Best Time to Drink a Protein Shake

What’s The Best Time to Drink Protein Shakes? Ask The Fitness Nerd

October 27, 2008 on 11:19 pm | By Matt | In Ask The Fitness Nerd |

When should you drink a protein shake? Today we tackle the question of what’s the best time to reach for that protein shake.

Dear Fitness Nerd:

I’ve read a lot about the benefits of protein shakes, especially when it comes to building muscle and becoming leaner. But I’ve seen conflicting advice on when the best time is to drink protein shakes, and how often I should be consuming them. Some people say right before you workout, others say immediately following your workout, and some people seem to drink them 3-4 times a day or more. I’m confused. Can you help clear this up? Thanks. Sarah M. (Albany, NY)

Sarah,

This is a great question.

The first thing to realize is that protein shakes are intended to be supplemental to your regular whole meals — not replacements for whole meals. So if you view it that way, you should typically be consuming no more than 2-3 shakes a day on your workout days, and 1-2 (if any) protein shakes on your non-workout days.

In general, the two most critical times for drinking a protein shake are:

1. First thing in the morning
2. Immediately following your resistance or weight training workout.

Why first thing in the morning?

Well, when you wake up, you have essentially been in a fasted state for the past seven to eight hours. That means you’ve had no protein during this time and you are at risk for becoming catabolic (meaning you’ll start to break down muscle for fuel.) By drinking a protein shake with some simple carbs (like orange juice or a banana blended in) as soon as you wake up, you can stop this muscle breakdown dead in its tracks and put yourself back in “positive nitrogen balance” — a fancy term that simply means you have more protein available for your body than what it is using for fuel or excreting.

The second key window of opportunity for drinking a protein shake is immediately following your resistance or weight training workout.

During this 30-60 minute post-workout window, your muscles are like sponges and take up nutrients — including protein — very quickly as part of the repair and recovery process. Your body also utilizes carbohydrates more efficiently during this period, due to increased insulin sensitivity, so drinking your protein shake with some simple carbs can help the body more efficient absorb amino acids and utilize them for ongoing tissue repair and growth.

What Kind of Protein Should I Be Using In These Shakes?

In both cases, a shake containing whey protein is your best bet. Whey is one of the most easily digested proteins available and is rapidly made available to the body — often in as little as 20-30 minutes after being ingested.

Remember, time is of the essence in both of these scenarios, so if you are relying on forms of protein that take longer to digest — for example casein (milk proteins) or soy protein — by the time the amino acids become available to the body, you’ll have missed your window of opportunity.

It is, however, fine to combine the whey protein with a secondary form of protein like soy protein isolate, casein (milk protein) or even egg protein (albumin).

One of my favorite post workout protein shakes is skim milk combined with a scoop of chocolate whey protein and soy protein isolate and a high glycemic carb (usually something like Rice Chex which are very portable.) By combining these three forms of protein together, you basically ensure a “amino drip” for 2-6 hours since they digest at different rates.

Soy, whey and milk proteins also have different amino acid balances, with soy containing more glutamine, for example, which can help with recovery and lessening the symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Soy also has documented cholesterol-lowering properties and may reduce the risk of certain types of cancers. So when you combine these different forms of protein together in your shake, you maximize the nutritional and recovery benefits of the shake.

What About Drinking a Protein Shake Before Working Out?

Protein shakes are also popular as a pre-workout meal.

In these cases, they are typically consumed about an hour before your workout and usually are mixed with either water, soy milk or skim milk and sometimes a slower-burning, low-glycemic carb like oatmeal.

While pre-workout protein shakes can help ensure that you have plenty of amino acids available during your training, they are not always necessary. You could also eat a whole food source of protein 1-2 hours in advance of your workout and do just fine. The protein shakes are primarily there for the sake of convenience, and not always for necessity.

Do I Have To Drink Protein Shakes To Be Successful in the Gym?

No. While carefully-timed protein shakes can help you fill in some of the gaps in your diet, they shouldn’t be a substitute for healthy, clean, whole foods. It’s possible to build a great physique and stay in fantastic shape without ever touching a protein shake — but they can help, especially if you have a busy schedule that makes eating five to six times a day difficult.

If I could only drink one protein shake a day, I probably would reserve it for after my workout.

A growing body of research has demonstrated that people who drink post-workout recovery drinks that combine whey, casein and a source of simple carbohydrates put on more lean tissue than people who drink whey-only or carbohydrate-only recovery drinks. Also, because protein shakes can be very portable, they are easily mixed with water or even milk kept in a cooler in your car — making them extremely convenient.

Macrobiotic Diet/Lifestyle

After ending my previous diet I've been needing to find a lifestyle/diet that I can continue for the rest of my life. I've had some major life changes over the past few months and have met some new people who introduced me to the lifestyle of Macrobiotics. It's been exactly what I've been looking for. I've been tired of dieting. I'm sick of weighing myself every day (a few TIMES a day). I've had a very unhealthy relationship with food, which is partly contributed to the last diet that I did. I was taught to weigh myself every morning. However i went overboard and got obsessed with the scale and what I ate, or didn't eat. I'd binge and purge. NOT a healthy way of living. So I checked out this lifestyle and decided that it was something I wanted to try out, if not incorporate some of the principals into my daily life. I've been doing this diet since Monday and I can honestly say that I am FEELING alive. My pants even fit me better. I haven't gotten on the scale since last week, and I'm perfectly content with that. Along with the diet, I do yoga 2-3 times a week, and zumba 2 times as well as trying to get outside and hike/walk as much as possible. I'm feeling like this is finally a lifestyle that I can live with!

Here is a synopsis of the diet from WebMD:

A macrobiotic diet isn't simply a diet plan. It's a way of life. If you're drawn to the concept of eating a natural, organic, plant-based diet (with a little fish) and embrace a Zen-like spirituality in both your life and food selections, then a macrobiotic diet may be for you.

Originally from Japan, the principle behind the macrobiotic diet combines tenets of Zen Buddhism with a Western-style vegetarian diet. Much more than a list of recommended foods, it is all about a spiritualism that transcends lifestyle, attitude, and diet practices. The word "macrobiotic" comes from the Greek and essentially means "long life" or "great life."

The Latest Diets

The macrobiotic diet regimen supports an Eastern philosophy of balancing foods to attain a balance of yin and yang. To achieve that balance, foods are paired based on their sour, sharp, salty, sweet, or bitter characteristics.

Yin foods are cold, sweet, and passive while yang foods are hot, salty, and aggressive. Some foods are prohibited because they contain toxins or fall on the far end of the spectrum, making it difficult to achieve and respect a Zen-like balance.

Early versions of the macrobiotic diet included several stages that became progressively more restrictive and ending with a diet of brown rice and water -- considered the ultimate in yin and yang. Today, the Americanized version is a modified vegetarian plan.

Although not scientifically proven, a macrobiotic diet of wholesome, nutritious foods may protect against cancer and other chronic diseases.

What You Can Eat

Practitioners of the macrobiotic diet prefer locally grown, natural foods prepared and eaten in the traditional manner, such as baking, boiling, and steaming. Lots of grains, vegetables, beans, fermented soy, and soups -- supplemented with small amounts of fish, nuts, seeds, and fruits -- are the basis of the macrobiotic diet menu. Other natural products, however, may be included to accommodate individual needs or during dietary transition.

It is essentially a "flexitarian" diet plan -- a mostly vegetarian diet that allows you to eat occasional meat or fish -- with rules governing eating, cooking, and lifestyle practices such as eating slowly and chewing food thoroughly.

Foods should be consumed in their most natural state and processed foods are not recommended. Other excluded foods are fatty meats, most dairy, sugars, coffee, caffeinated tea, stimulating beverages, alcohol, chocolate, refined flour, very hot spices, chemicals and preservatives, poultry, potatoes, and zucchini.

The diet also allows you to consume certain fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers in limited quantities. Excluded foods are considered to be extreme, overstimulating, or too concentrated and therefore not capable of achieving balance.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are frowned upon, yet seeking nutritional balance may be impossible without them, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Consult a registered dietitian to help you balance the yin-yang and nutritional completeness of your plan. Otherwise you could end up with nutritional deficiencies," she advises.

Here's a breakdown of a typical macrobiotic diet:

• Whole grains, especially brown rice: 50%-60%
• Vegetables (and seaweed): 25%-30%
• Beans: 5%-10%
• Fish, nuts, seeds, fruits, miso soup: 5%-20%
• Soup (made from ingredients above): 1-2 cups/day

How it works

• Followers of the macrobiotic diet believe that food and food quality impact health, happiness, and well-being. Eating natural food that is closer to the earth and less processed is healthier for the body and soul. One of the objectives is to become more sensitive to the food you eat and how it affects your life. Ultimately, this awareness will enhance your life and health.

  What you can eat may be adjusted according to the following:

• Season
• Climate
• Activity
• Age
• Sex
• Health and any other personal considerations

What the Experts Say

A well-managed macrobiotic diet can be nutritionally sound. The ADA approves of carefully planned and monitored vegetarian diets for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, and adolescence.

The macrobiotic diet is low in fat and high in fiber. Because of all the soy products, it is also rich in phytoestrogens, which may reduce the risk of estrogen-related cancers, such as breast cancer. There is no scientific evidence that a macrobiotic diet will reduce breast cancer, however eating a diet low in fat, high in fiber, and rich in plant foods containing phytochemicals may offer disease protection.

Blatner says she likes the focus on healthy foods that are low in fat and high in fiber, but she also recognizes the potential nutritional deficiencies. "Nutrients of concern are vitamins D and B12, iron, protein, and calcium if you are not careful," she says. Whenever you eliminate food groups, it can create deficiencies and affect your health. Her advice: Good nutrition should be considered first before balancing for yin and yang.

Food for Thought

The macrobiotic diet focuses on foods typically lacking in most American diets. Eating more natural foods, whole grains, vegetables, and beans could be beneficial to most people. Adopting it, however, may prove to be much more difficult because it often requires major lifestyle changes.

If you're interested in trying a macrobiotic diet, start slowly. First, incorporate just a few concepts, such as eating less unprocessed foods. Then add more whole grains and so on.

"Aim for a gradual approach before jumping in with both feet," Blatner suggests.

Adopting the macrobiotic diet takes a great deal of dedication and commitment to a lifestyle that is much bigger than your average diet plan.

HCG Diet

Back in July I decided to embark on a new journey. I weighed 205 lbs at just 22 years. I had been overweight my entire life, however after moving out of my parents I kept adding more weight on. I had heard co-workers talking about a diet that they were trying and decided to give it a go with one of them. After doing my research I came to the conclusion that it was far more unhealthy for me to continue down the path that I was, over trying this drastic diet. I am the first to admit that HCG is not a healthy way to lose weight. There are FAR healthier options. However I'll also admit that if I had NOT done HCG I would probably be where I was at a year ago, over weight, unhealthy, and unhappy. I decided to do a 50 day course of the diet and see where it took me, you can check out my other blog to see a weekly synopsis of how things went. All in all the first round I lost almost 40 lbs. I went through the Holidays and did great, but still had an extra 20 more pounds I'd like to lose. I was around 150-155 and wanted to be more around 130 lbs. After my birthday I decided to do one more short round of HCG and dropped down to 140 (I found out that my scale had been lying because I thought I was REALLY at 130 lbs). Since then I've dropped around another 5-10 lbs by going to the gym and keeping up my new healthy lifestyle. I still have some slimming/toning that I'm working on and have decided to try a new diet/lifestyle to help me find balance, another blog will be about this new diet. So all in all with HCG I lost around 60 lbs. Another 15 on my own so far. I wanted to share my personal experience with this so everyone is aware that I did in fact try this diet myself. Here is a breakdown of what HCG diet consist of.
23-40 day round of injections or drops of HCG (I did the drops)
500 calorie a day diet consisting of selected vegetables, fruits, and protein
3 week maintenance after taking HCG to "reset" your metabolism
The idea is that the hormone triggers your body to start using up it's fat storage, most people who stick to it lose an average of 1lb a day, or 20-30 pounds in a 30 day period. It's no walk in the park, you have to stick to a very strict 500 calorie a day food consumption, and only eating certain things allowed. Here is a website that can explain everything a tad better than I can http://diyhcg.com/mm5/index.html
This is a good synopsis of what the diet consists of. I have much much more details about it, and there is a lot of information on the internet or you can check out my other blog for even more info. Before deciding to try this diet, I recommend doing a lot of your own research and talking about it with your doctor.