Protein Shake??
 

Anybody doing weight training taking protein shakes with their eating plans? I've just started weight training and found that I am now getting hungry on my current eating plan and was thinking of adding a good quality protein shake as part of my program. Any advice?

Originally Posted by size8:
Anybody doing weight training taking protein shakes with their eating plans? I've just started weight training and found that I am now getting hungry on my current eating plan and was thinking of adding a good quality protein shake as part of my program. Any advice?

I use Promasil Chocolate Soft Serve or Vanilla Soft Serve shake - I just mix a scoop with cold water and stir; tastes good! It has no carbs, 90 calories and 20 grams of protein per scoop. It's a little expensive. I'd head over to GNC and ask for a recommendation. There's just so many products out there.

Only in a crunch. I find a 100g chicken breast/salmon (pre-cooked) keeps me full longer and is better quality. Protein shakes were designed for bodybuilders who need 4000-5000 calories+ a day and couldn't eat that much food. There are more filling alternatives for us small girls.

I find that the Carb AdvantEDGE works for me....tastes good and not all that pricey. I want to say 100 (maybe 110 calories) and only 3 net carbs.

I take one scoop of Amplified Wheybolic Extreme from GNC after resistance training. I don't track carbs so I don't know how many it contains, but it's only about 90 calories and the strawberry tastes pretty good. It definitely makes a difference in my soreness level the next day. The important thing with whatever you choose is to keep in mind that most of the serving suggestions on the packages are directed towards big guys--you probably don't need that much (the serving size for my protein is 3 scoops). Getting advice from a supplement store is hit or miss depending on who you speak with. When I first went to GNC asking for protein, the guy assumed I wanted soy, which I did NOT want.

I love Muscle Milk made with Almond milk. Its Yummy!

Thanks for the feedback guys. The protein shake has resolved my hunger problems and the weight is still going down :)

I just make a protein shake my lunch/meal after a work out. I just did that now.

I had 1 cup of lowfat, plain yogurt, a cup of fruit (berries) and a scoop of whey protein and 2 tablespoons of ground flax all whirred together. Comes to about 400 calories and is SO DELICIOUS! It's like ice cream! YUM!!!! And it keeps me filled up for a long time.

To answer OPs question:

Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey, great for a snacky supplement or post-workout recovery.

or

Optimum Gold Standard 100% Casein, great "slow burning" protein to end the day after some heavy lifting, or to kick start your morning with some protien.

Originally Posted by sacha:
Protein shakes were designed for bodybuilders who need 4000-5000 calories+ a day and couldn't eat that much food.

100 million percent false. Protein is super important, even for ladies who aren't bodybuilding macho dudes. Sometimes it just isn't practical, or it just gets boring, eating your daily protein intake. Thus supplementing with shakes is a great easy alternative.

The amount of protein intake of course depends on your current diet plan, BMR, and how much you workout. That being said, protein shakes are for everyone and anyone.

(When I was in the middle of lifting heavy and dropping gobs of bodyfat I was doing 2 shakes a day, plus what I'd actually eat. Protein is so filling sometimes its hard to get the chewable macros in.)

Originally Posted by sacha:
There are more filling alternatives for us small girls.

True. Do what works for you, and for smaller-frame ladies protein can take away a good chunk from the actually chewable calories you can consume, and that sucks.

Huge Important Note! Protein shakes aren't an excuse to stick a bunch of stuff in a blender and go crazy, that is what bodybuilders do to get protien and calories in to gain mass. I would say most people here aren't interested in gaining mass so: Protein shakes, as a supplement, should be as low calorie as possible, you want protien not calories. It should be a powder of choice (like the delicious recommendations above), with as much protein per gram as possible, and some water . . . shaken not stirred, just how I like my martinis. The Optimum Nutrition is 25g of excellent quality protein per serving, and only 130 calories, so much bang for your nutritional buck. :carrot:

^
I second Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey. I get the Rich Chocolate and the Vanilla Ice Cream flavors. I have tried other flavors but I do like to mix stuff with my shakes. I mix my shakes with milk instead of water (since I do not drink milk alone, I need some calcium boost). I mix in a banana or peanut butter with the chocolate. For the vanilla, I have a spinach/kiwi/green recipe or I mix strawberry & banana.

My ex-boyfriend was into body building and did a TON of research on the best protein shake. Conclusion was shakes that used whey protein isolates and this brand tended to be the best quality (for it's price), and ratings.

Any opinions on Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein?

Originally Posted by There Is No Try:


100 million percent false. Protein is super important, even for ladies who aren't bodybuilding macho dudes. Sometimes it just isn't practical, or it just gets boring, eating your daily protein intake. Thus supplementing with shakes is a great easy alternative.

We might be getting into semantics here but...

Not FALSE. Protein shakes were designed as a SUPPLEMENT for sports which have since crossed over into the diets of 'regular' folks. Nobody was meant to drink protein isolates as part of a regular normal every day diet. WEIDER NUTRITION decades ago was meant as a sports line and not for Walmart shelves or regular women/people.

It's fine for the average population, but it was never meant for them. I've been powerlifting for years, and I use them daily starting a few weeks ago as I head into a competition.

A statement like this is hard to get lost in semantics:

Originally Posted by sacha:
Protein shakes were designed for bodybuilders who need 4000-5000 calories+ a day and couldn't eat that much food.

I'm not sure how you can suggest that women shouldn't have protein shakes, but yet use it yourself to help reach higher performance levels in powerlifting. Are the women who don't powerlift competitively not good enough to use protein? Of course not. You don't need to be on 4000 calorie diet to benefit from a protein shake. You don't need to powerlift to benefit from a protein shake. And if a lady is asking about protein supplements then hot damn is she heading in the right direction and away from all this "low-fat-soy-I-just-want-to-tone" mumbo jumbo thats plagued the women's fitness realm.

Originally Posted by sacha:
Nobody was meant to drink protein isolates as part of a regular normal every day diet.

True. However 100 years ago humans also didn't have access to a supermarket full of asiels and asiles of processed foods. Even the "healthy" food stores are guilty of selling products that humans really weren't designed to consume (I'm looking at you refined carbohydrates). Whether its chicken or some isolates mixed with water, at least your choosing protein which even fitness-conscious women sometimes seem to be afraid of.

Originally Posted by sacha:
It's fine for the average population, but it was never meant for them.

It is fine, so let the average population use it. If a person is doing lifting or athletic exercise on the regular, why couldn't they supplement some protein?

There Is No Try,

I never said women shouldn't use them. I said that is what they were originally designed for. And they were. You are completely minsinterpreting my statement, I am not saying "do not use protein shakes, only bodybuilders use them". I am saying "they were originally designed for bodybuilders who needed to supplement high calorie diets and therefore are not optimal for the average woman who eats in a deficit, as liquid digests faster". 30g protein of a powder and 30g protein in a chicken breast will satiate a person completely differently.

Has anyone tried the MyProtein Diet Whey before? I have some on order which should be here soon. Vanilla Cookie flavour. This is my first time trying a protein powder.