Protein powder stands out as a widely used dietary supplement, and protein shakes have become increasingly popular among people aiming to manage their weight. This article explores the potential benefits of pre-workout protein shakes in the context of weight loss, providing a comprehensive overview of how protein impacts the body and how to effectively incorporate protein shakes into a weight loss plan.
Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.
The Role of Protein in Weight Management
Consuming a higher-than-usual amount of protein in your diet may offer benefits, such as lower body fat, retention of lean muscle, feeling full, and weight loss. Drinking a protein shake may help you consume fewer calories without feeling hungry. Protein reduces food cravings by making you feel full. Dietary protein impacts multiple hormones that control hunger, including ghrelin, peptide YY, and cholecystokinin.
Muscle, Metabolism, and Protein
Muscle tissue, also referred to as lean mass, is a highly metabolic tissue. Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are critical for muscle growth. Protein shakes contain ample amino acids and, typically, 20 to 30 grams of protein per serving. Additionally, protein itself requires more energy to digest than other nutrients. The “thermic effect of food” refers to how many calories your body burns each day just by digesting the food you eat.
Timing Your Protein Intake
The most important thing is to get enough protein each day. The exact amount of protein your body needs depends on a lot of factors, including your current body weight, goal weight, what type of exercise you do, and how much exercise you do.
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In the early-to-mid 2010s, researchers proposed a potential “anabolic window of opportunity” that exists after exercise, specifically strength exercise. The thought was that muscle tissue is more responsive to amino acids immediately after training.
Consuming adequate protein daily is more important than drinking a protein shake at a specific time of day. You can drink your protein shake pre-workout or post-workout. Whether your fitness goal is to build muscle or lose weight, it’s best to focus on getting enough protein throughout the day and drink protein shakes at whatever time works for you. It’s perfectly fine to take a protein supplement on rest days. As long as you remain in a calorie deficit, it won’t contribute to weight gain. If you’re trying to consume a high-protein diet and you’re struggling to get enough protein from whole foods, drinking two protein shakes per day can help. There’s no harm in doing so, so long as your source of protein doesn’t contain any ingredients you are sensitive to (such as artificial sweeteners that can cause bloating).
Types of Protein Powders and Their Benefits
Using different types of protein powder may offer additional benefits. For instance, whey protein is fast-digesting so it’s ideal for post-workout nutrition. As long as the best vegan protein powder uses complementary proteins to create a complete protein (meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids), then yes, plant-based protein imparts the same benefits as whey protein. This is good news for vegetarians and lactose-intolerant individuals.
Protein powders are generally separated into 2 categories: animal-based and plant-based. Animal-based protein powders such as whey protein, casein protein, and collagen protein are all made from animal byproducts. Whey protein and casein protein are made from the protein in cow's milk, whereas collagen protein is made from the connective tissues of cow, fish or chicken. Whey and casein protein are known as complete sources of protein, as they contain all of the essential amino acids, making them a nutrient-rich dietary supplement.
Plant-based protein powders are created by extracting and sometimes combining nutrients from plants to build the replica essential amino acids found in a complete protein. Plant-based protein powder can come in the form of soy protein powder, rice protein, pea protein, and hemp protein - all good alternatives to animal-based protein powders. These protein supplements are usually higher in fibre and lower in fat than animal-based protein, and the fact that they are based on plants instead of animal products means they can be a great option for people with intolerances or allergies or those who are vegetarian or vegan.
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Pre-Workout Protein Shakes: Fueling Your Body for Success
If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to make sure you aren’t consuming additional calories your body doesn’t need and trying to time your meals or snacks around your workouts so you aren’t eating extra snacks for the sake of the workout.
Exercising on an empty stomach can help you burn more body fat for fuel. When you eat right before exercising, your body is going to first use the calories you just consumed for fuel. By exercising when it’s been about three to four hours since you last ate, your body is more able to burn fat for fuel because other easier methods of fuel aren’t available.
If exercising on an empty stomach isn’t a great fit for you, you can avoid consuming extra calories by simply timing your workout right after a small snack or a light meal. Stick with real food. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Often, combining a carbohydrate source with a protein source is recommended. Some examples include: Fruit + protein (examples: apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter, berries, and a few slices of turkey or nuts)Starch + protein (examples: whole grain crackers and cheese or 1/2 sandwich)Light yogurtOr a lighter snack of veggies and hummus, dip, or string cheese may be desired.
Post-Workout Protein Shakes: Repair and Recovery
For some types of exercise, it’s important to eat a meal (or a protein shake) within the hour after your workout. Types of exercise that might call for an immediate post-workout protein shake or meal include: Weight-liftingHigh intensity interval training Endurance training (long-distance running, cycling, etc.)Any intense exercise over 60 minutesHigh-intensity competitive sports (soccer, tennis, racquet ball, etc.)If you don’t eat a substantial meal or post-workout protein shake after high intensity exercise, a few issues are of concern: You’re depriving your muscles of the amino acids they need to rebuild and recover. You’re not replenishing the stored glucose (glycogen) in your muscles which can lead to further muscle breakdown. You’ll get hungry a few hours later and likely overeat at that later meal. Intense training requires proper fuel. Eating every three to four hours throughout the day and eating post-workout is an important part of supporting your body.
Protein Shakes Before Bed: An Emerging Area of Research
The relationship between sleep and muscle protein synthesis has long been explored, but how much a protein supplement can impact that is still a new area of research. One study, though, has found that drinking protein shakes or eating something imbued with protein powder before going to bed can encourage muscle protein synthesis rates overnight while you sleep. This looks like it could be an effective way of increasing both muscle mass and strength and while a relationship specifically between a protein shake nightcap and weight loss has yet to be studied, the benefits of increased strength and muscle growth indicate positive health benefits.
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How Many Protein Shakes Should You Consume Daily?
When it comes to any nutritional need, your first port of call should always be to meet that need through a balanced diet. In the case of protein, 99% of Australians get enough through their daily eating habits as protein is a core component of many stapes such as meat and fish, eggs, dairy products, seeds and nuts, and legumes.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends between 37-81 grams of protein a day, depending on your age, gender, weight, and other factors such as pregnancy. If you are looking to boost your protein intake, it's important to remember that a scoop of protein powder contains between 20-30 grams of protein, mixed with water. As a result, if you are drinking protein shakes, experts recommend no more than 2 in a day.
Protein Shakes and Appetite Control
Protein has been shown to help decrease hunger and appetite. One key reason is that protein generally helps you feel full for longer. This is partly due to the release of fullness hormones GLP-1 and PYY. Studies also show that higher protein intake may result in less hunger throughout the day.
One 2016 meta-analysis of five studies also connected high protein intake and increased fullness. However, review authors caution that factors like body weight, eating behavior, and other health issues all play a role in the sensations of fullness. Furthermore, another review published in 2020 reports that ingesting more than 35 grams (g) of protein at once appears most effective for effects like less hunger, a reduced desire to eat, and greater feelings of fullness.
Protein Shakes and Muscle Mass
A high protein diet, especially when combined with strength training, can help build muscle. Because muscle aids metabolism and energy production, building muscle is a great way to keep your metabolism healthy. This is especially true if you follow a calorie-restricted diet to lose weight. That’s because extreme calorie restriction may result in muscle loss and fat loss. This loss of lean muscle may slow your metabolism, making it easier to regain weight once you stop the restrictive diet. Conversely, eating sufficient amounts of protein, combined with strength training, may help prevent this muscle loss and resulting metabolic slowdown.
Protein Shakes and Metabolism
Your body also uses more energy to digest protein than it does fat or carbs, which means your body burns more calories in the process. This effect, called the thermic effect of protein, may provide a slight metabolism boost. Although few studies use protein shakes specifically, researchers generally agree that high protein diets are an effective way to lose weight and body fat.
Choosing the Right Protein Powder
If you need that extra protein in your diet, protein powders can be a great way to get it. Able to be drunk, stirred into yoghurt, or added to muesli, they're a versatile supplement that can help you get what you need without adding a lot more calories to your diet.
While neither is going to result in any sudden weight gain, animal-based protein has been found to be more effective when it comes to weight loss and lean muscle development. Research has long shown that it's a more potent stimulator of muscle protein synthesis, and a recent study confirmed it. In fact, this study also found that if you are under the age of 50, animal-based protein will have an even more significant impact on losing weight and gaining lean muscle mass, with another study finding that whey protein had a particularly positive impact on weight loss.
That said, plant-based proteins are still effective, and particularly if you are over the age of 50, the differences between plant-based protein and animal-based protein seem fairly minimal.
Potential Risks and Considerations
If you need more protein in your diet, incorporating protein shakes can help you reach your health goals. However, having too much protein in your diet can also have its own health risks, particularly straining the kidneys and liver. As a result, it's best to start your shakes for weight loss with the support of a medical professional.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t typically review supplements for safety and effectiveness before they hit the shelves. Thus, it’s important to research the ingredients in your protein powder and the brand’s trustworthiness. When possible, choose a protein that has undergone third-party testing.
If you’re lactose intolerant, drinking protein shakes made with whey or casein may cause side effects, such as: bloating, cramps, gas, diarrhea. You can avoid these symptoms by switching to protein powders not derived from dairy, such as those made with protein from eggs, peas, soy, and hemp.
Real Food Alternatives to Protein Powder
Protein powders aren’t the only way to add additional protein to your shakes. Here are a few whole foods you can use in place of protein powder: Greek or plant-based yogurt, Nuts and seeds, Spirulina, Tofu, Puffed quinoa, and Oats.
Protein Needs for Athletes
The following daily recommendations come from the American College of Sports Medicine and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: The average adult needs 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound. That means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should have about 54 grams per day. Recreational athletics: 1.1 to 1.4 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weightCompetitive athletes: 1.2 to 1.4 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weightUltra-endurance athletes: up to 2.0 grams per kilogram of weightAthletes building muscle mass: 1.5 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of weight daily