Whey Protein

Can't break all the science down for you on this one but I started using after people told me to increase my protein after I hit a plateau. It worked, I started loosing again, so I'm all for it.

I like the Pure Protein. Amazon has it and you can check netrition.com, they have a ton of stuff for really good prices.

I try to eat 6 small meals a day that contain carb, protein and fat and I got tired of eating chicken and egg whites, so I purchased whey protein as an alternative source of protein. It is great when I am on the go, I just take a couple of shaker cups to work with a scoop in it add 1/2 cup water and some ice and drink it. It is not too bad. I use beachbody whey protein chocolate flavored.

Whey protein will not cause weight loss, it is just another source for you to get protein.

I don't think it's the whey but I've noticed when I've eaten protein laden meals, it keeps me satisfied for longer vs a simple carb laden meal.

you should look into a protein powder if you cannot get an adequate amount of protein from whole foods (shoot for roughly 1g per lb of lbm (lean body mass))

Do you know where this protein recommendation comes from? I've heard a lot of people say this, but I recall Nutrition textbooks I've read saying it's 1g of protein per kg of lbm.

I've seen various requirements depending on what your current activies are. ie.. just diet, no exercise, diet and mainly cardio, diet and seriously weight lifting etc...

Whey Protein itself doesn't help with weight loss. A calorie deficit under your maintenance does.

This.

I could say that I really noticed that my weight loss increased once i started using protein powder. And that statement is completely accurate.

Here's the kicker. It's not causal; joe alludes to this. I started using protein powder because i became more concerned with my macronutrients, and at the same time I became more conscious about my calories and logging.

I have no doubt that the calorie counting is what's helping my weight loss. The added protein may, or may not, be helping me maintain muscle along with my strength training *shrug*.

Protein, in general, helps with weight loss. Protein keeps you from losing muscle, since it's used to repair & build muscle tissue. It also helps you burn fat, since the chemical reaction that burns fatty acids in your body also requires amino acids (protein). If you don't eat enough protein, and your body is trying to burn fat, it will take that protein from your muscles and you'll lose muscle mass. You don't want that.

MFP and the US RDA have the protein settings pretty low: they're designed for a person who's just maintaining their body weight. But if you're trying to lose weight without losing muscle, you should try to eat as many grams of protein per day as the # of pounds you weigh. Weigh 200 lb, eat 200g protein per day. Pretty simple.

Whey protein is valuable for people who have trouble getting enough protein from the food they eat. When I started this, I weighed 300 lb, and it was hard to get that much protein in one day just from normal food. So I've found protein powder very useful. Vegetarians & vegans also may have trouble getting their protein without using a protein powder.

I like " Brad Kings Whey Powder, " vanilla. Great in a smoothie with water and berries as a meal or after a good workout. I like to put a handful of spinach or kale in too and some ground flax seed, 1/2 banana if I have room in my daily calorie count.

You tried to eat 300 grams of protein? wow. I think someone mentioned l gram per LEAN muscle mass. I think that's a more accurate way of thinking about it. You don't really need to provide protein for your fat do you?

"Try? Do, or do not. There is no try."
I do eat 300 - 350g protein per day. I have for 7 1/2 months now. My doctor told me to eat at least 50g protein every 3 hrs. I have a metabolic disorder, insulin resistance, so he lowered my carbs to 25g per day. Since I'm not getting much energy from carbs, I have to get it from fat & protein.

As someone else said, it depends on your particular situation. If you are working your muscles hard, exercising a lot, you need more protein. Because protein does double duty: it gives you energy, and it also repairs & builds damaged muscles. So doctors generally recommend the equation of 1g protein per *lean* muscle mass if you're not trying to lose weight, but are trying to build muscle. If you're trying to lose weight and limiting your carbs, then the equation becomes 1g protein per *total* lb of body weight. The original poster wants to lose weight, so that's the equation I cited.

And yes, if you are burning fat, the chemical reaction does require protein. It's roughly three parts fat to one part protein. That's one reason why so many people lose weight and then immediately gain it back again: when they lose weight, they are losing both fat and muscle. But losing muscle means losing the engines that burn the most calories! So they'll lose weight, but then when they reach their goal weight they have less muscle mass than they did before, so their metabolism burns fewer calories. So when they try to eat "normally" again, it becomes a lot easier for them to overeat & take in more calories than they're burning, & they quickly get fat again.

But if you eat plenty of protein as you're losing, you can ensure that the only thing you're losing is fat. You may not lose as quickly, but you'll lose in a much more healthy way without losing muscle mass.