Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

Is protein powder okay for athletes?

11 Nov 2025 · 1 min

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In this segment, the speaker emphasizes that protein supplements—such as powders, drinks, or bars—are not necessary for every athlete. He advises obtaining roughly 90% of daily protein from whole food sources like meat, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt. However, for larger athletes or those aiming to gain muscle who have higher protein targets, a supplement can be useful to add an extra 20–30 g of protein. In such cases, he recommends a practical dosage of about one scoop of whey protein powder per day, which provides roughly 20–30 g of protein.

Chapters

Not every single kid or every single athlete needs to be taking a protein supplement. So when I say protein supplement, that's gonna be like protein powder, protein drink, protein bar. Not every single athlete needs that. I will 1000% recommend get 90% of your protein from real food sources, meat, dairy products like cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, et cetera. However, if you are a bigger athlete, if you are trying to gain muscle and your protein goal is high, this can be really helpful to get 20 to 30 extra grams. So how much an athlete should be taking if you feel like you do need it? I would recommend 1 scoop a day, or about an equivalent to 20 to 30 grams of protein a day. So this would be like 1 scoop of protein powder out of a bag of like whey protein powder.