How To Use Protein Powder | Does Protein Powder Actually Work

YouTube, what's going on? Welcome back to the channel. Welcome to the video. In this video, you and I are going to be covering every single question that you could ever possibly have about protein powder. As you can see up here on the board, again, you might have a question beyond this, but I literally sat here and thought about every single question I've ever been asked about protein powder, and I will be answering them in this video right here. So since we have a lot to get to, let's just dive right in. The first question, how to take protein powder. And some people mean this in a literal sense in terms of like, what do you do with the actual powder? And some people mean it in a sense of like, do I take it at night? Do I take it in the morning? Do I take it post-workout? We're gonna talk about all of that stuff right here, right now. In terms of literally how to take it, you have a few different options here. You could just get one of those like shaker bottles, something like this right here, fill it up with some sort of liquid. I just usually mix mine in water, almond milk, or if I am trying to get more calories in, I mix it with regular milk or chocolate milk, which is my favorite. But just remember, if you are mixing it with milk, that is going to add more calories than what you see on the back of the label right here. So you have to add in the calories you see on here, Plus the calories from the milk, which is why if you're trying to, let's just say, lose weight, for example, you might pick more of just shake it up with water or shake it up with almond milk. Or if you're somebody who is trying to gain weight, gain muscle, you might mix yours with milk or chocolate milk because there is more calories. And the more calories you have, that's going to put you in a calorie surplus to gain weight. So literally speaking, that's how you would take it. Now, when do you take it? How do you take it? What's the best time of day? Here's the thing. I want you to just think of protein powder like eating food. So that would be like asking me, when should I eat chicken breast? I don't know. Eat chicken breast whenever you want to eat chicken breasts. When should you eat eggs? I don't know. Eat eggs whenever you want to eat eggs. You can take protein powder any time throughout the day because it's literally just like eating protein. You're just consuming extra protein into your diet. That's really all a protein supplement is. Supplement is going to be is you're adding extra protein into your daily diet to help hit your protein goal for the day. Because most people in the world have trouble hitting their protein goal. And if you want to know what your protein goal should be, I'll link a video here in the top left-hand corner. You can click on that video. I go over exactly what your protein goal should be. Watch it after this video, but you can take it any time of the day. Now that kind of bleeds into the next point, which is going to be which one should you buy? And there's so many companies, so many forms of protein, so many, you know, you have a whey protein, you have a plant-based protein, you have this, that, and the other. Let's just kind of lay everything out right here in terms of what company to buy and which actual one to buy. Listen, here's what I'll tell you. There's a million fucking companies. Okay? This is the brand I work with and the brand I trust. It's called Legion Athletics. It's the one I use. I support their entire brand and I'm a big fan of what they do. If you want to get this one, that's totally fine. You can get this one. You can even use my code at checkout to get some money off. I'll put a link here in the description of this video. But if you don't want to buy this one, that is okay because there are other ones you can purchase. I would typically say there's 2 main kinds: a casein protein and a whey Protein. Let's first cover whey protein because this is the one you've probably heard of before. This is just one of your more easier digesting, simple, clean forms of whey protein. Now there are various different forms of whey protein. You have a whey protein concentrate, you have a whey protein isolate, and you have a whey protein hydrolysate, or hydrolysate as some people call it. What's the difference between all of those? Essentially a whey isolate or a whey hydrolysate is just, and again, that's like the actual form of protein. So if you go look on here and look at like the ingredients of the actual protein, it will say like whey isolate, for example, right? Like this one right here, it says grass-fed whey isolate, right? So isolate and hydrolysate are just 2 of the cleanest, purest forms of whey protein you are going to find. Very easy to digest, very easy to absorb, and I would typically recommend it as the best protein. There are also going to be proteins out there with a whey concentrate. That's what you'll see again if you look like at the ingredients, it'll say a whey concentrate. That's not bad, it's just like a lesser form of whey protein. So those are your 3 main forms of whey protein, and I would recommend getting either an isolate or hydrolysate if It's possible. And then you have a casein protein. A casein protein is similar to whey, but there's one big difference. This is going to be a slower digesting form of protein. Whey protein is a faster digesting form. Casein protein is a slower digesting form. So that actually brings us back to the first question, how to use it. It depends on which one you have. If you have a casein protein, I would use this for more like snacks throughout the day to help keep you full, or even like at breakfast, for example, to help kind of like keep you full after breakfast. Or I would use it before you go to bed so you can get some sustained muscle protein synthesis throughout the course of your night. With a whey protein, I would recommend taking this any time of the day, and you can take it before and after your workout. I would not take a casein protein after your workout because Or before your workout, to be quite frank with you, because again, it's slower digesting. Before and after your workout, you're going to want some more faster digesting stuff to kind of get into your system. So whey protein, really good for before and after, and you can take it any time of the day. A casein protein is more for slower digesting. I would take that again before bed or just any time throughout the day where you kind of want to keep yourself a little bit more full, because casein protein Since it's slower digesting, it is going to help keep you more full. So I recommend this one to people sometimes when like they're on a calorie deficit and trying to lose weight, or if they know they won't have food for a long period of time, this one can help keep you a little bit more full. And again, if you want to try either one of these out, I'll put a link here in the description of this video. And again, you can just use my code at checkout, E-R-I-C. Just use my code Eric at checkout. It'll give you like, I think, 20% off or something. So that would be which one to buy. But again, you do not have to buy those exact ones. Just know the difference between whey protein and the forms of whey protein and then casein protein on top of that as well. And then beyond casein and whey protein, you might have, you know, there's certain like pea proteins, there's plant proteins. I would typically say if you can do the whey protein or the casein protein, those are the ones I would potentially lean towards because number one, they're going to taste the best. And number two, they have the most of something called amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, which is what you need in order to get the benefits of getting stronger, building muscle, all things of that nature. So if you can do whey protein, I would again try to get a whey isolate or hydrolysate. But if you can't do whey protein because of the dairy, I would lean more towards a plant-based protein. Just know, I'm just being very honest with you. They're not going to taste the best, so you might have to like mix it with some different things just to make sure you can try it out and see how it goes. Now diving into the next question, which is going to be, should you take it on workout days versus non-workout days? And if you are taking it on workout days, do you need to take it right after your workout? Well, here's the deal. You can and probably should take it on both Workout days and non-workout days. Why? Because again, it's just extra protein. Yes. For example, a whey protein is going to help you recover from your workouts, right? So taking this post-workout would make sense, but it would also make sense to take it on your non-workout days as just a part of your breakfast in the morning. Like every single morning what I do is I take my protein, pour it in my shaker. I use water in my shaker. I then pour a bowl of Rice Krispies cereal. I pour the protein shake over my Rice Krispies cereal. Like, this flavor is cinnamon cereal, so this tastes exactly like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. So I, like, make my Rice Krispies taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch for way lower calories and way lower sugar. And actually, that's one thing I forgot to mention in which one to buy. If you're looking for a protein, I would typically recommend you getting one that is lower in calories. So for example, this one right here per 1 scoop has 120 calories, next to no carbs at 2 grams of carbs, and then 22 grams of protein. That again, if you're getting a good quality protein, you should really not be getting over 150 to maybe 200 calories per scoop, but 200 calories is kind of pushing it. You should be around that 100 to 150 calorie mark. And around that 20 to 25 grams of protein mark per scoop. Again, you might fluctuate. Some might have 30 grams and some might be 180 calories, but somewhere in between there because you don't want a lot of extra shit inside of your protein if you're using it as a protein powder, because we're going to talk about meal replacements in a second. But if you're using it as a protein powder, it should be mainly protein. There should be minimal fat and minimal carbs. And I forgot to say this one has a gram and a half of fat. So next to no fat, next to no carbs, 22 grams of protein, 120 calories. And so when you're shopping for protein powders out there, make sure you find one that is lower in calories and higher in protein because that's what you're looking for in a protein powder. So yes, you should take it on workout days versus non-workout days. Now when you are taking it right after a workout, does it need to be within like 30 minutes of a workout? Otherwise your entire workout is ruined and you made no gains. Which, by the way, this was something I believed for the first, I'd say, 5 years of me lifting weights. I would literally, in the gym I worked out in, I would go over to the coffee bar, I would get like 6 packets of straight sugar because, again, if you don't know this, taking carbohydrates post-workout is going to help kind of like fuel recovery and shuttle nutrients into your muscles. That part is still true. You don't need to take 6 packets of sugar because I'm an idiot and that's why I did that. But I would then take boiling hot water because again, I thought it was going to digest way quicker and get into my muscles quicker. I would take boiling hot water, mix my protein shake in there, and that's what I would drink. I would down this like to the head, 6 packets of sugar, and then chug my protein shake within like 30 seconds of me finishing my workout. I now know that it was very unnecessary and it really wasn't doing that much for me. Will taking a workout, a post-workout shake help you recover and help you build muscle, get stronger, all things of that nature? Sure it will. Number one, there is some research to potentially show it can just like help you recover that much more. But number two, it's also going to help you because again, it's going to help hit your protein goal for the day. That's the most important part. You can take a protein shake post-workout. I would say within 30 to 120 minutes post-workout. But the most important thing that's going to matter for that day is did you hit your overall protein goal for that day? Because if you hit your overall protein goal for that day, Then you are going to get the benefits of, you know, building muscle, getting stronger, all things of that nature. So while yes, it may be some extra benefits to taking it post-workout, it doesn't need to be within like 10 or 20 minutes and your workout's ruined. I would say within 30 to 120 minutes and just make sure you're hitting your overall protein goal for the day as well. Because that's the thing too, if you take this post-workout, but this is the only source of protein you have all day, then it's not gonna fucking matter. So next question coming up, is there such thing as too much protein powder? Well, first and foremost, I, again, I've done a video on if you can eat too much protein. If you want to check it out, I'll link it here above. It's on my channel, but too much protein powder. Yes and no. Yes, because you could potentially be eating so much protein powder that you're not getting enough regular food. I said this was like regular food. There is still merit to you eating real food because real food is going to do a few things. Number one, it's going to give you vitamins, minerals, nutrients that protein powder is not going to give to you. So while yes, you might be getting protein, real food, steak, eggs, chicken, turkey, Greek yogurt, whatever it is, that's going to give you some extra nutrients, vitamins, minerals for, you know, your overall health purposes, which we don't just care about losing fat, building muscle on this channel. We also care about if you're healthy or not. So yes, there can be such thing as too much protein powder. And number 2, you might get some digestive issues if you take too much protein powder, which we'll actually talk about a little bit later here in the video. But in terms of like seeing some like real negative feedback or stuff like that, some, you know, some negative side effects, there's not a— there's not such thing as like, oh, once you reach X amount of grams of protein powder per day, you're gonna, you know, get like negative feedback. It's really, dependent on the person. But what I normally tell people is out of all of your protein supplements, and so that includes protein shakes, protein bars, protein cookies, protein, whatever you want to have in your goddamn diet, all protein supplements. Here's what I normally tell people. I would try to limit your protein supplements to around 60 grams per day. So like for example, this thing has 22 grams of protein per scoop. If I did 2 scoops of protein, let's say in the morning, that's 44 grams of protein. And then if I did 1 more scoop later on as a snack, that's 66 grams of protein. That would be the max I would encourage someone, like the absolute max I would encourage you to get protein powder in, in a specific day. And again, will there be days where maybe you have to do more for whatever reason? Sure. But for the most part, if you can try to stay under that like 60, To 70 grams of protein supplements per day and get the rest of your protein from real food, that would usually be the most beneficial thing for all the reasons listed, as well as what most people don't understand. It's a little hack for you. Sometimes, and most of the time, real food is going to do 2 things for you. Number one, keep you more full because it actually has to go through a digestion process because technically this is like processed food because The protein powder is already filtered and processed. And so this is processed food, meaning your body doesn't have to actually spend that much energy digesting it. Whereas like, think about like a steak, for example, that steak is going to keep you way more full because number one, it's just, there's more nutrient content, vitamins, minerals, all things of that nature. But number two, your body's going to have to do some work to digest and break that down. This right here is going to digest and break down a little bit easier, so it won't keep you as full. And one last point on this note, if you are somebody who is trying to like boost your metabolism, the contents of real food, because you have to digest it, break it down, process it, so on and so forth, real food actually burns. It's very minimal, but I just want to say it just because I want you to eat real food. Real food is actually going to burn a little bit more calories when you eat it because your body— there's something called your thermic effect of food, which just means the digestion of your food essentially. And so real food, you need to digest more, which is actually going to burn more calories. So try to get no more than roughly 60 grams of protein supplements per day. Next question, is it going to make you gain fat? No, protein powder does not inherently make you gain fat. The only way you are going to gain extra body fat is by being in a calorie surplus, which is eating more calories than what your body consumes, and not just one day, over the course of a period of time. Because if you have one day where you eat more, more calories than your body burns, you're not going to gain fat. gain body fat in like that one specific day. You need to have this happen over a course of a period of time. So if you're eating too many calories and like you're taking protein powder, then yeah, you might gain body fat, but it's not because you're taking protein powder. It's because you're eating too many overall calories. And the second question, does it make you big and bulky? No, I wish it did because that'd be really cool. Like that's my one goal in life is to be big and bulky. And yet you can see I'm doing okay. You know, like I'm doing, I'm doing all right, but like I'm not, I don't know if I would classify myself as big and bulky. Maybe you might think I am. I have no clue. But no, it's not inherently going to make you big and bulky. Again, that's like asking me if eating a chicken breast is gonna make you big and bulky. I think you are totally fine with eating chicken breast or a boiled egg or Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, right? This is the same exact concept. It's just protein powder. There's nothing extra special about the protein powder. It's, it's just helping you again hit your overall protein goal for that day. And is there a special kind of protein powder you should be maybe looking for to lose fat? No, not really. Like I talked about earlier, you should be looking for one that is going to be lower in calories. And so especially if you're trying to lose fat, something like a very, very lean whey protein like this one right here with a very low calorie count and a high protein count, this would be beneficial for you because again, it's low calorie and you can— it'll help fill you up. Or if you want to get some casein protein, again, I talked earlier about. This is kind of like a hack you can do to get some protein to help fill you up for longer. And if you're more full for a longer period of time, guess what you're probably going to do? You're probably going to eat a little bit less calories over that time because you're more full and not as hungry. So the answer is yes and no. Like, there is no special protein powder, no. But again, either a whey protein or a casein protein is going to help, and even a plant-based protein is going to help you. As well. Now, can you and should you take it if you're not working out? And the answer is yes, because again, it's not inherently automatically going to make you big and bulky. And will it help you recover from your workouts and build muscle? Yes, but it's going to help you build muscle because you're doing the workout. If you're not doing a workout, this is not inherently going to help you build more muscle because you're not giving your body any reason to build muscle because you're not working out. So it can help you build muscle Because you're recovering from workouts. But beyond that, no, it's not like automatically, like I said, it's not going to make you big and bulky. And most people don't know this. Every single cell function in your body needs protein. Taking this protein, it's not just going to get used for building muscle. Literally every cell in your body needs protein. And again, protein is the main macronutrient that helps you stay fullest the longest, right? Hopefully my grammar was correct there. You're going to stay the most full For the longest amount of time. So eating more protein is going to help with all of your cell functions, going to help you stay more full. And again, fun fact as well, protein also has the highest thermic effect of food. And so if you eat more protein, your metabolism is actually going to be higher because it costs more calories to digest protein. So if you're eating more protein, your body actually has to burn more calories because you're eating More protein. So I believe yes, everybody should be eating protein in general. And yes, you can eat protein and take protein powder even if you're not working out because your body still needs that protein. Now, should you use it to replace a meal? The answer is yes and no. I would not just like take one scoop of this and like, oh, I had lunch today. No, your meals are meals. You need to eat real food. At your meals or at least consume a good amount of calories during your meals, right? I don't need you consuming 3,000 calories per meal. That's probably why most— that's why most people end up overweight and obese, but you should not be just taking a protein shake and saying, that was my dinner. Like, that's all I'm going to have today. No, it should not do that. Now what sometimes some people do is let's just say you make a super shake where, you know, you have your blender, right? And you throw in protein powder, You throw in oatmeal, you throw in Greek yogurt, you throw in a banana, you throw in, um, you know, some ice and maybe some peanut butter. Well, cool. Now you have protein shake, but you also have a banana, you have oatmeal, you have peanut butter. Now you're getting protein, you're getting carbs, you're getting fats. This is now turning into an actual meal that you're consuming because you're consuming all these different macronutrients and your calorie count is a little bit higher For that shake. So in that instance, you might make a meal replacement shake and that might replace breakfast, for example. Or sometimes people will do like, they'll do overnight oats where they put protein powder in their oatmeal overnight and they make some overnight oats that could like replace a meal. Yes. So if you're doing that, maybe, but like just taking protein powder and nothing else. Or again, let's just say for example, you did what I do, which is Rice Krispies. You know, I pour my protein shake over Rice Krispies and I have like a side with, with a banana. As well. That could be a meal, right? Like, and you can use this to like help supplement your meals, but it should not be your entire meal. No, this is why it's called a protein supplement. It is supplementing your dietary intake as it is, the food you're already eating. It's not replacing your diet. It's not replacing the food you're eating. It's just supplementing what you're already currently eating. So you can use it to help supplement supplement that, if that makes sense. Now, is there any side effects of protein? And this can get right into the next point, which is talking about stomach issues and things of that nature. In terms of real negative side effects to protein, no. In terms of what we know currently, what the research tells us, there is not many side effects of protein. The biggest side effects of protein might be some— sometimes people have some stomach issues if, number one, they are kind of sensitive to dairy. Again, if you are sensitive to dairy, I might look at taking a whey isolate or a hydrolysate, and I would even be cautious of that. I have seen people personally sometimes who have some dairy issues be okay with whey isolate or hydrolysate, but I've also seen sometimes people are not. Okay, so that is up to your call if you want to try that out. If you can't do whey protein due to that reason, I would again just get a plant-based protein. Um, or number 2, people just do too much, either too much or too much too And so again, if you're taking 4 scoops in the morning, 2 scoops at breakfast and 2 scoops at night, it's just, you're taking too much protein powder. Again, that's why I also say sticking to around 60 grams per day of protein powder because if you do more than that, you might have some issues. And then number 2, people will use it to jack up their protein really quickly. Like if you're going from eating 30 grams or 40 grams of protein per day and you add in like 60 more grams of a protein shake, you might have just bumped up your protein intake for the entire day too rapidly. So for those reasons it might be, you know, side effects, but it's not necessarily because of the protein. It's probably because of like the amount of protein you are using or the way you're using the protein. And then number 2, sometimes again, people might get like acne from using whey protein. I'm personally not going to say that's the case because I have never had that happen. And honestly, Obviously a lot of my clients have not had that happen, but I've heard that happen to some people. So again, if that's you, you might just want to like ask your doctor if that could be the reason why. Um, but again, I feel like that's a very like person-dependent thing. And I would say it's not, that's not the majority of people. Does it happen? I'm sure it does, but I'm sure there's also other things at play. And again, it might just be a person-to-person kind of dependent issue. And so that's it. That is the scoop on protein powder. Hopefully this video helped you. If it did, please feel free to give the video a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel, leave a comment below, let me know you enjoyed the video. And again, if you want to try this brand out, you can feel free to. The link will be in the description of this video. And again, you can just use my code ERIC at checkout if you want to try it out and get 20% off. But again, you don't have to get this one. There are many protein supplements you can get. Hope it helped.