Posting this on behalf of someone else, lets just call him he.
He wants to lose weight and he’s cutting down on calories during the day along with going to the gym a few nights a week, but he wants to know would it be good to take a protein shake after the gym in the evening to help recovery at night or would that just add mass rather than reduce weight? He’d be eating dinner before going to the gym.

Any help??

Cheers!

Leave the protein shake out.
If he intends losing weight anyways, just add more protein foods as an alternative to his usual foods. Protein shakes are only a supplement and often have lots of added sugar. They def not a slimming aid.

Tell he, to cut out as much sugar in his diet as he possibly can. This will prob help him more than focusing on a fat free diet.

Protein powder is about 100cal per 30gramme scoop, which isn’t much at all.

Whether he shifts weight or adds mass is down to calorie balance, not which suplement he does or doesn’t take. If he burns more than he eats, he’ll lose weight. If he eats more than he burns he’ll add mass. If he adds mass, the composition of that mass will be influenced by his training/physical adaption.

Far too much of this stuff gets over complicated. Two things to remember.
1. Calories in vs calories out.
2. The body works with what it has to become what it needs to be.

whats his goals and gym routine? weight training for bodybuilding, or cardio for weight loss?

but as already mentioned, shakes are just a supplement to add protein. proper food is better, so chicken, beef, fish etc if more protein is needed.

Protein powder is about 100cal per 30gramme scoop, which isn’t much at all.

4 scoops is 400cal then, the same as a good meal of chicken or fish with veg and salad leaves. Adding a whole meal or more to a weekly intake doesn’t sound ideal for weight loss.

4 scoops

You can only absorb approx 30g in one go, so you wouldn’t take any more, you just excrete the rest.

Calories in vs calories out is not as clear cut as that. 2000 kcal per day of healthy balanced food is a lot more likely to lead to weight loss than 2000 kcal of foods with a high sugar content.

Agreed, but if he’s having one after each gym session and going four times a week, bingo, he’s added a good meal worth of cals to his weekly intake.

But in answer to the OP, a high protein meal (fish or chicken with veg) before going to the gym will mean higher saiety and appropriate macronutrients to work out and recover.

Agreed, but if he’s having one after each gym session and going four times a week, bingo, he’s added a good meal worth of cals to his weekly intake.

But just possibly missing out on all kinds of rubbish because he’s satisfied with the protein shake?

A protein shake will not suppress your appetite as proper food will. If he has a protein shake after exercise .. the odds are he will reach for a sugary snack soon after anyways.

Possibly, having the right meal ready after exercise isn’t always convenient, and most of us will have had a junk food frenzy after a big ride or workout. Banana with milk works for me, or a readymade version from a shop if not at home. Does stop me hitting the bread and potato sin foods until the next proper meal.

whats his goals and gym routine? weight training for bodybuilding, or cardio for weight loss?

Seems to be mostly cardio with a bit of weights thrown in, for weight loss.

I’m a yo-yo type of person; every year I eat well and exercise until about Oct/Nov. I then tend to unwittingly start eating more fattening foods and doing less, until about Feb/March when I get ‘back on it’.

My experience:

If you go to the gym, do an hour of cardio at least (nothing less!).

Forget the weights, unless of course you enjoy it, but even then, only as a supplement to an hour of cardio.

Forget powders, and just eat ‘clean’ foods in normal sized portions.

If you can, swim. Again, make it worth while. Whatever you can do comfortably, double it (slightly flippent, but you get what I mean hopefully….sorry, he will!)

We’re all different yada yada yada, but there really is no replacement for just the ‘doing stuff’ argument, but not 20 mins on a bike and a few weights, and keep eating balanced carb/protein etc.

I wish him good luck 😀

I’ve been using them as part of my diet this year (13 kg so far thanks for noticing). I find that they help with controlling hunger so that I don’t eat crap, although I take mine in the middle of the afternoon. That may of course all be in my head but it appears to be helping me achieve my goal of weight loss so I’m happy to go along with it.

Oh and whilst it does form part of my eating plan, my overall calorie intake is well below 2000 kcals per day so I’m still in calorie deficit so the laws of thermodynamics are still being obeyed.

I’m a veggie type and struggle to get enough protein even with veggie foods. I need to loose a small bit of belly fat but want a more toned upper and arms. Currently doing. rides, kettlebells and cardiovascular.

Just cannot shift that last bit. Frustrating.
I’ve used soy protein mixes but not every day

I have been using protein drinks for a few months now. However, I am a vegetarian and have been on the 5/2 thing since the start of the year. Lost over a stone (tbh, did not have much to lose) and would take a shake (especially on a diet day) after a workout to try not to loose muscle. Does make me feel full and not reach for other snacks.

I don’t agree with the minimum of 1 hour cardio and no weights thing, don’t think any fitness instructors will either. When OP mentioned losing weight, it probably means losing fat, fitting in smaller clothes etc. This is not always the same as losing weight (muscle weighs more than fat). As far as I know the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn doing normal day to day stuff, bonus!

I try and do 5 gym sessions per week, non include an hour cardio. I am now slimmer and fitter than I ever was. Just looking around in the gym, it’s not the blokes spending hours on the bikes that look the best, it’s the ones using the weights. Body weight excersises are also great, pull ups, push ups etc (no chance I beat my 13 year old who can do 3×10 pull ups!).

I do use cardio, mostly the running machine, high intensity intervals seem to work. And let’s face it, hours of cardio is boring!

I would recommend classes if you have decent instructors. Spinning can be great, also body pump works well (burns lots of calories).

Good luck!

Agreed in parts, especially how boring it can get, but that’s the problem – folk do cardio within their boredom limits! Without getting into to the fast/slow twitch muscle debate for fat loss, you need to be reasonably advanced in an exercise regime to be looking at resistance.

Also completely agree about the body weight exercises you suggest.

I wasn’t suggesting no weights; just the OP appeared to be a newbie to gym work, and for a newbie wanting to lose weight, I was just suggesting what I would recommend.

don’t think any fitness instructors will either

Well of course not, they need long term customers!

keep off the sugar, don’t eat after 8pm, weigh yourself every day to keep up enthusiasm, eat a little less than normal and go running at a moderate, fat-burning pace.

I’ve dropped from 12st 11 to 12st 3 in the last few weeks.

Portion Control.
Work out what you/he is actually eating then reduce it and stick to it. Although as pointed out calorie counting is not the only solution if you are consuming more than you are expending then it’s not going to work.

They work and useful if you are on a hectic work v exercise schedule. We don’t all have time in our day to prep the ideal meals

Presumably if he’s going to the gym he wants to add some muscle as well as reduce fat – not just lose weight per se. This is good because adding muscle will help burn fat. A bit of good pure protein used in the right way will help support muscle development.

Do weights, eat loads of protein.

Fat stores energy. Muscle uses it. All the time. Guess which one your body will chuck out the door first when you start cutting down on food?

The best way to go about it is to go down the gym with the aim of building some muscle and make sure you get plenty of protein so that you recover relatively quickly. Do weights for no more than 45 minutes, write down what you’re doing in a book so you know if you’re progressing. I find it quite simple to make strength gains in the gym, and almost impossible to improve cardio output in the gym. Have a couple of cardio sessions out and about (ie, ride a bike!) and suddenly you’re a lot better on the concept 2 down the gym…

The extra 100kcal per scoop of protein shake is neither here nor there – if your mate wants to lose 1lb a week, he needs to run am average 500kcal deficit every day, so you just have the protein shake instead of something else.

I found protein powder killed any hunger. Must buy more

Sounds like he needs a recovery shake as opposed to a full on mass gaining protein shake. I was the same about 18 months ago, started goin the gym but was unable to move for a few days after, got this recovery shake and it was brilliant! Not so much protein but a lot of other other jazz that you lose in sweat etc. I put on a stone in a month though because I was able to go the gym nearly every day and I already ate a pretty protein intense diet.

Edit: it appeared to be mainly muscle weight I put on though, just to clarify!

is ‘he’ doing cardio cos he enjoys it, or cos its gonna help lose weight? which is the main goal?
if its the former, alls good, do what you enjoy, altho ive never understood people going on treadmills, bike machines etc when theres a wonderful world out there to run/cycle round in fresh air.

if its the latter, its easier to eat less than sweat it off later in the gym. altho it can be hard to not tuck into something when that tummys rumbling 😀 all about being strict with yourself.

myfitnesspals a good website to use for tracking calories/carbs/fats/protein. log food consumed and monitor how weight goes, then adjust.

and yes, as others have mentioned, weight training on top of a slight calorie deficit will give a better overall appearance.

like i said tho, if its just cardio cos ‘he’ enjoys it and wants to be able to run/bike further/faster, then crack on 🙂
whatever routine he decides on tho, id recommend 1g protein per lb bodyweight per day as something to aim at. proper foods better, use shakes as a supplement if protein aim isnt met with food.

If the person is vegetarian or vegan then I think they are useful tool to achieve a good diet. If not then they are also good for hunger control after exercise.

EDIT

Sadex 1g of powder per a lb sounds way over the top unless you are a body builder.

Assuming he wants to tone up, look better in clothes/at the beach, etc. then I personally would ditch the cardio. Lots of squats, leg presses and core work are what you need, if you do some cardio make it hard, fast threshold stuff. You want him to be exhausted after each session and ideally have DOMS the next day. Make sure he has 2 or 3 rest days per week as well. You burn a lot of fat and calories by repairing muscles, the bigger the muscle, the more you use to repair it. You also need a good amount of protein to help this. You can get this protein by having a protein rich diet but realistically a shake is a perfectly good option, just make sure he picks a pure protein version, recovery shakes and some “mass builders” contain carbs as well, you don’t want that.

Assuming he wants to tone up, look better in clothes/at the beach, etc. then I personally would ditch the cardio. Lots of squats, leg presses and core work are what you need, if you do some cardio make it hard, fast threshold stuff

Are you my PT?

Sadex 1g of powder per a lb sounds way over the top unless you are a body builder.

not 1g powder, 1g protein. im not advocating all his protein should come from powder, quite the opposite, food is better.
1g protein per lb bodyweight may still be more than necessary youre right, but a few of us are suggesting that he lifts weights instead and tries to build muscle to look better. on a calorie deficit id rather have a bit too much protein that can be ‘wasted’, as not enough protein may contribute to muscle loss (of which there will be some anyway)

I’m a veggie type and struggle to get enough protein even with veggie foods. I need to loose a small bit of belly fat but want a more toned upper and arms. Currently doing. rides, kettlebells and cardiovascular.

Just cannot shift that last bit. Frustrating.
I’ve used soy protein mixes but not every day

Are you vegan? If not, ditch the soy for whey protein. Soy is estrogenic and won’t help you get rid of the moobs.