When should you drink your protein shake?

A lot of bodybuilders (myself included) consider protein supplements just like any other protein food. So rather than thinking:

When should you have a protein shake?

Think instead of…

When should you consume a high protein meal?

The standard bodybuilding diet calls for a high protein meal every 2-3 hours during the day. So if you can consume a solid food high protein meal, great, by all means do that. But if you can’t, then this would be an ideal time to supplement with protein to make up for that high protein meal.

From my experience of working with literally hundreds of people over the years with regards to nutrition, I can tell you that the most challenging time for most people to consume a high protein meal is with breakfast.

The average person tends to sleep in too late and then they are in a rush to get to work, school, or whatever and they very often skip breakfast all together or they’ll quickly woof down the typical high carb “breakfast foods” (i.e. cereal & milk, toast, bagel, muffin, etc.)

Let’s just say that this is NOT the ideal way to start your day. This stuff is just loading you up with a ton of sugar and starch with very little real nutritional value. High carb breakfast foods like this will spike your insulin levels, easily get stored as bodyfat, and they will also lead to the typical sugar crash a few hours later.

A much healthier and better option for building a lean muscular physique would be to start your day off with a protein shake and some slow digesting carbs such as a bowl of oatmeal. This is still a very quick meal that can be prepared in minutes and it will kick start your day with a good serving of muscle building protein.

For the mid-morning break most people will either run to the vending machine, grab a candy bar, go for coffee and donuts, or some other high carb sugar fix. A better option would be to fill up on some protein instead. In cases like this when a quick convenient source of protein is needed, a protein bar can often work great.

Now I’ll admit protein bars are not “perfect” by any means, but they are a heck of a lot better then candy bars, chips, and donuts. So packing a couple protein bars in your briefcase or schoolbag can help bridge the gaps between meals and provide you a quick protein source.

When it comes to lunch, most people do “OK” with getting some protein. Most people who brown bag their own lunches will usually include some form of sandwich with meat on it (i.e. tuna, roast beef, chicken, etc.) While this is still a relatively small serving of protein, it’s better than nothing. But you could jack up your protein intake with lunch by including a protein shake mixed up in a shaker bottle and take it with you to work or school.

Another critical time for consuming protein supplements is right after a hard weight training workout. This is when your muscles are depleted and could really use the fast digesting protein found in a protein shake to help aid with growth and recovery.

So taking a protein shake with you to the gym (often referred to as a “Post Workout Shake”) and having it after your workouts would be another fantastic time to consume protein supplements.

When it comes to dinner most folks tend to do pretty good here. In fact this would be the meal where the average person consumes the majority of their daily protein intake. When I ask guys what they eat for dinner the typical answer I’ll get is:

“What ever the wife cooks…”
Or:
“What ever mom cooks…”

But luckily, most of our wives and moms tend to cook up a solid “meat and potatoes” type of meal for dinner so generally your protein intake is covered for this one.

After dinner / before bed is another time with most people tend to get slack with their protein intake. Again the average Joe is going to probably be kicking back on the couch watching TV… Or maybe he will be sitting at his computer reading an article on www.LeeHayward.com about protein… who knows 😉

And when he gets the munchies he will often reach for typical high carb snack foods like chips, cookies, crackers, etc. Now again I don’t need to tell you that this is just an insulin spiking, fat storing nightmare, especially when eaten prior to going to bed.

A good alternative here would be to consume a high protein snack instead. Below are some of my favorite tasty high protein snacks to have in the evening before bed:

• 1 cup of plain yogurt mixed up with a scoop of protein powder. This mixes up like a creamy pudding.
• 1 cup of cottage cheese mixed with a scoop of protein powder. Kind of similar to the yogurt pudding, but you get the curds from the cottage cheese in there.
• High protein blender smoothie. Mix up 1 cup of pasteurized egg whites, 1 scoop of protein powder, add in frozen strawberries, blueberries, etc. and blend it up to make a nice high protein smoothie.

Give this simple and tasty high protein snack a try…

You can get Bio-Trust Low Carb Protein online at:
http://sportsnutrition.biotrust.com/Shop.asp?p=LowCarb2