Whey Protein – whats the deal?

A guy here at work has about 5 drinks of it made from powder each day. He does train a lot and reckons I should use it because my body needs it; I train 3 times a week – TBH I'm not convinced by any of these types of supplements, whether it be this Whey stuff or that SIS stuff lots of pepole stick in their hydration packs. I'm just interested really as he didn't really do a very good job of 'selling' it to me.

I use it. Stops my legs aching as much the day after training.

Don't use anything fancy – just plain whey powder bought from myprotein.co.uk

Or eat chicken?

easier to drink in work than chow down on chicken breasts 😉 more used by body builders tho

Carb drinks work fella…simple as that

Funny, since starting this high-protein, low carb diet (aka iDave diet), I've been really surprised with how well my legs seem to recover after a hard ride. Not sure I'd want to obsess about it to the extent of taking whey protein sachets though 🙂

I consume a protein drink directly after long and/or intensive sessions as I feel it helps me recover quicker.

However there is no concrete evidence that increased protein aids recovery.

Daily protein requirement (in grammes) = (weight in kg – % bodyfat) x 2.5

add a bit more the day after a tough training session to aid recovery. I dont use supplements; full fat milk and some meat do the trick just as well.

5 times a day? Kidney stone alert..

Yeah, just seems like a lot of stuff to be taking everyday – so far alls I can understand is that it aids recovery………is that it? Why do I want to aid recovery, I can put up with a few aches, whats the benefit of that?

There's various estimates of how much protein your body requires per day – if you train i think they vary between ~ 0.7 and 2 grams per pound of bodyweight per day. As i understand it protein is needed to repair and build muscle.

If you don't get enough you won't recover as well (as others have said), and your training won't have as signficant an effect as it might.

So, if you're not getting as much protein as you require from your diet, whey protein would be a good way to make up the deficit. I think it's also beneficial to have protein within 30 minutes or so of completing exercise, hence shakes can be more convenient.

Seriously, even if that guy trained really hard I doubt all that (crap) protein would make much difference. That's a lot of stuff for his body to process during the day. Seems his been taken in by the marketing BS.

Chunky – he's pretty buff 😯
But I was shocked how much powder he goes through…..just doesn't seem right to me.

Cheers guys, have a better understanding now – still quite dubious about it though

Don't waste your money. I work with plenty of buff people who don't use or need that crap stuff. I wonder what people did hundreds of years ago. Roman Legions marched across countries on a diet of bread and watered down wine…. if only they had access to shit cheap whey protein..

Why do I want to aid recovery, I can put up with a few aches, whats the benefit of that?

Recovery it vital, this is after all the time where you get fitter/stronger. Training optimally will mean consecutive days, or even multiple times a day, you shouldn't have to train through with aches and pains. If you are then you're not fully recovered and injury risk is higher.

Whether protein helps is another question altogether.

I've always questioned the taking of supplements for casual sportsmen/ weight trainers, its always been my opinion that a good and varied diet contains all the nutrients we need.
People surviving on McDonalds and chips every night are a different story..

Roman Legions marched across countries on a diet of bread and watered down wine

And the greeks ate raw steak, ohh if only they'd had bread and watered down wine.

You do some excercise, muscle tissue is broken down either through metabolism or through physical stess, if you feed it more protein its built back stronger, if you dont it depleats. Fairly straightforeward? You could eat 5 tins of tuna or chicken breasts every day, or drink it which gets it where its needed quicker (less digestion required).

I only drink 2x 25g portions a day, mixed with milk after cardio excercise (slows down its release), or water after doing weights 9quickly absorbed).

Its secondary benifit is an intake of protein releases insulin, which transports sugars into your muscle tissue which is why it stops you feeling completely flat the next day.

Yes, fairly straight forward 🙄 I'll pass it on to the people I work with…

I'm not saying protein doesn't work, I'm saying you don't need to shove down buckets of it during the day – especially the cheap shit whey protein. Thanks for the lesson in nutrition..

Can't remember where I read it but a reliable source nonehteless is that you only need to increase your protein at the beginning of a training program, after a few weeks your body adapts and a normal well-balanced diet gives you what you need and no supplements are needed.

I think they may have there benefits but the majority of it will be placebo affect.

Does he fart alot?

ourmaninthenorth – Member

I use it. Stops my legs aching as much the day after training.

Don't use anything fancy – just plain whey powder bought from myprotein.co.uk

I'm going to buy some protein from myprotein.co.uk. I've not registered before, do you have a recommend a friend code?

You might get something for nothing.

MP200391 (stick it in at the checkout)

i guy into body building at work here 'invented' his own protein shake concoction…

god knows what was in it, but after 3 months of guzzling it put him hospital…

weirdo

MP200391 (stick it in at the checkout)

i think you mean:

MP253498 😉

myprotein.co.uk, good store. Cheaper and better qualtiy than shop stuff.

Protein powder does work, as the excess protein intake encourages a natural anabolic state to occur giving better muscle growth/repair. You may not use all the extra protein to grow tissue but it pushes your metaoblism into better recovery. If you speak to powerlifters they eat 2 to 3grams per pound bodyweight every day despite not wanting to add masses more muscle (once they are in their weight category), all because of the extreme forces they subject their muscles to (e.g. 400+kg Squats).

If your kidneys are fine high protein offers no health risks IMO also the "your body can only absorb so much protein in one meal" is a myth, cavemen didn't split out their protein consumption; they ate protein when they caught it. Yes you do need to eat real food but whey is a "supplement" and is a healthier option than eating loads of extra meat. If still not convinced that it has any growth/recovery value check out the ingredients on baby formula milk, first on the list is Whey Protein Concentrate.

Flame away

I have today just got a copy of "The Complete Guide to Sports Nutition" by "Anita Bean" beacuse my normal diet isn't keeping up with commuting and training for the Great North Run.

Anyway, seems quite a decent book, with lots of links to research. Her figures for protein intake are 1.2 to 1.4 g per kg of body weight per day for endurance athletes.

She quotes conflicting research for protein supplements, some showing improved muscle mass, and some showing no/minimal improvements.

A side panel on whey protein seems to give it a good write up inc reference the research. However she says "most athletes can get enough protein from 2 – 4 daily portions of meat, chicken, fish, diary products, eggs and pulses"

No flame from me, i'd just like to see scientific proof from an independant body before i personally pass judgement..

as the excess protein intake encourages a natural anabolic state to occur giving better muscle growth/repair. You may not use all the extra protein to grow tissue but it pushes your metaoblism into better recovery.

…it says here on this packet of revolting protein powder…

If you speak to powerlifters they eat 2 to 3grams per pound bodyweight every day

you mean they can talk ???

You can get a protein/carbs mix, aimed slightly more at cardio sports like cycling. The carbs means it can have a bit of flavour too!

Slightly too much protein is no great worry though, you just pee it out.

also the "your body can only absorb so much protein in one meal" is a myth

So if you ate 3lb of protein your body would absorb *all* of it? None of it would be excreted as waste? Yoikes!

2-4 portions of meat sounds about right, say 100-200g per lean portion, of whuch 25% is protein makes it arround 75-150g per day. The problem is I don't eat steak for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks………

Still ignore the back of the packets though, they seem to imply you should eat no protein apart form what they're selling you which would be a very cheep but tasteless existance!

But i dont want to pee it out, i want to know if it has any additional benefits combined with my regular balanced diet?

You can get all the nutrients you need from eating the correct foods.

… but I don't want to eat or have time to cook meals that include meats, chicken, fish, dairy products, eggs and pulses etc

So I have protein shakes after intensive works outs to aid recovery and promote lean muscle growth & repair.

But i dont want to pee it out

apply to god(s) for a redesign. Your body has no way to store protein other than as muscle, which is only built in response to physical demand.

Much simpler not to take the suplements then, SFB, over asking for a redesign..

This is the same reason i dont take multivitamins
That's your money your pissing out

I use it on an ad-hoc basis after heavy gym sessions (strength training) and it seems to help for that purpose. It's a "complete" protein in the sense that it contains a full set of amino acids (21 IIRC), which your body needs to build/repair muscle. Best thing I've found to avoid Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness whether after a ride or training is a combination of warming up/down (properly) and cryotherapy after a long ride- try a cold bath while your muscles are still "hot", it doesn't need to be ice.

cryotherapy after a long ride- try a cold bath while your muscles are still "hot", it doesn't need to be ice

if it's not liquid nitrogen it's not "cryo" :o)
If your muscles (or any other parts) get more than a few degrees hotter than normal they die – we are not crocodiles!

we are not crocodiles!

Evidence please.

Yeah, CC that evidence to David Icke…

Most of it has suger etc in it, you are better off with some meat or tuna and milk.

as the excess protein intake encourages a natural anabolic state to occur giving better muscle growth/repair. You may not use all the extra protein to grow tissue but it pushes your metaoblism into better recovery.

…it says here on this packet of revolting protein powder…

If you speak to powerlifters they eat 2 to 3grams per pound bodyweight every day

you mean they can talk ???

1. No personall experience over 10 years recording my diet and strength gains, however I should have used an IMO in the first post.

2. So the logic goes that the stronger a person gets the less intelligent they become? are you a skinny chap by any chance? Dr Squat

also the "your body can only absorb so much protein in one meal" is a myth

So if you ate 3lb of protein your body would absorb *all* of it? None of it would be excreted as waste? Yoikes!

Reductio ad absurdum as you would need to ingest 12lbs of protein powder to do this, you can't expect anything taken in that amount to be fully absorbed by the gut. Also to be pedantic excretion by definition implies it being absorbed in the first place. Yes in more sensible "higher intakes" the body would excrete excess as urea after being absorbed by the gut as amino acids, but IMO the excess in amino acids in the bloodstream increase the growth response.

Most of it has suger etc in it, you are better off with some meat or tuna and milk.

If you use unflavoured whey protein you are only getting 1 or 2 grams of sugars per 100g of powder.