Whether you aim to lose weight, build muscle, or even maintain a healthy lifestyle, you need protein to attain these goals. When you consume enough protein, it can boost your metabolism, reduce appetite, help build muscles, repair tissues, and make essential enzymes and hormones in the body.
To consume a sufficient amount of protein, adding protein shakes to your diet is ideal. However, protein shakes tend to get a bad reputation, because people associate them with chalky and clumped up drinks from years ago that was bland and unappetizing. The great news is that over the years, things have changed a lot. Today, there are some excellent protein powders available that mix easily and come in different delicious flavors. Thus, you have no reason not to add them to your diet.
To make things even better, you can reap all of these fantastic benefits by consuming protein shakes. Keep reading to learn more.
Hit Your Protein Goals
The reason protein is so important is because it’s a building block for every structure in your body. Your entire body is made up of proteins and fats. To ensure that the proper ratio between these two nutrients is maintained, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 gm/kg of your body weight. A single protein shake contains about 30-50 grams of protein. By drinking a protein shake, people are sure to achieve their daily RDA. Therefore, it is an excellent idea for vegetarians or even vegans to drink protein shakes as they most likely do not fulfil their protein requirements through foods.
Enhance Your Weight Training Sessions
Lifting weights should be an integral part of your lifestyle to maintain your health and fitness levels. The primary purpose of weight training is to build muscles, and protein shakes can help you reap maximum benefits from weight training as they help you rebuild and fuel muscle growth. The optimal protein intake for people who weight train is approximately 1 gram per pound of body weight. Although reaching this protein requirement may seem complicated, drinking one or two servings of a protein shake per day can do the trick.
Build More Muscle While You Sleep
There is this misconception among people that you build muscle while working out. In reality, you wear and tear your muscles while working out. The muscles then repair and grow at rest and while you sleep, making it essential to take rest days at least once or twice a week. Some researchers have found that consuming proteins before bed improves post-workout recovery. Drinking a glass of protein shake before bed helps to increase the rate of muscle protein synthesis and recovery. The added advantage of this is that protein consumed before sleep is effectively digested and absorbed when compared to other protein foods that take longer to digest.
Effectively Manage Weight
Consuming high amounts of protein-rich foods and supplements has a satiating effect, which reduces your chances of frequently snacking throughout the day. Additionally, it can help you consume smaller portion sizes. Since protein has a larger thermic effect, it requires your body to expend more energy to digest when compared to carbohydrates and fats, enhancing weight loss in the form of fat reduction.
May Prevent Muscle Loss and Metabolic Slowdown
Losing fat instead of muscle is one of the leading reasons why people are unable to sustain weight loss. This is because the loss of muscles results in a slower metabolism. A part of this muscle loss and metabolic slowdown can be prevented by consuming a high-protein diet. Research shows that drinking a protein shake as a part of a weight loss diet can make maintaining muscle up to three and a half times more efficient. Combining increased protein intake with regular strength training can accelerate your weight loss.
Easy and Convenient to Add to Your Lifestyle
The reason so many people tend to consume unhealthy diets and snacks is that these are more readily available. However, 15 minutes after consumption, these foods can make you tired, irritable and hungry again. Preparing protein shakes can be as easy as these unhealthy snakes if not more, since pre-made protein shakes are readily available. The bonus is that protein shakes are more filling and can provide you with essential nutrients to fuel you throughout the day.
