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How Often Do You Drink Protein Shakes?

Jul 1, 2011 | By Carly Schuna
How Often Do You Drink Protein Shakes?
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Protein shakes offer a variety of health and nutritional benefits, but you certainly don't have to drink them to reach any wellness goal, whether it's weight loss, weight gain or general health maintenance. If you are using protein shakes as a sole strategy to achieve a certain end, however, it does make a difference how often you drink them.

Consider Your Purpose

When you're trying to decide how often you should have a protein shake, think about why you're drinking them in the first place. If your goal is to lose weight, you may want to replace one or two normal meals each day with shakes to cut calories and work toward steadily slimming down. For weight gain, on the other hand, it can help to have one calorie-rich shake every day as a mid-morning or afternoon snack. If you're getting between 50 and 175 g of protein every day from what you eat, as MayoClinic.com recommends, you may not need to add protein shakes to your diet at all.

Too Few

You may fall short of your goal if you drink too few shakes in an effort to achieve it. For example, drinking just one high-calorie shake per week may not increase your total calorie intake enough to help you gain weight healthfully if that is your objective. Along the same lines, replacing one meal per week with a protein shake instead of one meal per day is not as likely to lead to consistent or lasting weight-loss progress. In a 2003 study published in "Nutrition Journal" from weight-loss researcher Dr. Steven Heymsfield and colleagues, participants who replaced one to two meals per day with high-protein shakes lost more weight than those who followed a low-calorie diet with three regular meals per day.

Too Many

You can also run into problems by drinking too many protein shakes. According to American Council on Exercise scientist Cedric X. Bryant, consuming more protein than your body needs will result in fat gain. Excess protein consumption may also increase the risk of diverticulitis, constipation, heart disease, liver and kidney problems or even cancer. Additionally, you'll miss out on essential nutrients if you neglect whole foods in favor of protein shakes. According to MayoClinic.com, whole foods have more vitamins, minerals, antixoidants, phytochemicals and beneficial compounds than supplements such as protein shakes.

Considerations

For either weight loss or weight gain, it's sufficient to drink one nutritious protein shake per day. If you feel you may benefit from more or you think you are not getting enough protein from your regular diet, speak with your doctor for specific recommendations.

References

Article reviewed by Mary Bland Last updated on: Jul 1, 2011

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