Protein Shakes = Weight Gain???

maysflower
maysflower Posts: 180
edited October 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Can drinking protein shakes lead to weight gain? I hear all the time that muscle weighs more than fat, but I don't know if that is true. I've also heard that by drinking protein shakes and getting more lean muscle mass you can lose more weight quicker.

True or False??

Replies

  • tony2009
    tony2009 Posts: 201 Member
    It all really depends on the way that you use them. If you lift more weight heavily, and drink the protein, then you will pack on the muscle, thus more weight.
  • Xaspar
    Xaspar Posts: 726 Member
    It's all dependent on HOW you are using the shakes AND how you are working out... Everyone's body is different. For me, I use a protein shake IN PLACE of a meal in the morning (mostly because I don't have time to make a real breakfast when I have to be at work so damned early AND I don't like breakfast foods.) Protein helps build (rebuild) lean muscle mass, but you have to be working out to stress those muscles to help build them, so takes a little of both. Yes, muscle is denser than fat, therefore "weighs more" ... It's kinda like the pound of feathers vs a pound of lead maxim. A pound is a pound, but the feathers take up more space because it takes more of them to reach the weight. It takes more fat to equal the weight of muscle.
    Now, as far as losing weight faster... more muscle ups the metabolism and leads to more calorie expenditure when compared with fat, so you could theoretically burn more calories by maintaining muscle mass over fat mass (you think?) but you STILL have to work the muscles to maintain them. (use it or lose it)
    Anyway, that is my understanding of the issue and I hope you found it helpful... If not, my deepest apologies for wasting your ocular resources ...
    :drinker:
  • sgrinavi
    sgrinavi Posts: 80
    Anything you put in your mouth can lead to weight gain....

    As long as you track the calories and keep your macro nutrients in line then it's all good
  • KyleGA
    KyleGA Posts: 309 Member
    Can drinking protein shakes lead to weight gain? I hear all the time that muscle weighs more than fat, but I don't know if that is true. I've also heard that by drinking protein shakes and getting more lean muscle mass you can lose more weight quicker.

    True or False??

    Tony's right...it all depends on how you use them. I personally use them to gain weight, my wife uses them to lose weight. I've gained 4lbs overall (total weight has gone up, while body fat percentage has gone down), my wife has lost 16lbs of overall weight thus far.

    Muscle and fat weights the same...as 1 pound of feathers vs 1 pound of rocks, is still 1 pound...HOWEVER, the mass of a pound of fat is something like 3 times the mass of that of a pound of muscle. A pound of fat would look like a larger grape fruit, while a pound of muscle will look like a small to medium orange.

    Lean muscle will help burn fat. Those with more lean muscle will typically burn more calories doing the same exercises as those with less lean muscle but more fat.
  • epj78
    epj78 Posts: 643 Member
    If you go over your calories when drinking protein shakes, yes you will gain weight. If you don't, most likely you don't.

    The whole "muscle weighs more than fat" is not really true. Muscle weighs the same amount of fat (a pound is a pound), but it takes up less mass (think how much room a pound of feathers would take vs a pound of fat). That being said, its HARD to gain a pound of muscle mass. Really hard. So, I wouldn't worry about gaining weight from drinking protein shakes (especially if you are still in a calorie deficit).

    And finally, is it true that you'll lose more weight? Maybe. If you eat the same and do gain muscle mass, you will lose minimally quicker. For each pound of muscle mass you gain, you burn about 50 more calories a day. Again, it's hard to gain that pound of muscle mass. You really have to concentrate on lifting weights, it won't just happen because you are drinking more protein. Elite athletes who eat completely correctly and really concentrate on a weight lifting regime will only gain about 20 pounds of muscle mass a YEAR. And these are people whose job it is gain muscle mass!
  • maysflower
    maysflower Posts: 180
    Thank you all so much for your input. You were all very helpful in making me understand how this works. MFP people are the best!
  • proats
    proats Posts: 35 Member
    Anything you put in your mouth can lead to weight gain....

    As long as you track the calories and keep your macro nutrients in line then it's all good

    ^ This.

    Weigh gain is due to an excess in caloric intake, NOT a specific food (or food group) being consumed.

    If protein shakes are consistently putting you over your maintenance cals, then you will gain weight. The same can be said about grilled chicken breast, brown rice and any of the other so called "clean' foods (clean eating is a ridiculous concept IMO)
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