Will protein powder really make you quickly reach your fitness goal?

Wellness

Jan 12

As a nutrition coach, the most common question I get from friends and followers on social media is: “What protein powder is the BEST to help me reach my goals quickly?”

And I always start my reply with “It depends”.

I think it’s important to preface this question by first answering: What is the role of protein in the body? Will protein powder really make you quickly reach your fitness goals and it is necessary within your health and fitness journey?

What is the role of protein in the body?

If you’ve been lifting weights or on a weight-loss journey, you’ve probably heard at least one of the following statements:

“Protein helps you build muscle so you HAVE to drink a protein shake post-workout or you won’t make gains!”
“Protein keeps you satiated for longer so you eat less throughout the day”

I think it’s important to note that these are blanket statements and narrow down on very specific situations (that may not necessarily apply to you and your life).

Protein is an essential macronutrient and is broken down into amino acids to play very special roles within the body, such as:

Building and repairing muscle
Being broken down into glycogen when we do not have sufficiently consumed enough carbohydrates or fats
Producing skeletal and connective tissues (e.g. bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage)
Creating neurotransmitters, enzymes, and immune system chemicals (e.g., immunoglobulins, antibodies, cytokines)
Synthesizing transport proteins (e.g. carrier proteins and lipoproteins)

And where proteins end up is controlled by genetic signaling. This process depends on which amino acids and how much energy is available within your body.

Because everyone is so different and unique, it’s important to consider each person’s biopsychosocial factors to decide whether or not a protein supplement is necessary to support their journey.

Will a protein powder supplement really help you quickly reach your fitness goals?

As always, it depends.

As I said earlier, protein is an essential macronutrient, but that does not necessarily mean that protein powder supplements are essential.

Your unique needs, goals, and lifestyle play a big role in answering this for YOUR life:

Are you already eating enough protein to sustain your lifestyle and fitness goals? (not sure? Let me help you with a Personalized Portion Plan - customized uniquely to align with your goals, your lifestyle, and biological needs).
Do you participate in moderate to intense purposeful exercise - requiring you to need more protein to fuel your workouts and muscle protein synthesis on top of completing its’ other roles in the body (noted above)?
Are you eating a variety of protein sources? All protein sources are not made the same. Different proteins contain different amino acids in different quantities. Just because you are eating enough protein does not always mean you are consuming enough amino acids to complete certain jobs and roles in the body.

While I will always have a whole food first opinion around the consumption of nutrients, there are some situations where a protein supplement would be helpful. I genuinely believe if you can consume your daily protein goal through just eating a variety of whole food protein sources, save your money, and stick to what you’re doing.

However, a protein powder supplement would be helpful to your journey if:

You already eat a variety of protein sources but have a high-protein goal that you struggle to hit through just eating food
You live a very busy lifestyle and sometimes can’t always get your protein in within the day
You become satiated very quickly and easily - making it difficult to consume enough protein within a normal day
You just really enjoy the convenience and taste of protein powder and continue to use it alongside a variety of whole food protein sources
You’re plant-based and don’t always get all of your EAAs through whole foods alone and a complete plant-based protein powder would help you a lot (Please note: not all plant-based protein supplements are complete! Some only contain some EAAs. Soy is one of the few complete plant-based protein sources).