Protein Suggestions

[dlovett]

Going on from my earlier nutrition post, I am after people's suggestions for protein powders.

I have started back on a proper weights plan at the gym and after looking at my diet forensically, they have concluded that I'm not really getting enough protein and I should try to supplement it with powers that I can add to food or drink as a shake. Are there any brands that you kind folk can say are very good, or any to stay away from?

TIA

[riderdown]

Have a look at the shredded sports science channel on YouTube

As well as the takedowns he does a systematic review of various supplements

[dlovett]

Have a look at the shredded sports science channel on YouTube

As well as the takedowns he does a systematic review of various supplements

Will do many thanks!

[Boab]

Years ago, I used to get my own made up by MyProtein. These days I just eat more tofu and tempeh...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Surely it's possible and quite easy to get ample protein from normal food / meals?

[ton]

the human body can process about 25 grams of protein in a hour. a chicken breast is about 125 grams, with a portion of beans and a jacket spud with cheese it is double that so 250 grams say.

as you state Stu, most people eat far more than enough in a normal diet.

all the muscle boys walking around with their mega protein shakes, are just paying loads of cash to sub standard it all down the toilet.

[dlovett]

the human body can process about 25 grams of protein in a hour. a chicken breast is about 125 grams, with a portion of beans and a jacket spud with cheese it is double that so 250 grams say.

as you state Stu, most people eat far more than enough in a normal diet.

all the muscle boys walking around with their mega protein shakes, are just paying loads of cash to sub standard it all down the toilet.

True, but I hardly eat any meat these days and I don't like a lot of veg grains, so with my diet choices/lack of time for prep I am struggling to get what I need naturally.

[Boab]

True, but I hardly eat any meat these days and I don't like a lot of veg grains, so with my diet choices/lack of time for prep I am struggling to get what I need naturally.

I don't mean to be rude, so feel free to tell me to jog on... Change your diet, living off supplements and meal replacement shakes is not a healthy long term sustainable solution.

[yourguitarhero]

If you're lifting properly you need about 200g of protein a day (for someone 80kg). And that's the protein, most "high protein" natural protein foods are only 33% protein. So your 125g chicken breast is 40g of protein. You need 5 of them a day that way
You also don't want to eat too many calories ~2500/day else you get too fat.

That's pretty difficult to get right. As Ton mentions you also need to consider protein timing as there is a limit to the amount your body can process in a sitting. General rule is about 45g/meal.

So having protein shakes in between meals is a good way of doing it.

Protein powders are much of a muchness really.
Only other supplement worth taking is creatine. Rest of them are pretty bobbins

[boxelder]

with a portion of beans and a jacket spud with cheese it is double that so 250

A can of beans is around 20g, and 100g of cheddar is 25g. You'd need to be scranning a lot with your chicken fillet to get to 250g total. For normal stuff, a balanced diet will be fine, but if weight training, some additional protein will maximise gains I guess. My 16 yr old daughter has started gym work and is using some whey powder type supplement. Her take is that she's have to be really careful not to 'overdose' on calories to make sure she got sufficient protein, so doesn't want her hard work to be lost to lack of protein.
I've suggested 'roads and a couple of eyebrow rings........
Stout has loads of protein though, right?

[dlovett]

True, but I hardly eat any meat these days and I don't like a lot of veg grains, so with my diet choices/lack of time for prep I am struggling to get what I need naturally.

I don't mean to be rude, so feel free to tell me to jog on... Change your diet, living off supplements and meal replacement shakes is not a healthy long term sustainable solution.

No offence taken, I have a pretty healthy diet now, it’s just not got that many high protein foods in it. I’m not planning on living off these things, it’s just to help me get slightly more protein each day, without having to eat the tons of extra cals that would be needed to add it naturally.

[dlovett]

If you're lifting properly you need about 200g of protein a day (for someone 80kg). And that's the protein, most "high protein" natural protein foods are only 33% protein. So your 125g chicken breast is 40g of protein. You need 5 of them a day that way
You also don't want to eat too many calories ~2500/day else you get too fat.

That's pretty difficult to get right. As Ton mentions you also need to consider protein timing as there is a limit to the amount your body can process in a sitting. General rule is about 45g/meal.

So having protein shakes in between meals is a good way of doing it.

Protein powders are much of a muchness really.
Only other supplement worth taking is creatine. Rest of them are pretty bobbins

Yep I am trying to aim for about 120g pr day currently as I am about 80kg and I am doing about 1hour a day light lifting currently. The plan is to slowly increase it to about 150g by the end of summer as I loose a bit of weight, gain fitness etc. On an average day I tend to be hitting about 80-100g so we are only talking about 1 portion, perhaps 2 a day, assuming they are about 20-40g per go. I have started using huel black but more as the odd breakfast/lunch replacement than as and extra helping. I do have some bars but ideally wanted a liquid one so I could sip it over the morning before and after the gym, rather than just dumping a load into my body in one go.

[dlovett]

with a portion of beans and a jacket spud with cheese it is double that so 250

A can of beans is around 20g, and 100g of cheddar is 25g. You'd need to be scranning a lot with your chicken fillet to get to 250g total. For normal stuff, a balanced diet will be fine, but if weight training, some additional protein will maximise gains I guess. My 16 yr old daughter has started gym work and is using some whey powder type supplement. Her take is that she's have to be really careful not to 'overdose' on calories to make sure she got sufficient protein, so doesn't want her hard work to be lost to lack of protein.
I've suggested 'roads and a couple of eyebrow rings........
Stout has loads of protein though, right?

Yep I love cheese and beans, but I am trying to not go crazy on the total cal intake.

[RIP]

Surely it's possible and quite easy to get ample protein from normal food / meals?

You'd think so.

"according to market research group Mintel. And with one in four Britons already consuming sports supplements regularly – recently rising to an alleged 42 per cent of men aged 16 to 24 – it’s clear we just can’t get enough of it". One in four. Blimey.

"Britain’s Department of Health recommends that men consume an average 56g of protein daily – or 0.75g for every kilo of bodyweight, based on the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI). Most of us are eating more than that: the mean average intake in the UK is 86.5g per day for men. According to a recent Scottish government report, “mean protein intakes are well above the RNIs in all age groups.”

And protein is an expensive (in many senses of the word) food component to make. Especially animal protein which is what most people consume.

It's not Friday so I'll stop this hijack right there . Sorry.

[TheBrownDog]

I'd recommend Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. Yeah, you could always eat more chicken, but if you can't muscle that past the gag reflex, then a whey shake is a good option.

[dlovett]

Surely it's possible and quite easy to get ample protein from normal food / meals?

You'd think so.

"according to market research group Mintel. And with one in four Britons already consuming sports supplements regularly – recently rising to an alleged 42 per cent of men aged 16 to 24 – it’s clear we just can’t get enough of it". One in four. Good grief.

"Britain’s Department of Health recommends that men consume an average 56g of protein daily – or 0.75g for every kilo of bodyweight, based on the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI). Most of us are eating more than that: the mean average intake in the UK is 86.5g per day for men. According to a recent Scottish government report, “mean protein intakes are well above the RNIs in all age groups.”

And protein is an expensive (in many senses of the word) food component to make. Especially animal protein which is what most people consume.

It's not Friday so I'll stop this hijack right there . Sorry.

Yep if I wasn’t trying to add muscle then I would be fine. The trainers have been keen for me to up my intake a bit and they certainly aren’t plugging powders, I am just struggling with a mainly low meat diet. I have added plain tinned tuna into it this week as that’s approx 25g/100 cals a tin. But 1 tin a day is about my limit taste wise. I have also had a real sweet tooth, so going cold turkey on deserts and ice creams is hard work. I was hoping a shake type thing might help to ease the pain!!

[dlovett]

I'd recommend Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. Yeah, you could always eat more chicken, but if you can't muscle that past the gag reflex, then a whey shake is a good option.

Thanks for the recommendation, I‘ll check them out.

Any other suggestions of ones to look at or any to avoid ?

Cheers

[RIP]

How about a homemade choc nut milk shake? That would definitely satisfy your sweet tooth as well . Milk (of whatever variety, animal, vegetable, mineral!), lots of chocolate, and loads of ground up nuts. Walnuts and almonds are high in protein. Peanuts even more, but not a nut . Lob some soya powder in if you want it even more turbocharged.

[boxelder]

Sweet tooth? What about Skyr type yoghurt with a little something sweet added. 11% protein, so a little higher than Greek Yog. Low fat and carb.

[dlovett]

How about a homemade choc nut milk shake? That would definitely satisfy your sweet tooth as well . Milk (of whatever variety, animal, vegetable, mineral!), lots of chocolate, and loads of ground up nuts. Walnuts and almonds are high in protein. Peanuts even more, but not a nut . Lob some soya powder in if you want it even more turbocharged.

So I tried a few combos of ingredients and nothing really came close to a shake in terms of cals/protein. Perhaps I didn't use the correct ingredients but it was about half the example of Optimum Gold Standard: Banana Cream - Whey Protein, 1 scoop in 180-200ml water.
cal. carbs fat protein. sodium sugar
Optimum Gold Standard: Banana Cream - Whey Protein, 1 scoop 113 1 1 24 86 1
Protein Shake, 1 serving(s) 184 6 13 13 74 3

Protein shake
180 ml Koko Coconut Milk
5 g, Walnuts
5 g, Almonds
5 g, Dark Chocolate
5 g, Peanuts
10 g, Soya Protein Powder

Without the soya powder it was much lower protein wise.

[dlovett]

Sweet tooth? What about Skyr type yoghurt with a little something sweet added. 11% protein, so a little higher than Greek Yog. Low fat and carb.

That sounds a good idea ta.

Arla Skyr Nordic Sour Cherry 150g
Calories 118 Sodium 120 mg
Total Fat 0 g Potassium 370 mg
Saturated 0 g Total Carbs 13 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 13 g
Trans 0 g Protein 14 g
Cholesterol 3 mg

[Retiredtester]

I use myprotein vanilla cos it's pretty cheap if you buy the huge bags. 2 scoops (65g) and 350ml almond milk is very drinkable and gives you 53g protein for 300 cals.

[dlovett]

I use myprotein vanilla cos it's pretty cheap if you buy the huge bags. 2 scoops (65g) and 350ml almond milk is very drinkable and gives you 53g protein for 300 cals.

Thanks for that I have heard a few people say my protein

[yourguitarhero]

Using non dairy milks with the powders is the way to do it.
With water it is rather unpalatable and even skimmed milk adds more calories than you want.

Try chocolate flavour powder and coconut milk if you like Bounty bars!

[dlovett]

I've ended up getting some Chocolate Max Whey Protein Powder https://www.maxinutrition.com/type/sale ... 480g-Pack/

They are rebranding from Maxi Muscle to Maxi Nutrition and as such I got a few bags reduced from £25 to £10.50 through work.
It seems to be about the same numbers as most of the major players and ones suggested.

Nutritional Information
Typical Values Per 100g Per 30g serving
Energy, kJ 1561 468
Energy, kcal 373 112
Fat, g 4.5 1.4
- of which Saturates, g 3.1 0.9
Carbohydrate, g 6.9 2.1
- of which Sugars, g 6.1 1.8
Protein, g 74.6 22.4
Salt, g 0.51 0.17

Vitamins and Minerals (*% of an Adult's Reference Intake)
Typical Values Per 100g Per 30g serving
Vitamin B6, mg 4.7 (336% RI*) 1.4 (100% RI*)
Amino Acids (per 100g Protein)
Typical Values Per 100g
BCAA, g 23.4
- of which Leucine, g 10.5
- of which Isoleucine, g 6.6
- of which Valine, g 6.3
Glutamic Acid, g 16.6

It says to use between 200-250ml water and I tried 250 for the first one. It was basically like a normal chocolate milkshake, perhaps a bit weak, but 200ml might make it feel stronger. It's not going to win any prizes as a Gormet choco shake, but it was perfectly reasonable and for a sports nutrition product not too bad. I have added the powder to 250ml of koko coconut milk and 100g of frozen strawberry & banana mix and that tasted very nice indeed. When at home that's the way I'll drink it. My daily protein level has gone from on average about 50-75% of required to about 75% without an evening meal or any snacks/drinks, so a good starting improvement.

Thanks again for all the tips/advice/recommendations.