Protein powder/weight loss

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Phee

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I go to the gym 3-4 days a week, monday I work chest/arms, wednesday is legs/back and friday is shoulders. I currently weigh 250 and have lost 40 pounds so far, as well as increased my muscle mass, and what I lift over the last 5 months. My question is about protein powder, is it recommended to take protein powder before and after a workout if I am trying to lose weight but gain muscle at the same time?

My eating schedule is:

breakfest
snack
lunch
snack
dinner


Would a protein shake be enough to replace the snacks if I go to the gym after lunch?
 
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Your main issue is that you think you can lose fat while gaining muscle. Only newbies can do that, and it wears off after a couple months.

it sounds like you want to lose fat the most right now. a shake is fine as long as you stay within your calorie guidelines. i find upping protein and lowering carbs, especially carb cycling, works well for MY body. Others see less change in their body...and still others just go low carb completely, no cycling.

Pair your protein shake with something like fruit, un-salted nuts (like almonds)...something to give you a little more 'complete' meal. dont' think of it as 'meals' and 'snacks'. Everything is a meal and you should think of it that way.

even a shake and a garden salad would work. have that second 'snack' post-workout, maybe with a banana for the carbs.
 
malkore said:
Your main issue is that you think you can lose fat while gaining muscle. Only newbies can do that, and it wears off after a couple months.

it sounds like you want to lose fat the most right now. a shake is fine as long as you stay within your calorie guidelines. i find upping protein and lowering carbs, especially carb cycling, works well for MY body. Others see less change in their body...and still others just go low carb completely, no cycling.

Pair your protein shake with something like fruit, un-salted nuts (like almonds)...something to give you a little more 'complete' meal. dont' think of it as 'meals' and 'snacks'. Everything is a meal and you should think of it that way.

even a shake and a garden salad would work. have that second 'snack' post-workout, maybe with a banana for the carbs.
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Loosing fat & making muscle gains is possible to achieve, although there is a very fine balancing act to accomplish first.

I would highly recommend that this guy should make his bedtime meal, 45g protein blend with 3tsb 100% peanut butter, as soon as he/she wakes up eat a bannana & protein shake that will surly fight off the catabolism
 
I would not recommend taking protein before workouts since its mainly used to repair muscle after workouts so it would not really help you during your workout. honestly, if you eat enough "other" protein (i assume your taking whey?) from chicken, beef, milk, etc. you should have enough for your muscles to use.

im not quite sure how those diets work (eating more protein and less carbs or vise versa) but ive read that it takes your body more energy to process proteins than it does carbs.
 
Khris107 said:
Loosing fat & making muscle gains is possible to achieve, although there is a very fine balancing act to accomplish first.

I would highly recommend that this guy should make his bedtime meal, 45g protein blend with 3tsb 100% peanut butter, as soon as he/she wakes up eat a bannana & protein shake that will surly fight off the catabolism
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By bedtime meal do you mean dinner? I try not to eat or drink anything other then water after 7pm.

My meals usually look like this:

Meal 1: All Bran cereal high in fibre w/ skim milk, and a banana.

Meal 2: Fruit smoothie, mixed frozen fruits, half a cup of yogurt, and a cup of skim milk blended together,

Meal 3: 1 pc of grilled(bbq) chicken or a drained can of tuna, and salad (lettuce, tomatoe, green/red pepper)

Meal 4: usually a fruit, or carrots, something along the lines of that.

Meal 5: Either salad or whole grain rice, and 1 pc of grilled chicken.


Any comments on my meal plan would be nice too. I forgot to mention I do cardio on everyday of the week, usually a jog or a long bike ride.

I was thinking of getting whey protein but I am not sure if it would help me that much as I usually have around 30g of protein after a workout. Just thought of getting for days that I dont go straight home from the gym so I dont miss out on the protein I need.
 
If you are not getting enough carbs or cals your body will take protien for energy. meaning breaking down ur muscles and using them. They are converted to energy very effeciently.
 
Valentine817 said:
If you are not getting enough carbs or cals your body will take protien for energy. meaning breaking down ur muscles and using them. They are converted to energy very effeciently.
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Hi Valentine817. That statement appears to be incorrect as how do low-carb diets work? You need to do a bit of reading as your logic is all wrong.
 
Lo-carb diets work because each gram of carbs counts out 4 calories. You are basically cutting calories. Also, If you do any physical activity carbs are converted to glycogen and used as energy, if the energy is not used it is stored as fat. If you do not have ENOUGH carbs in your diet your body is going to need something else for energy and then it will start to break down fat for energy. This is how lo-carb diets work. and I don't suggest using them if you are on a workout regimine it's going to be hell on muscle endurance. Fats do not convert to energy fast enough, so yout body will want a source of energy quickly and in that case it is going to use amino acids.

I hope I cleared things up. :)
 
valentine (and anyone who can shed some light on my question),

your logic seems to make sense in that yeah if your body runs out of carbs to use as energy, it'll use the fat/protein in your body thus burning fat and looking slimmer, and i guess this would constitute as a high protein/low carb diet? if its really that easy then why are there so many other diets out there? im sure everyone has different needs but is it really as simple as it sounds, eat more protein and less carbs? isnt there a diet where you eat lots of carbs as a substitute for protein or fat?

i guess for me, i still want to gain a little bit more muscle but my main focus is burning the small layer of fat on top (about 80% focus on cutting fat vs. 20% building muscle) so i tend to do more cardio than lifting. which diet would be the best for a person trying to reach those goals?

thanks in advance!
 
TarHeelBred said:
valentine (and anyone who can shed some light on my question),

your logic seems to make sense in that yeah if your body runs out of carbs to use as energy, it'll use the fat/protein in your body thus burning fat and looking slimmer, and i guess this would constitute as a high protein/low carb diet? if its really that easy then why are there so many other diets out there? im sure everyone has different needs but is it really as simple as it sounds, eat more protein and less carbs? isnt there a diet where you eat lots of carbs as a substitute for protein or fat?

i guess for me, i still want to gain a little bit more muscle but my main focus is burning the small layer of fat on top (about 80% focus on cutting fat vs. 20% building muscle) so i tend to do more cardio than lifting. which diet would be the best for a person trying to reach those goals?

thanks in advance!
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Yes, a high protien low carb diet does work. BUT typically you wil have very low glucose levels and if you decide to workout it is going to be hell getting through them. Your body can convert amino acids to glucose efficiantly but nothing comes better for energy as regular old carbs do. actually the breakdown of carbs starts IN your mouth by an enzyme called amylase. put a normal cracker in your mouth a white non salted cracker and let it sit there an you will start to taste a sweet sensation. that is the amylase breaking down the carbs into glucose (blood sugar) .

So, my advice is. eat your carbs 1 hour before your workout and a little bit after workout so you dont have rapidly depliting glycogen stores. it's bad news. I forgot to eat my carbs after a workout one day and BAM I felt like i was going to pass out. Remember your bodys chief source of energy is carbohydrates. I chose to not ignore that fact. But if you want to gain muscle then you will need to lift weights. lifting weights will also increase your metabolism bcause it takes more energy to use and maintain muscle than it does fat of course.
 
Tommo565 said:
Will the body use protein (muscle) over and above fat?
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If there is not sufficient gycogen availible yes. If you are excercising very lightly such as walking. it will typically use FAT as energy, but this is goin to do litle for brning calories unless you are walking for hours. sorry is my typng is off. I have a new computer and the keys are wee small. Anyways, it will use protien if it needs fast energy such as after a workout if you do not get sufficient protien and carbs yoru body needs energy to repair itself. so it's going to use amino acids and basically the workout you just did was useless. besdes for cardiorespiratory benefits
 
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