Difference in 'food' protein and shakes

[Slypknot]

Mornin bro's,

Was doing a little reading while munchin down some good ole oatmeal and started wonderin. Is there a diff between sitting down to a good ole steak and drinkin a protein shake? (minus the fat grams of course).

I notice with my current food plan I don't eat a whole lot (calorie intake is low) but my protein is in good shape due to shakes. I have a hard time chucking down tuna packets all day so I resort to just drinking 3-4 shakes a day and pretty much putting protein powder in anything that'll taste decent with it (yogurt, oatmeal, milk, water, soup, etc).

Am I losing out on any important gains by eating whey shakes vs tuna/steak/chicken/fish/etc? Not to say I don't eat those at all - but just not in the quantities I've read others do.

Thanks for your input!

[daem]

shakes are good replacement for times of the day when eating is impossible, but protein that comes in the form of solid food always works best for me. i try to get 75% of my protein from solid food and the other 25% from shakes. drinking shakes all day long makes me hungrier and i do not feel as strong when i am in the gym. i think the answer to this also comes from the absorption rate of protein. after working out, you should always spike your glucose levels with something sweet, as glucose enhances protein synthesis. i read some place that generally muscles absorb a maximum of 20-25g protein per hour, so when you are digesting a steak or chicken the protein is spread out evenly from the time you eat it to the time it takes to be digested (several hours). drinking one of those 50g protein per serving is a waste of your protein and a farce by the supplement companies since you will only absorb about a third to half of it. if you eat 7 times a day then you will only need 2 or 3 shakes to get the rest of your fill while providing your body with solid fuel to function properly.

[painintheazz]

I agree with most of what daem is saying, When I am cutting I only get 1 shake a day in me, maybe two. I need to have whole food when I am cutting or I lose too much muscle and feel soooo hungry. When I am bulking I still get about 5 or 6 real food meals in but I get another 3 from shakes. I have noticed a big difference in my body when I started eating more whole foods and lower GI carbs. The only thing I don't full agree with is the absorption rates of protien. I have seen a lot of studies that say you can only get 30g <a href="http://www.allsportsnutrition.com/listproducts.php?style=category&value=PROTEIN" target="_blank">protein</a> in one meal, and some that say you can get way more. I think the decision is still out on that one, I think it is more of a personal thing, some peoples bodies can get more than others. I notice I put more fat on if I try to get more than 40g carbs in each meal. See what works best for you. One thing I am pretty sure will work better for about 95% of the people here is eat more real food than shakes. Hope this helps.

Pain

[bigwillystyle]

one thing i always do when i'm trying to hit high calories (with the shakes ) is to add some real food with it. milk, 1-3 whole eggs then chug. it's really not as bad as u might think the shake just get real creamy...yummy. it also saves on protien powder, 3-4 of those babies a day and the rest of your meals are easy. however if your trying to cut i don't use any milk, just eggs whites. and maybye one or two shakes between meals. hope this helps

later

[Innervision]

I agree I think protein shakes are needed but whole foods shouldnt be passed over. different kinds of protein from different sources can be beneficial to your body, plus you can get some natural creatine from steak too!

[Big Rhino]

Not to mention some Fina in the steak


RHINO

[painintheazz]

Originally posted by Big Rhino
Not to mention some Fina in the steak


RHINO

Never thought of that... I hope all my cattle have been hit with the pellet gun. haha

Pain