Protein Shakes
cindyo1974
Posts: 11 Member
Hello,
Is substituting two meals a day with an organic plant based protein shake bad?? I find eating so many meals a day is overwhelming. Any opinions will be appreciated
Is substituting two meals a day with an organic plant based protein shake bad?? I find eating so many meals a day is overwhelming. Any opinions will be appreciated
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Replies
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How many meals you trying to eat per day and why is that overwhelming? I personally wouldn't substitute two meals. If they're just protein shakes you will be lacking micronutrients in your diet if you try to get them all from one meal.2
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IIFYM1
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Short term you could probably do it, but you need to have at least one "normal" meal (within your calorie limit) that provides enough bulk for you to pass a "healthy stool". Otherwise, you risk constipation, kidney infections, and a host of other issues if you get backed up. Make sure you include enough healthy oils in your diet from fish skin, chicken fat, beef fat.
Ref:
http://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-use-protein-powder/
http://www.idealshape.com/blog/the-biggest-meal-replacement-shake-missteps/ (not promoting this powder; tips are good, however)
http://www.idealshape.com/blog/meal-replacement-shake-vs-protein-shake/ (see above)
Note: hunger blockers = fiber; you can add your own; best non-reactive fibers include psyllium seed powder, rice bran powder, and **small** amounts (NMT 1/4 teasp) of konjac root (also called Glucommanan powder).
IMO Glucommanan powder works the best and more is not better. It literally sits in your stomach and causes delayed motility.
While the cost is more in the beginning, I highly encourage you to "make your own" starting with a good unflavored powder. Egg white, whey, hemp are all good.
Whey / hemp are the most complete (egg white lacks albumin); hemp takes some getting used to.
Whey and egg white are the most "flavor neutral".
A fairly good tasting chocolate protein shake / smoothie would include ice, filtered water, whey protein, coco powder, psyllium, rice bran, stevia (or other low calorie sweetener). I am opposed to aspartame and sweeteners like that because I don't think they are good for me.1 -
Start logging your food. You'll learn.0
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The organic part is a waste of money. If you want plant based, that's your choice.1
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6 small meals a day with an intake of 200 or so grams of protein. I just can't consume so much food all day long even though they are small meals. : (How many meals you trying to eat per day and why is that overwhelming? I personally wouldn't substitute two meals. If they're just protein shakes you will be lacking micronutrients in your diet if you try to get them all from one meal.How many meals you trying to eat per day and why is that overwhelming? I personally wouldn't substitute two meals. If they're just protein shakes you will be lacking micronutrients in your diet if you try to get them all from one meal.How many meals you trying to eat per day and why is that overwhelming? I personally wouldn't substitute two meals. If they're just protein shakes you will be lacking micronutrients in your diet if you try to get them all from one meal.
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6 meals a day with 200grams of protein. So I just want to substitue the in between meals with a shake. It's just tooo much to eat2
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cindyo1974 wrote: »Hello,
Is substituting two meals a day with an organic plant based protein shake bad?? I find eating so many meals a day is overwhelming. Any opinions will be appreciated
Most likely - a protein shake is a protein supplement.
Are you meeting fat goals with your other meal? How is your fiber? Are you getting micro-nutrients you would normally be getting by eating fruits & veggies?
Besides, meal replacements (or protein shakes in your case) teach you nothing. Weight loss is just the first step. You will need so kind of maintenance strategy (before you get there).
Why 6 meals? Some people eat 2 meals (2 snacks) others eat 3 meals (1 snack).....this is personal preference. There is no advantage to 6 meals, unless it helps you stick to your goals.1 -
cindyo1974 wrote: »Hello,
Is substituting two meals a day with an organic plant based protein shake bad?? I find eating so many meals a day is overwhelming. Any opinions will be appreciated
Most likely - a protein shake is a protein supplement.
Are you meeting fat goals with your other meal? How is your fiber? Are you getting micro-nutrients you would normally be getting by eating fruits & veggies?
Besides, meal replacements (or protein shakes in your case) teach you nothing. Weight loss is just the first step. You will need so kind of maintenance strategy (before you get there).
Why 6 meals? Some people eat 2 meals (2 snacks) others eat 3 meals (1 snack).....this is personal preference. There is no advantage to 6 meals, unless it helps you stick to your goals.
I eat six small meals most days because it keeps my blood glucose even. My dad has T2 diabetes (likely due to agent orange since no one else in his family has it or ever did) and my mom had hypoglycemia. I don't want either problem so I do six small meals. One of them is often a protein shake or protein bar.1 -
I was told to eat 5-6 small meals with the right amount of protein veggie n carbs, so that my body burns the fat obviously excersising as well.4
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cindyo1974 wrote: »I was told to eat 5-6 small meals with the right amount of protein veggie n carbs, so that my body burns the fat obviously excersising as well.
You can eat as many meals a day as you prefer to satiate yourself. You can eat all your food in 1 meal if you want, it really doesn't matter. What matters is the number of calories a day you eat. The secondary thing that matters is your macros. So eat at a deficit to lose weight, then pay attention to your macros second. I eat 4 sometimes 5 times a day, and rarely 6. I do it to spread out the protein I eat otherwise I don't hit my goal (which is around 175g/day). But if I intend to eat a very high protein dinner I'll sometimes skip one of those other meals. I pre-log everything as much as possible so I know what to eat, when to eat it, and how much more I need to eat for the day so I'm not trying to stuff myself at the last meal of the day.
I also use protein shakes, usually in the mornings to get a jump start on my protein intake, but you can also just eat meat if you want. I use the shakes (whey isolate) because the protein is absorbed faster and easier and aids in recovery from heavy workouts. The mistake a lot of people make is that they try to eat 1g/lb of body weight when they are starting out weighing 300+ lbs. That's way too much protein. Eat a max of 1g/lb of your TARGET body weight. So if your ultimate goal is 160lbs or 170lbs shoot for 160 or 170g of protein daily max. That's just my opinion, I'm sure others will chime in.5 -
cindyo1974 wrote: »I was told to eat 5-6 small meals with the right amount of protein veggie n carbs, so that my body burns the fat obviously excersising as well.
Okay, but this is not true. You lose weight from a calorie deficit. There are people who lose weight eating just one meal a day (OMAD).....this wouldn't be my preference, but it does work.
Eating less helps you accomplish a deficit, and moving more helps you accomplish a deficit......meal timing does NOT help you accomplish a deficit.
I agree with Spliner1969....I thought the protien looked high too (but maybe you are really tall or something).0 -
As @TeaBea said.. the protein seems high for you. What are your stats? Height/weight/age? What's your current weight and your goal weight?0
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If you want to eat that much and aim for that much protein (are you vegan?), that's fine, but neither is necessary.
I'd find it frustrating and pointless to try to eat that often, and for me it's much more satisfying to eat just three larger meals. A bunch of small meals/snacks tend to just make me think about food all the time and are a huge hassle, or involve eating things less satisfying for me.2 -
My weight is 245 height is 5'7 and goal is 190/200. By the way thank you everyone your help is greatly appreciated.0
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As a vegan who hates protein shakes but has no choice but to drink them daily for protein all I have to say is no. One chalky terrible shake a day is enough for me other than that I want tasty food filled with fiber. Drinking protein shakes is kinda miserable, mental health is just as important as physical health.0
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...and **small** amounts (NMT 1/4 teasp) of konjac root (also called Glucommanan powder).
IMO Glucommanan powder works the best and more is not better. It literally sits in your stomach and causes delayed motility.
The standard label dosage is 1/2 teaspoon. And can be taken up to two, if not three, times a day even as long as they are well spaced. The important thing to take it with plenty of water. I down a dose in 8 oz, swill the glass with another 8 oz to pick up the stragglers, and usually drink another 8 oz of clear water on top of that as a chaser. Probably overkill but I've had zero problems so far as a result.
It does not cause delayed motility. In fact the studies I've seen are it increased stool frequency, the exact opposite of delayed motility. And some of konjac's marketing websites tout the fact it decreases total transit time as a way to prevent those nefarious, nebulous, never named, "harmful substances"/"toxins" (
) from being absorbed.
OT?
If two shakes and one meal a day is a sustainable way to eat for you, possibly for the rest of your life, OP? Then that's probably fine. I currently drink two shakes a day myself, but I also have three meals a day. I do so because it's the only way I can hit my protein goal of 135-144 grams/day and stay with my current max daily calorie limit of 1415. And it's temporary as my protein requirement will go down as I lose weight. Eventually I should not need them, or perhaps one at most as part of a snack.
Unless there's a medical/ethical reason why you prefer plant based shakes there's really no need to spend the extra money for vs. the cheaper milk based protein source, imo.
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cindyo1974 wrote: »My weight is 245 height is 5'7 and goal is 190/200. By the way thank you everyone your help is greatly appreciated.
Using iifym.com, and assuming your age is 43 (you didn't specify so I took a guess based on your username being your birth date?), your TDEE is 2071 calories before exercise. That would be the calories it would take to maintain your weight of 245 pounds. Setting yourself at a 2lb per week loss would be far too aggressive in my opinion so I'd go with 1lb per week max. That's a 500 calorie a day deficit. So 2071 - 500 = 1571. So you'd set your daily goal without exercise at 1571 calories a day to lose 1lb per week. Adjust this every 5 lbs lost (basically the calories will go down slightly.
So if you go back to their calculator, and adjust for your goal weight of 190 lbs.. assuming you'd want .9g/lb of protein you'd set that around 156 grams. If it were me I'd put that as my daily goal and consider it a minimum. As long as I hit that I'd not worry about more protein. The rest of your calories when you adjust the percentages (if you're using the free version you'll have to play with it a bit because it'll only do increments of 5% adjustments) can be whatever you want. I'd put fat around 65g and leave the rest in carbs to make up your 1571 calories. Then, as you enter exercise MFP will (assuming again that you're using the free version) add calories you can eat, and it'll auto increase your macros. Just always keep in mind the starting amounts of your macros and try to hit that. Even if you do a ton of exercise each day try to hit your 169ish grams of protein. If you do a lot of exercise and enter it in to MFP, you'll want to eat some of those calories back, but you don't have to eat more than the 169g of protein. You can if you want, as long as you stay under your calorie goal. Most of us will agree (not all of us) that you can start with eating back about 50% of your exercise calories on top of your starting goal of 1836/day.
Hope all that made sense. That's how I would start it out. I would not set my goal at 200g of protein, it's more than is needed. Remember, in a deficit you aren't going to gain much muscle. The goal though is to lose as little as possible so that's why most of us like to keep our protein goals around .8-1g/lb of our target body weight.
Again, my opinion only. Hope some of it helps.
For your reference, at your height and age and current weight your TDEE without exercise calculates (according to iifym.com) as 2071 calories a day. At your goal weight, your TDEE without exercise will be around 1784 calories a day. This is why I suggest adjusting your goals every 5lbs lost. Calories will go down over time so that you don't plateau.
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Spliner1969 wrote: »cindyo1974 wrote: »My weight is 245 height is 5'7 and goal is 190/200. By the way thank you everyone your help is greatly appreciated.
Using iifym.com, and assuming your age is 43 (you didn't specify so I took a guess based on your username being your birth date?), your TDEE is 2071 calories before exercise. That would be the calories it would take to maintain your weight of 245 pounds. Setting yourself at a 2lb per week loss would be far too aggressive in my opinion so I'd go with 1lb per week max. That's a 500 calorie a day deficit. So 2071 - 500 = 1571. So you'd set your daily goal without exercise at 1571 calories a day to lose 1lb per week. Adjust this every 5 lbs lost (basically the calories will go down slightly.
So if you go back to their calculator, and adjust for your goal weight of 190 lbs.. assuming you'd want .9g/lb of protein you'd set that around 156 grams. If it were me I'd put that as my daily goal and consider it a minimum. As long as I hit that I'd not worry about more protein. The rest of your calories when you adjust the percentages (if you're using the free version you'll have to play with it a bit because it'll only do increments of 5% adjustments) can be whatever you want. I'd put fat around 65g and leave the rest in carbs to make up your 1571 calories. Then, as you enter exercise MFP will (assuming again that you're using the free version) add calories you can eat, and it'll auto increase your macros. Just always keep in mind the starting amounts of your macros and try to hit that. Even if you do a ton of exercise each day try to hit your 169ish grams of protein. If you do a lot of exercise and enter it in to MFP, you'll want to eat some of those calories back, but you don't have to eat more than the 169g of protein. You can if you want, as long as you stay under your calorie goal. Most of us will agree (not all of us) that you can start with eating back about 50% of your exercise calories on top of your starting goal of 1836/day.
Hope all that made sense. That's how I would start it out. I would not set my goal at 200g of protein, it's more than is needed. Remember, in a deficit you aren't going to gain much muscle. The goal though is to lose as little as possible so that's why most of us like to keep our protein goals around .8-1g/lb of our target body weight.
Again, my opinion only. Hope some of it helps.
For your reference, at your height and age and current weight your TDEE without exercise calculates (according to iifym.com) as 2071 calories a day. At your goal weight, your TDEE without exercise will be around 1784 calories a day. This is why I suggest adjusting your goals every 5lbs lost. Calories will go down over time so that you don't plateau.
I didn't read all of that but you know TDEE includes exercise. I don't see how 2 pounds per week is aggressive. She weighs 245 pounds.0 -
I can't do 2 lbs a week. I feel miserable on 1400 calories a day. I need at least 1600 to feel ok.0
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I didn't read all of that but you know TDEE includes exercise. I don't see how 2 pounds per week is aggressive. She weighs 245 pounds.
Yes, I assumed no exercise because no details about that were given (unless I missed it). You're right, TDEE usually assumes exercise, the OP will need to use the calculator and add in exercise to get the correct numbers. I used her stats as an example without exercise to calculate daily protein at a rate of .9g/lb of target body weight. It was an example. If you assume that she does not do any exercise, she would need to deduct an average of 1000 calories a day to lose 2lb per week. That would drop her daily calorie intake to less than 1200 calories a day (again, assuming no exercise factored in). Granted, if she exercised enough she could bump that number up, but it would be better, again in my opinion only, to max out at a 1lb per week deficit then increase the deficit over time with exercise. It would be easier to maintain. It's not about losing weight as quick as possible, it's about losing weight and keeping it off long term, well it is for me anyway.
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Thank you everyone for your valued words. Spliner1969 I will take your advice and yes 1lb a week is my goal for now as I am just starting and I will be doing some excercising, I am thinking 4x a week for about n 1hr. I have another ? U said about 169ish in protein would that be the same for my short term goal of 200lbs be the same ?0
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Same, yes. You can also do less. As a girl you typically need less protein than a man. The old rule of 1g/lb of protein is usually for someone trying to build muscle, which means either at maintenance level of calories or in surplus. Losing weight is neither, it's a calorie deficit so it's going to be tough to build any significant muscle, if any. The added protein over what MFP sets as a default is what most of us use to try and lessen the loss of muscle while dieting. A simple way to calculate it is take your goal weight and multiply it by the number of grams per pound you want. Most calculators aside from the body building ones will set you at .8g/lb, and since your ultimate goal is 190 lbs, .8 x 190 = 152. You'll find lots of varying information out there, it's up to you which you choose to use. I'm also no expert. Really the only upper limit of protein is your calorie goal. As long as you stay at or under your daily calorie goal you've set for 1lb/wk loss eat as much as you can tolerate. I usually strive for somewhere between 150-175g of protein a day. I'm 6'2" tall, 190lbs. Tonight, pre-logging all my food, I expect somewhere in the tune of 200g of protein. Yesterday I only hit 172. I typically find it easy to hit my goals because of the protein isolate shakes I drink for breakfast. It's a 60g boost.
There are going to be days you don't meet your goal and that's ok. There will be other days you'll go over on protein (or other macros). For weight loss the one to watch is the calories not the macros, the macros are always secondary, although they are important for healthy weight loss.
Here's my 90-day protein report (as you can see I'm usually over, but sometimes under my goal):
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Thank you thank you so so much I really appreciate it. Ok if I do only 1 protein shake a day,which would u recommend for me ?0
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cindyo1974 wrote: »Thank you thank you so so much I really appreciate it. Ok if I do only 1 protein shake a day,which would u recommend for me ?
Whichever you can find at your local store that you like. Having said that I prefer Whey Isolate for a couple of reasons. It's lower calorie, and has almost no lactose. A third bonus is that it's absorbed faster because the protein is isolated from the milk solids. Take a look at your health section in your local grocery store and see what they carry. The brand I use most frequently (because it's readily available and cheap) is Body Fortress Whey Isolate chocolate or vanilla. It's available at just about any Wal-Mart for about $19 a tub. Lasts me about a week or a bit longer. If I had my choice, and wanted to wait on it to get here from Amazon I would probably choose Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Isolate. But I take the easy route most of the time and buy the Body Fortress brand.1
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