jfelco

ive been working out lately and am looking to put on more muscle mass. i have a healthy diet, consisting of vegetables, chicken, salmon, tuna, turkey, and red meat. im interested in taking a protein supplement to help my body develop more muscle. ive talked to a few guys at the gym and was told, even with a conscious effort to eat alot of meat, i still cant take in enough protein to help my body produce muscle. i went to henry's the other day to see what they had and saw a whole shelf full of protein shakes and stuff. i didnt know where to begin, there is such a wide variety of shakes and supplements. i was hoping to get some input from anyone that has some experience or knowledge on this....

Siege

Well, the question becomes, how big do you want to become?

To be honest, I didn't take many supplements (I took some weight gainer, which had a decent amount of protein) and i'm stronger and more muscular than the average guy.

I'd say it IS possible to get all the protein you need to get bigger by eating. You need at least 1 gram per pound of body weight.

For me, after the weight gainer, all I really did was try to eat a lot of nutritious foods and really push myself when I worked out.

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Ch'i

Yep. Muscle size, thickness depends alot on a balanced diet.

If you want to maintain your size and health: 33% Carbs; 33% Fats, 33% Protein.
If you want to build lean muscle: 50% Protein, 25% Carbs, 25% Fats
If you want to increase muscle size: 40% Fats, 40% Carbs, 20% Protien

I tend to shy away from any supplements; I've never had a good experience with any. I always just use Whey protein powder. It doesn't taste too bad after awhile, and it provides around 20-25 g protein per serving, along with some amino acids. I also use flaxseed; gotta love those omega-3 fatty acids.

newtx

I use whey protein powder as well. I prefer vanilla and usually use 2 scoops per shake. 2 shakes a day along with your current diet should get you close. Hitting 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight gets really tough without the protein shakes.

absorbentishe

Too much protein will not be absorbed (in one meal) anyway. I have heard from two muscle builder types, that if you mix whey and soy, all the protein will be absorbed since they contain two different types of protein.

I myself use whey in the form of shakes, but I am only trying to maintain, not gain. But I started using creatine, and I've seen results with that in a short amount of time. Losing fat, and gaining muscle faster, along with a protein shake or two a day.

Ch'i

I normally use my whey protein in fruit smoothies. Alot of the time they taste great but still pack in alot of good stuff. I drink 8 oz. before my weight training, and 8 oz. afterwards.

soccerchamp76

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/hp/whey.html

This site has every bodybuilding product you can possibly want. Hundreds of different protein products are on sale as well. I use HigherPower whey protein.

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Baraka_Guru

I'm wondering if you were being generic here. If you were being specific, it sounds like you may already be eating a lot of protein. If you're hitting the 1g of protein per lb. of (lean) body weight, you shouldn't need much more than that. A whey and/or soy protein will help out, but don't get caught up on the variety of products out there. In most cases, protein is protein.

What I'm wondering, however, is whether you're missing some other nutrients in your diet. You failed to mention complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and legumes. If you aren't already eating such things as non-instant oatmeal, long-grain rice, black beans, whole-grain bread, etc., then you need to start eating these if you want to optimize muscle gain. It's difficult to build muscle if you don't have the proper fuel. Protein is just one component of nutrition. If you fall short on glucose/glycogen as obtained from carbohydrates, your protein will be used instead, which is counterproductive, so be sure to fuel your muscles!

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jfelco

a random daily intake would consist of wheat toast with peanut butter, 8 oz chicken breast on baby spinach with olive oil and blue cheese, some peanuts/almonds here and there, a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with mustard, a mixed berry smoothie with nonfat yogurt and banana, and maybe brown rice and chicken for dinner.

i havent really kept track of how much protein i eat. i do use whole grain tortillas sometimes instead of the bread. my goal is to become stronger, and it would be nice to lean out. im currently at about 18% body fat. i dont think thats accurate because i have a bit of a belly. i used this hand machine at my local gym to calculate it.

i was really looking into protein powders for shakes more than supplement pills. one guy at the gym recommended this soy protein powder from henry's while another recommended muscle milk.

whats the difference between whey and soy?

noahfor

Cottage Cheese, so much protein, so easy to prepare.

Whey protein is good post workout because it is absorbed quickly.

Ch'i

This is the difference between Whey and Soy protein. (I prefer whey)

Kensei

Actually chi it will only appear to build lean musckle, your realy just losing fat, hence you can see the muscle a lot better. Diets high in protein and lower in carbs actually will take away muscle, since if your body lacks carbs to burn as energy, it will instead burn protein, an inferior source of energy, trhats ketogenic, not so good for you.

If your active enough, and have a low carb diet, your body will actually break down and use muscle as energy. Look into it a bit more chi, what your advocating is old school knowledge, like eating 12 raw eggs like rocky before his workout began. Was thought to be good back then, but now we know better, and 25 percent compared to 50% protein is just no good period, especially if you are very active.

saltfish

"Diets high in protein and lower in carbs actually will take away muscle, since if your body lacks carbs to burn as energy, it will instead burn protein, an inferior source of energy, trhats ketogenic, not so good for you."

Ketogenic diets will first use stored body fat as an energy source. Once the fat begins to diminish then the body will use protein.

gal

I bought this Muscle Milk today. I asked the guy in the store for a tasty protein powder with a mix of fast and slow proteins, and this is what he recommended. I checked the label just now, and found that it has only 43% protein, a whooping 24% fat, and 16% carbs. This looks more like a gainer to me.. all I want is a protein supplement at lunch time. I don't do any resistance training now, just running 30-45 minutes in the morning to burn fat and improve conditioning. Could it be that this Muscle Milk is ok for that, or should I chuck it?

intecel

MMMMM muscle milk is soooooo good I personally don't drink it on a regular basis because of the fat content, but when I forget my shakes, I run to GNC and grab one of the pre-mixed drinks of it.

I use protein from AllTheWhey.com. It's very well priced and really tasty stuff.

gal

I know, it's almost too good I've used it steadily for a week, one hour before my bike commute in the evening. So far so good. It actually seems like I have shorter recovery times when waiting for those uphill green lights.

hunnychile

Searchin' for protein eh?

My hubby's rather overweight....take him. I won't mind.


Sorry couldn't resist....

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