Protein supplements - advice needed....

lucycaz
lucycaz Posts: 191 Member
edited September 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi

I am about to start at a gym and have a personal trainer booked as I really need to make this work this time.... I have over 150lbs to loose and am with the agreement of my GP sticking to around 1200 cals a day so I can move the first 30-40lbs quickly this will in turn make the exercise easier etc....

I swim for 45 mins a day walk 30 mins 3 times a week and will be aiming for 3 gym sessions a week so my PT has recommended that I take a protein supplement to support my exercise plan... I eat a healthy balanced diet now with few processed foods and lots of fruit and vegetables....

I know some of you will reply back that I should be eating more/exercising less but what I am really looking for is advice from anyone that has used a protein supplement in this way and any suggestions on which is the best?

Lucy

Replies

  • sabl3
    sabl3 Posts: 39
    You don't really need to supplement with protein. I know a lot of people are going to say otherwise. Just get you RDA. The problem with eating more protein is that it really doesn't do too much. It goes into a protein pool and then back out. It can actually lead to kidney damage with prolonged excessive exposure. I know a lot of body builders take supplements but that isn't necessarily good for them despite what they believe. Ask your PT what kind of nutrition education they have. Chances are they don't have any formal nutrition education and may have only taken a few classes. If you want real factual information hit up the ADA website at www.eatsmart.org to see what they say. Good luck! You can do it!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    I use Harmonized Protein whenever I need a protein boost. Mostly though, I try to meet my goals through real foods, such as boneless, skinless chicken breast, lean beef, uncured ham, turkey, shrimp, FF greek yogurt, eggs/egg whites, Ezekiel bread, skim milk, and almonds.

    http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=harmonized+protein&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=utf8&rlz=1I7GZAZ_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14779467962998146661&sa=X&ei=CdvSTdXkA822twfd9rCUCg&ved=0CCsQ8wIwAA&biw=1216&bih=722#
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
    I don't think anyone will say exercise less but if you are going to exercise alot then you will need a bit more cals and protien. I have been using some of the atkins low carb shakes (already prepared) and some of there advantage bars ( i do low carb) just switched to a kind called body fortress. saw it on a guys diary in chocolate peanut butter flavor and buying the powder is a lot more afordable and really flexible. and of course there are other good actually food snacks ( one of my favorite snacks is a hard boiled egg)
  • KaizokuNoMaiku
    KaizokuNoMaiku Posts: 164
    Hey, please keep in mind that a protein supplement is always worse then a ''real'' meal and I mean ALWAYS because its a meal replacement and if able you wanna eat normal meals before resorting to shakes or bars etc.

    I only use a protein shake if i'm rly low on protein intake that day and a normal meal is unavailible.

    Dont worry to much about protein tbh the first 4 weeks of my Gym time I was only getting about 50-75% of what I needed per day and still had great strenght and muscle gains and lost weight. Only if you are rly set on building muscle's should you worry about protein right from the start imo.

    Just make sure you take the right protein type for you goal there are also a lot of protein powders that have a lot of carbs in them or other ''bad'' stuff depending on your goal because some protein powerders are also for people who want to gain weight and muscle so be sure to check what you are getting.

    Good luck =)
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