Protein shake - do I need it

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VinnyBou
VinnyBou Posts: 9 Member
edited November 2017 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

I go to the gym 2-3 times a week and about 1 hour to 1:30 hour each time. I'm 6 feet, 196 lbs male. I'm not overweight (let's say I could lose 10lbs).

I'm not training to be Superman. I go to the gym only because I'm seating all day at my job. Of course, I like the little muscles I got over time but it's not an ultimate goal. It's a nice to have.

Now I changed coach and she gave me a new training and since I started it's new routine, I'm very hungry all the time.

Problem is, after my training (after work), it's even worst and I'm so hungry that I eat before dinner. My coach recommends me to drink a protein shake just after gym because my dinner will be later (let's say 1 to 2 hours after gym) and this way I will eat/drink something useful for my body instead of stuff I shouldn't eat (you know like chips?)

I must say I was under the impression that protein shakes are for bodybuilders. Now there are so much different products with different amount of proteins that I'm lost.

What do you think? Is shakes recommended for the "every day normal gym guy" or it's too much? I don't want to gain fat in the end...

And I see most of them are sweetened with stevia, is that really safe?

thanks and sorry for my bad English...

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Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Do you get enough protein from other sources? Then no, you don't need it.

    Are you lacking in protein and not finding other ways to get it? Then maybe you'd want to use it.

    As far as gaining from drinking it - if it puts you in a calorie surplus you'll gain weight. If it keeps you in a calorie deficit, you won't.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    I'm no body builder, I don't even go to the gym but I have a shake most days.

    It just helps you hit your protein target.

    You can do that with food if you don't want to drink your calories.

    Maybe take a banana with you?
  • Johncalvinfields
    Johncalvinfields Posts: 179 Member
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    I’m trying to maintain a 40 % protein to 30%carbs and 30% good fat ratio. If I can’t meet my protein needs then I use a casein whey protein.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Protein shakes are just a protein supplement. Protein is used in muscle synthesis, and is the building block for a lot of the "stuff" in your body. Protein from a shake, or a chicken leg, or a bowl of lentil soup is all the same. It will only help you get a bodybuilder's body if you are working out like a body builder.

    Do you track your food? Are you getting enough protein in your diet?

    Many people find protein helps them feel full, but I don't find drinks in general help me with that regardless of what's in them. If you are hungry after the workout and are at risk for mindless snacking until dinner, you could also have a cup of yogurt, some jerky, an apple and a string cheese, a serving of nuts. Or a protein shake. Whatever works :)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    My dietitian recommended a carb snack just before working out. Chips work just fine for that.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    Protein shakes, for me anyway, don't really satiate my appetite more than an hour or two. But I use protein isolates, which digest faster. The only reason to drink protein shakes is if you need extra protein. Are you logging your food? Do you want to build muscle or just maintain muscle? Do you want less body fat? If you log the food you eat and find you are lacking in protein (I shoot for no less than .7g/lb of my body weight, for me that's 160g/day) then try the shakes. Just remember, everything has calories, so if you're maintaining your weight now, adding something, even a protein shake, will cause weight gain. If you're losing weight now, protein shakes might make you stop losing weight, it all depends on your caloric intake and the calories you burn each day. The shakes are nothing special, they are simply extra carbs/protein/bcaa's. If you go with isolates, they'll have less carbs, no lactose (which is why I drink isolates), and less calories.

    Having said all that, protein shakes would be better than chips any day of the week. To give you an idea of the calories involved, the ones I drink are 150 calories for 30g of protein, that's 1 scoop.

    A 1oz bag of Doritos is 140 calories, and about 2g protein. So in my book, a 1 scoop protein shake would be lots better for you than Doritos. But then again I can't eat just 1 oz of Doritos.. more like 3oz at a time.. they are evil.

    Food for thought.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    SiddharthaGautama wrote: »
    Nah, you dont need them. You will hear everywhere ,, you must take 2g of protein per pound or you will get no muscles,, but that is not the truth. Everyone functions in a different way, but the least you can do is take over 100gr of protein ( from food ) each day and you will be good.

    I've never heard that before.

    Always between 0.6 to 1g
  • VinnyBou
    VinnyBou Posts: 9 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Ok, to answer some questions

    I don't track food (I used to with MFP, did it for 1 year but now I don't want to do it anymore).

    I don't want a shake for muscle gain, only to satisfy my stomach after gym before dinner (1-2 hours later). But I won't complain if I get more muscles..

    I was talking about protein isolates

    I already eat a protein bar before gym (1 hour before) (this : http://simplyprotein.ca/featured-on-home-page/simply-bar-peanut-butter-15-bar-case)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    VinnyBou wrote: »
    Ok, to answer some questions

    I don't track food (I used to with MFP, did it for 1 year but now I don't want to do it anymore).

    I don't want a shake for muscle gain, only to satisfy my stomach after gym before dinner (1-2 hours later). But I won't complain if I get more muscles..

    I was talking about protein isolates

    I already eat a protein bar before gym (1 hour before) (this : http://simplyprotein.ca/featured-on-home-page/simply-bar-peanut-butter-15-bar-case)

    It might be worth tracking for a bit to see what amount of protein you get per day because at best it's an uneducated guess. But getting too much protein > too little while losing weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    SiddharthaGautama wrote: »
    Nah, you dont need them. You will hear everywhere ,, you must take 2g of protein per pound or you will get no muscles,, but that is not the truth. Everyone functions in a different way, but the least you can do is take over 100gr of protein ( from food ) each day and you will be good.

    I've never heard that anywhere...I've heard 1 gram per Lb which is also overkill...1 gram per Lb of LBM is basically the max and not necessary for most....0.6 - 0.8 grams per Lb of body weight is generally good for people who are active as well as for people who are dieting to preserve muscle mass.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    edited November 2017
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    VinnyBou wrote: »
    Ok, to answer some questions

    I don't track food (I used to with MFP, did it for 1 year but now I don't want to do it anymore).

    I don't want a shake for muscle gain, only to satisfy my stomach after gym before dinner (1-2 hours later). But I won't complain if I get more muscles..

    I was talking about protein isolates

    I already eat a protein bar before gym (1 hour before) (this : http://simplyprotein.ca/featured-on-home-page/simply-bar-peanut-butter-15-bar-case)

    How long are you talking between your workout and your next meal? If it's a couple of hours the protein shake will do just fine, if it's longer you might be better off with another protein bar. Isolates digest faster and have no lactose (it's filtered out) so they will digest faster and for me that means beyond a couple of hours they don't keep me full. Protein bars seem to take longer to digest, so they seem to satiate me longer. /shrug Nothing wrong with the protein shakes though, I drink a 60g shake right after my workout with my breakfast which is usually bran cereal and almond milk.

    Edit: I see you answered that.. try the shake. Can't hurt.
  • VinnyBou
    VinnyBou Posts: 9 Member
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    I think I'll log in MFP as you suggest for a little while.

    I don't think I eat that much of proteins but we'll see. I'll check my old logs to see what I was eating in that time.

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    If it is just for hunger then just eat anything you like when you finish.

    Fruit, chocolate, salami snack. Choice is yours if it doesn't have to be protein based.
  • VinnyBou
    VinnyBou Posts: 9 Member
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    If I buy one to try, what do you think of this :

    https://www.costco.ca/Kaizen-Naturals-Vanilla-Whey-Protein-Isolate.product.100305817.html

    I'm looking for something that mix well and taste good with water only. I wanna start drinking it right after leaving to gym easily.

    Calories aren't that bad (I'm sure I eat more with chips, hummus etc..
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    I buy either Six Star Isolate or Body Fortress Isolate chocolate. I've tried many many many other brands and honestly, they are all too sweet if you ask me. Most try to either over-sweeten with artificial sweeteners or just plain ol pack em with sugar. Those two brands are readily available to me at the local Wal-Mart for less than $20 a tub which lasts me a week. I've tried the expensive stuff and honestly it tastes worse lol. I always use water with mine. However on rare occasions if I'm trying a new brand and find it sickening sweet, I'll mix it with unsweetened almond milk to cut the sweetness until I can get rid of it and buy something else. Both the Six Star and the Body Fortress Isolates taste close to each other, but the Six star mixed thinner and the Body Fortress is fairly thick. Otherwise they are both 30g protein for a 41g scoop and 150 cals per scoop. Buy the smallest tub you can get at first until you decide if you like it. I made the mistake a couple of times of buying a 5lb tub of something to save $$ upon recommendations from others and wanted to puke after tasting it. lol.
  • VinnyBou
    VinnyBou Posts: 9 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I checked my MFP log from two years ago (it's not that much different from today) and I used to eat about 100 g of proteins per day (sometimes I eat less and other day I eat 140g...)

    But in general, it's about 100-110g.

    Male, 35 years old, 6'0'' and 196lbs. What do you think ?
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    I am 6'2" tall, 188lbs. I go for .7g/lb as a minimum, no maximum. So that's 131g minimum per day, but honestly I usually hit 180-200 most days. What can I say, I like meat, and still have the protein shake after my workout. There's nothing wrong with 100g/day but another 30-60 woudn't hurt if you want to lean up further. Like I said, just make sure the extra 300ish calories isn't going to cause weight gain (the bad kind), replace some junk food with it instead.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    Try putting your stats in iifym.com's macro calculator and see what you come up with. I've been using it for almost 3 years with great success.
  • VinnyBou
    VinnyBou Posts: 9 Member
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    thanks !

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