Research shows that drinking protein shakes for weight loss really works. It also finds that you need to drink the right types of shakes in the right way to achieve the results you want.
I know from personal experience that protein shakes can help you lose weight fast. Recently, I have used them together while also eating one meal per day, also know as intermittent fasting. The meals followed a high fat, low carb diet plan helping me lose over 70 pounds of fat in 6 months.
After reading this article you’ll learn.
- How dieting this way is better than trying to count calories or carbohydrates.
- The types of protein your shakes should contain.
- What to add to your shakes for faster fat loss.
- Which protein shakes are the best for weight loss.
- And much more!
All of our information is backed by the latest research. It’s been tested and proven under strict conditions. This means that what we publish is more likely to work for you.
Our goal is to help you achieve optimal health so you can get after it and perform your best all day long, every single day both inside and outside the gym.
Benefits Of Protein Shakes For Weight Loss
As I write above, research shows that dieting this way is proven to work- Big time with a high level of success! The list below details several ways dieting using protein shakes helps your body get and stay lean, strong, and healthy.
Double Your Weight Loss.
In one study, replacing 1-2 daily meals with a shake helped men and women lose 14 pounds in 6 weeks. This group more than doubled the weight loss compared to those who didn’t replace their meals with shakes.
Shed Excess Fat, Not Muscle.
Research also shows that the weight you lose is from fat, not the muscle that keeps you strong, healthy, and looking good.
No More Counting.
It’s not so easy to count every calorie that you eat. Same goes for carbs, protein, and fat. Most people underestimate these things which throws our diets off track and slows our progress. Since it’s easy to see what’s in each shake, keeping track of what we’re getting is super simple.
Clean Up In Seconds.
Instead of a sink full of dishes to clean a couple times a day, you only have to wash out your shaker cup or blender.
It’s Easier To Stick To Your Diet.
Since making a protein shake takes seconds, only requires a few ingredients, and can be made to drink anywhere, there’s never a reason to miss a meal or go off your diet.
How Protein Shakes Can Help You Lose Weight
1. You have more control.
Since protein shakes have a set amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat so you know exactly how many you’re eating. This decreases the risk of overeating and ruining your diet.
2. You’ll get more fat burning protein in your diet.
Studies show that diets higher in protein – especially branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) – enable you to lose weight faster than a diet high in carbohydrates (3). Whey, a protein used in many shakes is especially rich in BCAAs.
3. You will stay full longer.
Protein shakes will keep you full longer than high carbohydrate, low fat meals. This makes it less likely that you will become hungry during the day and cheat on your diet.
4. You’ll burn more calories.
As you know, the more calories you burn, the more weight you will lose. When you eat plenty of protein, your body uses more calories for digestion than carbohydrates and fat. Over time, this increase in the calories you burn every day can lead to more weight loss.
Will I Get The Nutrition My Body Needs?
Before any of you raise your hand and shout out that drinking shakes instead of eating 1-2 meals a day will cause malnutrition let me explain.
As long as you are healthy, drink a high quality shake, and eating a nutritious meals everyday, you will be doing more than enough to cover your nutritional needs.
Thousands of men and women have lost weight and kept it off using the same plan. The research referenced at the end of the article finds it to be safe too.
As always, consult with your doctor before starting any diet or taking nutritional supplements
Tips To Stay Healthy While Using Protein Shakes For Weight Loss
Below are a few tips to help you make sure you get plenty of the nutrients your body needs when following this type of diet.
1. Eat protein at every meal.
Combined with the shakes you drink, protein rich meals ensures your daily needs are met. Protein rich foods are also loaded with vitamins and minerals. Fish and red meat are especially nutritious.
2. Be smart about the carbs you eat.
Keeping your daily amount below 100 grams will help you stay in fat burning mode.This is easy to do, by making sure the majority of carbohydrates you eat come from nutrient dense vegetables and fruits. Think berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and peppers. Be careful when it comes to eating too much fruit since it can be high in sugar.
3. Eat plenty of healthy fats.
Fats keep you full and healthy which makes losing weight – and keeping it off – easier. Approximately, 70% of my calories come from fat.
Healthy fats you should eat include almond butter, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, MCT oil, and fish oil. Do your best to completely avoid unhealthy fats such as corn oil and margarine which are unnaturally made in a lab. That’s not to say butter should be avoided, as it’s made from heavy cream. Grass fed butter, which I recommend, has several valuable nutrients!
You can buy yourself additional nutritional insurance by taking a multivitamin and fish oil supplement daily.
Choosing The Best Protein Shake For Weight Loss.
There are certain things your shake should have to make it good for losing weight. I’ve listed them below so you know what to look for when making a purchase.
Every shake you drink should have at least 20 grams of protein.
This ensures that you are getting enough in every shake you drink to stay full and burn off excess fat. It also means your shake doesn’t contain and worthless fillers like sugar.
The protein in your shakes needs to be from whey only.
The are 3 reasons
- First, whey protein has the best amino acid profile of ANY type of protein. This means that your body will better utilize every gram of protein you drink. This means more is available for building lean muscle, post-workout recovery, and better health.
- Second, the whey protein in the shakes is rich in specific amino acids which studies show are effective for losing weight, especially excess belly fat.
- Third, drinking whey protein shakes is shown to help you stay full longer between meals.
Your shake should contain minimal sugar and carbohydrates.
Neither ingredient in protein shakes offer any nutritional value. Shakes with lots of sugar may taste great but they’re giving you empty calories that can make weight loss much more difficult.
The same is true for carbohydrates; the ones used in protein shakes aren’t of any value to you. When choosing a shake make sure it has less than 5 grams of sugar per serving.
Choose a product that comes tastes great.
Nothing is worse than drinking a shake or eating food that doesn’t taste at least pretty good. Maybe I’m a snob, I don’t know.
I do know that I firmly believe life’s too short to drinking chalky protein shakes with an artificially flavored and sweetened aftertaste.
Ultimately you have to try it for yourself to know if you like the flavor but reading articles like this one helps too.
The Best Protein Shake For Weight Loss
Better Whey all natural protein powder is the best shake to drink when you want to lose weight. It meets all of the requirements listed above and then some!
You don’t have to take my word on this. I’ve listed them for you below.
Better Whey Protein Shake Nutrition Facts Per Scoop
- 23 grams of protein from whey.
- Only 3 grams of net carbs.
- Nothing artificial added.
- Gluten free.
- Sweetened with stevia.
- Delicious chocolate flavor.
Better Whey isn’t just a shake that contains great ingredients but tastes so good, that you look forward to drinking it. The product developers got it right here too.
My wife and I have tested every flavor and though we have our favorites (peanut butter & chocolate), every flavor tastes really great! Whatever flavor is on the label reflects the actual flavor when drinking it!
You can use Better Whey to make delicious shakes like chocolate raspberry and peanut butter cup without going off your diet. Check out these recipesCheck out these recipes and give them a try.
What’s The Best Way To Drink Better Whey?
I simply mix mine with water. I use 2 scoops of protein in about 12 ounces of water.
I also like to add MCT Oil to my weight loss shakes. There are many benefits of MCT Oil including helping me stay full even longer and are great for getting or keeping my body in nutritional ketosis. This is when you’re burning stored body fat for energy instead of carbs. I do this to help me stay lean, craving free, and full of energy all day long.
I use 1 tablespoon of MCT oil per shake. My favorite is MCT Edge. You can learn more by reading this review.
Conclusion
Now you know that protein shakes aren’t just for building muscle. They can also help you lose weight and burn off excess fat. You just need to drink the right shakes and keep your carbohydrate and caloric intake with your other meals low.
Follow the guidelines in this article and you’ll quickly see the effectiveness of this plan!
Sources
1. Frestedt JL, Young LR, Bell M. Meal Replacement Beverage Twice a Day in Overweight and Obese Adults. Curr Nutr Food Sci. 2012 Nov;8(4):320-329.
2. König D, Deibert P, Frey I, Landmann U, Berg A. Effect of meal replacement on metabolic risk factors in overweight and obese subjects. Ann Nutr Metab. 2008;52(1):74-8.
3. Mourier A, Bigard AX, de Kerviler E, Roger B, Legrand H, Guezennec CY. Combined effects of caloric restriction and branched-chain amino acid supplementation on body composition and exercise performance in elite wrestlers. Int J Sports Med. 1997 Jan;18(1):47-55.
4. Theim KR, Brown JD, Juarascio AS, Malcolm RR, O’Neil PM. Relations of hedonic hunger and behavioral change to weight loss among adults in a behavioral weight loss program utilizing meal-replacement products. Behav Modif. 2013 Nov;37(6):790-805.
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