Is protein just for bulking?

I don't generally recommend meal replacements. I suggest eating food and learning how to eat toward your goals.

As for protein, the shakes are handy if you have a hard time meeting your daily protein goal through food alone. As for your title question: No, protein is not just for bulking. In fact, getting sufficient protein while losing weight will help to retain muscle mass which means more of the weight you lose will come from fat and you'll have better body composition when you reach goal weight.

Why are you waiting to strength train? That's one of the biggest mistakes you can make as you'll preserve muscle better while working out in a deficit. It's harder to gain than to preserve so start now.

OP, protein is important while losing weight. It is one of the things you need in order to help preserve your muscle mass. You also need to do some sort of resistance training (lift weights, do bodyweight training, etc.) I also suggest eating in a moderate deficit rather than going to extremes.

Replacing breakfast with a protein shake is fine if that's what you want to do. Protein shakes don't have magical weight loss powers though. You just need to stay within your calorie goal and eat at an overall caloric deficit.

Best of luck to you.

lexxieliz wrote: »

I want to loose weight before I gain muscle. Is it good to have a protein shake as a meal replacement for breakfast? If so, which brand is recommended and how should it be made?

It's unlikely that you will gain much, if any, muscle while in a calorie deficit. Therefore, you should do strength training now to preserve existing muscle mass.

I have smoothies with protein powder for breakfast, but that is due to personal preference, not some one-size-fits-all rule.

AngelAura777 wrote: »

I like having natures way super greens cacao protein its all natural and contains all the essential amino acids. You need essential amino acids in your diet because your body cant synthesise them. You need to eat a wide range of different proteins like fish, eggs, quinoa, lentils, beans, brown rice etc before just getting all your protein from a protein powder. Protein powders should only be used to fill in protein gaps that u may have missed in your diet or if you struggle to eat enough from natural sources and are bodybuilding. Too much protein can put a strain on your kidneys as it tries to excrete all the ammonium ions that are a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism. If you overeat protein the rest will be catabolised for energy and it can be converted into fat stores if you arent using that energy.

Definitely not this advice...

You need essential ammino acides, yes, but that doesn't mean you need to eat that wide of a variety of food. In fact whey protein has pretty ideal ratios of amino acids. Protein powders can be used as a meal replacement, nothing wrong with that. A high protein diet has never been shown to cause kidney damage unelss you have a preexisting kidney problem: source. If you over eat calories it can be converted to fat, has nothing to do with protein. If you're going to take a protein supplement, don't buy one with a bunch of fillers and "superfoods". The point is to get the protein and not waste a bunch of money on supplement scams. Just buy a plain old whey protein isolate or concentrate without fillers and additives. Make sure that each scoop is 80% protein or more by weight.

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

Why are you waiting to strength train? That's one of the biggest mistakes you can make as you'll preserve muscle better while working out in a deficit. It's harder to gain than to preserve so start now.

Exactly. If you are eating at a deficit, you will lose weight. Strength training now is very important, and you actually need MORE protein when at a deficit to prevent muscle wasting. You don't need nearly as much as nutrition companies recommend (who make more $$ the more protein shakes you drink), but you do need more than if you were trying to gain weight.

Broscience - 1 gram per lbs of total body weight
Closer to reality - 0.8-1.1 grams per kg of lean body weight (but more won't hurt!)

For your second part. Protein shake with breakfast is fine (I wouldn't skip out on real food though). Wayyyy too many choices to recommend one, I would pick one that lists out its amino acid profile on the container. These tend to be higher in BCAAs and other essential aminos. I drink Carnivore beef protein right now.

AngelAura777 wrote: »

I like having natures way super greens cacao protein its all natural and contains all the essential amino acids. You need essential amino acids in your diet because your body cant synthesise them. You need to eat a wide range of different proteins like fish, eggs, quinoa, lentils, beans, brown rice etc before just getting all your protein from a protein powder. Protein powders should only be used to fill in protein gaps that u may have missed in your diet or if you struggle to eat enough from natural sources and are bodybuilding. Too much protein can put a strain on your kidneys as it tries to excrete all the ammonium ions that are a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism. If you overeat protein the rest will be catabolised for energy and it can be converted into fat stores if you arent using that energy.

Many people shy away from protein powders under the assumption that consuming "real food" is superior in some way and that whey is somehow "unnatural".

What most people don't realize is that whey protein is actually a completely natural source of protein and is simply a component of dairy that is extracted during the process of turning milk into cheese.

Whey is just as much "real food" as is chicken breast, fish or steak. So, trying to compare "whey protein vs. food" or "protein powder vs. natural protein" really doesn't make any sense in the first place.

This is why I don't even consider whey protein to be a "supplement" at all. Really, it's just a convenient food product that is purchased in powdered form.

The only real difference between protein shakes vs whole food is that shakes are far more convenient and are much easier to prepare. While protein powder is not mandatory to include in your program, its liquid form does make it a lot easier for you to hit your daily protein needs. For example, it's a lot easier to have 3 whole food meals and 2 shakes as opposed to 5 whole food meals only