Protein powder vs Real food?

[mattroldan93]

Should I keep drinking my protein shakes after weight training or should I eat real food? I still eat real food throughout the day but will protein powder do me any bad?

What if I eat 3 real meals a day and 3 protein shakes... any harm?
http://www.optimumnutrition.com/prod...ard-p-201.html

[MCrow]

You should try to do with as few shakes as you can and still get your protein for the day. Not to mention the protein from real food has a higher thermic affect so it lends itself to being more helpful for losing/maintaining weight.

Be sure to take a good multi as well.

[Pennyw1se]

Real food > whey protein. You should supplement your diet with protein shakes and not substitute a protein shake for a real meal. For example, if you are short a couple dozen grams of protein then have a shake. Or have a shake post workout but dont skip "breakfast" and have a shake. Most whey protein powder is absorbed quickly and you'll be hungry a lot sooner than if you had eaten a real meal.

[PBateman2]

real food > whey protein. You should supplement your diet with protein shakes and not substitute a protein shake for a real meal.

^^Bam!

[Brokerb22]

I copy what everyone else already said. I used to have 5-6 protein shakes a day because it was quicker and I have a busy schedule. Consuming too much whey is harder on your kidneys than protein from food. I switched to only 2 protein shakes a day and I saw a huge difference in the way I felt. Less bloating, and I didn't get hungry as fast either.

[Kaz85]

Work out your macros and eat your real food. There is no real subsitute for real food. Protein powder is a supplement to your diet and not a replacement. It just helps you hit your daily protein needs, if you are a busy person, either way id supplement regardless, whey protein is a protein that is quickly abosrbed by your body. After your workout your body is in need of glucose more than protein. So take your protein shake and intake some carbs

[pinoykcin]

Protein shakes are called a supplement for a reason, it just helps you along the way. Like if you ate chicken all day for protein, and only got 100g worth, then 2 servings (240 cals/48g) of optimum would get you to around 148, if thats what your goal was.

Also if you buy the protein, get it from bb.com its much cheaper.

[muscleshakes]

Work out your macros and eat your real food. There is no real subsitute for real food. Protein powder is a supplement to your diet and not a replacement. It just helps you hit your daily protein needs, if you are a busy person, either way id supplement regardless, whey protein is a protein that is quickly abosrbed by your body. After your workout your body is in need of glucose more than protein. So take your protein shake and intake some carbs

I get this bit also always wondered why everyone says food is sooo much better than powder. If the powder helps u hit your daily total then it works rights? If it works then isn't it closer to the same as we think? I'm not saying drink 6-7 shakes for your 200 grams but what about 3 meals and 3 shakes? I know people who do that natural guys that look damn good. They said they sometimes eat 6 meals s day for 4-6 weeks but didn't get bigger or more muscular so their results were the same

[matman1813]

I get this bit also always wondered why everyone says food is sooo much better than powder. If the powder helps u hit your daily total then it works rights? If it works then isn't it closer to the same as we think? I'm not saying drink 6-7 shakes for your 200 grams but what about 3 meals and 3 shakes? I know people who do that natural guys that look damn good. They said they sometimes eat 6 meals s day for 4-6 weeks but didn't get bigger or more muscular so their results were the same

Strong bump. But the reason people prefer real food is for satiation, it's a big issue for a lot of people whilst on a cut.

[Monsterarms]

I see lots of answers given to your question all of which are regurgitated crap from sheep following the same old story. Let me give you the facts and so you know Im 300 pound monster whos been bodybuilding for 25 years from the days when Arnie was my hero so my information comes from 25 years of experience I'm 45 years old now and still pumping iron 6 days a week. and yes i did compete when I was younger.

People will tell you its best to eat your protein and in theory yes if you don't have a job or your a pro bodybuilder or you have nothing better to do but sit at home and cook all day but in reality your body does not know what source of protein it has received it only knows its protein so for 25 years I've eaten maybe 3 meals a day and supplemented my protein intake with meal replacements and various whey protein powders and lots of vitamins and minerals. I currently eat a little in the morning, lunch and evening dinner all good whole foods and some fruit during the day. on top of which I make sure I take protein drinks and meal replacements every 3 hours through out the day and last thing at night before you go to sleep take casein protein. so 3 meals a day and about 6 to 7 protein drinks a day works just as well as 8 to 10 meals a day.

People will say but you lose the thermogenic affect if you don't eat all the time and again yes if your a pro it may make a difference but not for you and if that's your concern do a bit more Cardio to stimulate your metabolism and as for the other argument you wont get enough minerals either, 3 meals a day supplemented with good vits and mins and good protein powders is plenty enough to sustain growth.

Todays protein powders are far superior to when I first started in fact the the good quality brands have a much more clean protein and much better absorption rate than nearly all the whole foods you can eat and who has time or wants to eat 10 times a day pros only do it when they are competing so unless you want to be on stage and make it as a pro then you don't have to go crazy eating all the time as long as you get the protein your body needs.

Understand the basics people everyone is looking for that special secret there is no secret here are the basics

Make sure you take protein in every 3 hours be it with some whole foods of meal replacement or protein powder your body needs protein and bear in mind to keep your body growing you need to keep it in a Anabolic state this means when you go without protein for a long period of time and one of your muscles need protein to repair it self it will take it from other muscles and organs to fuel the repair this makes you catabolic this happens most often when you go to sleep as you cant take protein when your sleeping unless you wake in the middle of the night like to pros and eat, the way around this is take 50 grams of Casein which will sustain you for about 7 hours until you wake up and then take another protein shake or have your egg protein breakfast to keep the body in its Anabolic state.
Many bodybuilders make the mistake of just having a few protein meals or shakes a day but this will not make you grow fast you will go in and out if catabolism you need to keep protein in your body 24 hours a day feeding the muscles and repairing them any good pro will tell you this. So you understand if you are anabolic for 12 hours a day and 12 hours catabolic there is 12 hours when you body needs fuel and if it doesn't have the protein readily available it will take it from your arms chest leg muscles liver and kidneys to repair the other muscles that needs it so guess what your not growing in those 12 hours your body is eating your own protein from other muscles basic human biology. Why do you think the pros eat every 3 hours and get up in the middle of the night to eat to stop the catabolic affect. if you want to grow 24 hours a day keep the protein intake going round and round 24 hours a day.

workout out as often as you can minimum 3 days a week and that's the bear minimum. If you want to grow faster 5 days a week is better with 2 rest days and keep the body jacked with with protein. When training lift heavy and to failure this will damage the muscles more often and stress the fibers and they will repair and get stronger and bigger faster. working out just so you get tired will make you fitter but wont make the muscles grow as fast, the body adapts very well to conditioning but if you try and lift until your muscles wont lift any more they are forced to grow to compensate they wont compensate much if all they are is tired from spending all day in the gym talking ****. A good workout shouldn't take more that one and half hours. I can destroy 2 muscle groups in this time

There is a huge amount of speculation and miss information in the world of bodybuilding specially from suppliers trying to sell you supplements but the basics will never change protein is protein guys so whether its in the form of a shake or food they do the same thing with the exception of a little thermogenic affect you get from eating they work identically withing the body and as a matter of opinion I prefer to take shakes than eating all the time it keeps my waist slim because of the lack of fats you normally get from food and i don't feel bloated all the time from stuffing my face.

And yes I read lots of articles saying that whole foods are the best way to go but trust me I'm living proof that good protein taken from a good whey source works just as well as all the chicken and steak in the world, anyone who doubts it I ask them to research what protein actually is before you make a decision there is no difference apart from the quality and better quality protein is the one that is engineered into powder form not from whole food.

I hope this goes some way to clearing this up for you

[Rooskie93]

I still eat real food I just also have a shake for example my breakfast is oats, banana, protein shake and then when I train in the afternoon I have a protein shake after training and that's for losing weight and it's dropping off me at the moment.

[JessicaT20]

Hi everyone

[Casedogg43]

yes, keep drinking your protein shake after your workout.
Add a banana or two in it as well.

Replace other two shakes with real food if possible.