Protein Shakes

For the past 5 years or so I have been having protein shakes for breakfast - purely for the reason that I'm never hungry in the morning and I don't get out of bed early enough to spend time making it. Three months ago I embarked on a health buzz and started having the Scuplt protein shakes in the little tetra paks for afternoon tea as well.

My boss gave me the hard word last week saying that because I'm not having it after exercise, it will just convert to fat - is this true? Currently I am running 3 x 10km (if not further on the weekends) and I do get in 1.10 walking a day to and from the train station. I'm just wondering if I should find something else to eat in the afternoon and keep the protein shake for after.....although I generally eat dinner then as I always run after work.

Any advice? Cheers

Whilst I'm not an expert I'm fairly sure your boss knows even less than me, protein doesn't necessarily convert to fat, calories do, but calories are in everything you eat or drink thus having a protein shake won't convert to fat anymore so than eating something else with the same amount of calories will. I think people make the mistake of assuming protein = fat because there are a lot of foods high in protein that are also high in fat (fast foods) and I can't remember the figures but there's something like 3 calories per gram of protein or carbohydrates, and something like 11 calories per gram of fat. So if something is high in both it wll contain a lot of calories.

For general fitness I wouldn't bother with supplement at all. Imo, keep it as fresh, wholesome as possible. Have meats and fish for your proteins, fruit, veges, and plenty of fluid. You not an athlete who requires extra support on the top of a proper daily diet. In fact my professional athlete mates always said that keeping away from supplement as much as possible is the key.

I hardly ever now have protein powder shakes. The only time I would, is after rugby games. On the daily basis supplement I take is fish oil. Even with that, I only take it for a month or so and give it break. On days that I know I will be having fish, I don't take the fish oil.

And you boss is not necessary right. It depends on type of exercise you do. Protein in the recovery mode is very important. But in your situation, where you only do an aerobic type of exercise, you don't need high protein intake. Some protein needed. Again, keep it simple and nourish your body with proper foods, not chemicals.

without going into too much detail, your boss doesn't know what he's talking about.


Wipeout is right though, you should probably try and eat proper meals. But failing that, there's nothing wrong with a protein shake in the morning. Eating protein in the morning will probably keep you feeling fuller for longer and will probably prevent that 10-11am crash in energy levels.

Thanks guys, that's really helpful. I'm not taking it as a supplement per se - more as a healthy, convenient snack option while at work. Maybe I will look at having something else in the afternoon. I already get a lot of protein from fish, chicken and I eat a lot of fruit and veges already so I don't think there is much of an issue there.

Just remember that too much protein can be bad for you. Specifically for your liver and kidneys. Also, too much protein in your diet can lead to poor water retention. So all the water you drink just comes straight out, without hydrating you. I don't know what a general fitness guide is, but for me (just bare in mind that my fitness goals are very different to general public) daily intake of protein should be 1.2 grams per kg of body weight. Look up different foods online for protein content and go from there, I reckon.