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How many protein shakes per day is an important question because a lot of guys drink 3x the amount of protein supplements they actually need. Guess what happens? They end up wasting their money because most of that protein is peed out! While they’re flushing down all that whey protein they might as well be flushing down all of their money too.
So what’s the answer to this question? It’s really a 4 step process and the answer is going to be different for everybody. We’re all individuals and we have individual protein requirements.
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- First, we need to establish how much protein our body needs on a daily basis. You need about 1-1.5g of protein for each pound of lean body mass. So let’s say you’re a 180lb male with 12% body fat. That means you are 158.4 lbs of muscle. So you would need about 160g of protein. Great! move on to step 2.
- Second, be sure that you are getting most of your protein from real food and not a bunch of supplements. Protein shakes are a “supplement”. I think the word “supplement” means ” “adding too”. So you’ve got to add protein shake supplements to a clean, healthy diet. Make sense? Move on to step 3.
- Third, figure out where the holes are in your diet. If you’ve been following my advice on my website than you know it is important to keep a workout log as well as a food diary. Analyze your food diary and figure out how much protein you are consuming from whole foods on a regular basis.
- Lastly, fill in the protein holes! Using the 180lb 12% body fat male as an example, let’s say he is consuming 125g of protein from whole foods. That means he needs to supplement with about 35g of protein. Depending on which type of protein shake you use this adds up to be about 1 to 2 shakes per day. I use and highly recommend ‘Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard’. It’s an awesome protein and I have been using it for years. My second recommendation would be BSN’s Syntha-6. It’s actually a protein blend, which is nice because it contains different kinds of protein for optimal results.
Caution: If you notice that your consuming more than 3 or 4 protein shakes to meet your body’s daily protein requirements then you should re-evaluate your diet and make sure you are getting enough nutritious, whole food in your diet.
