Protein Powder vs. Real Food

S

soflsun

New Member
I know that eating real food (protein) is supposed to be much better than drinking down a protein shake, but how much better/different are the effects.  Real food takes longer to digest, which I guess can be better/worse depending on how fast you want it to reach your system (after a workout you probably want faster absorbtion).  Also, with shakes you can mix carbs into it making for a quick increase in blood sugar and insulin rush that can halt some of the catabolic processes after an intense workout.

I guess I'm wondering what the max amount of protein/meals can be shakes without it being detrimental to growth.  What would happen if almost all of your protein came in the form of shakes?  Has anyone experimented to see if there truly is a difference?
 
When Phil Hernon won the USA Championships in 1995 (Yes, I'm an old man!) he was almost exclusively having liquid meals. I wouldn't suggest that it is necessarily optimum, but it definitely can be done. I've gone several months with only one solid meal per day and the rest shakes without any determental impact.
 
legee,

Wow, that petty much sums it up! I wonder if he used the strict liquid diet while he was cutting to get ready for the show, or if he was able to GAIN muscle with an only liquid diet. It's probably easier to cut or maintain than it is to put on lean mass...Were you able to gain any size with only one solid meal/day? Thanks.
 
When I first started out and struggled to get in enough calories, I usually got half my calories from shakes. The only bad thing that might happen is various gastric problems, like gas, etc.
 
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(soflsun @ Sep. 28 2007,03:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">legee,

Wow, that petty much sums it up!  I wonder if he used the strict liquid diet while he was cutting to get ready for the show, or if he was able to GAIN muscle with an only liquid diet.  It's probably easier to cut or maintain than it is to put on lean mass...Were you able to gain any size with only one solid meal/day?  Thanks.</div>
It is certainly possibly to gain on a liquid diet. It is strictly a matter of getting enough calories and adequate supply of amino acids. I was able to gain 6 lbs over an 8 month period with only one meal per day with no gain in waist measurement. That may not sound like much but I have been training for about 35 years ... all gains are tough to come by these days. Phil used the same basic diet for the entire year, not just for cutting.
 
Yeah, I can eat buckets of real eggs without a problem but if I have an egg based protein shake you had better not spend any time in my company; after an egg shake I am able to manufacture pretty much pure hydrogen sulphide! Whey protein shakes are much more tolerable by my system; I have those everyday without any adverse effects.
 
Great info guys! Yeah my ass has it's own personality and language at this point, I just try and leave hime alone.
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I mix all of my shakes with either 2% milk or soy milk, which has about the same amount of fat. I do this because I read that protein can't be absorbed properly without fat, do you guys agree with this? The only shake I have seen recommended with water is the one post-workout so the fat doesn't slow down the absorbtion...but then how could it be absorbed if there isn't any fat with it (just whey, glucose/malto mix really has no fat)? What do you guys use as a base for your shakes?
 
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(soflsun @ Sep. 28 2007,13:57)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Great info guys!  Yeah my ass has it's own personality and language at this point, I just try and leave hime alone.
smile.gif
 I mix all of my shakes with either 2% milk or soy milk, which has about the same amount of fat.  I do this because I read that protein can't be absorbed properly without fat, do you guys agree with this?  The only shake I have seen recommended with water is the one post-workout so the fat doesn't slow down the absorbtion...but then how could it be absorbed if there isn't any fat with it (just whey, glucose/malto mix really has no fat)?  What do you guys use as a base for your shakes?</div>
Loosely related but fascinating....


http://www.drsquat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3312


                 I Too have gone days at a time with nothing but milk + banana+ protein powder shakes and been fine.
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Pre workout shake: orange juice, water, creatine, whey powder

Post workout shake: 1 pt milk (half fat), 1 banana, whey powder ( &amp; sometimes plus two eggs).
 
I'm not sure if the thermogenic effect of powders is the same as real food. I'd think that would make some small difference. Other than that, I'd wonder about micronutrients. Just today I was thinking about that, recalling a discussion of yore with Tot - what would the difference be between real food and a &quot;science&quot; diet of basically a protein, fat, and carbs from simple sources, along with a multivitamin/mineral pill.
I would think that in the long run, the lack of micronutrients would eventually take a toll of sorts on one's health. For immediate BB purposes I wouldn't think it would make much difference.
The thermogenic problem I assume could be taken care of by the fat ratio. All guessing on my part: I have nothing really to back it up.
 
Well actual food is always going to be best for you, from a health standpoint. Multivitamins, etc are great, but the nutrients in foods are still better used by the body than the ones in a pill. I don't see much harm in using mostly shakes, as long as it isn't a permanent diet for you, or is balanced out by a decent amount of whole foods.
 
I doubt that a short term &quot;science&quot; diet would hurt you much either, as evidenced by the contestants mentioned earlier here. When Dr. Scott Connelly developed Met-Rx, it was supposedly for burn patients and the like if I recall correctly, and the BB mags all were touting it as a &quot;soon to be released&quot; BB supplement, this &quot;perfect food&quot; and all that. I suspect that BB'ers were the original target seeing as how it exploded on the scene as the bomb of BB'ing. Beyond that, you have what?- Zone bars, muscle milk (can you say FAT?) and stuff like that.
Since our needs are different, I'd say that a homebrew mix would be best if you were to go for it.
 
Protein powder is real food, it is made from cheese whey (a by-product)m hence the name &quot;whey protein&quot;.
 
Yeah, but we're inferring to the use of a very simple diet as compared to the complexity of rounded meals. Or, at least I was. Getting protein from one source as compared to different meats, beans, soy, milk and the like. Getting carbs from maltodextrin and/or dextrose as compared to everything in the world and so forth.
If you eat only Met-Rx bars, you sure aren't getting a rounded diet.

I wouldn't be averse to doing a science type diet for short term if I had the need, but I wouldn't be nuts enough to stay on it, that's all. One neat thing about it would be the ease of preparation, purchase, and tracking C/P/F ratios.
 
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