Protein Shake Diet Is An Energy Drainer

by Brad S.
(Pittsburgh, PA, US)

I used to be big into weightlifting and exercise. A couple years ago, in an effort to lose weight, I decided to go on a protein shake diet.

I would eat as many protein shakes as I wanted, and only eat enough carbohydrates to get me through the day. My carbohydrates mostly consisted of a few cups of brown rice.

The protein that I had at the time was Whey Protein and it was unflavored.

It was awful to get down, but I got used to it. Eventually I got so used to it that I was able to mix it with just water, instead of milk.

I would drink about 6 to 8 cups of protein drinks a day, spaced apart about every three hours. Before and after my trips to the gym, I would mix in some brown rice to give me energy.

While I was at the gym, I noticed that I didn’t have the usual energy and intensity required for a workout. I took much longer between sets to rest than usual.

Sometimes, I would make silly mistakes, such as having more weight on one side of the bar than one the other side.

I also noticed that I was not really losing any weight or fat on myself.

After a couple days, I stopped this diet.

I went back to eating lots of chicken, brown rice, fruits and vegetables. I supplemented with the protein shakes here and there.

In order to lose weight, I did cardio on an elliptical. This turned out much better as I had a lot more energy, and the fat just flew off of my body.

Brad

Note from Dr. Dan

Brad,

You found out one of the basic truths of dieting and weight loss the hard way. And that is that there is no way to improve on good, plain healthy food.

Protein drinks are fine as a supplement. They are a quick and easy way to get some extra protein. Having a protein drink might keep you from eating some junk food when you're hungry and in a hurry.

But use them in addition to your good diet, and not in place of it.

Dr. Dan