into the muscles. asap. Short gap of 30 mins(shower ****e shave n all) and then move to some slow release carbs like porridge and a shake (double scoop of whey with milk or water). Mid morning you can have another shake, some nuts, an apple.

Lunch can be tricky as it depends what you have access to at work, but a sandwich can be good, with chicken or turkey as the protein with salad, minimise dressings as some can be high in sat. fats.

Mid afternoon can be similar to your mid morning break, or if you workout straight afterwork you can take your pre workout shake.

Immediately after you train you want protein, if you want to do it properly then you want bcaa(branch chain amino acids) immediately, and then 20 mins later you want a protein shake with water as the 45 mins after your workout as most critical for protein absorbtion. The high sugar level isnt crucial as prime mentioned and is only for more hardcore lifters imo as your body will still rush that protein you drink to where its needed anyway.

almost everything prime mentioned above is correct, but pro peptides are expensive and for a 3 times a week guy arent necessary imho.

as for sources of whey, my protein(googleit) are very good and alot of lifters are turning to them as they are high quality cheaper protein in the market place, unlike the maximuscles of the world who charge to much and personally gave me the worst farts ever. you dont need creatine, you dont need a high sugar pre workout drink, protein as a pre workout will be perfect(mix with water so you dont feel bloated during the workout). dinner after training can be lean meats again, fish, chicken, turkey with a few carbs(new potatoes) but fill up on green veg like broccoli, cabbage, green beans and anything else you want like that as the calories wont negatively effect you no matter how late you eat them.

night time protein can be very useful, its very slow release protein (6hr digestion time) but may not be needed for you, try normal protein first, and see how your body reacts over 3 weeks or so.

Alot of what people say and hear on advice for things like this changes, science takes us so far and then people screw with combinations to find what works for them, so some will spit on what i've told you, but i tried to be as general as possible with what i've told you and my advice stems from years of reading professional publications and lifting with sports nutritionists who tell me exactly what to eat and when to get maximum results(information i havent bothered to add here as its too specific)

to answer your question in a few lines, use protein shakes, they are relatively harmless(-ve being the farts that ensue). It will help you achieve the gains that you are looking for!