whey protein--weight gain or weight loss?

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I just started doing treadmill about a week ago. I was suggested to take whey protein before and after the work out. On the other hand i was told that i might result in weight gain. I only do treadmill for 55 mins and cycling for 10 mins. Am i really gonna gain weight?

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  • fiendette
    fiendette Posts: 6 Member
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    I use whey protein in my protein shakes and I've lost weight, so I don't think you have to worry too much. I don't think you really need a protein shake before you work out, but definitely have some protein afterwards, as it will help in muscle recovery.
  • bio_fit
    bio_fit Posts: 307 Member
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    Are you logging it and including it in your calories? If so, and it's firing into your calorie allowance, then no, no weight gain.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Calorie deficit - lose
    Calorie surplus - gain.
  • JcMey3r
    JcMey3r Posts: 431 Member
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    As long as your calories are in a deficit you will lose weight. Whey protein is suggested because it's very low in carbs so you'r pretty much just getting protein in with some extra vitamins.
  • SutapaMukherji
    SutapaMukherji Posts: 244 Member
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    Calorie deficit - lose
    Calorie surplus - gain.

    Pretty much sums it up
  • monteiro77
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    I take whey protein each and every day sometimes twice, even before going to bed. It is not correct to say you will gain or lose. It is all about the calorie math at the end. I have whey two times a day and I am loosing weight for the last 6 months

    The trick is that whey is high protein which is essential for workouts and muscle recovery and whey (at least for me) fills my stomach nicely so I don't feel hungry after workouts. Some people use it to replace complete meals when on a strict diet which I don't really recommend.

    Everyone knows that the best way of losing weight is eating less and doing some workouts however this combination hardly gives you the vitamins and nutrients you need in a day to be able to lose weight, exercise and still fulfil your nutrition needs. In the past I need to do many workouts and diet at the same time and I always ended up weak or sick, why? because of the very reason above, not enough nutrients in my body.

    So in order to lose weight eating less and safely doing workouts to help my weight loss I always include 1st Lots of water, 2nd Multivitamin tablet one a day, 3rd whey protein.

    This is the only way I can balance my calorie intake, lose weight and still have enough nutrients and vitamins in my body to feel well and strong.

    Just one more info, I balance my whey intake based on my whole food intake for the day vs workout I do. There is no point for instance in having 150g of whey in a day you don't do any exercise and also have other balanced meals. I also never use whey as the only source of protein in my meals, you gotta have some good and balanced other meals during the day.

    So back to your question, no I don't think you will gain weight, as long as you don't exaggerate on your whey intake (some are really high calorie) and keep your calorie balance right with your diet goals and don't forget, a multivitamin is a must to complete your day if you are exercising a lot and eating less.
  • ramsha1294
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    thanks alot for all this response guys..
    one more thing..someone told me that if you take whey protein you would be more broad and muscular.. thats not true right?
    also i dont really know about my calorie intake.. but i avoid all the food that might make me fat..
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    but i avoid all the food that might make me fat..
    Afraid you don't.
    ANY food can make you fat if you eat enough. Possible exception being something like cabbage - because you'll likely puke before you eat enough. There are no 'good' or 'bad' foods, only good and bad amounts of foods.

    I'd suggest you use a nice little website/app called 'myfitnesspal' to work out your calorie intake - it actually works rather well :).

    So from that, whey protein won't make you fat unless you are eating more calories than you are burning.

    It doesn't matter where you get protein from, but if you are losing weight, it is advised you eat a decent bit of it, so you don't lose too much muscle along with the fat.

    You don't particularly need to take the protein around a treadmill session.

    If you could get muscular from from just eating whey, you wouldn't see all the people spending hundreds of hours a year in the weights room. As a woman, you'd probably have to be doing 100 hundreds of hours in a weight room AND taking steroids to get 'broad and muscular'.
  • ramsha1294
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    ohh i see.. i'll use this app first.. record my calorie intake and then decide whether to take whey protein or not. thanks alot.. this helped alot!!
    what about fat burners? are they of any use?
  • monteiro77
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    Good topic, in my personal experience fat burners are not good, not because they don't accelerate the burn, some of them actually help, but all I have tried in the past messed up my stomach somehow although this changes from people to people.

    As for me, no fat burners anymore, a balanced meal, exercises and quality rest is the way to go.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Fat burners seem to be mostly stimulants I believe.

    I've got quite a weak tolerance for caffeine ironically (seeing that I've got a fairly high tolerance for alcohol and other intoxicants), so any time I've been near that sort of thing it's left me a bit shaky and not in the best frame of my mind - without the nice stuff that comes with less-legal stimulants.
  • Cheyenne_K_
    Cheyenne_K_ Posts: 31 Member
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    I seem to be really caught in the middle. My husband is a huge believer that the protein push is unnecessary, that you can obtain everything from diet, and that whey protein will just make me fat. My husband is very tall and muscular and defined, so its hard to argue with his results. And I am trying to lose weight, but gain muscle too.... But everything I read online says that it should help me lose weight. I finally bought some much to his dismay, and it does help fill me up, and keep me fuller longer. I eat pretty well, usually an egg white spinach omelet for breakfast, or oatmeal, 4 oz lien meat with 1 cup veggies and 1/2 cup carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, etc. And for dinner the same thing, minus the carbs. If I have a cheat meal I make sure its within portion size, and its usually something like adding a little bit of pudding to my fruit or sushi, and I still make sure it stays within my macros of 1430 calories, 150g carbs, 30 fat, and 140 protien . I went from a pretty much sedentary lifestyle to weight lifting 1 hr and 20 mins H.I.I.T. at least 5 times a week. I stopped drinking wine, dont stay up later than midnight (kids wake me up around 730), and drink at least 80 oz of water. Im losing weight, but I am also scared to do anything to mess up the roll. What if hes right? He said that Whey made him fat, which is hard to believe since he has such a high metabolism.
  • jgoulet003
    jgoulet003 Posts: 12 Member
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    The only thing about some whey depending on what is in it is that sometimes it's slower digesting. I just recently changed to Promosil and I love it compared to the 100% whey I was using. I usually have one in the morning and then another after a work out and I've been losing weight and building muscle.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Whey is pretty much milk proteins ... nothing more, nothing less. It won't magically make you gain or lose weight. It doesn't change the laws of thermodynamics nor does it override the hormonal and physiological challenges for women to put on significant muscle mass (especially at a deficit). If it is beneficial to you or not depends on what the rest of your diet looks like and your nutritional needs.
  • rogerOb1
    rogerOb1 Posts: 318 Member
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    I seem to be really caught in the middle. My husband is a huge believer that the protein push is unnecessary, that you can obtain everything from diet, and that whey protein will just make me fat. My husband is very tall and muscular and defined, so its hard to argue with his results. And I am trying to lose weight, but gain muscle too.... But everything I read online says that it should help me lose weight. I finally bought some much to his dismay, and it does help fill me up, and keep me fuller longer. I eat pretty well, usually an egg white spinach omelet for breakfast, or oatmeal, 4 oz lien meat with 1 cup veggies and 1/2 cup carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, etc. And for dinner the same thing, minus the carbs. If I have a cheat meal I make sure its within portion size, and its usually something like adding a little bit of pudding to my fruit or sushi, and I still make sure it stays within my macros of 1430 calories, 150g carbs, 30 fat, and 140 protien . I went from a pretty much sedentary lifestyle to weight lifting 1 hr and 20 mins H.I.I.T. at least 5 times a week. I stopped drinking wine, dont stay up later than midnight (kids wake me up around 730), and drink at least 80 oz of water. Im losing weight, but I am also scared to do anything to mess up the roll. What if hes right? He said that Whey made him fat, which is hard to believe since he has such a high metabolism.

    Your husband's sentiment doesn't really make sense. Its not hard to find a protein powder that is low in calories - so it can be a nice tasting snack or meal replacement that is high in protein (& BCAAs) so supports your attempts to build lean muscle mass. Its something that is regularly taken by athletes of all kinds....the protein powder I have to hand is 120 cals per serving with 1g fat, 3g carbs, and 25g protein.... its not the reason people get fat.

    Maybe he was taking a weight-gainer by mistake, lol.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
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    Protein powder does not really make you gain or loose weight. It is simply a product that is great for helping you hit your protein macros while keeping your caloric intake relatively low. For example, compare it to another super food. Like an egg.

    So you have a protein shake that is roughly:
    120 cals
    24 g of protein

    You have an egg that roughly:
    78 cals
    6 g of protein

    That means you have to eat 4 eggs to equal the protein of one shake which translates into

    Getting protein from eggs: 312 cals
    Getting protein from shake: 120 cals

    Make sense?


    Some people also find that protein heavy foods or shakes help them feel fuller for longer which also assists in keeping your caloric intake in check. They are just another tool in the toolbox.

    It is true the protein is the building blocks for muscle maintenance and growth. That being said, you are subject to your own bodies genetic potential. You will not become body building material or even fitness model show shape without an insane amount of blood, sweat and tears. Even more so since you are a female. I wouldn't give a second thought about waking up one day being broad and muscular. That is the equivalent fear of someone who doesn't really run just stepping out of their front door one day for a light jog and accidentally running an ultramarathon.

    As for fat burners. There really isn't such a thing. There are supplements you can take that will raise your heart rate and body temp slightly that will result in a slight increase of calories burned during your normal day and workouts but you really shouldn't be concerned or even consider those things unless you are already at an extremely low body fat percentage and really REALLY know what you are doing. Anything else not in that category is just going to be overpriced caffeine pills and vitamin B complex supplements. There really isn't a difference in that category of supplements from what you buy with a pretty label vs what you can pick up at a interstate truck stop. I guess some people feel better about buying "organic" crap that looks pretty from a nutrition store vs picking up a bottle of yellow jackets at your local trucker station.

    Hope this helps you or someone else out there.