Are Protein shakes bad for diets?
KatTad77
Posts: 39 Member
I supplement Gold Standard protein shakes for snacks. Just one a day. Maybe 2 if I have just veggies for dinner. Its 1 scoop with six ounces of unsweetened almond milk. However, a friend has told me that I should not drink protein shakes when on a diet. I understand it is not a diet food but I do not think its bad. I do it to hit my 50% protein 25% Fat and 25% carbs. But I may be wrong. Also, I take Leucine supplements as well and she said thats not good either. Is she right?
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Replies
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Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.7 -
Why would a protein shake be bad for your diet? Logically...commons sense, what do you think?
It's just a protein supplement...by your friends logic, you shouldn't eat chicken either. Clueless.8 -
I'm guessing your friend doesn't know the difference between a straight protein shake and a mass gainer shake?
Even the mass gainer wouldn't make or break a diet ... but considering how many calories most pack it would probably be all you could have for that meal.
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janejellyroll wrote: »Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.
She said its processed first of all.
Second she said that it would cause me to gain in the end.
However, in my own experience. I am down 14 pounds in 25 days plus I have gained some muscle mass. So I do not think its hurting me.
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janejellyroll wrote: »Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.
She said its processed first of all.
Second she said that it would cause me to gain in the end.
However, in my own experience. I am down 14 pounds in 25 days plus I have gained some muscle mass. So I do not think its hurting me.
You can eat processed food and lose weight. Your friend is wrong about that.
No food is going to cause you to just "gain in the end." To gain weight, you need to consume more calories than your body is using.
You're right to pay attention to your own results and go from there.8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.
She said its processed first of all.
Second she said that it would cause me to gain in the end.
However, in my own experience. I am down 14 pounds in 25 days plus I have gained some muscle mass. So I do not think its hurting me.
If it fits your calorie goal it wont make you gain weight. The only way it would cause you to gain is if you're drinking it on top of your maintenance calories thus causing weight gain. Protein shakes are a great tool while in a calorie deficit because they can help you meet your protein requirements while being lower in calories. And what does being processed have to do with anything? There are plenty of processed foods that are perfectly healthy. Just because it comes in a package doesn't mean it's evil. Your friend is misinformed in that aspect.5 -
My dietitian preferred I diet with regular food because I did need to learn about portion sizing. But a shake is not going to kill a diet. Know how many calories are hiding in those suckers.3
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It sounds like you would do well to ignore this friend who seems to have a lot of ignorant ideas about nutrition.
A protein shake isn't going to hurt your weight loss unless the calories in it (combined with the rest of your diet) cancel out your calorie deficit. Protein doesn't make you gain weight, too many calories makes you gain weight.
Just nod and smile at your friend, then go about what you've been doing.7 -
Your friend is an idiot.....get new friends ;-)5
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Next time your friend gives you advice like this just say "bless your heart" and nod. Keep doing that.10
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If you can get your protein requirements with food then you don't need protein shakes. You can get the same protein from 1 chicken breast or a portion of fish or a steak. I would not use protein shake as a meal replacement, unless absolutely necessary2
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a protein shake won't hurt you - but a 50P/25C/25F seems awfully excessive on the protein side - what does that come out to in grams?4
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I would argue that "diets" are bad for your diet! Develop a meal plan that is very specific to you, it doesn't matter how many woo's you get what matters is if it works. If your are trying to maintain or build muscle you need a certain amount of protein in grams. A lot of people say 1g per lb of body weight. I personally don't think you need that much. But then BB's will tell 1.5g per lb. That's up to you to recognize what works and what doesn't. For me I do a post workout protein shake. Because I'm a vegetarian I only get around 120g of protein and I weigh 188lbs, so I specifically do a protein shake right after my workout. I also do a yogurt and fruit meal just before my workout. Because my protein is low for my size I feel its more important to time my protein. YMMV.
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If you can get your protein requirements with food then you don't need protein shakes. You can get the same protein from 1 chicken breast or a portion of fish or a steak. I would not use protein shake as a meal replacement, unless absolutely necessary
I do not use it as a meal replacement. I use it as a snack otherwise I do not hit my 50% protein for the day.2 -
mutantspicy wrote: »I would argue that "diets" are bad for your diet! Develop a meal plan that is very specific to you, it doesn't matter how many woo's you get what matters is if it works. If your are trying to maintain or build muscle you need a certain amount of protein in grams. A lot of people say 1g per lb of body weight. I personally don't think you need that much. But then BB's will tell 1.5g per lb. That's up to you to recognize what works and what doesn't. For me I do a post workout protein shake. Because I'm a vegetarian I only get around 120g of protein and I weigh 188lbs, so I specifically do a protein shake right after my workout. I also do a yogurt and fruit meal just before my workout. Because my protein is low for my size I feel its more important to time my protein. YMMV.
Yeah I know its about changing my way of thinking about food which I have been doing. I am not a vegetarian but primarily I eat very little meat. I eat more veggies and eggs than anything. So in order to get my protein I do shakes as well.0 -
If you can get your protein requirements with food then you don't need protein shakes. You can get the same protein from 1 chicken breast or a portion of fish or a steak. I would not use protein shake as a meal replacement, unless absolutely necessary
I do not use it as a meal replacement. I use it as a snack otherwise I do not hit my 50% protein for the day.
I wouldn't worry about the percentage. 50% is really high for most people btw. Put more consideration into the grams you are getting. But more importantly ask why this is important to you? What are you trying to accomplish? What are your goals? If you can define that people will give you better answers.1 -
mutantspicy wrote: »If you can get your protein requirements with food then you don't need protein shakes. You can get the same protein from 1 chicken breast or a portion of fish or a steak. I would not use protein shake as a meal replacement, unless absolutely necessary
I do not use it as a meal replacement. I use it as a snack otherwise I do not hit my 50% protein for the day.
I wouldn't worry about the percentage. 50% is really high for most people btw. Put more consideration into the grams you are getting. But more importantly ask why this is important to you? What are you trying to accomplish? What are your goals? If you can define that people will give you better answers.
Thx for the insight. My goal is 50 pounds by September as I am a VO actress and I have to go to New Zealand. But my ultimate goal is to become healthy and lose weight and also add muscle mass. Its not about the actual pounds I weight but if I put it in actual pounds I want to be out of the 200s by this time next year.2 -
mutantspicy wrote: »I would argue that "diets" are bad for your diet! Develop a meal plan that is very specific to you, it doesn't matter how many woo's you get what matters is if it works. If your are trying to maintain or build muscle you need a certain amount of protein in grams. A lot of people say 1g per lb of body weight. I personally don't think you need that much. But then BB's will tell 1.5g per lb. That's up to you to recognize what works and what doesn't. For me I do a post workout protein shake. Because I'm a vegetarian I only get around 120g of protein and I weigh 188lbs, so I specifically do a protein shake right after my workout. I also do a yogurt and fruit meal just before my workout. Because my protein is low for my size I feel its more important to time my protein. YMMV.
Yeah I know its about changing my way of thinking about food which I have been doing. I am not a vegetarian but primarily I eat very little meat. I eat more veggies and eggs than anything. So in order to get my protein I do shakes as well.
I dont drink protein shakes and I dont know what a VO actress is - but above statement sounds a good strategy to me in context of your overall diet - obviously, like everything, accounting for the calories. to make sure you are in a calorie deficit.
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paperpudding wrote: »mutantspicy wrote: »I would argue that "diets" are bad for your diet! Develop a meal plan that is very specific to you, it doesn't matter how many woo's you get what matters is if it works. If your are trying to maintain or build muscle you need a certain amount of protein in grams. A lot of people say 1g per lb of body weight. I personally don't think you need that much. But then BB's will tell 1.5g per lb. That's up to you to recognize what works and what doesn't. For me I do a post workout protein shake. Because I'm a vegetarian I only get around 120g of protein and I weigh 188lbs, so I specifically do a protein shake right after my workout. I also do a yogurt and fruit meal just before my workout. Because my protein is low for my size I feel its more important to time my protein. YMMV.
Yeah I know its about changing my way of thinking about food which I have been doing. I am not a vegetarian but primarily I eat very little meat. I eat more veggies and eggs than anything. So in order to get my protein I do shakes as well.
I dont drink protein shakes and I dont know what a VO actress is - but above statement sounds a good strategy to me in context of your overall diet - obviously, like everything, accounting for the calories. to make sure you are in a calorie deficit.
VO actress is a voice-over actress. Thank you.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.
She said its processed first of all.
Second she said that it would cause me to gain in the end.
However, in my own experience. I am down 14 pounds in 25 days plus I have gained some muscle mass. So I do not think its hurting me.
That is a lot of weight to lose that fast unless you are 100 pounds over weight.
You did not gain muscle mass on a deficit.
Weight loss is burning more calories than you take in no matter what food you are eating.
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I think protein shakes or “liquid” nutrition get a bad rep due to the “diets” that exist based purely around shakes. In my opinion if you can hit your kcal intake from good whole foods great but protein shake as snack or something is perfectly fine.1
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Wetcoaster wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.
She said its processed first of all.
Second she said that it would cause me to gain in the end.
However, in my own experience. I am down 14 pounds in 25 days plus I have gained some muscle mass. So I do not think its hurting me.
That is a lot of weight to lose that fast unless you are 100 pounds over weight.
You did not gain muscle mass on a deficit.
Weight loss is burning more calories than you take in no matter what food you are eating.
More likely, OP's muscles are more defined now that there's less fat.2 -
If you would rather have some chicken, fish, eggs, milk, or any one of thousands of protein rich products, sure, why not. But otherwise there is nothing wrong with drinking a supplement.
That said, you don't need 50% protein. A daily target of approximately 0.8g to 1g of protein per lb of weight at BMI 24.9 is sufficient for most people even when eating in a deficit.
Your current loss rate is... substantial. You may want to reconsider the size of your Caloric deficit if this continues over a 4+ week time period that includes a full monthly cycle.5 -
Wetcoaster wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Did your friend give you any reason why they thought it was bad for a diet?
It's a food. It's not bad or good for a diet.
She said its processed first of all.
Second she said that it would cause me to gain in the end.
However, in my own experience. I am down 14 pounds in 25 days plus I have gained some muscle mass. So I do not think its hurting me.
That is a lot of weight to lose that fast unless you are 100 pounds over weight.
You did not gain muscle mass on a deficit.
Weight loss is burning more calories than you take in no matter what food you are eating.
Maybe its because I have less fat.. All I know is I am losing and i am feeling good. No one is going to mess with that...;) Thx for the input1 -
If you would rather have some chicken, fish, eggs, milk, or any one of thousands of protein rich products, sure, why not. But otherwise there is nothing wrong with drinking a supplement.
That said, you don't need 50% protein. A daily target of approximately 0.8g to 1g of protein per lb of weight at BMI 24.9 is sufficient for most people even when eating in a deficit.
Your current loss rate is... substantial. You may want to reconsider the size of your Caloric deficit if this continues over a 4+ week time period that includes a full monthly cycle.
Thank you, I see my nutritionist in 2 weeks and my trainer in 3 weeks so I will see what they have to say but just for the record they gave me that. I may actually call one of them today because a lot of people said that was a lot of protein. They started me out on 40% 30% 30% but I wasn't getting the result I wanted.0 -
Thank you, I see my nutritionist in 2 weeks and my trainer in 3 weeks so I will see what they have to say but just for the record they gave me that. I may actually call one of them today because a lot of people said that was a lot of protein. They started me out on 40% 30% 30% but I wasn't getting the result I wanted.
What was the result you wanted, and why do you think that increasing your protein intake would affect it?3 -
Thank you, I see my nutritionist in 2 weeks and my trainer in 3 weeks so I will see what they have to say but just for the record they gave me that. I may actually call one of them today because a lot of people said that was a lot of protein. They started me out on 40% 30% 30% but I wasn't getting the result I wanted.
What was the result you wanted, and why do you think that increasing your protein intake would affect it?
To lose weight. I have a shorter deadline to lose 50 by Sept as I have to go to new Zealand as I have work there. I want to be down another 100 by this time next year. My trainer says protein helps burn fat. He said its essential. I have no complaints as I have lost 100 pounds with that an exercise.
Why does anyone try to lose weight? To get healthier and expand their life. That's me..for me and my son..;) thx for your comment.3 -
Thank you, I see my nutritionist in 2 weeks and my trainer in 3 weeks so I will see what they have to say but just for the record they gave me that. I may actually call one of them today because a lot of people said that was a lot of protein. They started me out on 40% 30% 30% but I wasn't getting the result I wanted.
What was the result you wanted, and why do you think that increasing your protein intake would affect it?
To lose weight. I have a shorter deadline to lose 50 by Sept as I have to go to new Zealand as I have work there. I want to be down another 100 by this time next year. My trainer says protein helps burn fat. He said its essential. I have no complaints as I have lost 100 pounds with that an exercise.
Why does anyone try to lose weight? To get healthier and expand their life. That's me..for me and my son..;) thx for your comment.
Protein doesn't burn fat, a calorie deficit is all that is needed. If eating all that protein helps keep you in a deficit, go for it
. Protein is essential for muscle synthesis, as well as other bodily functions. 50% protein is most likely more than is necessary, but if you like to eat that way, that's the key.
Time deadlines for weight loss are generally problematic, but you seem laser focused, so I'll just say Good Luck :drinker:4 -
Thx to the people who have been objectively supportive and helpful. To those who have been "nicely" critical I know what has been working for me. I simply wanted to know what ppl thought of protein powder. There are some lovely people on here.5
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