How much protein per shake is too much?

[backinthegymbro]

Does it matter how much protein is in a shake? Some websites say you can only absorb 35 grams of protein from a meal.
But how does that work? Cuz i imagine the food/shake is just in your stomach and gets digested over 24 hours and your body just takes what it needs.
So whether you take 1 big shake of 50 grams of protein, or 2 shakes of 25 grams of protein, one in the morning and one at night, it shouldn't make a difference right?

Reason i ask is because right now i take 1.5 scoops, which comes down to 36 grams of protein. Twice a day, so 72 grams from shakes.
Still i have a hard time reaching my desired protein intake because i'm on a cut and don't eat that much. Also steak is expensive.
So i want to do 2 scoops per shake, 2 shakes a day. which comes down to 98 grams of protein per day.

But of course i don't want to add more whey to my shakes if my body doesn't end up using it.
Anyone have any idea? Lot of broscience out there.

[paulinkansas]

This is just my own speculation, but the shakes probably get absorbed into your system quicker than whole sources of protein like steak. Example, eat a banana or have some orange juice. Your blood sugar will sort of spike. Now eat some more complex carbs like potatoes, they take longer to digest. I think the same theory applies to protein. The whey is pretty close to it's final form to be utilized by your body. Something like steak needs to be broken down more in order to be utilized. There is also fat in steak, and that might slow down the digestion.

Many years ago I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. It's not a technical climb. It's just walking uphill from 5,000 feet to 19,000 feet. It took 4-5 days. Our guides told us to buy a bunch of Cadbury bars with fruit in them. That's basically sugar. They said our bodies would not be able to digest more complex things like meat. So from about 12,000 feet and up all we ate were Cadbury bars. I didn't take a crap for 3 days. How this paragraph fits in with your question, I don't know. Just thought I would share that with you.

[air2fakie]

Not an answer to your Q, but can't you eat things like canned sardines/tuna, eggs, cottage cheese, beans, etc. to get extra protein so you don't need to get so much from shakes? Probably can do that within your cal deficit.

[paulinkansas]

can't you eat things like tuna.

Last week I went to Aldi. They had canned tuna. 69 cents a can, 22 grams of protein. I bought 24 cans. I compared the price per gram when compared to a tub of whey. The difference was pennies.

[air2fakie]

Last week I went to Aldi. They had canned tuna. 69 cents a can, 22 grams of protein. I bought 24 cans. I compared the price per gram when compared to a tub of whey. The difference was pennies.

But it'd allow OP to diversify his protein sources and timing in case it does matter. And every penny counts.

[paulinkansas]

But it'd allow OP to diversify his protein sources and timing in case it does matter. And every penny counts.

OP, you can keep a few cans of tuna, sardines and chicken in your vehicles. It's what I do. When I wake up each morning I have no idea what I'll have to be driving, what I'll be doing, or where and when I will be somewhere. And no idea when I'll have time for lunch or early dinner. Real food protien in cans is alot more transportable than a powder. I used to mix protein shakes and keep them in a mug in my vehicle. I'd drink it when I drive, but the roads around here are bumpy and I spill the whey on my shirt. It's not a look I like.

[EliKoehn]

Be careful with tuna though. I somewhat dismissed the caution about mercury poison and have been routinely eating 8 oz cans of it, almost daily. Starting to get the onset of some odd symptoms, so I've taken a few days off and am feeling a little better. Could be placebo but the caution is scientifically warranted.

Paul has a good point with the canned food option, but I'd look for some alternatives so you don't have to rely on tuna exclusively.

[Mrpb]

Does it matter how much protein is in a shake? Some websites say you can only absorb 35 grams of protein from a meal.
But how does that work? Cuz i imagine the food/shake is just in your stomach and gets digested over 24 hours and your body just takes what it needs.
So whether you take 1 big shake of 50 grams of protein, or 2 shakes of 25 grams of protein, one in the morning and one at night, it shouldn't make a difference right?

Reason i ask is because right now i take 1.5 scoops, which comes down to 36 grams of protein. Twice a day, so 72 grams from shakes.
Still i have a hard time reaching my desired protein intake because i'm on a cut and don't eat that much. Also steak is expensive.
So i want to do 2 scoops per shake, 2 shakes a day. which comes down to 98 grams of protein per day.

But of course i don't want to add more whey to my shakes if my body doesn't end up using it.
Anyone have any idea? Lot of broscience out there.

Are you having problems hitting 0.7 gram per lb?

For cutting I'd recommend to have at least 3 moments spread over the day where you're having at least 25 gram quality protein.

No point in having more than 40 gram protein from whey at once. It will max out MPS.

So whether you take 1 big shake of 50 grams of protein, or 2 shakes of 25 grams of protein, one in the morning and one at night, it shouldn't make a difference right?

It does make a difference. 1 big shake would stimulate MPS once, 2 shakes would stimulate it twice. The latter is preferable of course.

[xuerebx]

Are you having problems hitting 0.7 gram per lb?

For cutting I'd recommend to have at least 3 moments spread over the day where you're having at least 25 gram quality protein.

No point in having more than 40 gram protein from whey at once. It will max out MPS.



It does make a difference. 1 big shake would stimulate MPS once, 2 shakes would stimulate it twice. The latter is preferable of course.

I'm not sure of something related to this time window.

From the literature I've read 30-40g per meal is recommended (20-40g in the 'Science of Lifting'), but I'm sure that most of us get much more at least in the dinner sitting when eating meat. For example, every 100g of chicken yields around 30g of protein, and I eat around 200-300g of chicken (or whatever type of meat it is) which is a relatively normal portion size.

Does this mean the extra protein from this mean is potentially wasted? Assuming one gets the other necessary protein amounts from 2 other meals.

[Mrpb]

I'm not sure of something related to this time window.

From the literature I've read 30-40g per meal is recommended (20-40g in the 'Science of Lifting'), but I'm sure that most of us get much more at least in the dinner sitting when eating meat. For example, every 100g of chicken yields around 30g of protein, and I eat around 200-300g of chicken (or whatever type of meat it is) which is a relatively normal portion size.

Does this mean the extra protein from this mean is potentially wasted? Assuming one gets the other necessary protein amounts from 2 other meals.

When you eat more than 40 gram quality protein in a meal it means a relatively larger portion will be oxidized and more will be used for urea production. It's not necessarily a problem, just relatively less efficient when you're goal is building muscle.

Although such large protein feedings may result in muscle protein balance staying positive a bit longer.

PS. 100 gram raw chicken is 23 gram protein. 300 gram cooked chicken is a rather large portion.

[xuerebx]

Thanks. I measure raw so my 200-300g was uncooked.

Regarding the protein amount, one of the problems I find is inconsistenty in nutritional data. I've been using MFP and the protein amount was 31g per 100g raw (marked with a green tick indicating that it's an official source). There goes my estimates..

[Mrpb]

Thanks. I measure raw so my 200-300g was uncooked.

Regarding the protein amount, one of the problems I find is inconsistenty in nutritional data. I've been using MFP and the protein amount was 31g per 100g raw (marked with a green tick indicating that it's an official source). There goes my estimates..

yeah that's false. Cooked has ~31 gram protein.

When using MFP it's important to check the entries you're using at least the first time.

[SuffolkPunch]

IIRC you can tell which MFP entries were standard entries in the database - and which were added by users. The latter are much less reliable. I've seen cases where the calories were about right but it had 0,0,0 for the macros...

[xuerebx]

Thanks guys, I just spent over an hour going over my entries and revising them. Some of the entries which I took for granted that they should be correct were totally off the mark dammit!

Also, need to specify "Raw" in the names..didn't know people actually measured cooked meat.

[powerlifterer]

IMO you aren't really framing things correctly.

The reason you take in so much protein is as an insurance policy. Building muscle is a random process/event. You are making sure you are not short on aminos in order to have this process as close to optimal as possible when it happens to occur.

Of course there is no point in eating more protein over that threshold but you don't know what that threshold even is. You also don't know when those aminos will be needed.

People eating .5-1 gram per lb are almost certainly over insured. So what? There is basically no risk with being over insured and you need to get calories from something.

[smokinal]

My personal thoughts; no science other than bro.

I feel like the body can only absorb x amount at a time and will sh!t out the rest. So, I just make sure I'm ingesting a protein source about every 2 hrs, all day long. I know I won't go catabolic at 3 hrs, I just like knowing I have proteins running through me all day.

I'm ~170 these days and hit 210-220g per day pretty easily with a small morning shake with a bagel, 13oz chicken, dinner, another small shake before bed. I'm on bulk so I add about 3 tbsp PB with my whey

[backinthegymbro]

Thanks. I measure raw so my 200-300g was uncooked.

Regarding the protein amount, one of the problems I find is inconsistenty in nutritional data. I've been using MFP and the protein amount was 31g per 100g raw (marked with a green tick indicating that it's an official source). There goes my estimates..

Many MFP data is wrong. Always use the nutrition guide on the label of whatever you're buying for the most accurate info if possible.

[xuerebx]

Many MFP data is wrong. Always use the nutrition guide on the label of whatever you're buying for the most accurate info if possible.

Yeah that goes without saying man. I got the caloric and macro information for meat products wrong basically, since meat from the local butcher doesn't come with nutritional data (and I buy 90% of my meat from the local butcher, or even more difficult to calculate when buying a meal from a restaurant).

[CoffeeStout]

At my previous job I use to drink a 100G shake a day.......srs


( I had very little time to eat at work then )

[AdamWW]

At my previous job I use to drink a 100G shake a day.......srs


( I had very little time to eat at work then )

All at once?

[Mrpb]

My personal thoughts; no science other than bro.

I feel like the body can only absorb x amount at a time and will sh!t out the rest. So, I just make sure I'm ingesting a protein source about every 2 hrs, all day long. I know I won't go catabolic at 3 hrs, I just like knowing I have proteins running through me all day.

I'm ~170 these days and hit 210-220g per day pretty easily with a small morning shake with a bagel, 13oz chicken, dinner, another small shake before bed. I'm on bulk so I add about 3 tbsp PB with my whey

Some studies show every 2 hours is probably not enough time between feedings to become sensitive to leucine again. 3 hours is probably better.

[wilkinkc]

I eat a lot of chicken throughout the day. I buy smart chicken, its more expensive but I think it is definitely higher quality and tastes way better. On their website it lists the calories as 120 per serving size "4 oz edible portion". Just to clarify, I'm not alone in assuming that means AFTER it's cooked right? Most nutrition I'm able to find on chicken breast online gives nutrition for RAW. It's amazing how much the values can vary depending on what source you are using for the nutrition value.

[Mrpb]

I eat a lot of chicken throughout the day. I buy smart chicken, its more expensive but I think it is definitely higher quality and tastes way better. On their website it lists the calories as 120 per serving size "4 oz edible portion". Just to clarify, I'm not alone in assuming that means AFTER it's cooked right? Most nutrition I'm able to find on chicken breast online gives nutrition for RAW. It's amazing how much the values can vary depending on what source you are using for the nutrition value.

120 kcal and 26 gram protein for 4 oz means it's raw chicken breast.

Cooked has higher values. See: https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts...products/703/2

[wilkinkc]

120 kcal and 26 gram protein for 4 oz means it's raw chicken breast.

Cooked has higher values. See: https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts...products/703/2

Thank you for the reply, that is the conclusion I finally went with after doing some more research on different sites. I don't know why they would use that wording as it's pretty confusing to anyone who doesn't know any better.

[Mrpb]

Thank you for the reply, that is the conclusion I finally went with after doing some more research on different sites. I don't know why they would use that wording as it's pretty confusing to anyone who doesn't know any better.

Agreed it's pretty confusing. Two people already in this thread. And the question comes up about 10 times a year on this forum.

[CoffeeStout]

All at once?

I'd sip on it throughout the morning. Yep though, 3 scoops of whey w/skim milk, ice, water and PB.

[AdamWW]

I'd sip on it throughout the morning. Yep though, 3 scoops of whey w/skim milk, ice, water and PB.

That's pretty sub-optimal for MPS... would be better to drink 33g of protein spaced out by at least 3 hours... consuming 100g in a short window only gets you a single peak in MPS.

[Mrpb]

Sipping on a whey shake could actually lead to no peak in MPS.

[AdamWW]

Sipping on a whey shake could actually lead to no peak in MPS.

Good point.

[Dranseth]

When you eat more than 40 gram quality protein in a meal it means a relatively larger portion will be oxidized and more will be used for urea production. It's not necessarily a problem, just relatively less efficient when you're goal is building muscle.

Although such large protein feedings may result in muscle protein balance staying positive a bit longer.

PS. 100 gram raw chicken is 23 gram protein. 300 gram cooked chicken is a rather large portion.

Interesting and thank you for this. How much of an impact does increasing meal frequency actually have though? For example, 150g of protein spread out over three meals versus four meals.