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Do Protein Shakes Make You Fat?

You may be one of the many people who resort to protein shakes instead of eating a real meal after your workouts or when you are in a time crunch. Protein shakes have risen in popularity in recent years, partly because of the notion that high-protein, low-carb eating is one option if you are looking to lose fat or maintain your weight.

  1. Definition

    • You can find ready-made protein shakes in health food stores, GNC stores and most supermarkets. They generally contain 200 to 300 calories. You can also mix your own protein shake. While most protein shake mixes and premade shakes get their protein from soy, some get it from dairy or eggs. According to the Mayo Clinic, "Although protein shakes generally aren't harmful, you shouldn't expect them to take the weight off for you."

    Function

    • You can use a protein shake to replace a meal, to add calories to your daily diet or to make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet. These days, there are protein shakes custom-made for any person. They are easy to customize yourself. For example, if you want extra protein in a shake that you bought ready-made, put it in a blender and add a scoop of protein powder.

    Calories

    • A gram of protein contains as many calories as a gram of carbohydrates: four. This means that if you load your protein shake with lots of extra protein powder, not only will it taste dry and cementlike, but you have also added lots of extra calories. Unless you are working out extra hard, especially with weights, this is not recommended because you will gain weight---in fat mass.

    Protein Needs

    • The daily requirement of protein varies from person to person. According to the website ILoveIndia.com, you can calculate your daily protein requirement in grams based on how many kilograms you weigh. For someone who gets little exercise, recommended daily protein intake is 0.75g per kg of body weight. A person who exercises about one hour per day should get closer to 1 to 1.2g of protein per kg of body weight.

    Considerations

    • While drinking protein shakes is not harmful to your body, be aware that they can never replace the nutrients you get from a real meal. According to the Mayo Clinic, "These types of shakes---even if the labels shows added nutrients---do not replace all of the benefits of whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables."

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