One thing is certain: if you’re really serious about succeeding in the iron game, you need to make sure you’re hitting your daily protein requirement. Without it you just can’t grow.
Shoot for 1g protein per pound of body weight. And get on my free THT Training routine to stimulate the best gains possible.
To build muscle, get 1g protein per pound body weight. 180lbs = 180g Share on X
BUT…CHECK THIS OUT…
Is protein from powder or real food a better choice? Will one build more muscle than the other?
How about getting half your protein from powder and half from food? What about getting it all from food? How about 1 shake per day and the rest from food?
Let’s turn to a scientific study for the answer. It’s interesting stuff…
To find out, researchers put subjects on 6 meals per day [1].
BUT…for one group, it was 6 solid food meals per day. And for the other group, it was 3 solid food meals and 3 whey protein shakes (calories and total protein being the same in both groups). And both groups did the same workouts.
RESULT…
Each group improved the same in terms of body composition (fat mass and lean mass levels) and physical performance.
CONCLUSION
Is whey as good as food? YES
Is food as good as whey? YES
I think in the post-workout period when more protein can be used more quickly by the body, whey protein is the best choice. Real food will digest too slowly at this time.
And always remember that when using a diet to get shredded abs, getting adequate protein for protein synthesis (and preventing protein breakdown) is even more critical – it will prevent you losing muscle in the fat-torching process.
Which whey product do I recommend? I use MyProtein because it’s the only brand I trust.
- You can get MyProtein Whey on Amazon USA here | And you can get MyProtein Whey on Amazon UK here
- This is the UK/Europe MyProtein site | This is the USA MyProtein site
But the take home message here is that if someone tells you that you need to get a significant portion of your daily protein intake from powders, they’re just wrong.
And just as importantly, if someone tells you that powders are useless and you need to get all your protein from food, they’re also just wrong.
By the way, get 2 scoops of whey after training (enough for 40g protein). Studies show it produces more growth than 20g – see my post here for the details on that. For the most part, I take 1 shake per day, guys. It’s either in the morning or during/after my training. How about you?
PLEASE NOTE: Food is good, but not all whole-food sources of protein are equally as good. Some have terribly low bio-availability i.e. your body just can’t use the protein. Some proteins are incomplete i.e. they don’t contain all the amino acids. So I have put together a list of the very best whole food protein sources for building muscle. Don’t miss this. Your gains depend on it. Enter your details below for immediate access – don’t worry, I operate a completely zero-spam policy.
Download my totally free 3-day and 5-day/wk THT training routines; just enter your details below for immediate download. It will tell you the best exercises to use, the best rep ranges, the right number of sets to do, the best training frequency – everything you need for the best gains ever in the shortest amount of time! Don’t worry, there’s no spam, no BS, no weirdness. If you don’t want to hear from me again, I wont be offended. You’re about to get the best gains of your life…
Whole food #protein or protein powder? Which builds more #muscle? Click here for the answer Share on X
P.S. I know that putting together a diet for mass gains or getting shredded abs can be a pain in the butt, especially if you are new to this – that’s why I offer a service where I will do all the tough ground work for you.
You probably don’t know how many calories you need, or how many grams of protein, carbs or fat you need (based on your personal stats)…BUT I DO. Then I can take these numbers and create an exact meal plan for you to hit those numbers spot on! You’ll know what foods to eat and even when to eat them. All you have to do…is do it. No thinking involved. If you’d like me to take care of this for you, see the Get Me Shredded option on my Coaching Page here.
Reference [1] Protein-Pacing from Food or Supplementation Improves Physical Performance in Overweight Men and Women
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Great post and helpful as always. I see too many guys chugging multiple shakes per day!
Protein powder in many case is cheaper, easier and possibly tastes better than anything i cook!
That is high intake surely a gram per lb of lean body mass is sufficient seen some studies suggesting anything over 0.8 has no further MPS benefits via Baysian body building. I personally have bad Bun levels when I consume large amounts of protein.
@Dave. I believe it’s 0.84, but that’s an average of studies. You personally might be gifted and can build more at 0.95 per pound. Others will be lower at 0.75 or so. My point is that to have certainty, take 1g/pound so you know for sure you are getting all the gains you can get. Why risk it for such a small amount of extra protein?
Me personally Mark for some reason get elevated blood urea when I take 1g per lb of body weight God knows why but it’s obviously hard on my kidneys. I was just concerned if I can’t take this level you suggest would it be hampering my gains?