should I try a protein shake or supplement

palmerig88

My current food intake is a mess. I am considering adding a protein supplement but I don't know which kind of powder to buy and whether to mix it with milk, water, or what.

My current concerns are that I eat too much salt and fat and haven't been meeting my protein goal. I don't even know what consuming too much dietary fat does to your physique but it can't be good for your health.

I am trying to maintain my current weight, have been eating 2600 net calories for a month or two, I was still losing 1 pound per week at 2100, so my current daily intake needs are a lot higher than what I expected. I lost pretty fast, averaged almost 2 pounds per week overall.

What I have been doing is just filling up on cookies, cake, candy, ice cream etc. to keep my calories up. I am trying to be consistent with my intake to see if I have my numbers right but I am just eating a bunch of crap food.

I've heard you should consume the protein right after you work out which would work for me because I work out at night and consume most of my calories at night. I guess I restricted for a while so I got into the habit or sometimes I'm not that hungry during the day but I am usually really hungry at night so I just save them. Now that I have cut back on cardio I am also not as hungry, a couple times I saved too many calories and couldn't even figure out what to eat.

For now, I want to keep my clothing size, I really like it. Not too worried about what I weigh necessarily, I don't seem to retain water or have too much fluctuation in my weight from what I can tell so far. I only drink black coffee or water most days, that might have something to do with it, but you would think with all the salt I eat I would have more problems.

Even though I want to keep my clothing size, I want to be stronger and I also want to work on my thighs and butt. I would actually like a little bigger thighs, can you get bigger thigh muscles without eating over maintenance?

Sorry for rambling. I guess I have loads of questions!

samhigh

Regardless of protein supplements, you want to clean up your eating and focus on whole foods. Reduce the ultra-processed junk.

Basic post workout protein supplement - Optimum Nutrition Why Protein. #1 selling supp online. Take a scoop immed. after workout with any liquid you prefer.

Don't stress the salt. You need to eat dietary fat - for many reasons. Minimum 10% daily intake from fats - preferably healthy omega 3s. But no reason to have over 20%. Dietary fat will always be stored in a caloric surplus (norm mcdonald).

Increasing muscle mass while maintaining body weight is called "body recomposition." It is entirely possible. You can increase muscle mass and reduce body fat at the same time with intense strength training and macronutrient cycling/timing. (lean gains)