** Shakes vs. Real Food **

[gbrice75]

Below is just a snippet from an article I found researching this topic. I would hardly call it 'hotly debated' as odds are overwhelmingly in favor of real foods.

But for the few who insist shakes are just as good, read on. I will add more substantial articles to the post as I research further:

__________________________________________________ ________________

Real food is by far the most important component of a bodybuilding diet. There are so many nutrients that real food contains, many of which have not even been discovered yet, that you would be doing yourself a disservice by limiting the amount of real food that you are eating.

In addition, real food has what is called a "thermic effect". A "thermic effect" is the impact that real food has in your metabolism. Because real food requires digestion, your body burns more calories in processing it; as opposed to shakes which are already pre-digested.

Regardless of what the ads tell you, protein shakes do not offer any muscle building benefit, nor "secret muscle building ingredient", above and beyond what real food offers you. Yes, I have read the ads too with all sorts of speedy muscle building promises but I can assure you through experience that most of the ingredients advertised as miraculous have not been proven to work neither by science (even though most ads of this nature usually talk about research studies that usually do not exist) nor by actual results at the gym. These products however have been proven beyond the shadow of any scientific doubt to shrink the size of your wallet and bank account.

What protein shakes do offer the bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast is a convenient way to ingest your protein, thus allowing you to have your five to six meals every day without having to ingest real food in all of them. In addition, the best protein shakes in the market offer a protein blend of different sources of protein, something that introduces amino acid variety into your bodybuilding diet, thus making your diet more complete. However, do not ever think that protein shakes are superior to food.

[yungone501]

True on 'prepacked' shake supplements but the debate STILL continues with shakes consisting of whole foods. Such as my fav: egg whites, oatmeal, milk, banana and honey. What do you think gbrice?

[gbrice75]

True on 'prepacked' shake supplements but the debate STILL continues with shakes consisting of whole foods. Such as my fav: egg whites, oatmeal, milk, banana and honey. What do you think gbrice?

There's no debate in my mind... whole foods are whole foods, I don't care if you eat them in their natural state or blended into a shake. They'll beat the sh!t out of any OTC powdered food any day of the week.

[yungone501]

Amen to that!

This is something that alot of others do not agree with. They think even though theyre whole foods, because theyre blended, it totally changes the quality of the food! Wtf?

If it were not for whole food shakes, i could not do the whole body building thing due to work!

[scotty51312]

haha when i was still a restaraunt chef sometimes i would puree chicken breast with some chicken stock and brocoli and sweet potatoes and drink it down out of a soup thermos. Man i miss those days

[yungone501]

haha when i was still a restaraunt chef sometimes i would puree chicken breast with some chicken stock and brocoli and sweet potatoes and drink it down out of a soup thermos. Man i miss those days

Strangely, this sounds good. Ive noticed that whenever my brain knows the food im consuming is quality for anabolism, i can eat it (or drink it) no matter what the taste/flavor/consistency! Lmao, mind over matter...or is that dedication?

My family always stares in disbelief at some of the shitt i eat. Egg whites especially. Mmm, speaking of.

[scotty51312]

i use to start my morning out with 4 raw eggs and a can of redbull thrown in to a blender when i got to work. But i was usually hungover back then too lol . No i run a dietary department for 2 seperate nursing and rehab facilities. Lots of the elderly patients are on a puree'd diet, so i'm kinda use to tasting things like that. Its like a big assortment of hot babyfood everyday

[yungone501]

i use to start my morning out with 4 raw eggs and a can of redbull thrown in to a blender when i got to work. But i was usually hungover back then too lol . No i run a dietary department for 2 seperate nursing and rehab facilities. Lots of the elderly patients are on a puree'd diet, so i'm kinda use to tasting things like that. Its like a big assortment of hot babyfood everyday

Lol, EWW, to all of the above!

I use to be very picky when it came to my food. In the world of bodybuilding, ive noticed the golden rule is if it taste good, its not good for you. Well, in most cases anyways. Nothing tops a fat steak with a big azz baked potato. Or a some over med eggs and a large bowl of oatmeal!

Ive pretty much came to a point where i found it hard to eat sugary foods or even processed foods. Kind of funny because i pretty much grew eating nothing but that!

[j4ever41]

i agree as well,powder by itself is 1 thing but once you start throwing in whole foods,shakes are great

[baseline_9]

A real shake simply wont 'shake'

It should be called a 'blend'

And for those of you who have read this and want an example.....

300g cottage cheese
300ml milk
1 scoop whey
0.5 - 1 cup ground oats
1 tpn natty peanut butter

[billyyb]

I agree, certain supplements can also be dodgy to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mfQTiumsO4

[terraj]

Drinking that surplus of calories is easier than chewing it.

[SergeantCarbs]

What protein shakes do offer the bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast is a convenient way to ingest your protein

Obviously real foods are better but this article isnt disproving a protein shake as ineffective, just saying the digestion of real food burns more calories. Its also pointing out that it is a valid source of protein intake.

[gbrice75]

Obviously real foods are better but this article isnt disproving a protein shake as ineffective, just saying the digestion of real food burns more calories. Its also pointing out that it is a valid source of protein intake.

My purpose in posting wasn't to knock shakes - contrary to what it may seem like, i'm not against them at all. But the article does point out added benefits of whole food, thus making it superior.

We all have shakes in our diet. They have their place, no doubt. I am just tired of seeing diets posted with 50% or more calories/protein coming from shakes and people asking why they're not seeing results. Not to say the diet is the only factor, but it needs to be looked at.

Mainly, I posted this in response to another thread where somebody made the ridiculous argument that 'a calorie is a calorie' and somebody else theorized that a diet of whole food vs. a diet of shakes + candy bars with calories/macros being equal would yield identical results with regard to muscle growth. I'm not buying it.

[Flier]

C´mpn...u obviously haven´t seen the 8 week before and after pics of the guys on the Nitro-tech cans.
Clearly by taking Nitro-tech 3-4 times per day for 8 weeks, will give u the same benefits of AAS and/or food.
Pictures don´t lie, do they?

[scotty51312]

Nitro-tech That stuff is such and overpriced joke, maybe the extra 35$ per 5lb container is to pay for those digitalized before and after pics

[gbrice75]

C´mpn...u obviously haven´t seen the 8 week before and after pics of the guys on the Nitro-tech cans.
Clearly by taking Nitro-tech 3-4 times per day for 8 weeks, will give u the same benefits of AAS and/or food.
Pictures don´t lie, do they?

Haha, nice!