Thread: ARE YOU USING TOO MUCH WHEY?

Perhaps the most popular nutritional supplement EVER is whey protein. Heck, you can even buy some of the worst, cheapest whey protein around conveniently at your local Wal-Mart. Now that’s when you KNOW it’s popular.


But here’s the truth: Whey protein, even the “high quality” stuff that you’d pay an arm and a leg to obtain from your local Vitamin Shoppe or GNC, could very likely be stalling your fat loss progress and, even WORSE, causing you to GAIN weight.


And if that wasn’t enough, here are the absolute WORST times to consume whey protein:


1. During the day


2. In the evening


Scratching your head? Don’t: you understood it perfectly. Whey protein simply isn’t a great protein to consume at any time of day, and for specific reasons.


1. Whey Protein Absorption – A review on the rate of protein absorption published in 2006 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism reported that whey protein isolate absorbs at a rate of about 8g/hour. This is in large part due to the fact that whey is not broken down into small enough peptides by our body’s natural enzymes in time to be absorbed.


Couple that with the fact that the window of opportunity for whey protein to be absorbed is 1.5 hours, your body at maximum will be able to absorb 12 grams of whey protein from a single serving.


Kind of makes those 40g whey protein shakes seem foolish, doesn’t it? Well, that’s because they are.


Simply put, whey protein passes through the system far too rapidly to be adequately absorbed, leaving the majority of your protein shake wasted…literally.


2. Insulin Release Associated With Whey – Which of the two items below cause a greater spike in insulin?






a) White Bread






b) Whey Protein


Well, as you can probably guess, if you chose the horrendous, high glycemic, void-of-all-nutrition white bread, you’d be 100%…WRONG.


That’s right, a 2012 study published in Nutrition & Metabolism identified that the specific amino acids in whey protein stimulate beta cells to secrete more insulin than a similar amount of carbohydrate from white bread.


In the presence of insulin, fat burning essentially stops.


This makes a whey-protein-only supplement a big-time no-no for evening use, especially pre-bedtime when avoiding spikes in insulin are paramount as metabolism is already slowing down in preparation for its normal, much slower sleep rhythm.


The truth is, whey protein simply isn’t an ideal protein to use at any other time other than immediately following exercise, and even then the amount you’re able to absorb on a per serving basis is extremely limited.

Damn... I love protein shakes.. I mean plus my 6 solid meals I usually get three shakes in

I do a shake in am before work and then 1 post W/O

Originally Posted by JM750

I do a shake in am before work and then 1 post W/O

I do this exact thing.

It's someone's opinion, I only drink 16g protein drinks 4x a day. I love muscle milk

I drink one 75g shake am, 1 60 g shake post workout and 1 75-100 g shake before bed.. Then I try to get about 400 solid grams throughout my other 6 meals

Originally Posted by mizzou24

I drink one 75g shake am, 1 60 g shake post workout and 1 75-100 g shake before bed.. Then I try to get about 400 solid grams throughout my other 6 meals

This is ridiculous

Originally Posted by mizzou24

I drink one 75g shake am, 1 60 g shake post workout and 1 75-100 g shake before bed.. Then I try to get about 400 solid grams throughout my other 6 meals

Damn bro, I'd be one gassy mofo drinking that much protein.

Originally Posted by Greenegorilla2

This is ridiculous

Yea, no shit. You'd be better off sucking on a pregnant girls boob!

Damn!