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protein!
I know with pole i will be building muscle and muscles need protein. I was wanting to get a protein/recovery shake and i am looking for suggestions??? The one i normally use is way too expensive right now
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27 Replies
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Hi Nina….I use Quest Protein Shake…Peanut Butter flavor is my fave…I pay $35.00 at Vitamin Shoppe, and sometime even less with online coupons, you just have to search for them….but I love the flavor…vanilla and chocolate are good too!! Also, their protein bars are delish, is you don’t have time to make the shake :).
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Depending on how active you really are often you probably don’t need something as expensive at a supplement! Unless you’re an athlete that works out for hours and hours a day you can get the protien you need from food. 😊 This site has a bunch of ideas! http://greatist.com/health/high-protein-snacks-portable
So If you can, buy some protein powder to have around just incase you need a quick shake or somthing but try and get most of it from your food. With a little planning you can make many of the post workout snacks ahead of time.
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I use soy powder (14 g whole protein/serving) I get it at wegmans for less than 20 dollars and it lasts a few months. Then I take two servings of Keifer (turkish yogurt you can get it anywhere giant, shoppers, etc.) (22g whole protein/serving). Then take 1 cup soy milk (8 g whole protein/serving). Then 1tbsp vanilla. Combined thats 44g whole protein. Drink two of those per day you’ll gain massive muscle weight if you’re also working out and eating a caloric surplus (more calories than you need to maintain weight). Also get whole protein from grains like quiona instead of white rice. (I’m a vegetarian. Would be vegan if not for Keifer).
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I often use whey protein because I can’t afford to eat the amount of protein I really need. I especially use it when I’m doing a lot of weight lifting or crossfit- I have even competed in powerlifting before (deadlifted 102.5kg when I weighed 50kg).
But even body weight exercises can promote muscle growth and require protein and, if for whatever reason you don’t get enough protein in your diet, it can be helpful but I find a simple whey protein isolate to be sufficient. -
Its cheaper to make and doesn’t have all of the added sugars and garbage that are in most commercial protein supplements.
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Oh and I also add 2 tbsp of milled flax seed (which you can also get anywhere. it contains lots omega fatty acids and good fats that help the body metabolize all that protein. How could I forget the flax!?
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I have had a problem with soy. So I wanted one without soy and organic. I found one called Phood. The vanilla and chocolate/carmel is pretty good.
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I can also suggest chia seeds they are very high in protein, added to greek yoghurt with some honey you have probably (though not sure) a much protein as a protein drink. Also soy protein is rank. I can recommend also Syntrax Nectar, tastes great, is gluten free, diary free and I think sugar free. I drank the stuff for years. Here’s some info on chia seeds http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-chia-seeds/
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I use a protein called Orgain–this reminds me I have packets of Phood in the kitchen waiting to be tried. The Orgain chocolate is okay mixed with just water, the vanilla is good in smoothies with greens and fruit but I think too sweet on its own.
That said, you really can get all the protein you need from food. Most Americans who eat meat, dairy, and eggs get more protein than they really need. Even if you’re vegetarian or vegan and an athlete, protein supplements aren’t necessary to get enough protein. Before you add a supplement, you might try figuring out what your protein needs realistically are and then tracking your protein intake for a week or two, you may find that you are meeting or even exceeding your protein needs.
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Also, if you try straight soy protein, or a mix that is heavy in soy protein I would recommend getting a small package at first. I can eat things like soybeans and tofu, but I have difficulty digesting isolated soy proteins, it’s not pleasant, for me or people around me.
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Personally speaking I know I don’t eat enough protein- I am not a big fan of eggs and only use dairy in my cups of tea (I don’t eat cereal) and the odd bit of grated parmesan on my pasta.
I rarely eat chicken, let alone fish or read meat because it’s too expensive- I make dahl sometimes, which is a good source of protein, but my daughter doesn’t like it so I don’t make it that often.
The other way I get protein is by using (free range) chicken mince for pasta sauces, but I have to make it stretch over a lot of meals, so the amount of mince is far outweighed by the tins of diced tomatoes I use to bulk it up with.
Generally speaking all of our meals are stretched with bulking foods like rice or pasta simply to try and reduce the cost. -
Nina what goal(s) are you hoping to acheive by supplementing with protein and do you have any diet/nutrition requirements? I ask because everyone is different in these areas and therefore may be more happy with different products. My husband has started a small nutrition store and while I’m sure we could ship/get whatever you need I would mostly love to help since I am very conscious of nutrition for myself and have worked at several nutrition stores over the years…with that said I’m an advocate of as much whole food nutrition as possible but I know supplements can be very helpful in a pinch or for certain lifestyles. Anyway feel free to pm if you’d like not sure if public may be too personal but here works too 🙂
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I purposefully exceed my protein needs because I am trying to gain weight and because not all proteins are whole proteins. A whole protein contains all 9 essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Some proteins are incomplete, which is why most grains inlc bread or pasta are not considered a source of protein as they do not contain all amino acids. Without supplements I make myself, my otherwise vegan diet consists mainly of fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, soy product and for an athlete would be incomplete. Also soy is manna from heaven when prepared right 🙂
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The idea that a food or meal need to be “complete” (i.e. contain all 9 amino acids) to be used by the body is *seriously out of date*. You do not need get all 9 essential amino acids from one food, or even one meal for your body to utilize the protein. All you need to do is eat a variety of foods on a regular basis and your body will take care of itself. For example, people used to recommend eating beans and rice together, because they complement each other and form a “complete” protein. What we now know is that you can eat the beans in one meal, and the rice in another, and your body will combine the amino acids as it needs them. For a more thorough explanation from a registered dietician who specializes in plant based diets, please see:
http://www.theveganrd.com/plant-protein-a-vegan-nutrition-primer
This article also includes a nice guide to calculating your protein needs, including some information specific to vegan diets, towards the bottom.
As a final note, if you are vegan or considering becoming vegan I highly recommend the book Vegan for Life, as it contains a lot of current, research based information on vegan nutrition. The book was written by two registered dieticians who happen to be vegan.
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wow ladies thanks for all the responses and info. I really appreciate it. @Tigerschic041721 i realy want to tone and build lean muscle. I wasnt sure if I was taking in enough protein diet wise. Now that I really think about it I do eat a lot of eggs, dont drink milk really, i eat a lot of chicken, salmon, meat that is usually beef, bison(healthier), lamb, and pork. I definitely need more fruits and veggies. To help fill in gaps I normally drink a nutrition shake called Shakeology by beachbody. Its full of superfoods and stuff but at $100(and thats with my discount) a bag I’m going to have to wait to use that whenever i go back to work…one day. lol i love being a SAHM. i was looking for something similar to that. I can attach the label to show your hubby if he wants to see if he knows of something similar
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I don’t like meat so I have to boost my protein by adding a low-calorie protein powder shake. I mix it with water, I don’t need the extra calories by mixing it with milk or soy milk, etc. egg whites are a good, low calorie high protein food. You can eat them boiled or sometimes I will mix 3 egg whites with one whole egg and scramble them. Fat free cottage cheese has a lot of protein , you can flavor it with cinnamon and stevia if you don’t like it plain. There is an app called my fitness pal. It helps to log what you are currently eating and see how the macros are already. This app breaks down your carbs, proteins and fat. You just journal your food. Even if you don’t continue to use it all the time it is good to maybe use it for a week and evaluate what you eat so you know where to make changes . If you don’t even know how many grams of protein you eat now then you won’t know how much you really need to add, or if you need to add any at all. I was terrified when I saw how little protein and how much sugar I was consuming and I thought I was eating healthy. Had to make some changes. But I wouldn’t have know if I didn’t track what I was eating for a little while so I could take an honest look and evaluate . Or you might already be on the right track and not need to make changes.
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I’ve been doing aerial fitness for over five years now (primarily silks), and I cannot stress adequate protein intake enough. It took doubling my protein to really start seeing progress in my strength and muscle tone. I average around 100 grams a day, and to be honest, I’m questioning whether that is enough for my current work out load.
I get my protein primarily from whole food, but I have supplemented with protein powder. Powders often don’t agree with my stomach, but its a relatively cheap source.
If $$ isn’t a huge concern, I do recommend creatine and bcaa’s. As someone who often works out twice a day, weights/aerial(silks,lyra, or pole)/running or mountain biking, I haven’t found the perfect macro/nutrition balance, but all of the above has helped tremendously. I’m Def open to suggestions tho. 🙂
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I’m also going to second phoenix and recommend myfitnesspal. At min, take a few days and track your food intake. I’m neurotic and weigh my food(most of the time), but simply entering what you eat should give you a good idea of your macros. People are often surprised by their nutrition when they start tracking. I know I was.
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Will Def give that app a try! Thanks so much ladies.
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Again, personally speaking, I’m a recovered anorexic (binge/purge subtype) with pretty shitty body dysmorphia, so things like tracking my food quickly becomes obsessive and incredibly unhealthy for me. That’s why I no longer have a scale either.
I know I eat too much sugar, it’s my main vice after quitting smoking 6 years ago (I started smoking when I was 12, so I although I wasn’t a heavy smoker I had been doing so for over 20 years) and I should cut back but I have so many different medications and other health stuff atm it’s just not at the top of my list priority-wise.
I ate paleo for a while and loved it, after the initial low carb blues, but it’s simply too cost prohibitive for me as I’m a single mum currently living on disability.
That’s why I do buy protein powder when I can afford it because I don’t get enough protein in my diet, but if you can afford whole foods then they’re definitely the better option. -
If your looking to build lean muscle. You will have to use resistance training from weight training. To dispel a myth weight training WON’T MAKE YOU BULKY.
Quite the opposite, women are more likely to build lean muscle.
I suggest going to body http://www.bodybuilding.com . As there is a lot of diet information there and a great resource for supplements. I can also suggest kettlebell training as its cardio and weight training in 1. Once you get the proper training on to do a correct kettlebell swing, you can do it in the comfort of your own home, workouts take about 15-20 mins and it will save you a fortune in gym fees.
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@Nina we get this comparison all the time for shakeology! I love the beachbody company but for the price on a regular basis I get where you are coming from. One of the best alternatives based on a nutrient dense profile would be the RAW meal from garden of life. With the main difference being SO is derived from whey (unless you use the vegan version) while RAW products are plant based and also has a nicer price tag.
If you are interested in specifically a lean whey protein look for one with low sugar that is not toooo high in calories or fat…Dymatize is a good option here. A lot of bikini competitors use this for a lean physique to get in more protein while balancing their remaining nutrients through whole foods (cooking/meal prep).
There are def a few other good options out there if you have any specific needs I am happy to help further I feel like I’ve tried them all through trying to find my ideal nutrition over the years!
@jivet I have recently doubled my protein intake as well it can be hard to get it all in without stomach irritation for some (me included). Aside from a few plant based proteins that I don’t notice any upset, there are some unflavored proteins you can cook with or mix into foods during the day in smaller portions that will help with that. Again everyone has specific wants/needs but one of my favorite unflavored is vege fuel by twin labs. I don’t use it daily since it is soy based but it’s great if I just need to hit my protein goal for the day I can cook it with eggs to make them fluffy or add to yogurt etc with no stomach upset since there is other substance with it in the digestion process.
There is a relatively new protein available on the market I believe it’s humapro “for humans” that is apparently used in hospitals due to ease of digest. My only personal issue with it was one extra ingredient similar to an aspartame that “may” trigger headaches but I don’t know if it’s even enough to worry since it wasn’t enough to even list the amount. This one is more like the consistency of the bcaa water drinks.I love the Myfitnesspal app it is so helpful to actually see your daily nutrition percentages and what changes you can make throughout the day to be healthier. Another way to learn portion control in a healthy visual way without calculations is the containers provided in beachbody’s 21 day fix program. Even if you don’t do the workouts (which I think are great) the investment is worth it for those containers and the knowledge of how to use them. It really puts things in perspective once you fill the containers and then dump them on your regular plate or daily tupperware. You can really see which areas to tweak to be healthy overall (some you can enjoy more and some you’ll learn to use at the right times to satisfy). Eventually the goal is to stop using the containers because you will know what is good/bad too much/too little in daily situations.
But strawberry is so right that a protein supplement alone won’t build or tone unless it’s used the right way in daily nutrition and with some activity that makes your muscles hungry for the fuel you are putting in! -
Aye. Good to know there are so many “experts” out there.
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Everyone knows that big muscles are not the sign of absolute health. Restorative function of internal organs, detoxifying function of liver, digestive and absorptive ability of intestinal tract play the most important role in how you will perform on daily basis. The quality of proteins ingested though should be in amount that needed, in density that will support high caloric output by the body. The most nutritionally sound proteins unfortunately come from the animal sources. I was vegan for 6 years and vegetarian for 16 years within the same period of time. My pole progress needed more then I was getting. Not in amount of protein but the quality of it and density. My main protein source is food. I also abide by the rule that your have to replenish on hi protein intake after workout within 20 minutes. I try if I can to prepare a hi protein meal, sometimes I have it prepared ahead of a time. In my family we all exercise and do sports so we take care of each other. So if it’s my time to workout my hubby will throw something together and he knows nutritional requirements. But if Im alone and nothing ready or travelling my protein shake is UltraInflamX plus360 by Metagenics. Its based on rice protein and no digestive issues. But it is expensive even at the practitioners cost it’s a “fancy stuff” I rather have a meal
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If that was directed at me, Sabina Rex, I never claimed to be an expert. What I did was provide a link to a page where someone who is an expert on vegan nutrition wrote about protein in vegan diets and provided current, research-based information (complete with citations to peer-reviewed journal articles). The statements I made are consistent with the information on that page, you are free to check that yourself. If you like, I have additional sources that are consistent with the statements I made–all from nutrition professionals and professional organizations for nutrition professionals.
I also referenced a book by two long-time vegans who are also Registered Dieticians in which there is a chapter devoted to protein in vegan diets, and another on nutrition for vegan athletes. Anyone who is sufficiently interested can find a copy of Vegan for Life and read it themselves.
I don’t know what you personally eat, your diet may not contain enough protein without the supplements you consume, but that is not inherently true of all vegan diets, even for vegan athletes, and I wanted to be sure that no one walked away with the impression that it was.
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