Protein shakes ...

[kansaslifter]

I have long enjoyed having an occasional protein shake after a workout. Is whey protein allowed? Sure I can mix it with water to liquify the mix, but I do like it with skim milk. Who has some recipes and suggestions for having a protein shake that is consistent with So Beach principles? Is there a different recipe for the different phases?

Thanks

[RedRox]

whey protein with no added sugars mixed with skim milk would be OK in all phases. milk is a great post exercise beverage and you can have 2 cups of dairy daily in P1 and 2-3 cups in P2. Honestly though you can probably get nearly as much protein and carbs from real foods as most post exercise beverages with PB, a banana (in P2) and a glass of milk. You can also just eat cottage cheese and get a lot of whey protein from actual foods that way too!

[Magna]

You can eat/drink dried whey if you like it. But do you like it? If not, something you find tasty would be better, like one of the foods RedRox suggested. But if you do like it, then go ahead and have some as a high-protein snack. If you run a search for "smoothie" using the search function in the upper-right corner of this page, you may find some recipes that can be adapted for whey protein. (Most of the recipes call for NF milk, yogurt, or soy, I think.)

Another thing: be sure you're eating plenty of vegetables throughout the day, to satisfy your hunger and for good nutrition generally. Sometimes people who are complaining of low energy, hunger, constipation, or stalled weight loss post their menus and it turns out they're very protein-focused, without enough vegetables.

[Crystal211]

Thanks for asking this, I actually had the same question.

[RedRox]

Oh believe me it's a very common question!

Good discussion from the past I keep bookmarked here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=87564 oldpjams stated things much more succinctly than I ever do and I'm in agreement with him on this topic, but it does give both sides to the discussion I think.

[oldpjams]

I've been to the darkside and back on this. My feeling is that if I have worked out hard enough to warrant a recovery drink, then chocolate skim milk with a banana and peanut butter calcs out pretty well for recovery, tastes better, and it's real food.

[dahl]

I've been to the darkside and back on this. My feeling is that if I have worked out hard enough to warrant a recovery drink, then chocolate skim milk with a banana and peanut butter calcs out pretty well for recovery, tastes better, and it's real food.

I know this is an old thread, so I hope that it is okay for me to revive it, but I was reading the old protein drink threads and this one I had a question on. Wouldn't there be too much sugar in the chocolate skim milk and the banana to be considered a healthy supplement according to SBD? I'm still trying to learn all the rules for the diet and the sugar content is a bit disconcerting to me in my weight loss journey. I like the idea of eating my protein as a recovery portion to my workout, but I'm trying to figure out the best way to "drink" it with real food. Thanks!

[RedRox]

The key phrase was "worked out hard enough to warrent a recovery drink". pjams is a pretty serious/competitive cyclist so his "hard enough" would likely kill most of us! No it's not SB, but he had to modify some SB principles to get enough fuel/caloreis into his body to support his activity/exercise levels. In general he supports using more real food options, even those outside the SB food lists than resorting to bars and shakes and more of the "frankenfood" options.

[SBMiss]

A really helpful thread indeed! Been wondering about this myself, don´t have to wonder anymore. So thanks for that.

[dahl]

RedRox, thanks for your reply. So, is a 3 mile run 'hard enough?' If not, this is what I want to do for my recovery drink after my workouts: an 8 oz glass of skim milk blended with some ice, a tablespoon of peanut butter and a half scoop of whole oatmeal. Does that sound like a good SB friendly "protein drink?"

[RedRox]

Let me go back a bit to your last question.

Wouldn't there be too much sugar in the chocolate skim milk and the banana to be considered a healthy supplement according to SBD?

Bananas are already a P2 food and skim milk is fine in all phases, so really the only thing that would add more sugar is the chocolate syrup added to the skim milk. I don't know if it is still in the Supercharged book or not, but Dr. A in his very brief discussion on exercise talked a bit about recovery foods and basically your body does best with higher GI carbs and protein. In the original book he even talked about white bread as a recovery food because it is so much higher GI and white bread isn't really part of SB either! So it is more about specific foods for specific purposes.

And I don't really know the answer to your question about a 3 mile run. I'm neither a runner nor an endurance athlete. Based on what oldpjams has written here in the past, I tend to think of it more in terms of time spent and when you get into the range of 90 minutes or more then you really need to be doing something more in terms of both fueling and recovering. Since a normal walking pace is 3 miles an hour, you should be under 60 minutes with a faster than walking/running pace, so I'm not sure that would qualify, but really it's a question better answered by someone who runs as I just don't know.

I think the drink you outlined is within P2 guidelines as is, so don't really see an issue with it.

[dahl]

I've been using the original copy of Dr. Agatson's book as my guide. I think I should get a copy of the Supercharged book, I'd love to read his perspective on recovery drinks after working out. I can't even imagine myself eating a piece of white bread, haven't had that stuff since childhood! lol Some family members who also work out insist that I should have a protein drink immediately after my workout and I am not a big fan of protein drinks, but I do like have a good recovery shake after a workout. Today I ran for 45 minutes and had two spoons of natural peanut butter topped with 1% lowfat cottage cheese and a glass of water.

[RedRox]

FYI, the white bread/higher GI post exercise discussion was in the first book. I couldn't eat a piece of white bread either. The point was more that your muscles need some higher GI foods to quickly help restore glycogen levels. So while your after run snack did a good job with protein it probably needs more sugar/carbohydrate content. Hence the idea of milk or chocolate milk. Or the PB on a mini-bagel or something like that as well.

You can do a lot of research on the net on exercise recovery and nutrition. Some are focused on promoting specific products though and the personal trainer community seems to be particularly fond of supplements vs real foods, i.e. shakes, bars and powders. Just as an example here is one relatively neutral type of explanation I found that covers the basics. Interestingly it also cites the study on chocolate milk and I have seen other web articles that focus on milk as an good recovery beverage as well. http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledg ... ition.html

I really think the important thing is to be honest about your actual level of exertion and what you really need. I tend to think people overestimate what they really need to recover with and eat/drink according to recommendations for endurance and highly competitive athletes when they are really just engaging in relatively "normal" fitness activities.

[dahl]

Thanks for all the help! I feel a little more clear on how recovery "drinks" work on SB now.