whey protein and weight loss??

[Fitz0017]

I am exercising daily with 3 mile runs every other day with lower intensity biking the days inbetween. Also lifting 3 days a week. My 3 mile run (which I NEED to get down to faster times) times had plateaued and today I had to walk after the first 1.25 miles!! I notice I am staying sore longer and think that my muscles need more to rebuild. I am taking one day off a week completely as well but still feel weak. I have been eating a bit less overall lately but am eating well with veggies and meat (induction levels). So my real question is whether or not adding or replacing a meal with whey protein after my workouts will stall weight loss??

Thanks for any advice

[kbfunTH]

It won't unless it pushes you over your maintenance intake.

[nets33]

I use Whey protien as meals or supplements but only as needed.... it's much better (and healtheir) to provide your body with natural whole foods instead of supplements.

You mentioned you are eating less. If you are upping your intensity try eating more, that could be why you are feeling fitigued. Are you eating before your workout or after? You might need some protien lift before you go into workout, say an hour before to prevent you feeling tired.

Whey protien as a meal replacement once in a while is fine.. I do this myself.. but to do this as a habit could cause stalls.

[AWassi78]

You should always supplement with a whey protein shake after your lifting days, you can never possibly eat the amount of protein your body needs. Or you could eat some meat and a big bowl of cottage cheese.
On cardio days it's probably not needed at all.
Some protein shakes taste really good also, so it helps with any sweet tooth :D
The more mini meals you have a day the faster your metabolism burns, shakes can be part of your meals.

[nedgoudy]

I am exercising daily with 3 mile runs every other day with lower intensity biking the days inbetween. Also lifting 3 days a week. I notice I am staying sore longer and think that my muscles need more to rebuild. I am taking one day off a week completely as well but still feel weak.
So my real question is whether or not adding or replacing a meal with whey protein after my workouts will stall weight loss??

Thanks for any advice

Sounds like your exercise level is sufficient. You don't say how much
weight you need to lose?

My experience with Whey (or Soy) Protein shakes is that they work GREAT!
Weigh in today indicated I had lost 30 lbs since June 5th of this year.

Just 10 more pounds to go.

But the point here is that the first TWO months I didn't exercise at all.
I wanted to protect my knees so I waited til I had lost 20 lbs before
exercising. The last month I have been working up to the point where
I am now riding my bike 75-85 miles per week and I have built strength
in my legs and decreased travel times on my bike by substantial amounts.

Last week I DOUBLED the amount of protein powder in each SKIM MILK shake
(to 44 grams per meal) and even ate a 10 ounce steak for my birthday and still lost weight. 2 lbs.

My LC program emphasizes that I CAN'T EVER eat pies, cakes, cookies, donuts or other Sara Lee type stuff, ice cream, candy, chocolate bars in
particular, french fries, onion rings, pizza, tacos, enchiladas, regular white
or wheat bread, or starchy foods. FOR WEIGHT LOSS.

My weight loss program includes
2 High Protein Shakes per day with 2-3 cups skim milk,
and two Budget Gourmet entres for dinner, OR a protein
wrap hamburger (without the bun) or El Polo Loco chicken
or a steak dinner at a place around the corner.

I also am riding my bicycle for shopping and visiting
friends and attending Overeater meetings and ride between
75-85 miles per week. I intend to keep up the exercise level
through rainy times too, even if I have to go to the GYM.
(I hate the gym for the gym rats. I am basicly a 90 lb weekling
at heart.) :agree:

Non starchy veggies are excellent, and I enjoy asparagus
and brocolli the most. I will also pig out on Mushrooms as
they are tasty and low-carb, low cal.

I 'have' had problems with maintenance in the past. I lost
a total on 80 lbs in 2000, but put 36 lbs back on through
returning to binge foods and old ways. 30 lbs of that are
now GONE!

This time I have THIS GROUP for inspiration and support
as well as Overeaters Anonymous and I don't intend to
make the same mistakes twice.

So, what I am suggesting is that protein SHAKES are great!
I use them for MEAL REPLACEMENTS and they FILL ME UP,
and curb my hunger immensely. No temptation to cheat between
meals. I would highly suggest you give Whey Protein shakes a chance.

[ProfGumby]

With no medical/sports medicine background I will second the protein shakes on weight training lifting days.

I have read here, and been told by credible people that a protein shake about 1/2 hour AFTER your weight training will help provide muscle building protein that you could not injest fast enough from whole foods. There was also a whole lot of scientific sounding mumbo jumbo included with the advice, but I don't really care about it.

Well I don't care other than I get to drink a really nice chocolate or Strawberry protein shake after working out. It is kinda like a big sweet treat for doing a good job!!! :lol:

I used to mix em up from powder, but have since found a good canned one that has only 4 carbs (net) It is much easier to pop open a can than to mix all the stuff from the beginning.

I hop mine up too. I always add about 2 teaspoons of flax meal and about 1 tablespoon of cinamon to either flavor. To the chocolate I also add a splash of Davinchi SF Vanilla Syrup, about 1/4 cup heavy cream and a teaspoon of cocoa powder. The strawberry one sometimes gets a little extra cream too.

I find it is an awesome way to get some fiber, protein and cinamon. The cinamon also flat out kills those after workout cravings!!!

I can go from 7 am till at last noon without wanting anything but water!!! And not feeling starved or weak!

[Laura W]

ProfGumby,
Do you mind sharing the canned shake name? I had Atkins a few years ago and didn't like them. When you put in the added ingredients, do you mix in a shaker, with a spoon or blender? Do you just use cinnamon from the spice isle? So many questions....thanks.

[ysabella]

Please do check labels on canned shakes, though. You want some nice whey protein in there; some shakes use nothing but cheap gelatin.

Fitz0017, my advice to you is to add some whey shakes right after working out, not as meal replacements. Also I recommend that you try supplementing your L-glutamine, an amino acid that is quite plentiful in the body, that is used to rebuild muscles. You can get whey shake mixes that have L-glutamine in them, and you can buy L-glutamine powders and pills cheaply.
My favorite shake mix is from Costco - it is Pro-Rated brand and is sugar-free, has L-glutamine in it, comes in vanilla and chocolate flavors, and it's $20 for six pounds. One scoop is 22 grams of protein. You can mix it with water, or for an extra protein punch, whirr it in the blender with cottage cheese and water (I like adding things like ice cubes, a shot of decaf espresso, a pinch of cocoa, vanilla extract, perhaps cinnamon as ProfGumby recommends, stuff like that). I sometimes made double-scoop shakes with cottage cheese and they would be over 50 grams of protein. These are low-calorie, and as I said, no sugar. You need serious protein at your activity level!

When I was lifting and triathlon-training last summer, I was making these so much that I bought a small Tribest "personal blender" because I was tired of cleaning out the big blender for small shakes all the time. And it is really fast and nice that way - you blend it in the container and then you can slap a lid on it and drink it from the same container. If you throw a lot of shakes down your neck, it might be worth considering one.

Here's the thing with protein shakes: whey protein (and whey protein isolate) is absorbed by your body very quickly. This quick uptake makes it a great recovery tool, as your muscles sort of gasp for protein right after you lift. L-glutamine is also perfect for the post-workout window, since it's extremely fast to be taken up. For me, L-glutamine is like a magical recovery pill that cuts way down on DOMS.
But bear in mind that if you were to drink a whey shake first thing in the morning for breakfast, you would get hungry pretty fast after that because it empties out of your stomach quickly (well, if you add cottage cheese or something it'll mitigate that a little).

There are loads of protein choices - you can drink casein protein shakes for much slower absorption, and they will keep you full for a much longer time. They make a good meal replacement shake, like breakfast, and weightlifters drink them before bed to help their muscles recover while they are sleeping. The big disadvantage of casein is, it doesn't taste very good, not nearly so good as whey. Also there are some people on this forum who say they are sensitive to casein, so possibly it doesn't agree with everyone (it is a big, sticky, hard-to-digest protein, which is why it keeps you feeling full for so long). Whey and casein both come from milk, by the way, but there are also powdered egg proteins available. Oh, and Trader Joe's has a range of protein powders, by the way.

Also, when working out a lot, watch your cortisol management. If you start feeling negative and depressive, you may need to take some steps. One classic one is, right after lifting heavy, to take in 20g of fast carbs, like dextrose. Everyone is different, some don't need this.
I had it happen; I was working out loads and started feeling low. Then one night as I was going to sleep I was convinced I was going to stop breathing and die in my sleep. So I realized my cortisol was wacky and started eating a few Giant Smarties dextrose candies (Rockets, in Canada) right after my lifting workouts and I was right as rain. People my size usually don't need this, but apparently I do when I really push it. You can just add it to your post-workout shake if you'd rather. Try searching the forum for "cortisol" and look for posts about managing it, I know there's good info here.

[ProfGumby]

ProfGumby,
Do you mind sharing the canned shake name? I had Atkins a few years ago and didn't like them. When you put in the added ingredients, do you mix in a shaker, with a spoon or blender? Do you just use cinnamon from the spice isle? So many questions....thanks.

The Shakes I use are from XS Nutrition. They are pretty good tasting, and have loads of things not usually found in many other types. I have also tried the Atkins and the Slim Fast Low Carb shakes. I didn't much care for the Atkins, but the Slim Fast are pretty good.

I use a shaker cup as the cocoa tends to ball up, and the flax will also clump up. I must alert you that if you do not like the idea of a gritty drink, do not use the flax....this is not intended to be a milkshake after all....

I have tried them in the blender, but they get too foamy and I like that a lot less.

And yes, I generally use cinamon from the spice isle, but will buy it from thr health food store more often.

[bubu]

great post ysabella

I totally agree with all points made.

Just wanted to add that when I kept all other foods as clean as can be, AND used the whey and smarties, I lost and gained lean muscle mass as well.
Also not taking your intake deficit to the extreme compared to your workouts is just as important.

[ysabella]

Thanks, bubu. Yes, to put on lean muscle you really have to eat a lot of protein. Serious lifters aim for something like 1 gram per each pound of lean body mass. Sufficient protein will help ensure that you keep your muscle, and even add some, while you burn fat - it's not easy to do both at the same time. Most weightlifters find that after the first year, it's choose one - either bulk (add muscle and usually some fat) or cut (burn fat, try to retain muscle).