What is up, guys!? Today we’re gonna talk about protein. We get a lot of questions regarding this topic and people keep asking us in and outside of the gym: What kind of protein shakes do I need or, do I really need protein shakes?
In a market that is targeted at people who want quick results, supplement companies can basically sell anything. They create a problem, that you are not aware of or isn’t even there in the first place.
So, in this post we’re going to give you a Bayesian-style answer to your question: Do I need protein shakes?
What you first have to understand is that total caloric intake matters when it comes to your goal. You hear a lot of people say: Yo, you gotta eat all the protein, bro! But if you want to lose fat, you can eat all the protein you want, but if your total caloric intake is higher than your output, you will not lose fat.
And when it comes to gaining muscle, you can eat all the protein, but there will not be any benefit from beyond a certain range.
Based on the research, regardless of whether you are following an optimized program or you are advanced training athlete, there is no advantage of consuming more than 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight (unless you are using PEDs or you are vegetarian/vegan).
This research is performed on elite level athletes, so don’t be a keyboard warrior and claim you are much stronger or much more advanced than the studied subjects.
And this is regardless of whether you want to lose fat or gain muscle. If you do the math, you will see that it’s not super hard to actually hit your protein intake.
To keep it as simple as possible, I’m going to give you easiest calculation:
For a girl weighing in at 55kg x 1.8 = 99 grams of protein. That means that if a girl was to eat ~30 grams of protein per meal, she can easily hit her target.
250 grams of Skyr – 125 grams of poultry/meat/fish – 125 grams of poultry/meat/fish.
The protein target will eventually be hit by adding protein from other sources like bread, pasta, potatoes, vegetables, etc.
For a guy weighing in at 80kg x 1.8 = 144 grams of protein.
250 grams of Skyr – 175 grams of poultry/meat/fish – 175 grams of poultry/meat/fish – 250 grams of Skyr. Here the protein target will also eventually be hit by adding protein from other sources like bread, pasta, potatoes, vegetables, etc.
Please understand that protein powder isn’t something magical. It’s the same as when you get your protein from dairy, poultry, meat or fish.
And as you can see, it’s not hard to hit your protein intake. But, we’ve been there too and we understand that you like to drink a shake every now and then. Because, hey, it’s part of the fitness culture. Besides, if you don’t have too much time on your hands or just want to get a quick meal in, a protein shake might come in handy.
In that case, you subtract the amount of protein in a shake from the meals above and you are good to go. Instead of 250 grams of Skyr, you take a protein shake.
Please pay attention to the protein quality though. As you want a complete amino profile. Miss me with that bullshit, because there aren’t really any benefits from having a hydrolyzed/isolated protein shake, since muscle protein synthesis aka repairing your muscles, is a long and intensive process, which you want to maximize. If you are taking an isolated shake or even whey, you are not maximizing your result or getting the maximum benefit. In that case, you want to grab a mix of whey and casein or mix your whey with milk.
So, how do we do it? Actually, we don’t. It’s not like if you miss one meal, you are gonna miss out an all of your gains. Just sit through your ‘hunger’ till you can actually take your time to take a seat and eat. Besides, there are plenty of protein meals/snack left, which barely need any preparation. But if you’re like Aahhhh, my anabolic window grab a bun from the supermarket and throw some grilled chicken, ham or turkey on it. Or get some greek yoghurt with some fruit, a tuna pouch with some crackers. It’s simple as.
The other option would be: Let’s say you are really craving some Nutella like I did this morning. I grabbed three buns and put some Nutella on it. Now for me, I don’t really care that it doesn’t have much protein in there because I just go through the day and add a little bit more protein to my other meals. And that’s the way I like to teach it to my Superhumans, rather than: yo, I didn’t have my 30grams of protein, let me grab a shake to balance it out.
In short:
- No, you do not need protein shakes. They might come in handy and if you were to take some, grab one with a complete amino profile (a mix of whey and casein for example)
- But then again, it’s very easy to hit your protein target.
- Side note: If you are a vegan or have a dairy allergy, you might benefit from protein shakes. This can help in completing the amino profile and maximise muscle protein synthesis.
