Protein Powder - yay or nay?

cbnorris
cbnorris Posts: 204 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been trying to find a healthy balance of cardio and strength training while maintaining a calorie deficit. On the days I do strength training my other half pushes me to drink a protein shake afterwards saying it will help my muscles recover faster. I can tell a difference the next day, my muscles aren't as sore - but I question if it is really that important since it adds about 200+ calories (gold standard protein, almond milk, 1 tablespoon chai seeds and a fruit / kale blend) and it's also late at night usually when I drink them.

What are other's thoughts on this? Do you think protein shakes help or hinder the weight loss process?
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Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    If the shake puts you over your calorie goal, it hinders. If not, it doesn't.

    The shake shouldn't be "extra," but a replacement, otherwise it's extra calories.
  • Kimo159
    Kimo159 Posts: 508 Member
    Protein shakes will hinder the weight loss process if they cause you to no longer be in a deficit. Personally, I like protein shakes so I can hit my protein goal. I usually try to do it, or get as close as possible with whole foods but sometimes that's just not going to happen. You could get a lower calorie protein shake to fit it into your calorie goal? I have a few that vary from 100-130 calories, mixed with unsweetened almond milk would add 30 calories. Sometimes I mix them with water.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Yes if you arent hitting your protein goals through other means.

    Weight loss progress is about deficits. You still need to hit nutrutional goals though if you want the benefits of fitness and health.
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
    If it helps meet your protein requirements then yes if not then no. How hard was that?
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    edited September 2015
    You will improve your recovery if you eat a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout -- carbs create the insulingenic response to help shuttle nutrients (protein and vitamins and carbs) into cell for muscle building/recovery. Maximizing recovery is where you build muscle/LBM. If you're not maximizing your recovery, you're wasting some of your effort in lifting heavy in the first place.

    If it's putting you over your daily calorie goal, I highly recommend you switching your calories during the day to accommodate this. Also, hitting protein goals is important. A good rule of thumb is 1 g per 1 lb LBM. This has been shown to preserve LBM in a caloric deficit -- so you keep as much of your muscle as possible and lose fat.

    Very few people eat too much protein. If you need to make room, cut back on your carbs or fat. I personally have a hard time most days hitting my protein goals without a shake to supplement -- because it's just a lot of meat to eat.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Are you lacking in protein?
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    The vast majority of lifters I know would disagree, both recreational and competitive. People who lift seriously want to maximize the result of that hard work. And we're not even getting into discussions about other things that can improve recovery -- BCAAs, magnesium/zinc, getting enough sleep, etc.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.



  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    IIFIYM
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited September 2015
    cbnorris wrote: »
    On the days I do strength training my other half pushes me to drink a protein shake afterwards saying it will help my muscles recover faster. I can tell a difference the next day, my muscles aren't as sore

    Timing protein shakes (or protein from whole foods) around your workout is not important. What matters is total intake from all foods per day. The recommended amount of protein per day for someone who is concentrating on new muscle synthesis is a range of 0.60-0.80 grams protein per 1 lb. bodyweight. If you regularly fall within this range, then it doesn't matter if you had a shake at 11am, or a steak at 9pm, or no protein from 8am-5pm then 100 grams in one shot at dinner time. It all gets absorbed and utilized assuming you don't overconsume protein past your range.

    cbnorris wrote: »
    it adds about 200+ calories (gold standard protein, almond milk, 1 tablespoon chai seeds and a fruit / kale blend)

    My recommendation is to learn how to get protein from a diet rich in whole foods. If a protein powder is convenient for you, then buy one that tastes good in plain water, milk, almond milk, or coconut milk. You won't need to mix a ton of ingredients in a protein powder that already tastes good as is; plus, it destroys the convenience aspect of it when you have to assemble multiple ingredients to blend a shake.
    cbnorris wrote: »
    it's also late at night usually when I drink them.

    Doesn't matter. The idea that eating late at night is counterproductive is a myth. It is based on the idea that the average person has likely hit 85-100% of their daily caloric intake at night. However, if you are conscientious about your intake and where you are at calorie-wise throughout the day, then you might have hundreds of calories left to consume at night before you hit your goal.
    cbnorris wrote: »
    Do you think protein shakes help or hinder the weight loss process?

    Neither. What matters when it comes to weight loss is the amount of total calories you are consuming compared to your activity level and current stats.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

    Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan. You either need to adjust macros -- up protein, adjust carbs (quantity or type), etc. -- or you're taking way too big of a cut (i.e. need to up your calories). You shouldn't be going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've shifted something as small as a recovery drink or meal. Something is wrong with your plan if it lacks that much satiety.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

    Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
    There's something wrong because there's something wrong. That's some top notch logic, right there.

    Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

    Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
    There's something wrong because there's something wrong. That's some top notch logic, right there.

    Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.

    Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan with its lack of satiety (i.e. cause) -- and then I gave you some examples of how to improve the satiety.

    [Edited by MFP Staff]
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

    Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
    There's something wrong because there's something wrong. That's some top notch logic, right there.

    Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.

    Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan (i.e. cause). It's actually just basic logic and common sense, but I know neither are all that common on MFP.
    So, in your world, if eating a 200 calorie breakfast instead of a 400 calorie one causes hunger before lunch, the plan is fundamentally flawed?

    Again, though, are we shifting a "good deal" of protein and carbs or something "so small" when implementing your advice?

  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    edited September 2015
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

    Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
    There's something wrong because there's something wrong. That's some top notch logic, right there.

    Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.

    Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan (i.e. cause). It's actually just basic logic and common sense, but I know neither are all that common on MFP.
    So, in your world, if eating a 200 calorie breakfast instead of a 400 calorie one causes hunger before lunch, the plan is fundamentally flawed?

    Again, though, are we shifting a "good deal" of protein and carbs or something "so small" when implementing your advice?

    Yes, because you're still eating the same amount of calories overall. It may take a few days to adjust, but yes, overall, it shouldn't be a big deal AT ALL. Perhaps you should focus more on eating more satisfying foods. Or shift the cals from somewhere else -- like 100 from your breakfast and 100 from your lunch. Or eat your dinner after working out (plenty do this). Or perhaps skipping break fast altogether (plenty of people IF and do it just fine). If you don't want to do any of those, that's another issue.

    But, yes, a small shift of 200 cals from one time of the day to another time of day should NOT result in "being hungry all morning or afternoon". If that's happening, you need to shift something in your plan.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
    No they wouldn't.

    If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.

    If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
    The main one of which would be following your advice to cause the hunger in the first place.

    But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.

    Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.

    ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?

    I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
    Why does that necessarily indicate an issue with your plan?

    Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
    There's something wrong because there's something wrong. That's some top notch logic, right there.

    Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.

    Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan (i.e. cause). It's actually just basic logic and common sense, but I know neither are all that common on MFP.
    So, in your world, if eating a 200 calorie breakfast instead of a 400 calorie one causes hunger before lunch, the plan is fundamentally flawed?

    Again, though, are we shifting a "good deal" of protein and carbs or something "so small" when implementing your advice?

    Yes, because you're still eating the same amount of calories overall. It may take a few days to adjust, but yes, overall, it shouldn't be a big deal AT ALL. Perhaps you should focus more on eating more satisfying foods. Or shift the cals from somewhere else -- like 100 from your breakfast and 100 from your lunch. Or perhaps skipping break fast altogether (plenty of people IF and do it just fine). If you don't want to do any of those, that's another issue.

    But, yes, a small shift of 200 cals from one time of the day to another time of day should NOT result in "being hungry all morning or afternoon". If that's happening, you need to shift something in your plan.
    I bet if I ate a 3700 calorie breakfast and then nothing else all day, I wouldn't be as satiated as I am with my meals more spread out, even if it's the same number of calories. That someone else might be would be totally irrelevant to me. Just as irrelevant as that other people like IF.

    Again, though, you said someone should shift a "good deal" of protein and carbs. It's pretty telling that you backed the hell away from that in a hurry.

  • cbnorris
    cbnorris Posts: 204 Member
    999tigger wrote: »
    Yes if you arent hitting your protein goals through other means.

    Weight loss progress is about deficits. You still need to hit nutrutional goals though if you want the benefits of fitness and health.

    So based on my weight loss goals calculated from MFP, it says that I should have 60 grams of protein a day. Which I have no problem of hitting without a shake.
    The recommended amount of protein per day for someone who is concentrating on new muscle synthesis is a range of 0.60-0.80 grams protein per 1 lb. bodyweight. If you regularly fall within this range, then it doesn't matter if you had a shake at 11am, or a steak at 9pm, or no protein from 8am-5pm then 100 grams in one shot at dinner time. It all gets absorbed and utilized assuming you don't overconsume protein past your range.

    By those guidelines i would need much more (117 - 156) - should I edit the goal amount for protein?

  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    cbnorris wrote: »
    999tigger wrote: »
    Yes if you arent hitting your protein goals through other means.

    Weight loss progress is about deficits. You still need to hit nutrutional goals though if you want the benefits of fitness and health.

    So based on my weight loss goals calculated from MFP, it says that I should have 60 grams of protein a day. Which I have no problem of hitting without a shake.
    The recommended amount of protein per day for someone who is concentrating on new muscle synthesis is a range of 0.60-0.80 grams protein per 1 lb. bodyweight. If you regularly fall within this range, then it doesn't matter if you had a shake at 11am, or a steak at 9pm, or no protein from 8am-5pm then 100 grams in one shot at dinner time. It all gets absorbed and utilized assuming you don't overconsume protein past your range.

    By those guidelines i would need much more (117 - 156) - should I edit the goal amount for protein?

    In my opinion, yes, the protein goals set by MFP are WAAAAY too low if you're looking to preserve LBM/muscle in a caloric deficit.

    A good rule of thumb is 1 g per 1 lb LBM (but you've got to know your basic body fat percentage to get your LBM). Many will short hand it and say 0.7-0.8 g per lb body weight assuming that most have 20-30% body fat. If you feel that your body fat is higher than 30%, then you can use the lower number of 0.6 - 0.7. But if you know you're LBM, that's best.

  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    sixxpoint wrote: »
    cbnorris wrote: »
    On the days I do strength training my other half pushes me to drink a protein shake afterwards saying it will help my muscles recover faster. I can tell a difference the next day, my muscles aren't as sore

    Timing protein shakes (or protein from whole foods) around your workout is not important. What matters is total intake from all foods per day.

    Agreed, timing is not important for protein.

    However, carb intake immediately before, during, or after workouts will optimize your bodies use of net carbs and replace glycogen. Timing is much more relevant to carb intake than to protein intake. Eat 15g-30g of quick-absorbing carbs (fruit juice, candy *gasp*, or other carbs that will be digested and put into your blood stream fast) immediately after your workout instead... or right before you work out. Take the protein at other times.
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.

    THIS! If you want the protein drink, then have it but if you are getting a good amount of protein the rest of the day, then the shake is not going to significantly impact you in any way.
    You will improve your recovery if you eat a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout -- carbs create the insulingenic response to help shuttle nutrients (protein and vitamins and carbs) into cell for muscle building/recovery.

    This is not how insulin works. It promotes the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream into cells, and it inhibits the production of glucose by the liver. It is not involved in protein metabolism/synthesis or in metabolic processes involving vitamins.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Nay for me. I don't trust them to have the protein they say they have. I don't trust them to keep out all the things that should be kept out. I just don't swallow pills or powders unless I truly need to AND have some reasonable expectation that they are safe.

    I get my protein from food. I find that a swim helps a lot with muscle soreness, but I also kind of accept some soreness. I've kind of become accustomed to it.

    However, I'm not trying to build muscle and don't really kill myself with resistance training. It's just a health thing for me. So, there's that.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    To explain the difference. MFP is based on a sedentary person, but the .6-.8 is based on lifting.
    Yes you can adjust your targets.

  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    You will improve your recovery if you eat a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout -- carbs create the insulingenic response to help shuttle nutrients (protein and vitamins and carbs) into cell for muscle building/recovery.

    This is not how insulin works. It promotes the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream into cells, and it inhibits the production of glucose by the liver. It is not involved in protein metabolism/synthesis or in metabolic processes involving vitamins.

    Actually, you are both wrong. There is some truth to what you are saying as well, but the important things are the sources and the destination of blood glucose (BG) in addition to the pathway. The pathway is secondary for purposes of this conversation.

    Eat net carbs - BG rises fairly quickly. If protein and/or fat is being digested simultaneously with net carbs, then BG rise will be slowed as compared with eating only carbs.

    Both your liver and your muscles store glycogen. Absorption of BG to convert to glycogen is done through a different pathway than what insulin does, which is not as important here... the important thing is that BG is converted to glycogen.

    So when you workout and lose glycogen from your muscles, then you need to pull glycogen out of your liver or you need to use BG that has recently been put into the bloodstream (if glucose is added several hours earlier, then insulin has cleared it and it isn't there anymore... that is why timing is relevant).

    So eat carbs at the time you workout. Consume them right before working out, or if that causes stomach issues for you, then immediately afterwards.
  • kyjnnky27
    kyjnnky27 Posts: 1 Member
    You could always drop the protein powder and just drink a glass of low fat mild after every work out. That way you get great muscle recovery and growth and less calories.
    That's what my husband has done for years and he is a body builder.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    if you get enough protein in your "normal" diet then you don't need a supplement...it's just a supplement to help you hit your targets.
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