Should I be drinking protien shake??

Hi all I'm curious what everyone thinks. Should I be drinking a protein shake after work?

As I have heard you can not build muscle if you do not supply your body with protein, as I'm a girl anyway I'm not going to get muscle, I just want a little bit of definition not much.

With regards to my work it can be hard at times with a lot of lifting, then riding track horse's. I just seem to be losing weight not getting any stronger.

So should I drink a protein shake?

Also does anyone else get this problem. I wake up so hungry I eat a very big breakfest but I just get super hungry again in like 2hours or less. It seems like I'm always hungry but I'm always eatting.

Any advice would be great.

Depends on what the rest of your diet is. To gain muscle quickly, says the AIS, you need 1.2-2g of protein for each kg of bodyweight, and to be overall consuming more calories than you expend. For example, if you are 70kg then to gain muscle you need 70-140g protein daily, and a lot of other food to keep your energy up.

70-140g is not too hard to consume. A restaurant steak is 220g total and would have about 55g protein. The vegies, milk with your cereal for breakfast and so on would easily knock it over the 70g level.

Many people trying to gain muscle have several small meals a day, rather than three big ones and some snacks. I am too lazy to prepare them all so I stick to the three big ones and snacks. However, if you are hungry and not gaining muscle then you definitely need to eat more - how you spread it out is up to you.

Since you want to gain muscle size and are also hungry, probably you lack protein and enough calories overall. "But I'm always eating!" Well, as the AIS puts it "Many athletes with high-energy needs are surprised to find they consume less than they think."

I suggest the same protein/carb drink I have, I drink half before and half after the workout:

500ml milk, 3 eggs, 100g skim milk powder

This costs about $1.80 to make (much cheaper than most protein powders), and contains 73g protein, 80g carbs, and 44g fat, totalling 1,000 calories.

There was a study that showed that untrained young males who trained on the same workout for 12 weeks, both groups had the protein/carb drink, but one had it breakfast and dinner, the other had it before and after the workout, the second lot of guys had the biggest muscular gains.

The best gains come if you drink half before your weights workout and half afterwards. During a workout glycogen (the way your body stores energy for short-term use) gets used up in about half an hour. So you need some carbs and fat in your stomach to replace it, or existing muscle and fat will get chewed up - you mightn't mind losing the fat, but the muscle will be eaten, too.

After a workout your muscles are torn up and being repaired, so your body will look for a quick source of protein, if there's some already in your stomach it'll use that.

Lastly, I would note that "as I'm a girl anyway I'm not going to get muscle" is not true. You will get muscle if you train hard and eat well, it's just that your gains will be slower than most males, and your ultimate potential for total muscle gain is lower, too. After a few months of dedicated training and diet you should be able to beat every non-lifting male you know in an arm wrestle, and after a year or two lift greater weights than you ever thought possible.

I'm not saying you should do that, or should want to, just that it's possible. Much more depends on your willpower than on what's in your pants.

gtrb26dett said:

So should I drink a protein shake?

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yes, yes you should

Hmm, not too sure about the raw egg, but otherwise I like the idea of using skim milk powder. Just curious, why skim milk and not milk powder? Or why the powder in the first place - why not drink a truckload of milk?

Terrific post Kyle really helpful, I feel like I am in the same boat always hungry and I eat every 2hrs but as you say I dont think I am consuming enough protein/calories in my main meals for the amount of exercise I do. Thanks, again

my post workout shake:

2 scoops whey
30g dextrose
water

347 cals
4g fat
48g protein
30g carbs

protein is about 96c a serve, dextrose about 15c, shake = $2.07

it would be much cheaper if i used unbranded natural whey. ive got a thing about eating raw eggs so i dont think i could stomach your shake Kyle!

katie said:

Hmm, not too sure about the raw egg,

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People are usually worried about taste, and food safety.

3 eggs in 500ml milk with the powder, if you can taste those eggs you missed your calling and should become a professional wine taster.

Food safety, same as everything - cook it and chill it, or keep it chilled, and you'll be right.

katie said:

but otherwise I like the idea of using skim milk powder. Just curious, why skim milk and not milk powder?

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Skim has more protein and carbs and less fat. Varies by brand, but looking at the ones I have now, in each 100g powder,

Skim has 35g protein, 52g carbs and 2g fat, 107cal
Full has 25g protein, 39g carbs and 28g fat, 180cal

As a person whose diet is otherwise healthy and balanced, I need protein more than I need calories. Basically I have my normal diet for maintenance, half the drink to workout with, and half the drink to build up.

I do think I need to eat more, though. I'm slowly increasing it.

Or why the powder in the first place - why not drink a truckload of milk?

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First, I don't want to drink a truckload of milk Though that is a three-month programme for 15-25 year olds wanting to bulk up, GOMAD, gallon (3.785lt) of milk a day.

Second, it's the cheapest way to get milk's proteins, fats and carbs.
Milk powder is usually $7 for 1kg, and will make 7.5-8lt of milk, for about $0.90/lt.
UHT milk is usually $1.08 for 1lt (though is on special at Coles this week for $0.80/lt, we bought 2 boxes plus some for a total of 24lt, should keep us going a bit)
Fresh milk varies a lot, but is typically around $1.50/lt, cheaper in bulk.

So if you really are going to drink a truckload of milk, the milk powder is the way to go. For example the GOMAD would over 13 weeks cost you about $210 more with fresh milk than with milk powder. That'd cover that bulking teenager's gym membership for that time!

Polly, some years back I dated a woman who did a nutrition class, they all kept a food diary and calculated out all their various calories and stuff. Basically most of the blokes were eating heaps of meat and would just be pooing out most of the protein, and the women were eating not enough calories, but too much fat among those calories... and nobody had enough vitamins and minerals.

What it comes down to is eat your vegies like your mum told you

Kyle Aaron said:

First, I don't want to drink a truckload of milk Though that is a three-month programme for 15-25 year olds wanting to bulk up, GOMAD, gallon (3.785lt) of milk a day.

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not just for teenagers, it works for anyone

Kyle Aaron said:

Food safety, same as everything - cook it and chill it, or keep it chilled, and you'll be right.

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Raw eggs can contain salmonella,

Cooking raw eggs before adding to your shake wouldn't be be real flash.lol

Chilling them will not prevent you from getting a nasty case of the trots for days.,

The eggs will not look rotten, so you wont be able to tell..

i think kyle used to be a chef....not sure how good of a chef though

hyjak said:

not just for teenagers, it works for anyone

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Sure.

But most people after their teens don't want to bulk quite as much...

trofius said:

Raw eggs can contain salmonella,

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Short version: do not buy out of date eggs, leave them on the bench for a week in the summer, and then eat them raw... or at all. Instead buy them with the latest use-by date possible and keep them in a cold fridge.

I happen to know a bit about food safety, being a chef (working on former chef) and HACCP (food) instructional qualified. Good chef or bad, I never made anyone sick

The problem here is not raw eggs, but their handling. This is the same as chicken, milk, cooked rice, or any other food.

Most raw eggs contain salmonella, as does chicken. Rice contains cereus (if you've ever seen rice turn pink after being left out, that's what it was). All raw meat and dairy products contain some bacteria which in small doses are harmless, but in large doses are poisonous.

Bacteria go from being a small dose to a large dose by being kept warm for some hours. Like humans, they do not reproduce well when it's very cold.

The danger zone for all foods is 5-65C. Below 5C most bacteria can't reproduce, and above 65C most bacteria die.

In food preparation, always ensure food remains below or above those temperatures, and when passing between those temperatures, does so as quickly as possible. Cook food at high temperature, and food when cooked if not eaten straight away should be put in the fridge/freezer uncovered until it's cooled.

Keep raw and cooked food separate in the fridge; cooked food at the top, raw at the bottom.

Cases of food poisoning occur mostly in the home, and happen because people do things like defrost a chicken by leaving it on the bench overnight (0-25C over hours), or get out prawns on Christmas Day, leave them out in 30C heat then eat them on Boxing Day (at 30C for hours), or cook frozen turkeys in the oven at 120C for six hours so that parts of the bird are in the temperature danger zone for a couple of hours, that sort of thing.

Cases of food poisoning from raw eggs almost exclusively come from making mayonnaise, hollandaise and the like. The person makes the dressing with the raw egg and then leaves it out for hours at warm room temperature. Leave milk out at warm room temperature for hours, what happens to it? Same with eggs.

If your eggs have been refrigerated properly and are before their use-by date, there is no reason to expect them to contain a dangerous level of salmonella.

But them fresh and keep them in a cold fridge, and eat before the use-by date.

Go ahead, knock 'em back. If it was good enough for Rocky, it's good enough for you.

Really good post kyle it is really scary the condition of some peoples refrigerators, and how they handle food...
I am a bit fanatical about whta I eat and how it is stored, like you I hav espent a fair bit of time around food, while not a chef, as such, I have worked at various fast food and not so fast food ( ie actually cooked meals) for about 15 years..

Now I spend my time identifying the bacteria that infect humans, as a pathology scientist in a microbiology lab..salmonella is nasty, Bacillus cereus that grows on rice is also very nasty, esp when dodgy chinese places reheat their rice on monday from the weekend....be affraid, lol

And yes most people would run screaming if they knew what was gowing on their small goods, most of the bacteria that grows, is relatively harmless unless it is really out of control. there are quite a few however that are quite common and potentially quite upsetting if ingested.., they are just there waiting to make you sick, and that due to poor buturing practices, and personal hygene of food handlers.

The issue i was leaning towards with the eggs is two fold the first that kyle touches on that aggs as they leave the chook end up covered with salmonella, Salmonella is a natural gut bacteria in chook. teh salmonell guts into the food from the outside of the shell. also Poorly butured chook will contaminate the meat with the chooks faecal material..salmonella.

The second thing is salmonella can get inside the egg before the shell has hardened, esp in chooks in bad condition. there are various pics around of chooks eggs that contain ants, bugs, geckos!, etc, so bacteria has no problem getting in., this gives it more of a fighting chance, so any egg product not properly cooked is getting added to your food, rather than accidently contaminating it from the shell.

So as kyle suggests look after your eggs, properly, keep them well chilled, and cook them well.....

Pathology scientist, mate! You should have said so in the first place. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred people online are just mouthing off, "I read somewhere..." Still I suppose the explanation will help others.

Basic things are,

• cook food quickly, and refrigerate/freeze it if not eaten straight away
• refrigerate any raw food
• defrost food in microwave, or overnight in fridge
• wash with hot soapy water chopping boards immediately after having raw meat on them, and after using them
• wash your hands after going to the toilet
• sometimes you are not sure if the food is still good - when in doubt, throw it out
• cook your own food

If you follow all those then you are very unlikely to ever get sick and all you have to worry about is your bad cooking

Yes hyjak, it has gone off on a tangent...apologies to the OP.

But on topic again, A protein skake i find is conveinent, as you can get a lot more into you quicker than if you had to sit down to a meal, Which I find usedull at work, I get 2 10 minute breaks, and a half hour lunch, not a lot of time anywere there to have a decent meal with without scoffing it down.

A protein shake is very handy, i buy a 2L fat reduced milk, and i take my shaker to work each day loaded with 2 heaped tbl spoons whey isolate, 2 tbl spoons milo, and 1 teaspoon of creatine, make it up on my lunch break. i have half at lunch and the rest in my last 10 and a meaty something for lunch, beef roll, chicken sandwich, etc

for my first break i get a 500ml iced coffee, and pie, beef and gravy roll, chicken roll etc

The important thing is to not rely on them too much it is stated over and over here that decent sources of protein from chicken fish, beef, eggs etc are the best.

I also try to have a warm milk or milo before bed, really helps to limit any early morning hunger pains.

Lol @ hyjak's pic

Kyle, thanks heaps for your detailed analysis, saves me heaps of time

Time is definitely an important factor for protein drinks. I walk 30 mins home after doing a weights session so it's great to have some protein on the way home. Otherwise if I wait to eat when i get home, it could be up to 45 mins before I get some protein in me...

I am literally stunned at the length and complexities of this thread. This is the most basic of all meals, and timing.

You have 15 minutes after your workout to have a protein/carb drink. Nearly every client at PTC brings their protein shaker to the gym, with whey and Dextrose in it, they simply fill with water and drink just before the session ends or straight after.

this is not complicated.

This what I thought. You only had a certain amount of time to drink protein after you work out.

If you drink it hours later you'll still gain muscle, just not as much. Basically as long as you're chowing down on the good food and lifting, you'll get the results you want - it's just a matter of how fast you'll get them.

The reason we drink protein straight after a session is to recover quicker, not build muscle. The dextrose monohydrate transports glycogen and protein to the muscle faster than any other food source. Solid meals take much longer to reach the muscle.

If you want to recover as quick as possible have a "smart bomb" as soon as you finish. Speeding up the recovery process allows us to lift heavy again sooner, its how we get stronger.

Forty five minutes after the "smart bomb" consume solid protein with fibrous and simple carbs.

Bring one with you tomorrow Katherine.