Protein: Shakes v Actual Food

Total protein intake for the day matters a great deal and this should be your main concern.

Whether you choose to get that from protein powders or foods will effect satiety and adherence, so you can't ignore that, but physiologicaly it's fine to get it from whey or fish or eggs, etc etc.

I would suggest that you use whey as a supplement and get a lot of protein through whole foods.

I put actual food in my protein shake! (fresh strawberries and bananas)

Real food should always be your first option. Shakes and bars are good for convenience, or if you just can't get enough without supplementing.

If you can't eat enough calories during the day or get enough protein via real food, then a shake is a good alternative. Me personally, I'd rather eat my food than drink it but I also don't have insane protein requirements like some people do (especially serious weight lifters).

This is completely untrue. It is easy to get enough protein throughout the day from "real" food. It's recommended you eat 0.82g of protein per pound of body weight every day (or 0.75-1 g/lb of lean mass). For me, that's about 180g every day. Yes, I do supplement powder in with a shake in the morning, but that is simply due to an intolerance of all dairy and eggs, and meat is very expensive. I also like my shakes. If I were to switch the powder for eggs and milk in the morning, I would easily hit my protein goal every day, without the use of a powder.

I would suggest eating as much as you can from real food, and only supplement whenever you really have to. You can get protein from dairy, eggs, lean meats, seafood, beans, some veggies, nuts, and so on. It's not as hard as you may thing. It will just require an adjustment to your diet.

Ive been equally confused by the whole protein issue - and spoke to my fitness trainer, and my reg dietitian- both said (for me doing toning, and not bulking up) that protein Im getting on a daily basis derived from the foods I eat is more than enough. My dietitian elaborated on why, and I found it fascinating - the body breaks down your body fat and converts it into whatever nutrient your body needs, be it protein, sugar, whatever and burns that energy. (I am very likely over over simplifying it.) Just like if you overeat these specific food groups your body will convert it to body fat and store it until needed. (Again, oversimplified.) So obviously my explanation is more tailored to me since I've got so much "stored protein" (:laugh: ) I probably don't need as much in my diet as say someone who is lean and doing a LOT of serious bulking.

That's just my current understanding, and my dietitian hasn't steered me wrong yet so Im trusting her :-)

You write that your diet is already relatively high in protein. If so, whey protein shakes aren't necessary. They are fast digesting, however, and can kick start the recovery process after a tough workout.

I take a whey protein shake after my workouts. I do it mainly to ensure that I get the 160 grams a day that I need based on my size and activity level.

It's actually incorrect that whey protein powder is expensive. Walmart sells Body Fortress brand for what is the equivalent of 50 cents for a 26 g serving; that's less expensive than nearly any protein source you can find and whey is one of the best sources.

If you can't eat enough calories during the day or get enough protein via real food, then a shake is a good alternative. Me personally, I'd rather eat my food than drink it but I also don't have insane protein requirements like some people do (especially serious weight lifters).

This is completely untrue. It is easy to get enough protein throughout the day from "real" food. It's recommended you eat 0.82g of protein per pound of body weight every day (or 0.75-1 g/lb of lean mass). For me, that's about 180g every day. Yes, I do supplement powder in with a shake in the morning, but that is simply due to an intolerance of all dairy and eggs, and meat is very expensive. I also like my shakes. If I were to switch the powder for eggs and milk in the morning, I would easily hit my protein goal every day, without the use of a powder.

I would suggest eating as much as you can from real food, and only supplement whenever you really have to. You can get protein from dairy, eggs, lean meats, seafood, beans, some veggies, nuts, and so on. It's not as hard as you may thing. It will just require an adjustment to your diet.

Some people are shooting for a whole lot more than that, and it can be difficult to meet if they don't want to eat an entire chicken a day (coincidentally, whole chicken for breakfast is awesome). I'm shooting for 300 grams of protein a day, and unless I do relatively odd things like have pretty much pure protein meals it can be difficult to hit my protein target without supplementing. Now I don't mind having a dinner that's just a lean steak, or eating 8 cans of tuna with 0 calorie ranch and sriracha for lunch, but that's not for everyone. Protein shakes can alleviate some of that.

I've read a few reports with credible studies sourced that eating more than 0.82g/lb of body weight has no benefit. It has been found that the body cannot process any more than that amount into the muscles for repairing and building muscle. The rest just turns into energy, which then gets burned off or stored. At that point, you might as well eat carbohydrates because protein is very expensive, and the body digests it very slowly.

Just my $0.02. If you prefer to eat more protein, go for it, but there is no nutritional benefit of doing so.

I've seen a little bit in the way of research in that regard:
1) I'm a lot bigger than you are. I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks but I'm around 290 right now. I shoot for 1 gram per pound of body weight as a goal (300 is round so I go with that) as a goal, and 1 gram per pound of goal body weight (240, but I use 250 for the same reason) as a minimum. It's easier and requires less mathing.

2) When I go over on protein, I feel better. I'm sure it's mostly (if not entirely) psychological, but that benefit is huge for me, especially in the gym.

3) There's a tremendous amount of anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Fully vetted scientific studies have merit, but most really strong folks that you see out there eat a lot more than 0.82 grams of protein per pound.

4) With supplements, protein really isn't that expensive. I work in Manhattan, and it's a LOT cheaper for me to have a big double serving protein shake that has over 60 grams of protein in it than it is to go out and buy lunch.

The OP was asking if protein shakes are a requirement. They definitely aren't, and if you have the option of eating real food that's probably going to be better for you. However, it can save time and potentially money to do so. Depending on what your other goals are (if you're low-carbing, for example, or if your max calorie limit is low in comparison to your protein requirement) it might require some more strigent meal choices if you do decide to go the whole food only route.

I already have quite a high protein diet so I don't see there would be any benefit to spending all that cash on shakes.

What was the question again?