Protein Shakes....Or Not

ejuliano85
ejuliano85 Posts: 43 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am starting Beach body Focus T25 on Monday. I have put together a meal plan and am going to clean out my junk food and buy new groceries this weekend. I plan on doing my workout at 5:30 am before work and it seems like drinking a shake right after the workout is the best idea.

Beach body seems to push Shakeology. I am sorry, but I am not going to pay $120 a month on shakes. I have read a lot about them and a vegan protein shake or even Whey protein shakes are a great alternative. I guess I don't know if using a shake as my breakfast replacement is actually going to help. I want to eventually lose about 50 pounds. I don't plan on using the nutrition guide it comes with mostly because I am a picky eater, but I am going to try to stick to the recommended calories.

Any advice or experience with protein shakes would be great. Just wanted to hear other people's successes or failures with it.

Replies

  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    Yeah, Shakeology is really overpriced for what you get. You can take a multi-vitamin and a a whey shake and it's roughly the same thing.

    To use a shake or not is really simple and boils down to filling your protein requirements. Can you do it with food alone? If yes, then you may not need them unless you're in a situation where you need a quick shake on the run or a shake to mix some fruit and coconut oil or something to fill a meal. Some people have a large calorie target to hit and can't always get 100% of their protein from food, so supplementing is often necessary.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    I'm personally not a fan of protein shakes / powders, although they're a cheap and convenient way to get extra protein. Personally, if I was doing a breakfast smoothie, I'd start with nonfat greek yogurt and start throwing in fruit (and spinach, if you don't mind green smoothies).
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »
    Yeah, Shakeology is really overpriced for what you get. You can take a multi-vitamin and a a whey shake and it's roughly the same thing.

    To use a shake or not is really simple and boils down to filling your protein requirements. Can you do it with food alone? If yes, then you may not need them unless you're in a situation where you need a quick shake on the run or a shake to mix some fruit and coconut oil or something to fill a meal. Some people have a large calorie target to hit and can't always get 100% of their protein from food, so supplementing is often necessary.

    Good advice. I do not use protein shakes as meal replacements. Most days, I can get my protein from regular food. But a couple of times a week, I'll be a bit short so I have a glass of chocolate milk made with protein powder before bed.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Protein shakes are simply a source of protein. For some, they are more convenient. In some cases, they are also cheaper.

    If you are getting enough protein in your regular diet you don't need them. But if you are having a hard time reaching your protein goal they can be helpful. And as mentioned convenience is a factor.

    Basically, if you like them do it.

    I wouldn't go for the specialty shakes. They aren't worth the money.
  • ejuliano85
    ejuliano85 Posts: 43 Member
    Okay...I did a little more reading and it says I should be eating 1 gram for every pound I am. Um....how is that possible?? If one chicken breast is about 28 grams of protein, that is like 6 chicken breasts a day?! Am I missing something or reading wrong?? I looked at the calorie count and protein of a few lunches I have planned and they are around 300 calories with max of 31g of protein...I guess I'm just a little confused.

    Is protein that important to my daily workout and nutrition?
  • DangerousDUCK
    DangerousDUCK Posts: 181 Member
    ejuliano85 wrote: »
    Okay...I did a little more reading and it says I should be eating 1 gram for every pound I am. Um....how is that possible?? If one chicken breast is about 28 grams of protein, that is like 6 chicken breasts a day?! Am I missing something or reading wrong?? I looked at the calorie count and protein of a few lunches I have planned and they are around 300 calories with max of 31g of protein...I guess I'm just a little confused.

    Is protein that important to my daily workout and nutrition?

    Protein shakes are an excellent, cheap efficient way of getting good quality protein(aslong as you buy a decent shake) especially if you are a fussy eater or vegetarian(like me) then it can be hard to hit the protein numbers. 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight is good if you are weight training as well as dropping fat, if its just losing fat then you wont need quite that much but a good amount of protein is important.

    Terry
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    ejuliano85 wrote: »
    Okay...I did a little more reading and it says I should be eating 1 gram for every pound I am. Um....how is that possible?? If one chicken breast is about 28 grams of protein, that is like 6 chicken breasts a day?! Am I missing something or reading wrong?? I looked at the calorie count and protein of a few lunches I have planned and they are around 300 calories with max of 31g of protein...I guess I'm just a little confused.

    Is protein that important to my daily workout and nutrition?

    I believe it is 1 gram of protein per 1 pound Lean Body Mass.

    You can check out this post if you like, it's pretty helpful
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055
  • DangerousDUCK
    DangerousDUCK Posts: 181 Member
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    ejuliano85 wrote: »
    Okay...I did a little more reading and it says I should be eating 1 gram for every pound I am. Um....how is that possible?? If one chicken breast is about 28 grams of protein, that is like 6 chicken breasts a day?! Am I missing something or reading wrong?? I looked at the calorie count and protein of a few lunches I have planned and they are around 300 calories with max of 31g of protein...I guess I'm just a little confused.

    Is protein that important to my daily workout and nutrition?

    I believe it is 1 gram of protein per 1 pound Lean Body Mass.

    You can check out this post if you like, it's pretty helpful
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055

    Im 190lbs and am for 200g approx of protein per day but it depends if weight training or not. Protein is used for muscle repair an growth and is also a hunger suppressant. I think if the OP has a clear goal in mind the macros are easy to calculate. :)
  • PinkGemini612
    PinkGemini612 Posts: 63 Member
    Good question. I have used Shakeology in the past & I am using the last of what's left. I do not want to buy it again, it's too expensive. I like the shakes because they are a convenient meal. I'm not sure what I will use after my Shakeology is gone.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    DangerousDUCK wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    ejuliano85 wrote: »
    Okay...I did a little more reading and it says I should be eating 1 gram for every pound I am. Um....how is that possible?? If one chicken breast is about 28 grams of protein, that is like 6 chicken breasts a day?! Am I missing something or reading wrong?? I looked at the calorie count and protein of a few lunches I have planned and they are around 300 calories with max of 31g of protein...I guess I'm just a little confused.

    Is protein that important to my daily workout and nutrition?

    I believe it is 1 gram of protein per 1 pound Lean Body Mass.

    You can check out this post if you like, it's pretty helpful
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055

    Im 190lbs and am for 200g approx of protein per day but it depends if weight training or not. Protein is used for muscle repair an growth and is also a hunger suppressant. I think if the OP has a clear goal in mind the macros are easy to calculate. :)

    I'm well aware of the use of protein and weight training.
    And yes, they are quite easy to calculate with the link I posted as well.
  • JordanLomb
    JordanLomb Posts: 20 Member
    ejuliano85 wrote: »
    Okay...I did a little more reading and it says I should be eating 1 gram for every pound I am. Um....how is that possible?? If one chicken breast is about 28 grams of protein, that is like 6 chicken breasts a day?! Am I missing something or reading wrong?? I looked at the calorie count and protein of a few lunches I have planned and they are around 300 calories with max of 31g of protein...I guess I'm just a little confused.

    Is protein that important to my daily workout and nutrition?

    Personally that sounds like WAY too much protein, should only be around 15% of your calories, even for building muscle. Too much can be stressful on your body in the long run. There's protein in pretty much everything (grains, veggies, legumes, nuts) that should fulfill your body's needs.
    As for protein powders I've stopped using them ever since I found out that my favorite brand was NOT vegan (my bad). I've been maintaining a pretty good workout plan and still got stronger.
    I say just stick to whole nutritous foods and your reccomended calories for the program and you should be fine. Save you some cash as well.
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
    High protein diets are only stressful on your body if you have kidney problems.
    I aim for 100g a day, which is a little more than 1g/lb LBM.
    Some days I use shakes when I can't seem to hit my target, often when I work night shift and don't eat lunch. Other days I have no problem hitting it with just the food I am eating. I don't use them as a meal replacement though, just a way to get more protein on my low days.

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