Do Protein Shakes Make You Gain Weight?

Protein shakes are plugged by bodybuilders and fitness experts, but they have a lot of gray area in regards to what they do. Those people are often large and muscular, so the answers are not always obvious. Can protein shakes cause you to gain weight? Protein shakes are really a double-edged sword, they can make you gain weight, or with the right diet, can help you lose weight.

Muscle Gains

Protein shakes when added to a regular weight training routine can make you gain weight, but not a lot. The additional protein helps to build and feed the muscles. When you experience the tired and strained muscles after weight training, your protein intake is what repairs the muscle fibers. If you are trying to gain muscle, and therefore weight, GainingWeight.Info recommends taking in 1 to 1 1/2 times your body weight in protein grams.

Remember, though, with weight training, the protein you eat is increased to compensate for the muscle development, but you will need to eat a lot more calories in order to maintain the muscle gain. If you do not eat enough calories on a daily basis, you can lose the muscle you worked hard to gain, so the protein shakes will do no good.

Weight Loss

High-protein and low-carb diet plans are extremely popular for the fact that they do help you lose weight quickly. By adding low-calorie and low-fat protein shakes to your diet plan, this can boost the daily protein consumption and aid in your weight loss goals. Protein fuels the muscles, and the more muscle you build, the less fat you have. According to Byron Richards, CCN of WellnessResources.com, "The amount of quality protein in your diet is the single most important calorie that influences your metabolic rate, favorably influencing weight loss." Richards recommends taking in 3/4 of your body weight in protein grams per day for weight loss. Low-calorie, high-protein shakes can provide much needed protein that you might not normally get in each day with meat, poultry and fish.

By including protein shakes in a balanced diet full of complex carbohydrates and lean protein sources, as is recommended by Dr. Atkins in his original diet book, you can assist yourself in losing weight.