How much is too much protein powder and whats the risk?

Bigbear

Bigbear

The Kodiak
Trusted Member
Just wondering how many protein shakes a day is too much? What's the risks of over doing it? I have this magical number in my mind that 2 a day is all I should have but some protein powder containers say drink as much as needed. I feel like I heard too much could be hard on kidneys or liver or something
 
Jerbear said:
Just wondering how many protein shakes a day is too much? What's the risks of over doing it? I have this magical number in my mind that 2 a day is all I should have but some protein powder containers say drink as much as needed. I feel like I heard too much could be hard on kidneys or liver or something
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It's just a food supplement. Is too much chicken hard on your kidneys or liver? No.

There are a few downsides to supplementing more meals with whey, and it mostly comes down to issues of digestion (or indigestion, rather) and the fact the amino acid uptake is so rapid that you end up in a "non-fed" state more quickly than a whole food meal.
 
Bignate said:
It's just a food supplement. Is too much chicken hard on your kidneys or liver? No.

There are a few downsides to supplementing more meals with whey, and it mostly comes down to issues of digestion (or indigestion, rather) and the fact the amino acid uptake is so rapid that you end up in a "non-fed" state more quickly than a whole food meal.
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Yea like I was just thinking I could have one after every meal one in-between meals one before bed even put powder in different meal recipes I just thought it wouldn't be healthy for you. Right now I'm strictly having them after workouts
 
Jerbear said:
I find my key to no indigestion is vegan protein powder
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Well then, my good sir, "gym douche" suits you properly, doesn't it? ;)

In all seriousness, that's totally fine. If you have trouble meeting protein requirements through food alone, I see no issue. Is there a reason you can't get enough whole food meals in? That's my only concern.
 
Bignate said:
Well then, my good sir, "gym douche" suits you properly, doesn't it? ;)

In all seriousness, that's totally fine. If you have trouble meeting protein requirements through food alone, I see no issue. Is there a reason you can't get enough whole food meals in? That's my only concern.
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I think I get most with whole foods but between cost of groceries eating meals with my wife and being too busy at work to eat the more liquid protein I can get in the better. Yea I gave myself that gym douche name I thought it was pretty funny lol it was either that or PhD in bro science
 
Jerbear said:
I think I get most with whole foods but between cost of groceries eating meals with my wife and being too busy at work to eat the more liquid protein I can get in the better. Yea I gave myself that gym douche name I thought it was pretty funny lol it was either that or PhD in bro science
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How much protein are you trying to get in?
 
Bignate said:
How much protein are you trying to get in?
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I am for around 200 g I'm not as picky at the moment but I should get 250 if I could do it perfectly I'm 200 lbs at the moment. But I'm cutting carbs so need as much protein as I can get
 
Jerbear said:
I am for around 200 g I'm not as picky at the moment but I should get 250 if I could do it perfectly I'm 200 lbs at the moment. But I'm cutting carbs so need as much protein as I can get
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Are you adding in fats as carbs decrease? Always an option as well. Im currently 260, trying to get up to 275 and protein isn't over 250.
 
Honestly, aiming for anything higher than 1g/lb is overkill when your nutrition could be placed elsewhere, be it fats or carbs. Especially if you're enhanced at all. A lot of people think that means more protein = better because of "increased synthesis and nitrogen retention" (and that's true in some regard) but in reality, it means your body is more efficient with the protein you do consume. Protein is an expensive nutrient, albeit satisfying especially when dieting, but no need to go overboard. Meet your requirements, fill the rest with quality fats/carbs.

Edit: and when I say 1g/lb body weight, that's TECHNICALLY lean body weight. Hence why I haven't felt the need to jump over 250g myself. I feel calories are better allocated elsewhere.
 
Bignate said:
Honestly, aiming for anything higher than 1g/lb is overkill when your nutrition could be placed elsewhere, be it fats or carbs. Especially if you're enhanced at all. A lot of people think that means more protein = better because of "increased synthesis and nitrogen retention" (and that's true in some regard) but in reality, it means your body is more efficient with the protein you do consume. Protein is an expensive nutrient, albeit satisfying especially when dieting, but no need to go overboard. Meet your requirements, fill the rest with quality fats/carbs.

Edit: and when I say 1g/lb body weight, that's TECHNICALLY lean body weight. Hence why I haven't felt the need to jump over 250g myself. I feel calories are better allocated elsewhere.
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Thanks brother I appreciate the advice
 
Protein Powder is a HIGHLY processed food. Over consumption of foods especially processed foods and dairy commonly leads to food intolerances. This is a highly researched fact...if you google you will see tons of research studies.

I always recommend rotating your protein sources....chicken, fish, turkey, pork, beef, bison.....there are tons of options and once you get use to food prepping its easy

that said if you are going to rely on 2, 3 or more shakes a day, i would highly recommend you invest in multiple sources or at least rotate....whey, vegan, i believe Redcon and Allmax have mixed protein products that use salmon, beef, egg, etc
 
Oldguyjiujitsu said:
Protein Powder is a HIGHLY processed food. Over consumption of foods especially processed foods and dairy commonly leads to food intolerances. This is a highly researched fact...if you google you will see tons of research studies.

I always recommend rotating your protein sources....chicken, fish, turkey, pork, beef, bison.....there are tons of options and once you get use to food prepping its easy

that said if you are going to rely on 2, 3 or more shakes a day, i would highly recommend you invest in multiple sources or at least rotate....whey, vegan, i believe Redcon and Allmax have mixed protein products that use salmon, beef, egg, etc
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Good call. I cited digestion issues, but forgot about food intolerance. Classic.
 
A billion years ago, I drank enough protein powder mixed with milk and a few eggs that I got all the protein, fats and carbs i need in a day thru the drinks. I would drink 2 litres of milk with 4 scoops of power and about 10 raw eggs a day. Anything else I ate was a bonus, so I'd eat a couple sandwiches for lunch and dinner, for real meals that was all.

I got the uncontrollable shits once a week. I also put on 40 lbs in 10 months natural.

I would deal with the indigestion because I wanted to grow so bad.

Anyhow now I cannot do protein powder anymore, I am so sick of farting, and stinky farts every day. So I got rid of the protein powder and oats for breakfast and my guts feel a million times better. Its too bad though because it was easy, its a lot tougher gagging down 6 eggs with 2 strips of bacon (bacon to make eggs edible).

I am going to see if I can just drink plain milk to get in a bit more protein for breakfast

I think I'm over protein powder.
 
Sorbate said:
A billion years ago, I drank enough protein powder mixed with milk and a few eggs that I got all the protein, fats and carbs i need in a day thru the drinks. I would drink 2 litres of milk with 4 scoops of power and about 10 raw eggs a day. Anything else I ate was a bonus, so I'd eat a couple sandwiches for lunch and dinner, for real meals that was all.

I got the uncontrollable shits once a week. I also put on 40 lbs in 10 months natural.

I would deal with the indigestion because I wanted to grow so bad.

Anyhow now I cannot do protein powder anymore, I am so sick of farting, and stinky farts every day. So I got rid of the protein powder and oats for breakfast and my guts feel a million times better. Its too bad though because it was easy, its a lot tougher gagging down 6 eggs with 2 strips of bacon (bacon to make eggs edible).

I am going to see if I can just drink plain milk to get in a bit more protein for breakfast

I think I'm over protein powder.
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Have you tried a non-whey protein? MRE lite by Redcon1?
 
I personally need a lot of protein and notice when i cut back. Currently around 265-270, and i take in at least 375 g per day of protein, lower carbs right at the moment and fairly high fats. I do not grow much when lower protein intake. I can gain fat if i want, but muscle growth is in need of extra protein. I am a bit larger than most folks, and i am in my 50's and i have noticed my protein requirements have gone up, and my carb requirements have gone down to stay or gain.
I can and do still gain quite a bit when i am in that phase, BUT protein needs to be high.
Never ever have i taken less than 1.5 g per lean lb, not my weight. If i am 15%-20% bf i factor that in, normally i am 15% or less, but i do fluff up once a year or 18 months.

So many thoughts on this, i have tried myself to go lower protein etc, around 25 g per meal, we can digest a lot more than that for protein.
I never found 3 people that all agree on this, but as we all say and know, we are different animals and have different things that make a difference. Protein is the biggest differentiator in my world for muscle quality and overall good health and muscle looks. Carbs come and go, Fats are required always.
Let us know how it goes as you experiment.
 
BTW, do yourself a favor if digestion issues, move away from artificial sweeteners like aspartame and all that shit, so hard on the gut. I ONLY use non sweetened natural protein powders and ones with stevia. I will add in my own vanilla real extract when i need it for flavors'. BUT THE SWEETENERS kill the gut, in a big way...
 
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