Protein Shake for breakfast - A good idea?

[JDMDrifter]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice on this one as I cant really find an answer.

I'm a 20 year old guy about 11st4lbs. I have lost a fair bit of weight over the last 2 years and maybe wanna lose abit more.

Currently I have a reasonable diet and do a small amount of exercise each day.

I work an office job and in the mornings I just cant face food, I have tried but it leaves me feeling a tad off. So rather than what I have currently (a bowl of fresh air) should I try a protein shake in the morning to keep me going? I'm currently having afternoon crashes due to eating dinner far too early.

I've read up on a few and apparently Muscle Milk should be good for a morning drink due to the high protein content.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

Alex

[AngryPartsBloke]

Yes, it's better than nothing. Muscle Milk is quite a good shake too.

[Adz The Rat]

I have a whey shake in the mornings with my porridge as I try to incorporate some protein into every meal and I aint cooking steak at that time!

[JDMDrifter]

Cheers guys, so what serving do you think? 250ml or 500ml, this is 1 or 2 scoops?

[J4CKO]

11 st 4 and want to lose more weight

Oh do fk off

Only joking, just jealous !

[Tribal Chestnut]

I have 50g of choc-mint whey and 100g of oats in my morning shake, except on low/no carb days.

Quick and tasty.

[Hoofy]

Hold on. Why do you need protein for breakfast? If you are happy to not eat anything for breakfast, then continue.

[grumbledoak]

^^^ I'm with Hoofy. Breakfast is not compulsory and you are trying to lose weight. So don't eat it.

[Warnie]

don't like eating early? Then stretch it out until 12pm and do the 16/8 fasting. You still eat 3 meals a day and the weight will drop off you.

[AJLintern]

How tall are you...?

[JDMDrifter]

6"4, I'm not really carrying that much timber but want abit of belly to go. I think I'm gonna try a month on sakes and see how I go.

[AJLintern]

6' 4" @ 11st 4 and and you want to lose weight?! Sounds like you should really be doing more exercise and eat a proper diet which matches your activity level. You'll gain weight and lose fat then. I'd think a healthy weight for someone of your height would be maybe 12st minimum. I'm 6ft and 10st 12 and want to gain at least a stone!

[JDMDrifter]

Breakfast is certainly a good idea then!

[AJLintern]

Try making porridge for breakfast - fills you up and lasts a good few hours. I stir in a scoop of protein powder which adds a bit of flavour too
(add it after cooking though, otherwise the protein turns into a sort of scrambled egg!)

[Xerstead]

Or if you fancy something quicker, or cold, try instant oats. Like porridge but ground a bit finer so you can just mix it with milk/water, shake it about a bit and it doesn't need cooking. Easy to add a scoop of protein powder and some Nesquik for flavour if needed.
Are you sure it's belly fat? or could it be poor posture pushing your stomach out? In which case targeted stretching and resistance training would help pull things back into place.

[Hoofy]

JDMDrifter said:

6"4, I'm not really carrying that much timber but want abit of belly to go. I think I'm gonna try a month on sakes and see how I go.

All you're doing is increasing your daily calorie intake if you have shakes for breakfast.

If I were in your shoes, I'd focus on compound lifts. I wouldn't even bother with cardio. Eat at TDEE. Aim to eat about 150g of protein a day. You'll impress yourself come summer.

[AJLintern]

Is it really necessary to consume that much protein? I'm sure I've read that a lot of it is marketing by supplement manufacturers to get people to buy more. Maybe if you're a huge muscle bound bodybuilder type you might need a bit extra than the RDA. But for most average people doing some exercise and a bit of weight training is that still the case? I struggle to get 70-80g per day, even including a protein shake.

[Hoofy]

AJLintern said:

Is it really necessary to consume that much protein? I'm sure I've read that a lot of it is marketing by supplement manufacturers to get people to buy more. Maybe if you're a huge muscle bound bodybuilder type you might need a bit extra than the RDA. But for most average people doing some exercise and a bit of weight training is that still the case? I struggle to get 70-80g per day, even including a protein shake.

150g is nothing. The supplement manufacturers might be telling people to drink protein shakes but I get all my protein from food you have to chew that anyone can buy outside of the pharmacy section of the supermarket.

As for how difficult it is, here's my food diary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/darrensurre...

[Digger]

Highly recommend MFP as well although I'm starting to get lazy in completing the daily food diary!

At the other end of the day, if one were returning from the gym completely spent and didn't want to cook up a storm in the kitchen are there any recommended Meal Replacement Shakes, that contain most if not all of the right stuff?

I know real food is the correct answer and up to this point in time I have, and will hopefully continue to be a fairly good boy diet-wise, but I can foresee a point in time when I get home, and can't be arsed to cook!

[Hoofy]

Prepare your food on the weekend and stick it in the fridge/freezer.