Protein and Lifting for a Teenage Boy

egatta

My step-brother is 15 and going into high school this upcoming year. He is lifting weights for football and working out, and wants to up his protein intake. Ensure Plus was recommended to us by a family friend, but given his young age we wanted to get other opinions as well to make sure it is healthy for him. Anyone have suggestions?

thisismeraw

Can he not just eat extra chicken, turkey, beef, dairy, eggs, nuts etc? those are the best ways for protein.

AJ_G

It would be best to get his protein from food as mentioned. Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, peanut butter, cheese, milk, are all good sources of protein. If he can't possibly eat enough food to get the protein he needs, then whey powder is a good option.

egatta

thanks everyone! i think we are going to calculate how much protein he gets on average and then go from there!

_noob_

Remember, a lot of concepts from MFP don't really apply to a growing teenager. 3500-4500 cals a day shouldn't be a scary number at all for a teenager playing and practicing football.

vienna_h

bodybuilding.com is where all the protein powder answers are. they have tons of reviews on the different protein powders too, very helpful. and you can look up workout programs they outline the best foods to eat when weight lifting.

eric_sg61

The biggest mistake I made as a teenage weightlifter was not eating enough. If I could do it all over again I would eat everything in sight and then look for more.

Alphastate

Although eating protein is the best, a whey protein shake shouldn't be a problem for a 15 year old football player.

ironanimal

Although eating protein is the best, a whey protein shake shouldn't be a problem for a 15 year old football player.

Or the entire contents of your fridge.

Basically anything you can gather up that once had a pulse, pass his way.