Why do people drink protein shakes?

You need enough protein to actually help loose weight.

Ha just asked ChatGPT this. It suggested I eat 5 eggs for breakfast! and a scoop of protein powder ( among other things).

How can I get 60 gm of protein and lose weight with just these and no meat? Genuine question. Oats not allowed for me but can replace with yoghurt. Nuts are very calorific.

Or maybe I need more because I weight train. Off to go consult ChatGPT.

I add mine to my oats. I weight train, also vegan and trying to lose weight so its just an easy way to bump up my protein.

Because it's trendy.
Have some eggs, nuts, cheese, oats instead. We don't need stupid amounts of protein.

They stop me feeling light-headed when I do cardio. I'm not faffing about scrambling eggs when I go for a 5k run at 5pm - after work but before dinner!

They don't have it instead of chicken salad or eggs, it's additional to regular meals of solid food.
It's not meant to fill you up to stop you eating.

I don't like shakes but I do eat protein bars. They're as tasty as regular chocolate bars but less sugary. And obviously more protein which is good for me as I don't eat much meat.

Not everyone who has protein shakes is trying to lose weight. My son lifts weights and they sell the powders at the gym because it’s a way of getting a lot of protein in. These guys have a higher caloric need and there’s only so much chicken and egg whites that can be tolerated!

I heard an interview with a consultant who said the rate of kidney stones was increasing due to people taking in more protein than needed. How many grams are you having op, how many do you need - are you in a deficit?

I have a few times. I used to hit the gym at 5am and I just couldn't stomach anything until after I got to work at 7am. I could just drink the shake in the car on the way in. Then I'd eat something a little healthier at my desk. Then when I was training for a half marathon I got really skinny unintentionally. As a vegetarian I just couldn't get enough protein and calories in me so would mix protein in with full fat milk which helped not going underweight.

Generally day to day I never bother.

I can’t believe how much misinformation there is on this thread, and how quickly people jump to “it’s just another influencer fad” without actually looking at what protein is for.

If you’re doing regular resistance training/lifting weights (especially as a woman) you genuinely need more protein than the average “normal diet” provides.
Nothing to do with dieting or weight loss but because women have lower testosterone building and maintaining muscle is slower and harder. The usual recommendations for people who lift are around 1.2–1.6g of protein per kg of bodyweight.

For example, if you’re around 150lb / 68kg:

To maintain muscle while training, you’d be looking at roughly 80–100g protein per day.

To actually build muscle, more like 100–130g per day.

Just to maintain 0.8 g per kg bodyweight (whilst not weight training) is the absolute minimum to prevent deficiency.

Most people don’t get anywhere near those numbers without thinking about it. I know I really struggle to hit my goal and I'm consciously lifting weights and trying to do just that. Protein shakes (don't do it myself because UPF worries) do get you there really quickly.

There’s also this persistent myth that people “just gain weight because they’re getting older”, but what really happens is that your metabolism slows down because you lose your muscle mass year on year.

Muscle is metabolically active, so maintaining or increasing it keeps your metabolism higher - You can’t do that without enough protein.

So no, it’s not a weight-loss thing and it’s not a fad. It’s just a practical way for people who are lifting to hit the amount of protein their bodies actually need.

They are just supplements and are not supposed to replace meals.

I use Hemp protein. It's just powdered hemp with no additives, so is not an UPF.

No you are quite right in doing what you are doing. Protein is just trendy atm and you don't need extra if you are getting a balanced diet

So would I... but I can't cook that on the 5 min walk back from the gym to my office on my lunch break.

Because the ones I drink are basically just protein with no carbs or fat…

No, sorry it's more like 56 gms. Still hard.

Joe Wicks and other experts have talked about this (you might want to search info about his Killer bar). A lot of experts say a lot of us just want easy. quick ways of doing things these days and we're influenced by key words like protein in a way that wasn't the case in the past.

I don't really know how to get 75 gm of protein a day on a veggie diet, plus also stay under my calories, plus also lift 3 times a week/ walk daily!

This. DS (29) has always been extremely skinny and couldn't gain weight no matter how hard he tried by eating huge high calorie protein rich meals. Protein shakes helped him gain weight so I am surprised that anyone who wants to lose weight would drink them.

I aim for 120g a day - ie 2x 60kg. It’s harder to get to 120kg eating food that also has fat added like peanuts.

So I eat lunch at 12.30pm and dinner at 7.30pm. I have a protein shake mid afternoon at work, easy to bring in, just mix water. I prefer this rather than eating a carbohydrate snack.

I lift heavy in the gym so it’s a way of hitting my protein target. I eat the chicken salad for lunch 😀

As an aside to get 30g of protein from eggs I’d need to eat 5, that’s a full meal. My protein shake is less than 100 calories.

They taste nice, and I tend to have them instead of breakfast. Otherwise I have a skyr or Greek yoghurt with added berries. I make my own (banana, Greek yoghurt, protein powder, sometimes a big of ovaltine or peanut butter. And they are portable.

They aren’t healthy compared to scrambled eggs on wholewheat toast but they are healthy compared to a chocolate croissant! So it depends on what you are replacing.

Muscle is denser that fat so there is a possiblity that muscle building will not decrease your weight as much as you think

Plenty of info on the web regarding good average daily intake of carbs, protein fibre etc and what is in various natural and packaged foods.

This is one I have used https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/lostart.htm

Accutrately measure what you eat and from that the carbs , sugars, protein , you will surprized with the answers

Quick comparison calculation should answer your question.