Why You Don’t Need Protein Shakes!

Sometimes I can be as confused as the next person regarding what I should be eating and what I shouldn’t. Or more so what I shouldn’t. I am still only new to this healthy, clean eating lifestyle (it’s been 6 months) so even though my diet has improved dramatically and I have been succesfully avoiding sugar and processed junk most of the time, I still make mistakes or get sucked in to marketing ploys!

I was on the phone with my friend and Personal Trainer when I let it slip that I was drinking protein powder. Now he is very old school and disciplined about his diet and he has taught me that clean eating means nothing processed or packaged. His philosophy is everything should be as close to natural as possible. Protein powder falls under processed.

I tried to justify that the protein powder that I was drinking was a “natural” pea isolate protein with no added ingredients, just pea isolate. But he wasn’t buying it. He said I had just fallen for the marketing hype of the protein powder industry. No protein powder is natural and your body should be getting its protein source from food, not a man-made powder.

As much as I tried to debate, google and try to convince him that it wasn’t that bad. I knew he was right.  I mean what even is pea isolate!! I just had it in my head that I needed more protein because I was training hard and trying to put on muscle. I was eating protein all day but wasn’t sure if it was enough.

He agreed that a protein shake is probably a better choice then going to a McDonald’s drive through when you’re getting home late and no time for dinner, but all in all protein shakes aren’t going to do a lot for you. If you want to take anyone’s advice you would want to listen to him, as his body should be a billboard for clean eating. He has a body to die for simply out of hard work and eating ridiculously well. That is it. No gimics and definitely no protein shakes!

Sometimes it’s very easy to get sucked into the world of marketing (I should know – my day job is in marketing/media!) and companies will do everything to get you hooked on their product. But have you ever thought about what you are really putting into your body? Why is it that so-called health protein shakes are bright orange? I often see guys at the gym with their bright orange or red protein drinks and I think how can that be healthy. Some of these drinks have just as much sugar and crap in them as a coke or fanta. But they are high in protein so people think it’s ok!

I have noticed a lot of women drinking protein shakes as a meal replacement to lose weight and I have often thought it’s ridiculous. You may lose weight short-term, but this isn’t healthy eating and you won’t keep the weight off. Why would you have a shake for lunch when you can have real food! I have seen friends do this and then an hour or so later they are starving for real food and then go binge on crap. So then they have had double the intake of calories. Protein shakes are high in calories and will make you put on weight, so be careful if you are using them as a weight loss tool.

There are many studies on protein and how much you need and there is conflicting information. Some say you need roughly double your body weight (in kilos) others say that the average diet gets more than enough, if not too much.

For now I am going to keep protein powders out of my diet and just consume as much protein as I can from lean meats, fish, nuts, eggs, goats milk, chai seeds, quinoa and spirulina.

Forget about measuing protein, counting calories and fat, just enjoy great nourishing food as close to it’s natural source as possible. Being healthy and fit shouldn’t be so complicated, there is no easy way out either, just train hard and eat well.

I am sure there are plenty of opinions on this topic, and I would love you to leave a comment with your thoughts on protein powders.