Hey guys is their a benefit to eating real foods versus eating protein bars and drinks? I have been trying to get my diet under control and I have been eating protein bars/ drinks every once in a while and fish chicken and turkey the rest of the time. I try to switch it up so as not to get sick of any one thing.
I am just asking since a training partner told me I needed to stay away from protein bars and drinks because in his words, “it aint natural and will mess up your gut”. I have never heard anyone say this before but once I started to pay attention to my body after eating or drnking manufactured protein items there was definitely gi issues.
To be honest protein shakes probably aren’t ideal, but is the “harm” anything to worry about, I’d say no… Unless of course if the kind you’re using is causing bloating, cramping, mucus, etc.
I think it’s generally a case by case kind of thing. There are plenty of people on here who swear you can’t get the same results from shakes that you do from whole food.
I eat 1 solid meal a day, and 2-4 shakes every day. And I feel better than I ever have, and am making great gym progress. But I also have a great lactose tolerance (I’ve always consumed a ton of milk with no apparent problems), and really don’t have problems with digestion at all. So find what works for you, I don’t believe there is a hard and fast general ‘right answer.’
As for the ‘it’s not natural’ thing… does your friend breathe? He’s breathing unnaturally polluted air. Does he walk on sidewalks, wearing shoes? He’s walking on an unnatural surface wearing unnatural foot protection. If he’s drinking water, it’s been unnaturally filtered. Does he take medicine? I could go on, but you get the point. People who blindly scream “if it’s not natural it’s bad, avoid it at all costs” are misguided, and aren’t very good at thinking. I highly recommend thinking.
[quote]WW3General wrote:
Hey guys is their a benefit to eating real foods versus eating protein bars and drinks? I have been trying to get my diet under control and I have been eating protein bars/ drinks every once in a while and fish chicken and turkey the rest of the time. I try to switch it up so as not to get sick of any one thing.
I am just asking since a training partner told me I needed to stay away from protein bars and drinks because in his words, “it aint natural and will mess up your gut”. I have never heard anyone say this before but once I started to pay attention to my body after eating or drnking manufactured protein items there was definitely gi issues.
So if you have any feed back let me know. [/quote]
I would think there is nothing wrong with supplementary protein as long as it causes you no issues. Personally, most brands of protein powder give me the runs and horrid gas, so I mostly just stick to whole foods.
[quote]WW3General wrote:
Hey guys is their a benefit to eating real foods versus eating protein bars and drinks?[/quote]
“Real food”? I refer you to the old joke about breast implants: If I can hold onto 'em, they’re real. I know you meant ‘whole foods’ though.
Last week, I overheard a guy in the gym tell someone, “Naw, man, never drink protein during your workouts. Those shakes are like food, so you’ll just digest them and then you’ll get tired.” Moral of the story: Some people are dumb. Based on your friends logic, you should also avoid yogurt, pasta, and pasteurized milk because “they ain’t natural.”
There’s nothing at all wrong with using a high-quality protein shake as part of your daily nutrition. There’s also nothing wrong with using only protein shakes as your primary protein source, as long as it’s done as part of a strategic, well-designed plan (most likely short-term). Over-relying on any single food item (protein shakes, milk, Ramen noodles, etc.) to deliver the majority of your daily nutrition is setting the stage for deficiencies down the road if the issue isn’t corrected.
You should always listen to your body. It’ll pretty much always tell you what it likes and what it doesn’t like. Read up on elimination diets for more of the science/physiological info behind it.
Guys thanks for all the help. I have been away and not able to get on my account till this weekend.
Yes I meant whole foods. And I have quit eating the bars I believe they were the culprit. I have been eating my shake and not had any real issues anymore.
Shakes are convenient. They are easy to prepare and clean up. If you don’t add a lot of food in there (like a smoothie, with milk, banana, yogurt, wheat germ, etc) then they can be really fast-digesting too (fast-digesting can be desirable, sometimes).
Tired of chewing? Tired of cooking or cleaning up? Chicken breast not sounding appealing? Need something you can consume on the bus, or in the break room? A shake is fine.
Bars are usually made with junk, but if it keeps you from eating a candy bar, then okay. They are also convenient. But they’re generally expensive and not that nutritious, as far as bang for the buck/calorie.
I have had a lot of GI problems from bars, especially the ones with the sugar alcohols and weird glucose polymers. I don’t have problems with powerbars, but just about every thing else does something I don’t like with my digestion.
As far as protein shakes versus real foods, I get the majority of my carbs (Surge preworkout) and protein (optimum hydrowhey usually) from shakes every day. I maintain 175-180 lbs at 5’11" year round and for example hit a 260 pound power clean the other day. I have 2 shakes per day before and some time after workout, and not much solid food except fruit, nuts, powerbars, candy and the occasional vegetable.
Once a week usually I’ll get a big sandwich or two from a deli, and just make sure to get good daily influx of fat and nutrients from supplements. I take both fatty blend pills from Biotest, usually 2 doses of each per day and multiple scoops of superfood every day. Calcium and vitamins too.
If you are looking to have the lean, muscular athletic type build instead of huge power lifter build, then I would say shakes should be the staple of your diet. Maintaining huge weight is probably harder to do on mostly shakes versus mostly whole foods or an equal mixture, not because of possible bad GI effects but whey protein has a potent effect to stimulate release of glucagon-like peptide 1, which increases energy expenditure levels in the body so whey itself can have a fat burning effect. This can lead to less bodyweight overall, which could be bad if you are trying to have high mass levels.
That’s a pretty specific macronutrient effect, but it is the advantage of whey protein as a diet staple if you are trying to be lean and muscular, but not extremely massive. Or at least that’s my take on it, who knows maybe 5 80-100 gram whey shakes a day would get me to 230 and a 360 lb clean?
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I think it’s generally a case by case kind of thing. There are plenty of people on here who swear you can’t get the same results from shakes that you do from whole food.
I eat 1 solid meal a day, and 2-4 shakes every day. And I feel better than I ever have, and am making great gym progress. But I also have a great lactose tolerance (I’ve always consumed a ton of milk with no apparent problems), and really don’t have problems with digestion at all. So find what works for you, I don’t believe there is a hard and fast general ‘right answer.’
As for the ‘it’s not natural’ thing… does your friend breathe? He’s breathing unnaturally polluted air. Does he walk on sidewalks, wearing shoes? He’s walking on an unnatural surface wearing unnatural foot protection. If he’s drinking water, it’s been unnaturally filtered. Does he take medicine? I could go on, but you get the point. People who blindly scream “if it’s not natural it’s bad, avoid it at all costs” are misguided, and aren’t very good at thinking. I highly recommend thinking.[/quote]
Do you really only eat 1 non-protien shake meal a day?
[quote]NikH wrote:
If you decide to eat lots of shakes i would still eat atleast one big wellrounded meal per day of wholefoods with veggies n fruits[/quote]
I would do this regardless of whether you eat lots of shakes
