I get this question a lot, surprisingly. The gym I train in has a supplement store. Twice a month someone asks me: "How do you use whey protein?"
I can't blame them. There is a lot of confusion about supplements.
The way you "use" whey protein is you eat it. Seriously. You "use" whey protein the exact same way that you use chicken, beef, fish, cottage cheese, eggs, or soy – it should be somewhere about 1/3 of every meal.
Yup, it's protein, just like chicken. Nothing more. Nothing less. There isn't anything magical about it. Sure you may have heard that whey protein digests fast, and casein digests slowly. So? You may have heard that your whey protein contains glutamine. So? For our purposes (fat loss), it's just another form of protein.
Typically, I eat whey protein when I'm too lazy to cook chicken or beef. Or when I'm in a time crunch, like breakfast. It's mostly for convenience. I like my clients to have some convenient food around, because life isn't perfect. Sometimes I don't have anything healthy prepared. Sometimes I don't have anything healthy to eat handy. Meal replacements come in real handy in those situations. Other times, I do have some carbs readily available, but I need to add some protein – protein shakes will come in real handy in that situation.
By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES),
and currently studing the Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES)˚ credential.
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor (RKC)* and Combat Applications Specialist (RKC2/CAS)
*RKC certified 2004-2006, registered to recertify 2007
˚NASM-CES will be completed 2007
© Joshua Hillis 2007
I drink Whey protein because I tend to not eat chickens, cows or pigs and need to substitute them for something. I can’t have fish or quorn with every meal.
I love my protein shake mix (optimum nutrition – double chocolate)! It’s SOOO tasty and totally replaces my need for any sweets ever. It also makes my life a lot easier when I’m burnt out on eating meat all the time.
I had a gastric bypass 5years ago, lost a whole person ( 130lbs) and am maintaining my weight even after having 2nd baby. I am wanting to lose some of my fat and bought your book “7 pounds”. In it you advocate the use of shakes….I have been doing 3-5 shakes daily, made with water, with a couple of small meals thrown in. After reading your book, I know I need to clean up my meals and will change my daily 3 mile walk to lifting and bag workout ( am also blackbelt in TKD) in addition to 3-4 Taekwondo workouts a week.
Do I need to adjust my intake of shakes so I don’t bulk up?
I do like protein shakes, mostly for convenience.
Like anything else you eat, you need to keep track of the total calories you are consuming each day. If you are drinking so much protein that puts you over calorie wise, you’ll get bigger. If you are still under on your total calories, you’ll get smaller.
Just remember, protein shakes are all about convenience. My preference is still whole food whenver possible.
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