Will you ever build muscle without proteins?

IllianaIman
IllianaIman Posts: 131
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Guys,

I absolutely hate the taste of protein shakes; I have been working out everyday doing 30 Stairmaster/or elliptical, and around 30-45 min of abs, lifting some weight….
I weight around 130lbs, and want to get leaner, healthier and get ride of BABY FAT. I was wondering if it was possible to build muscle without those shakes, and what I can replace it with. Please, feel free to add any tips that you might think would be helpful.

Also, I’m going away in 2 weeks, do you think I will get result with this type of workout?
Best,

Iman

Replies

  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    You don't need shakes but you do need protein in your diet. Which I'm sure you have. Log some weeks and eat more of the foods already in your diet that are rich in protein.

    You can't do much body recomposition in 2 weeks, usually.
  • IllianaIman
    IllianaIman Posts: 131
    I do eat protein (eggs, blueberries, nuts…), but I feel intimated at the gym, when I see all those “muscled people” with their protein shakes walking around.
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
    yes, it's possible to build muscle without shakes. replace the shakes with other forms of lean proteins. lean meats, eggs, greek yogurt, nuts, etc. but you won't build muscle at your weight on a deficit.
    in two weeks, you're probably not going to notice too much a difference, unless you're going to extreme measures (not recommended, obviously).
    also, you might want to consider switching your abs and lifting times so you're doing 30-45 minutes of lifting and maybe some abs. you do work your abs a lot more than you think if you're lifting free weights properly with good form, since you need to "activate your core" to keep your balance and keep your back from arching too much.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    like the pp stated you do need protien in your diet in order to build muscle - you need the amino acids in protiens...

    here is the thing - if you are looking to actually attempt to build muscle - you will need to eat more and will probably wind up GAINING weight...(but your body will probably look leaner and trimmer...

    check out this - http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    Also as far as protien shakes and such - a lot of people who are looking at building muscle do use various protien shakes which helps because they need a rather large amount of protien the shakes give the most bang in a compact setting - it allows for an extra 20-40 grams of protien.

    2 weeks - no...chances of seeing any sort of noticable difference is remote...
  • IllianaIman
    IllianaIman Posts: 131
    thanks for the tips, I will check the web site! :flowerforyou:
  • fenrirGrey
    fenrirGrey Posts: 110 Member
    As long as you meet your macro %ge of protein through any other means (eggs, chicken, tofu, seitan, cottage cheese...) you don't need to get near a protein shake.

    And agree with the earlier poster - that is a lot of ab workout. Doing more weight training will actually give you a leaner look faster then just doing abs. My two cents =)
  • dentedearmuffs1
    dentedearmuffs1 Posts: 34
    I hate the taste of whey protein shakes too. But you should check out Myofusion protein supplements. They come in different flavors and they taste amazing - nothing like the chalkiness of whey. You can use either skim milk or mix with water. I didn't believe it would taste as good as people said it did but now I think it's basically crack.
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
    Sure! Eat chicken, fish, eggs, anything else containing protein. Shakes are great ways to get JUST protein, but they're not 100% essential. In order to build muscle though, protein is pretty important :wink:
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
    As long as you meet your macro %ge of protein through any other means (eggs, chicken, tofu, seitan, cottage cheese...) you don't need to get near a protein shake.

    And agree with the earlier poster - that is a lot of ab workout. Doing more weight training will actually give you a leaner look faster then just doing abs. My two cents =)

    ^^^ THIS. I can attest to this. I worked just triceps, biceps, and shoulders yesterday and I didn't realize it, but my abs were getting a workout just doing that. If you keep your core engaged while you lift, additional ab work really is just that: additional. But have fun with it if that's your thing!
  • wolfehound22
    wolfehound22 Posts: 859 Member
    Of course its possible, protein shakes are just an easy way to get a lot of protein without a ton of calories or other stuff. Eating other lean proteins, like othere people stated. The main thing you need to do is lift more, only doing "some lifitng" won't help you gain muscle. Increase that a few days a week, and you should be fine.
  • wolfehound22
    wolfehound22 Posts: 859 Member
    Also, like other people stated that is a whole lot of abs, you only need to do abs 3 days a week. You should treat it like other body parts, you wouldn't do bench press or bicept curls everyday, so you shouldn't work your abs everyday either. They need time to rest and recover.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    You need protein to not die.

    Nobody needs shakes, food is perfectly adequate.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Hi Guys,

    I absolutely hate the taste of protein shakes; I have been working out everyday doing 30 Stairmaster/or elliptical, and around 30-45 min of abs, lifting some weight….
    I weight around 130lbs, and want to get leaner, healthier and get ride of BABY FAT. I was wondering if it was possible to build muscle without those shakes, and what I can replace it with. Please, feel free to add any tips that you might think would be helpful.

    Also, I’m going away in 2 weeks, do you think I will get result with this type of workout?
    Best,

    Iman
    You can do it without shakes, but physiologically muscle can ONLY be built from protein. Carbs and fats won't do it. And protein is ESSENTIAL for life. So eat up if you can't drink up.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    You don't need protein shakes or supplements to reach your protein goals. They are supplements not replacements for whole food protein. You can get your protein from whole foods like eggs, meat, beans, dairy, etc. However, shakes are great though for getting in a decent amount of protein quickly and economically.
  • bobbybdoe
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
    Hi Guys,

    I absolutely hate the taste of protein shakes; I have been working out everyday doing 30 Stairmaster/or elliptical, and around 30-45 min of abs, lifting some weight….
    I weight around 130lbs, and want to get leaner, healthier and get ride of BABY FAT. I was wondering if it was possible to build muscle without those shakes, and what I can replace it with. Please, feel free to add any tips that you might think would be helpful.

    Also, I’m going away in 2 weeks, do you think I will get result with this type of workout?
    Best,

    Iman
    You can do it without shakes, but physiologically muscle can ONLY be built from protein. Carbs and fats won't do it. And protein is ESSENTIAL for life. So eat up if you can't drink up.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    What this incredibly smart guy said ^
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Not really adding much to what already has been said:

    - you won't build muscle on a deficit (except for some very small gains for newbie lifters or very overweight folks
    - you can preserve as much muscle mass as possible by lifting weights and ingesting enough protein
    - other things have a lot of protein (berries do not however) including dairy
    - you will need to focus on lifting more than 'lift some weights'
    - you will not see much progress in 2 weeks.
    - resistance training is extrememly beneficial, and not solely due to aesthetics
    - there are loads of tasty protein shakes and powder out there - keep trying them out until you find one you like (and mix the powders with milk - they taste nasty with water)

    Edited to fix typos (there are probably more!)
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I also hate just plain protein powder shakes, they're awful.
    I usually end up:

    slicing avacado and putting it in a frying pan with coconut oil and cracking an egg mixed with protein powder into the holes of the avacado putting an egg and chocolate protein together to make a pancake...topped with peanut butter

    Putting protein powder in steel cut oats

    Putting protein powder in plain greek yogurt

    Using sprinkles elsewhere.

    If it's mixed into a large shake with lots of fruit I don't notice the whey. But I don't like it by itself or with milk. I really like the above things I menntioned though. Especially the pancakes (and I dont like pancakes)
  • sethdphoto
    sethdphoto Posts: 49
    Protein shakes a merely a supplement to the lean protein you should be getting from your diet. You should be getting 1-1.5 grams of protein for every pound you weigh. Shakes are a great way to make up what you still need to ingest, but do not rely on them as a protein "source" per se.

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