While the Covid-19 global pandemic has robbed us of many experiences over the past year, we’re all for the surging trend of fitness and health-consciousness worldwide, with more and more guys picking up weights and cleaning up their diets. In fact, given that celebrities are also taking the chance to show off their muscle gains and transformations on social media like Luke Evans’ shirtless selfies, this has only kindred the flames and given many fresh-faced newbies the motivation to push forward.
However, one gripe we have among the many sins both veterans and newbies alike are committing is their overdependence on protein shakes. They treat these drinks as the single most essential part of their diet to reveal their gains. Sadly, though, this misconception is far from the truth, and today we’ll be debunking why you might not actually need that protein shake in the first place and are better off sticking to your lean meats, fruits, and vegetables.
Protein Shakes Act As Dietary Supplements
Firstly, we want to start off by saying that protein shakes are nothing more than dietary supplements, meaning that these drinks you spend thirty minutes preparing down to the last ounce of milk should act as nothing more than to enhance or complete your overall diet. Your baseline nutritional requirements coming from breakfast, lunch, and dinner (or intermittent fasting if that’s your thing) should be more than enough and must cover all your macros.
- Your Current Diet Is Doing Most Of The Work: Whether it’s having steak with a salad on the side or a well-seasoned chicken breast partnered with some potatoes and broccoli, these meal plans are doing most of the heavy lifting in terms of diet. As a result, all that protein coming from your shake does nothing more than adding a couple of grams to maximize your diet, with the rest just acting as excess.
- Excessive Protein Intake Is Bad: On a less-pleasant note, all that excess protein intake will come to bite you in the back in the most annoying ways possible. From constipation to diarrhea, if your stomach isn’t quite as iron-willed as others, then prepare for some troubles later down the road. In other cases, excess protein is also stored as fat and leads to unexpected weight gain.
You Don’t Count As An Extreme Athlete.
Secondly, most guys out there don’t count as extreme athletes. While many of us like to place ourselves in the mindset of people like Strongman Bobby Thompson when we do our deadlifts, most of us don’t engage in workouts professionally. As a result, we will have our off-days and other times cheating our supposedly strict schedules, which means all that extra protein intake could be going to waste.
- Match The Intensity And Volume Of Workouts: Maxing out and beating our PBs are all common and regular occurrences in the field of working out and remaining faithful to the church of iron. Still, if we’re completely honest, our session’s intensity and volume are a far cry from what professionals can do. In fact, it’s fairly common to see extreme athletes training twice a day, once in the morning and another during the late afternoon, to put in as much work as possible.
- Crunching Macros To The Last Detail: We’ve all tried counting our calories and macros at least once, and while there are numerous people out there capable of sticking to the grind sustainably, a lot of us prefer going with a plate by plate basis. However, in terms of professional athletes, crunching macros down to the last detail is an unavoidable responsibility, making protein shakes a necessity rather than supplementary.
Invest In Other Areas Of Health & Well-Being
Lastly, there’s a ton more you could do with that extra budget for protein powder if you invest in other areas of health and well-being, all of which will accumulate to your holistic growth and development. There’s a lot more to fitness than just lifting weights and eating good food, and that’s why we strongly recommend that you look into other areas of your life that can be improved upon.
- Regular Check-Ups: It doesn’t hurt to have reassurance, and that’s why we are devout believers in receiving regular check-ups to ensure that the body is in great shape. For example, a trip to a physical therapist can have a look at all your joints and bones, and a visit to the chiropractor can help relax any overworked muscles. Self-check-ups also count, and we suggest you get colon cancer test kits and other illnesses that you could link to bad diets.
Of Course, There’s Nothing Wrong With A Protein Shake Now And Then
Nevertheless, while protein shakes aren’t a necessity for most guys, it’s not inherently bad to have a shake now and then if you’ve been lackluster with your food choices for the day. Just try not to depend too much on your protein powder because there’s a lot more your body can do with actual food.
