Whey Protein Shake Diet

Whey protein shakes can be used as a simple way to count calories and lose weight without the inconvenience of developing a meal plan and preparing foods. The protein powder is easy to measure out and carry with you throughout the day to encourage portion control and resist the temptation of high-calorie foods. The powder can be stored in plastic zippered bags and added to a bottle of water for a quick meal anytime.

Whey Protein Powder

Look at the calorie content of different protein powders. This will help you determine the brand that's right for you. Before you start this diet, determine your personal maintenance level of calories. This can be done by keeping a food journal for a few days or a week before starting the shake diet. In order to achieve a 1-lb. weight loss per week, you must reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 calories. Once you know your daily caloric intake, calculate the amount of shakes you need to consume each day to reach this number. You should allow yourself to have at least five shakes per day in order to avoid hunger pangs, which means you may need a low-calorie whey protein powder. These powders are sometimes referred to as low-carb because they contain less sugar and fewer calories.

When shopping for a whey protein to use during this liquid diet, check the label to make sure that the whey protein includes micellar casein. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, micellar casein is a slow-digesting protein. This means that consuming micellar casein helps you feel full longer than you would after consuming whey protein alone. Although micellar casein is not necessary for weight loss, it can help reduce the discomfort of a reduced-calorie diet and increase the chances of weight-loss success.

Meal Replacement

Mix it up. Instead of surviving on whey protein shakes alone, some dieters prefer to replace one or two meals during the day with shakes. Replacing breakfast and lunch with shakes can help reduce the temptation of doughnuts or stopping by a fast food restaurant at lunch time. When using shakes as meal replacement, a healthy dinner should be planned out so that you know how many calories you will consume during your solid food meal. This way, you can plan out the number of shakes you need during the day to reach your caloric intake goal. Staggering the shakes and solid meals so that you're eating every four hours will help you feel full and make the diet more tolerable.