Protein is an important part of anyone’s diet. We all know we need it, but how much, where should it come from, and how often? That depends on your goals, dietary choices (religious, moral, ect…), and budget. The goal of this article in regards to protein is fat loss. The dietary choices are your own, but no matter what they might be, protein shakes should not run against them. When it comes to supplemental protein, your budget will, however, be a concern. It doesn’t always come cheap. So, the questions you need to answer are: do I need supplemental protein shakes, what kind of protein shake should I take to help achieve my goals, and what brands give me the results I want for the best price or what is the best protein shake.

Protein and weight loss:

Without protein your body will quickly start to deteriorate. It is essential to your well being. It is the building block of almost all tissues in your body. It is something that cannot be compromised when designing your diet. Protein can also help you burn fat in several ways. It has a fat burning property associated with digestion called thermogenesis, which is basically the amount of energy required to digest the food you eat. Protein takes more energy to digest than simples sugars for example and therefore costs more energy, which can have some effect on the amount of energy you burn in a day. Protein is part of certain fat burning hormones, glucagon and growth hormone for example. It promotes a feeling of saity (feeling full). It decreases blood insulin levels, which in turn decreases fat storage. Finally, adequate protein helps maintain your lean tissue which itself uses calories for maintenance. Muscle burns calories, and in a calorie restricted diet that means stored body fat, at least at first. But, what about protein shakes. Where do they fit in and how can they help with weight loss? The main benefit of these shakes is that they allow you to get the necessary protein that your body requires without taking in other macro nutrients like fat and carbohydrates, which can add to your overall caloric intake. Fat and carbohydrates are both necessary parts of your diet, but they are going to be limited to bare essentials in a weight loss diet. Protein should not be limited in your weight loss diet for reasons previously mentioned. Another benefit is convenience. Protein shakes are easy and quick ways to get necessary nutrients without a lot of preparation or clean up or time. They can be easily transported, stored, and consumed. All that being said, this article is not promoting a protein shake diet, these shakes should not be your only or main source of protein. They are supplements and should be used to supplement in your weight loss diet. It should be pointed out that you need to use a low carb protein shake, pure protein shakes are best, look out for products that add sugars and other carbohydrate sources to their protein. Low carb protien shake equals a low calorie protein shake.

Cost versus effectiveness

Protein supplements can be expensive, and even if they are not, their costs can add up quickly. Protein is a product you use up and have to purchase again and again. So how much is actually used by the body? Protein powders come from one of four basic sources: milk (whey, casein), egg, soy, and rice or a combination of these. Absorption of the proteins depends on several variables. Variables like; the type of protein, the state your body is in at the time, what else you consume it with, and how much you consume at once. When buying supplemental protein your main concern is what type of protein and what quality, the other factors are controlled independently of your purchase. The high quality proteins include the milk proteins, egg proteins. Typically the higher the cost of a protein supplement the better the quality, meaning the purer it is. Purity will influence absorption and usefulness of the protein supplement. Whey protein is generally considered the fastest and most completely absorbable type of protein supplement. Casein is also a readily absorbed protein, but it is not quickly absorbed. Egg is completely absorbed as well and is also considered a very good protein source, although not absorbed as quickly as whey, it is cheaper. Soy protein is controversial, it is a good source of protein, but there are some down sides to it. It is not as biologically available as the other sources mentioned, it may contain plant sterols which can act like estrogens in the body leading to fat retention, and it can contain what are called anti-nutrients which block absorption of other nutrients. It must contain methionine to have beneficial effects. The upside of soy protein shakes are that they can reduce your risk for heart disease, slow tumor growth, and increase thyroid output. Rice is an incomplete protein and is not a good choice for a supplemental powder.

Types and brands:

There are many many brands of protein out there to choose from, but remember only 4 different types of useful supplemental proteins to consider. Whey protein is generally considered useful for muscle building. Muscle is good for burning energy and maintaining a lean body. This is, as I mentioned before, one of the fastest absorbed supplemental proteins and a whey protein shake is especially useful after an intense workout. Whey protein supplements will run you about $1/serving. Prices can vary widely, but this is a rough average. Some of the leading brands of whey protein are Optimum 100% whey, Next Designer whey, Now, and Bioplex. Casein, which is also a milk product, is a slowly absorbed protein and gives you a full feeling. This particular supplement is considered good for weight loss as it decreases appetite and provides the body with necessary protein. It also helps to break down fat for use as fuel. Casein runs about $1.18 per serving. Again prices can vary. Some of the top brands of casein are Optimum Nutrition, Champions Nutrition, Universal Nutrition, and GNC. Egg white protein is also considered good for weight loss and is cheaper than casein protein supplements. Egg white supplements can run you on average about $.64/ serving. As in the previous two protein supplements, some brands will be less and some will be more. Some of the leading brands are Optimum nutrition, and Now. Finally there is soy protein, be careful with this one to choose a quality product as lower quality soy proteins can quickly lead to food allergies. Soy isolate is what your looking for. Soy protein supplements are considered good for lowering your LDLs (low density lipoproteins) and so decrease your chance of developing heart disease. They also increase thyroid output which leads to fat loss. Soy proteins will run you on average about $1.13/serving. Top brands include Geniloy, Jarrows Iso-Rich Soy, and GNC brand.

Supplemental protein can be useful to have in your bag of tricks for losing body fat, but remember protein powders are supplements and should be used as supplements, not replacements for actual food. A balanced healthy diet and proper exercise will go a long way in helping you to lose excess body fat. If you want to learn more about how to lose belly fat, click this link. I mentioned four different types of protein powders you can choose from, each with it’s own beneficial properties, what I did not yet mention is that these different kinds of proteins should be cycled in order to gain the maxim benefit that each has to offer. By cycling the protein types, you also avoid food allergies and maximize utilization of the protein. Eating the same type of protein for too long of a period leads to decreased absorption of that protein. It can also lead to allergies to that protein source. Rotating types of protein avoids this problem. Be aware that you my not be able to consume all the types of protein powders mentioned, you may be sensitive to a certain type and will show signs of that sensitivity very early on after you start consuming that protein. If that’s the case then cease taking that protein supplement immediately and just cycle the other types. This also applies to protein bars.