whey protein help? (not a repeat topic, i searched!)

missheidi

i know you looked at the title of the thread and said, "really? haven't we talked this to death?" but i searched topics and didn't find what i needed. I'm attempting (ha.) to adapt myself to a lower carb lifestyle. I'm hypoglycemic, and i had a lot of sugar crashes this summer and really struggled. so i found a plan that i like; the women's health perfect body diet. a bunch of the smoothie recipes and some of the baking recepies call for whey protein powder. the powder i've seen is pretty expensive, and i'm not sure i'm comfortable eating something that comes out of a can like that. is there a "real food" alternative to whey? in smoothies, i'll use extra egg ala. Orange Julius (makes it frothy, and i'm not really worried about salmonella) but that isn't an option for the baking. do i just need to bite the bullet and buy some whey? thoughts? ideas?

aaleigha1

I actually use soya islolate powder as its so high in protein one scoop has 78 cals and 17g protein
and the whey powder for the same amount has some carbs and has more calories

I do a vegetarian low carb diet and its going really well

Connie_TN

Hey I would suggest use Greek yogurt in your smoothies..its loaded with protein. As for baking I don't really know. I hope this helps ya a little bit.

lynheff

I have used whey almost every day for the last 4 years 'cause my surgeon wants me to get 60 grams of protein a day and that gets me off to a good start. I use Designer whey cause it is low in carbs and I am hypoglycemic and because I prefer the taste. I don't like the taste of soy. Just find a brand you like. Hope that helps.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I use a vegen protein powder and add it to everything for protein boosts. I tried to get there naturally, but just found it really difficult. 99% ff turkey is a very effiecent calorie to protein source . . . but I'm not really into turkey shakes and brownies.

jamiekwright

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Buckeyt

I just looked at your diary. Your protein goal is 59 grams a day. At that level there should be no need for supplementation.

Lift_hard_eat_big

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Unused protein first converts to glucose, then if that isn't used, it's converted to fat, which is SUPER UBER RARE.

stefchica

if you want to go the healthier route, you can get organic whey, otherwise, it usually comes in powder forms since most methods pretty much dry it out of, whats leftover, the milk. if you want to find ANOTHER high protein source there are soy powders that are pretty good, otherwise hemp powder has some protein in it but also has fiber and other nutritional benefits, but you will get that grittier texture from the plant. greek yogurt is a good source of protein too.... those are all that i know of so:

soy protein powder-probably baking, but i would look into it, smoothies
hemp powder-smoothies
greek yogurt-smoothies and baking
quinoa flour-baking

besides meat of course, those are good sources

istalkzombies

There's a few different types of protein powder alternatives such as egg white, rice, soy etc...

jamiekwright

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Unused protein first converts to glucose, then if that isn't used, it's converted to fat, which is SUPER UBER RARE.

Yes, but either way it is excess calories if it's not needed, so why add it unless you're doing something with it?

missheidi

ya know, i hadn't even thought of just leaving it out. i'm a dork.

TK421NotAtPost

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Unused protein first converts to glucose, then if that isn't used, it's converted to fat, which is SUPER UBER RARE.

Yes, but either way it is excess calories if it's not needed, so why add it unless you're doing something with it?

Well that would be a different argument or point that you're making. I don't think anyone here thinks that excess calories will not eventually lead to weight gain. We have to eat either protein, carbs or fats... why make protein the culprit when out of the three macronutrients, it is the most difficult to convert to fat?

But getting back to the original point, I think the OP was very clear in why she wanted to increase her protein levels.

To the OP... although it may seem like whey protein powders are expensive, if you calculate the cost per gram of protein, it's actually one of the cheapest sources of protein available. Have you looked into Optimum Nutrition's 100% whey? A 5 pound tub (149 servings, 24 grams of protein) is about $45 on amazon.com.

brucedelaney

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Unused protein first converts to glucose, then if that isn't used, it's converted to fat, which is SUPER UBER RARE.

Yes, but either way it is excess calories if it's not needed, so why add it unless you're doing something with it?

That's a big if, on this website most people are eating at a caloric deficit so it would never be excess calories.

godblessourhome

can you sub in cottage cheese (curd and whey) when baking? i don't know what you would have to cut back on to make the consistency right though.

jadedone

can you sub in cottage cheese (curd and whey) when baking? i don't know what you would have to cut back on to make the consistency right though.

I have been successful supping yogurt in biscuits for buttermilk. I don't know if cottage cheese would work.

jamiekwright

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Unused protein first converts to glucose, then if that isn't used, it's converted to fat, which is SUPER UBER RARE.

Yes, but either way it is excess calories if it's not needed, so why add it unless you're doing something with it?

Well that would be a different argument or point that you're making. I don't think anyone here thinks that excess calories will not eventually lead to weight gain. We have to eat either protein, carbs or fats... why make protein the culprit when out of the three macronutrients, it is the most difficult to convert to fat?

But getting back to the original point, I think the OP was very clear in why she wanted to increase her protein levels.

To the OP... although it may seem like whey protein powders are expensive, if you calculate the cost per gram of protein, it's actually one of the cheapest sources of protein available. Have you looked into Optimum Nutrition's 100% whey? A 5 pound tub (149 servings, 24 grams of protein) is about $45 on amazon.com.

Yes, I agree that your calories have to come from somewhere, but the point I was making is that wasting calories on protein powder when you don't really need it, instead of eating real food, is pointless.... I am not against protein powder - I use it in shakes that I drink after working out on the days that I have athletic training/boot camp, but I skip out on it most other days because I can eat more food that I like instead of a powder.

MikeSEA

Why are you using protein powder? Do you work out a lot - weight training or anything like that? If not, I would suggest skipping out on the powder. The avg diet has more than enough protein for non-athletes or body-builders... anything extra is stored as fat if you don't burn it off.

Unused protein first converts to glucose, then if that isn't used, it's converted to fat, which is SUPER UBER RARE.

Yes, but either way it is excess calories if it's not needed, so why add it unless you're doing something with it?

Well that would be a different argument or point that you're making. I don't think anyone here thinks that excess calories will not eventually lead to weight gain. We have to eat either protein, carbs or fats... why make protein the culprit when out of the three macronutrients, it is the most difficult to convert to fat?

But getting back to the original point, I think the OP was very clear in why she wanted to increase her protein levels.

To the OP... although it may seem like whey protein powders are expensive, if you calculate the cost per gram of protein, it's actually one of the cheapest sources of protein available. Have you looked into Optimum Nutrition's 100% whey? A 5 pound tub (149 servings, 24 grams of protein) is about $45 on amazon.com.

Yes, I agree that your calories have to come from somewhere, but the point I was making is that wasting calories on protein powder when you don't really need it, instead of eating real food, is pointless.... I am not against protein powder - I use it in shakes that I drink after working out on the days that I have athletic training/boot camp, but I skip out on it most other days because I can eat more food that I like instead of a powder.

Your unsupported, and highly personal and debatable, value judgements about what constitutes "wasted" calories and the benefits of whole foods vs protein powder have been noted.

trelm249

Getting this thread back on track.

You are trying to satibilze your blood sugar. This is a good thing. Your diet is certainly apart of that.
Consistent exercise is awesome for regulation of blood sugar. Consistently tracking your food intake will go a long way in helping with that effort. I had a look at your diary, if not here please track it somewhere.

You appear to be on a low calorie diet from my perspective, which is fine as long as that is consistent with your metrics. Consistently including quality lean protein in your meals and snacks will help lower the cumulative glycemic index of that meal intake. Avoiding starchy carbs is very helpful (even whole wheat pasta can miss with someone exhiting some insulin resistance cause spikes followed by crashes).

I struggled with similar occurences and normailzed my blood sugar by exercise, getting more quality lean protein, cutting starchy carbs and getting more fibrous vegetables.

May your efforts be fruitful.

missheidi

Thank you very much! yeah, i know my logging is spotty at best. i used to be way better about it. one reason i like using smoothies and so on is that i can add more protein to stabalize my sugars, and i can sip on them throughout the morning instead of having one meal before lunch. since i'm a substitute teacher my schedule is different from day to day; my lunch could be as early as 1030 or as late as 145, and i don't always have an appropriate time to have a snack. scheduling (and committment, i'm sure) have hijacked my exercise routine as well. this is also in progress. i'm within my healthy weight range, but i would love to drop about 10 pounds. but more than that i need the crashes to abate.

Getting this thread back on track.

You are trying to satibilze your blood sugar. This is a good thing. Your diet is certainly apart of that.
Consistent exercise is awesome for regulation of blood sugar. Consistently tracking your food intake will go a long way in helping with that effort. I had a look at your diary, if not here please track it somewhere.

You appear to be on a low calorie diet from my perspective, which is fine as long as that is consistent with your metrics. Consistently including quality lean protein in your meals and snacks will help lower the cumulative glycemic index of that meal intake. Avoiding starchy carbs is very helpful (even whole wheat pasta can miss with someone exhiting some insulin resistance cause spikes followed by crashes).

I struggled with similar occurences and normailzed my blood sugar by exercise, getting more quality lean protein, cutting starchy carbs and getting more fibrous vegetables.

May your efforts be fruitful.