Novice question ref protein drinks

bengal128
bengal128 Posts: 30
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
Hi

I am in the process of trying to lose some weight at the mo, but what I'm more interested in doing is shifting my body fat (currently at 35%) right down and getting a toned body.

I haven't got a clue about protein shakes, would they be of use for me to use, or would this interfere with my weight loss, I just don't know if my muscles need more protein, I'm doing weights every other day and plan on stepping up the weight training in a few weeks.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Replies

  • cicantrix
    cicantrix Posts: 3
    Whats your macro goals for pro/carbs/fat? Normally protein intake should be kept at .5gr/lb of bodyweight. If you plan on including additional weight training exercises far above your normal intake then increasing to .8-1gr/lb is advantageous. Achieving all your protein needs from whole food sources is the best route to always take(and should be fairly easy to do if planned correctly). Protein drinks and/or shakes are there for substitutes and ease of use. Higher protein intake would definitely offset muscle catabolism to a degree. If your looking to still loose weight and increase muscle definition and you like your current pace of weightloss then I would recommend playing around with your macro's a little bit. Add more protein, decrease carbs/fat etc. Just remember that a calorie is a calorie and adding more via protein intake could offset your average weight loss if all other macros stay the same.
  • htowntek
    htowntek Posts: 6
    Everything I have read about diets is that 50 or 60grams of protein a day are fine for most people depending on your weight

    Unless you are trying to be a hardcore athlete or bodybuilder you probably do not need more protein than that.. You can google protein calculations to see how much is recommended you actually take.. usually 1 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.

    The more you workout the more protein you need of course but just to get tone I wouldn't go crazy with protein supplements.

    Most protein supplements contain more calories so for the sake of loosing weight you are going to have to exercise even more if you supplement with protein.

    Two or Three servings of lean protein a day will allow you to tone up and help control your hunger better than the calories in a shake.. IMO!
  • AmenoKaji
    AmenoKaji Posts: 41 Member
    Whey protein shakes are best consumed right after your workout. But it is perfectly fine to supplement a few meals a day with whey protein. Thats what I do to meet my protein needs as well. Generally you want 1gram of protein per LEAN pound of bodyweight. If you're dieting and want to retain that muscle mass. I don't know your weight but what I do is try to eat the amount of protein equivelent to the weight I want to be. If i'm taking in more than I need, in theory, it should help towards muscle growth, and I am always covered on never undereating my protein.

    fact is that to get your body more toned, you need to cut the weight to reveal whatever muscle you do have. Cardio 6 days a week, with heavier lifting every other day, is definately a good way to approrach it. I don't know what your calories are or what works for your body exactly. for me its a low carb but high protein diet, ranging from 1400 to 1800 calories. and sometimes reaching up to 200 grams of protein on any given day.

    I usually shop for my whey protein on bodybuilding.com becaause they usually have cheaper prices (even after shipping) than most stores locally. If you want more servings per container, check out the brand called higher power on their site. or muscle gauge nutrition. If you're looking for really tasty protein shakes, look towards BSN Syntha 6 or Gaspari's Myofusion. Most protein shakes (IE: NOT WEIGHT GAINERS) are around roughly the same calories as a piece of 4-6oz chicken breastt with the equivelent amount of protein, anywhere from 21 to 25grams depending on the brand.
  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
    If you want an athletic body, then protein is very important. When you weight train, you're breaking down the muscles. Lifting weights doesn't make you stronger or more fit. Allowing your muscles the chance to rest and rebuild themselves is what makes them stronger, and protein is what they use to rebuils themselves. Muscle is also important for your goal of lowering your body fat. When focusing on lowering body fat, the goal is not to also build muscle, as truly building muscle requires upping caloric intake. Instead, the goal is to cut fat without losing too much muscle. That's where resistance training and protein come in.

    I'm in the same boat myself. I saw on your page you've tried atkins. If you're interested in messing around with carb intake, you might be interested in what I'm trying at the moment. I'm cycling my carbs. Yesterday was my high-carb day. Today and the next two days will be low carb. For me that means 250-300 carbs on high-carb days and around 150 carbs on low carb days. That's below 1g/lb of lean mass on low-carb days, then twice as much on high-carb days. It has (or so I've heard) the effect of allowing your body to use stored fat for energy without the downturn in metabolism that comes with a continually low-carb diet. The jury is still out, as I just started this method this week, but I'm still maintaining my carb defecit with MFP's help, so if nothing else I know my weight loss will continue.
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