How much protein can I have in a smoothie?

NorthCascades
NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
edited December 2 in Food and Nutrition
I need a quick sanity check, please:

Can I eat a smoothie with 100 or 150 g of whey protein added, as my lunch, and absorb most of it?

I'm lifting heavy weights and having trouble meeting my protein goal as a vegetarian. I don't enjoy frothy smoothies but I can get them down more easily than a small pile of protein bars or a dozen glasses of milk.

Replies

  • BillMcKay1
    BillMcKay1 Posts: 315 Member
    Honestly from what I have read, pretty much as much as you can choke down. That old saw about 30g per meal or per hour has been shown to be in error.

    There are tons of people doing intermittent fasting which gives a set window of time to ingest your daily calories and they pack in lots of protein in that window without muscle loss, which attests to good protein absorption.

    Here's a study where the researchers had a test group of women eat 1.7g of protein/kg of bodyweight in either one meal or spread over several meals for 14 days and they discovered no difference in protein synthesis or breakdown.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10867039
  • ucatts970
    ucatts970 Posts: 1 Member
    I use organic protein plant based powder with 21g of protein. I really love it. You could add chia seeds and flaxseed as well. The brand is orgain
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
    ucatts970 wrote: »
    I use organic protein plant based powder with 21g of protein. I really love it. You could add chia seeds and flaxseed as well. The brand is orgain

    None of this added anything to the conversation.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    I wouldn't use that much at once, personally. My protein goal for a day is 120 grams. (1g/pound of lean body weight.) A smoothie with Greek yogurt, peanut butter, a handful of berries and a scoop of vanilla protein powder gets me about a third of that.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    Although meal timing is irrelevant and macronutrient totals at the end of the day are most important, it is more optimal to spread your protein out throughout the day if you are serious about gaining muscle and spiking protein synthesis
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Thanks, everybody.

    I have a logging question, hopefully somebody can share a little bit of insight.

    I just got a smoothie with 6 scoops of protein powder added. The store sells them as 24 g protein boosts. They let me scan the package in MFP, I put it in as 6 servings, MFP gives me 126 g of protein for this. I know there's always a lot of estimation involved but in this case where they're selling measured out doses of protein, which figure should I use? Should I leave it as 126 g, or adjust the servings to get 144 g? I realize the difference is small in the scheme of things but I'm trying to get a handle on this.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Sounds like a lot of protein for one smoothie...I find when I put a banana in my smoothie I stay fuller longer...yellow banana, not real spotted.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Not sure why you need that much protein but maybe break it up into two smoothies.
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