Is there any point in me drinking protein shakes?

I refuse to add any powdered crap of any form to my diet. I prefer to get it in a more natural form called food. It's also a LOT cheaper. Some people swear by it but I'm not one of them. I think that most of the people who use it burn a LOT of calories from lifting so they have more room to add that stuff to their daily cal totals. To me, it's a waste of money but, whatever works for ya.

yes perhaps, but that's not her situation. i think protein shakes would have little benefit to her right now. i don't think she's in danger of losing muscle based on the information she's provided. when she stops cardio and starts building muscle, then the shakes would be useful. until then... meh.

my opinion of course.

Losing weight, no strength training, low protein intake? She's the poster child for muscle catabolism.

Anyway, I was just commenting on your blanket statement about the protein industry.

huh? re-read her posts. she is doing strength (resistance) training. she doesn't have a lot of weight to lose. she probably is not eating at a high deficit. she bumped up her protein goal to 98 from the MFP settings and says she's averaging between 60-80 per day from normal diet. i don't see anything there that makes her a candidate for catabolism.

too much protein is not a bad thing. the body just won't use the excess. and if she wants to drink one protein shake per day to add 20-25g of protein and perhaps 150-200 calories, then it won't hurt her, but it seems like a waste of money to me.

And you're losing weight? You certainly want to consider getting more protein into your diet, whether through a daily protein shake or something else.

Eating more protein than you're eating helps prevent muscle loss. So does doing strength training, which you should start doing now in some form. You're losing weight - you need to do more than just run a calorie deficit to force your body to lose more fat than muscle. Strength train, eat more protein, get toned and look awesome.

Is there like, a recommended protein intake though? Or a calculator? MFP's default for me was ridiculously low and I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to this stuff. I do strength train! Not a lot, haha, but some. That's why I have my wee training session booked at the gym, to learn what's best for me with my bad arm and knee.

There are many recommendations for protein intake. The most accepted answer is generally 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass. So if you're, say, 135 lbs and 24% body fat, that's 102 g of protein per day.

I refuse to add any powdered crap of any form to my diet. I prefer to get it in a more natural form called food. It's also a LOT cheaper. Some people swear by it but I'm not one of them. I think that most of the people who use it burn a LOT of calories from lifting so they have more room to add that stuff to their daily cal totals. To me, it's a waste of money but, whatever works for ya.

Do you know where whey comes from....?

Also, are you aware that per gram of protein, protein powder is cheaper than, say, chicken or tuna?

only if you put booze in it

And you're losing weight? You certainly want to consider getting more protein into your diet, whether through a daily protein shake or something else.

Eating more protein than you're eating helps prevent muscle loss. So does doing strength training, which you should start doing now in some form. You're losing weight - you need to do more than just run a calorie deficit to force your body to lose more fat than muscle. Strength train, eat more protein, get toned and look awesome.

Is there like, a recommended protein intake though? Or a calculator? MFP's default for me was ridiculously low and I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to this stuff. I do strength train! Not a lot, haha, but some. That's why I have my wee training session booked at the gym, to learn what's best for me with my bad arm and knee.

There are many recommendations for protein intake. The most accepted answer is generally 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass. So if you're, say, 135 lbs and 24% body fat, that's 102 g of protein per day.

not trying to argue, but just pointing at that many people stick with the 0.85g/lb LBM recommendation, which using your numbers would yield a goal 86-87g per day. so she's just about meeting that number on some days and not missing it by much on most other days, so i still think a protein shake isn't necessary until she shifts her goal from weight loss to muscle gain.

O and don't forget you don't need to use weights to build muscle. There are plenty of programs that use your own body weight. Something else to think about.

And you're losing weight? You certainly want to consider getting more protein into your diet, whether through a daily protein shake or something else.

Eating more protein than you're eating helps prevent muscle loss. So does doing strength training, which you should start doing now in some form. You're losing weight - you need to do more than just run a calorie deficit to force your body to lose more fat than muscle. Strength train, eat more protein, get toned and look awesome.

Is there like, a recommended protein intake though? Or a calculator? MFP's default for me was ridiculously low and I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to this stuff. I do strength train! Not a lot, haha, but some. That's why I have my wee training session booked at the gym, to learn what's best for me with my bad arm and knee.

There are many recommendations for protein intake. The most accepted answer is generally 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass. So if you're, say, 135 lbs and 24% body fat, that's 102 g of protein per day.

not trying to argue, but just pointing at that many people stick with the 0.85g/lb LBM recommendation, which using your numbers would yield a goal 86-87g per day. so she's just about meeting that number on some days and not missing it by much on most other days, so i still think a protein shake isn't necessary until she shifts her goal from weight loss to muscle gain.

Based on the research, the lowest number I'm willing to recommend is 0.75 grams per pound of total body weight.

Once you start strength training I'd make sure you're getting at least 100-120g of protein a day.

Protein helps your muscles repair.