!!!!!!Help me understand shakes, protein, recovery drinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only if you're taking in more calories than you're burning. There's nothing magical in those drinks to make you lose weight, I promise.

Some weight lifters might need more protein than they can consume naturally for muscle growth, so the shakes might be useful to them.

I tend to get my protein from meat and eggs simply because I am terribly suspicious that a lot of the so-called sports nutrition is more about selling product. I could see using some of that stuff as a competitive athlete, but that's not what I am personally doing. My personal preference is to eat a lot of fresh veggies and a little fruit along with the animal protein and I feel good doing it, so I run with it.

Again, other people have other goals than I do, so their needs would be different.

I'm no expert - but I think what you drink/take for supplements would depend on what you are wanting to do.

Personally, I am on a shake program (2x shakes per day, 2 snacks, 1 meal) for weight loss. My goals are roughly the same as yours.

A friend of mine drinks a pre-workout supplement to boost energy while working out.
Recovery drinks, as far as I understand, are good for if you are doing any kind of strength training as it will help your muscles rebuild themselves and help your body bounce back from dehydration from sweat, etc.

I find that the shakes/supplements I'm on give me enough energy, so I don't feel I need pre-workout stuff, but I've started looking into the recovery drinks my company sells as well for post workout.

I'm just starting to look into strength training, supplements, etc as well. But I know that building muscle will help burn fat faster as well.

Bottom line - you don't need them.

Do I use them? Sometimes.

So, a quick nutrition lesson - there are certain essential nutrients that your body can't make on its own. These are mostly proteins, but also a few fats. As long as you are getting an ample amount of these proteins and fats, you really don't need anything else. That is why it is so important to eat plenty of protein.

The supplement industry would like you to believe that if you don't use their stuff that you are just never going to be fit. It is a lie to make money! The truth is, the BEST QUALITY protein you can get is from real, whole foods - meat, fish, poultry, dairy, legumes, etc.

You need to eat before and after a workout, but it timing isn't as important as the supplement industry wants you to think. If you are getting your protein from whole foods, the amino acids (broken down from proteins and why you REALLY want to eat protein) will be in your blood for some period of time - usually a few hours depending on the protein source. So, if you eat within a couple of hours before a workout and within a couple of hours after, you will be fine.

So why do people use supplements? I use them for convenience and practicality. Sometimes it is just easier to grab a shake. Sometimes it is more practical, like how much you have to eat to equal the protein in a shake - maybe I don't have that many calories left or am not that hungry but still want the protein. There are many reasons why you might use them, but they will never replace a good meal as far as quality goes.

At 222 lbs, my advice to you is to just keep it simple. You still have a ways to go. Focus on making proper nutrition and portion choices, go exercise, lift weights, and practice logging food and exercises. You just need to keep a caloric deficit and get enough protein in your diet. The supplements are kind of a waste of money for now.

First, you should care about muscles (keeping them), while you're losing. You don't need to worry about shakes and supplements, eat food.

The range of 80-120 gr of protein a day is usually enough to keep or gain some muscle for almost any human being, there is a book called "How much protein" which explains, with scientific studies, all of the myth about protein consumption, there is too much hype about protein, and there are also so many companies that sell them, what a coincidence.

"Recovery" drink is a marketing gimmick. Unless you are working out hard for prolonged periods of time (think half marathon or so) the only thing you need after a workout will be water. The idea of a 30 minute post workout window has some validity but you need to have the protein in your system before you finish your workout to really take advantage and it's really not that great of a difference unless you are a pro athlete or BB who needs every little advantage.

Concentrate on your diet and suppliment if you are having problems meeting your needs but you shouldn't really need them if you are just looking to lose weight.

The general guideline I've seen for protein consumption is 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass, but honestly the 80-120g quoted above is going to cover most people if you can't be bothered to figure out your body fat.

I found it tough to get that when I first started looking at macros, but a bit of thought, reading of nutrition labels and switching foods around and it's actually pretty easy after some practice. My diary is open if you want to look at how I get about 90-100g per day (I'm 5" shorter than you).

I recommend going into the sexypants posting right at the top of the Getting Started forum. It has a LOAD of great advice.

I use the protein shakes for convenience for the most part. For my day to day, it's simpler for me to get 25g of protein from a shake rather than a meal. It's going to vary person by person, but I personally enjoy the taste and it provides a good nutritional snack.

BTW, to the above poster, most "protein" shakes are going to be on the lower side in carbs. A meal replacement shake will be higher, but that's a different beast. Here's a link to the ones I'm drinking and have only 4g of carbs, 2 of those grams are dietary fiber. http://www.swansonvitamins.com/dymatize-nutrition-elite-whey-protein-rich-chocolate-2-lbs-pwdr