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Protein powders - need one that tastes good

Even with the humorous replies I learned a lot from this thread.

I frequently do a chocolate protein shake for breakfast with 1 cup 1% milk, big tablespoon peanut butter, banana, frozen strawberries and a giant tablespoon of ground flax seeds. Works out to about 400 cal and usually I'm good till lunchtime.

Even though I am way too heavy I am trying to eat better and lose some lb's.

My protein powder is whey. I never heard of caesin. That is a cheese derivitave, right? I will have to give it a whirl.
 
Do you really need concentrated protein for breakfast? For sure losing the pop tarts is probably a good move, but are protein shakes really what your body needs? Google it and see how many grams of protein you need each day. The requirements are SLIGHTLY more if you work out a lot. Most people are getting 3-4X the protein they need, so adding protein doesn't help in any way and simply stresses your liver and kidneys. If you're getting a single egg and a modest serving of meat (4-5 ounces) that is enough protein for most people for a day - most of us (including me) get more than that.

The problem with shakes for breakfast is people tend to load them up with sugar (yeah, sugary fruit and "natural" sugar is still sugar). The last thing most of us need is to have our pancreas on overdrive at 8 in the morning. At very least, use sugar alternatives and avoid loading that shake with bananas which are just sugar bombs.

For some people the best breakfast is no breakfast at all -- so you allow your blood sugar to stay low and your body actually burns its own fat for fuel until lunch time.

Or a minimal breakfast of an egg and cheese, or egg and bacon, or egg and a SMALL amount of oatmeal. If weight is a consideration for you, your breakfast at very least should be low in carbohydrates.

Another thing you might consider is just bulletproof coffee. Use your blender to emulsify butter into coffee -- it becomes creamy and delicious, and the butter (as little as a single tablespoon) gets you through the morning.
 
Agree with that. Have an orange instead if you like them. You get a little bit of fiber as a bonus. Eat the fruits, not the juices.

The only healthy way to eat an orange is to put it through the juicer, pour the juice down the drain, and eat what's left.

Oranges (and, for that matter, bananas and grapes) really shouldn't be thought of as fruit. They are closer to candy and soda in terms of the impact they have on your blood sugar and helping you put on weight. If you don't consider soda breakfast food, then don't consider OJ breakfast food. If you don't think pop tarts are good to start your day, well a banana is actually pretty similar in terms of what it does to you.
 
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I frequently do a chocolate protein shake for breakfast with 1 cup 1% milk, big tablespoon peanut butter, banana, frozen strawberries and a giant tablespoon of ground flax seeds. Works out to about 400 cal and usually I'm good till lunchtime.
Even though I am way too heavy ....

I hope I'm not being rude, but this is not a coincidence.

A 400 calorie breakfast, if it's mostly in the form of sugar and carbs, is really bad for an overweight person (I know because I've been there and there is obesity in my family).

If you're trying to get to a healthy weight, last thing you want to do is raise your blood sugar when you wake up. Avoid bananas, peanut butter, sugar in all forms and cereal grains. Remember cereal grains (especially corn meal and soybeans) are what they use to fatten up cattle for slaughter. Well breakfast cereal is basically the same thing as hog feed, and has the same effect. I LOVE breakfast cereal. I love everything from sugar pops to granola. But for me it is as bad as smoking a few cigarettes to start the day.
 
I hope I'm not being rude, but this is not a coincidence.

A 400 calorie breakfast, if it's mostly in the form of sugar and carbs, is really bad for an overweight person (I know because I've been there and there is obesity in my family).

If you're trying to get to a healthy weight, last thing you want to do is raise your blood sugar when you wake up. Avoid bananas, peanut butter, sugar in all forms and cereal grains. Remember cereal grains (especially corn meal and soybeans) are what they use to fatten up cattle for slaughter. Well breakfast cereal is basically the same thing as hog feed, and has the same effect. I LOVE breakfast cereal. I love everything from sugar pops to granola. But for me it is as bad as smoking a few cigarettes to start the day.

I'm not trying to be rude here either, but the only part of your posts that's 100% true is "But for me..."

Different strokes for different folks. I ate plenty of bananas, apples, and oranges to lose >225 pounds along with diet & exercise. In fact, at minimum, I had at least 3 of those fruits per day. I've had cereal most days at breakfast for a long time. My experience might not work for tboyer, Chickenman Testa, or psuro.

Bananas, apples, oranges, and even carbs are not the enemy here. We are our own worst enemies, and it's up to us to find something that works.

Also, to the OP's original question: I am a fan of Quest protein products.
 
avoid loading that shake with bananas which are just sugar bombs.

Though if you absolutely have to have bananas, buy them and eat them still green (they are a resistant starch in this stage of ripeness). You can buy them green, slice them up and freeze them. Then add the frozen banana to your shake. I'm only moderately knowledgeable on this topic, so please do your own research before proceeding. Otherwise, take tboyer's advice.

Most people are getting 3-4X the protein they need, so adding protein doesn't help in any way and simply stresses your liver and kidneys. If you're getting a single egg and a modest serving of meat (4-5 ounces) that is enough protein for most people for a day - most of us (including me) get more than that.

If you are eating a 2,000 calorie per day diet, you should get 400 calories per day (20%) from protein. You get 4 calories per gram of protein. Therefore you should consume 100 grams of protein per day. I don't think you get that much from a single egg and a small slab of meat. That's about 1/3 of what you really need.

The last thing most of us need is to have our pancreas on overdrive at 8 in the morning.

This is 100% accurate. Avoid the toast, bagel, oatmeal, cereal, etc. as well as the giant fruit cup (especially the one from the cup that has lots of syrup with the fruit). All are loaded with carbs. Keep your carb intake below 100 grams per day if you want to lose weight, below 150 to maintain weight.
 
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I'm not trying to be rude here either, but the only part of your posts that's 100% true is "But for me..."

Different strokes for different folks. I ate plenty of bananas, apples, and oranges to lose >225 pounds along with diet & exercise. In fact, at minimum, I had at least 3 of those fruits per day. I've had cereal most days at breakfast for a long time. My experience might not work for tboyer, Chickenman Testa, or psuro.

Bananas, apples, oranges, and even carbs are not the enemy here. We are our own worst enemies, and it's up to us to find something that works.

Also, to the OP's original question: I am a fan of Quest protein products.

I agree completely. Whatever works. If you exercise enough, you can lose weight on pop-tarts and Big Macs.

But for most people, the science has become pretty clear over the last 20 years, blood sugar (really, insulin) is the key to weight control. Eating things that raise your blood sugar makes weight loss more difficult -- not impossible, but more difficult.
 
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It sounds like my diet is very similar to tboyer as practice intermittent fasting (I don't eat anything except for black coffee and water until around 3pm and then eat all my calories in an 8 hour window with little to no carbs during that window until after my workout - sometime around 9pm. Keeps blood sugar and insulin levels low through the majority of the day.

That being said, I doubt anyone has ever checked into fat camp because they overindulged in fruit or oatmeal.
Generally speaking, if you eat natural foods and try to move around as much as you can throughout the day you'll be in better shape than most.
 
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I'm not trying to be rude here either, but the only part of your posts that's 100% true is "But for me..."

Different strokes for different folks. I ate plenty of bananas, apples, and oranges to lose >225 pounds along with diet & exercise. In fact, at minimum, I had at least 3 of those fruits per day. I've had cereal most days at breakfast for a long time. My experience might not work for tboyer, Chickenman Testa, or psuro.

Bananas, apples, oranges, and even carbs are not the enemy here. We are our own worst enemies, and it's up to us to find something that works.

Also, to the OP's original question: I am a fan of Quest protein products.

Hey, if it worked for you, fantastic. But tboyer's advice has a ton of modern scientific evidence to support it. I lost 70 pounds (230 to 160) in about 8 months by eliminating unnecessary carbs from my diet. I still eat a peach or two. And I'm a fan of berries. But I avoid bananas and oranges except on very rare occasions. Too many carbs all in one meal makes me all shaky and hungry within a couple of hours. Eating quality fats satiates me for a loooooong time though.

But your comment "it's up to us to find something that works" is true enough. Good luck to anyone trying to get healthy or maintain their health.
 
If you are eating a 2,000 calorie per day diet, you should get 400 calories per day (20%) from protein. You get 4 calories per gram of protein. Therefore you should consume 100 grams of protein per day. I don't think you get that much from a single egg and a small slab of meat. That's about 1/3 of what you really need.

The DRI (government guideline) says 56 grams is right for the average sedentary man. an 8 ounce steak is about 80 grams. I think you're right, an active person who exercises, 100 grams is a good number so steak, a couple of eggs still allows for some protein from milk or another serving of meat (or a supplement). I think protein powders are something to be a little wary of because people in their enthusiasm can be getting to 300-400 grams a day which is not very good for you.

. Avoid the toast, bagel, oatmeal, cereal, etc. as well as the giant fruit cup (especially the one from the cup that has lots of syrup with the fruit). All are loaded with carbs. Keep your carb intake below 100 grams per day if you want to lose weight, below 150 to maintain weight.

+1, 100 grams is a good rule of thumb. Atkins starts out at 20 grams for the first couple of weeks, then gradually increases as you try to determine what the individual person's tolerance for carbs is. Some people can handle 150-200 grams, some people will gain weight over 50 grams.

If a person is insulin resistant (as most overweight people are) it can be hard to lose weight at 100 grams unfortunately.

Another point that's worth noting is that timing of eating matters a LOT. Eating those 100 grams of protein at one sitting is far better than eating little bites all day, because the more time your pancreas spends cranking out insulin, the more time your blood sugar is elevated -- that is time it is impossible for you to lose weight. You only get into fat burning mode when blood sugar and insulin are low.
 
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Hey, if it worked for you, fantastic. But tboyer's advice has a ton of modern scientific evidence to support it. I lost 70 pounds (230 to 160) in about 8 months by eliminating unnecessary carbs from my diet. I still eat a peach or two. And I'm a fan of berries. But I avoid bananas and oranges except on very rare occasions. Too many carbs all in one meal makes me all shaky and hungry within a couple of hours. Eating quality fats satiates me for a loooooong time though.

But your comment "it's up to us to find something that works" is true enough. Good luck to anyone trying to get healthy or maintain their health.

I did what I did in 11 months by cutting out processed foods (such as Pop Tarts). The point is....eat fruits in moderation. If you're eating 3 apples for dessert, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going to happen. At the end of the day, to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. What you eat may make things harder or easier, but all-out things like the plague is also a setup for failure in a lot of cases.
 
I agree completely. Whatever works. If you exercise enough, you can lose weight on pop-tarts and Big Macs.

But for most people, the science has become pretty clear over the last 20 years, blood sugar (really, insulin) is the key to weight control. Eating things that raise your blood sugar makes weight loss more difficult -- not impossible, but more difficult.

This is why I’m using an all natural whey proteIn (unadulterated and nothing added to it). I like to add it to oatmeal but am wondering if the oats are too may carbs too early. I work out a lot - I’m sure much more than the average person - and I’m generally pretty hungry by lunch no matter what I’ve had in the morning. Curious if you had any thoughts?
 
Even with the humorous replies I learned a lot from this thread.

I frequently do a chocolate protein shake for breakfast with 1 cup 1% milk, big tablespoon peanut butter, banana, frozen strawberries and a giant tablespoon of ground flax seeds. Works out to about 400 cal and usually I'm good till lunchtime.

Even though I am way too heavy I am trying to eat better and lose some lb's.

My protein powder is whey. I never heard of caesin. That is a cheese derivitave, right? I will have to give it a whirl.
Casein protein is a slower-metabolizing protein that typically lifters take before bed.
 
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Absolutely. Insulin is what makes you hungry again soon after consuming a carb loaded meal or snack.

Yes. Why a lot of people, to their surprise, discover that if they skip breakfast, they don't actually get hungry.

I used to start my day with a bowl of cereal, milk and a big glass of orange juice -- which just about everybody thought was healthy in the 1980s. And I'd be ravenous an hour later. Blood sugar spiked, crashed and then I'd be at the vending machine for a candy bar. In hindsight it all makes so much sense. Carbs really are like an addictive substance, the more you eat, the more you want.
 
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This is why I’m using an all natural whey proteIn (unadulterated and nothing added to it). I like to add it to oatmeal but am wondering if the oats are too may carbs too early. I work out a lot - I’m sure much more than the average person - and I’m generally pretty hungry by lunch no matter what I’ve had in the morning. Curious if you had any thoughts?

Why not experiment? Try different kinds of breakfasts and see what has you feeling the best through the morning and at lunchtime. Dial up and down the grams of carbohydrates -- you will probably find that if you eat a lot of carbs, you'll be hungry sooner. If you eat less carbs (and more protein and fat), your blood sugar stays down so you don't get hungry later.

Give the experiments a few days to settle in, don't make up your mind on a single day's experience.
Some people do fine eating cereal and fruit for breakfast and don't gain weight. Some people do well with no breakfast, or just coffee, or bulletproof coffee (coffee with butter whipped in).

I really love oatmeal but I think of it as a treat. It's not a good everyday food for me. If you eat oatmeal it is probably better to splurge and get real steel cut oatmeal. Much more flavor and I think the fiber-to-carbohydrate ratio is better, but still, oatmeal in any form is a lot of carbs so most people should watch the portions.

A little bit of oatmeal combined with some protein shouldn't spike your blood sugar too much as long as you're not having any sugar with it. The problem with oatmeal is that people add brown sugar or maple or honey.

I have learned to love steel-cut oatmeal with salt, pepper a little olive oil or butter and just a drizzle of milk. It lets the oat flavor stand out -- one of my favorite foods in the world.
 
At the end of the day, to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.

While this is true, counting calories only is a recipe for diet disaster. Counting macronutrients is a much better way to stick to your calorie count and not be starving all the time.

As tboyer mentioned above, insulin is a big player in weight gain / loss. Consuming a 1,500 calorie diet made up of 250 grams of carbs (1,000 calories) will make you constantly hungry and miserable. To stay satiated, happy, alert, energetic, etc. you need to reduce carb intake and increase quality fat intake.
 
I have learned to love steel-cut oatmeal with salt, pepper a little olive oil or butter and just a drizzle of milk. It lets the oat flavor stand out -- one of my favorite foods in the world.

Replace the milk with heavy cream. No carbs and more good fat.
 
While this is true, counting calories only is a recipe for diet disaster. Counting macronutrients is a much better way to stick to your calorie count and not be starving all the time.

As tboyer mentioned above, insulin is a big player in weight gain / loss. Consuming a 1,500 calorie diet made up of 250 grams of carbs (1,000 calories) will make you constantly hungry and miserable. To stay satiated, happy, alert, energetic, etc. you need to reduce carb intake and increase quality fat intake.

Absolutely. There's a balance with everything though, and common sense comes into play somewhere. Of course if you eat 1500cal/day in donuts you'll be miserable as all hell. That all said, for some people (and I've seen this firsthand), counting becomes an unhealthy obsession.

Really, the best thing one can do is educate themselves about nutrients and how our bodies use them. The key there is getting information from reputable sources and not from crackpot blogs written by John/Jane Q. Public.
 
Why not experiment? Try different kinds of breakfasts and see what has you feeling the best through the morning and at lunchtime. Dial up and down the grams of carbohydrates -- you will probably find that if you eat a lot of carbs, you'll be hungry sooner. If you eat less carbs (and more protein and fat), your blood sugar stays down so you don't get hungry later.

Give the experiments a few days to settle in, don't make up your mind on a single day's experience.
Some people do fine eating cereal and fruit for breakfast and don't gain weight. Some people do well with no breakfast, or just coffee, or bulletproof coffee (coffee with butter whipped in).

I really love oatmeal but I think of it as a treat. It's not a good everyday food for me. If you eat oatmeal it is probably better to splurge and get real steel cut oatmeal. Much more flavor and I think the fiber-to-carbohydrate ratio is better, but still, oatmeal in any form is a lot of carbs so most people should watch the portions.

A little bit of oatmeal combined with some protein shouldn't spike your blood sugar too much as long as you're not having any sugar with it. The problem with oatmeal is that people add brown sugar or maple or honey.

I have learned to love steel-cut oatmeal with salt, pepper a little olive oil or butter and just a drizzle of milk. It lets the oat flavor stand out -- one of my favorite foods in the world.

I’ll have to experiment. I think at present I may be getting too many carbs. I used to do an egg or two for breakfast with a banana...but now bananas are “sugar bombs”. Oh sugar. I often wonder how people in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, and Asia manage to eat lots of carbs (pasta, rice) and fruit and yet they don’t seem to struggle like we do with heart disease and obesity. Well, I think heart disease is an issue in the Philippines, but that’s probably an “outlier”. And eggs, can I eat one or two a day or will that make my LDL cholesterol go up? Studies say yes, eggs are okay. Then they say no, then yes, then well...maybe one a day is okay. LOL!
 
Hey there, buddy! I get the struggle of finding a protein powder that actually tastes good! 😅 But fear not, I've got a game-changer for you – coconut milk powder! 🥥🥛 It adds a creamy and tropical twist to your shakes, making them way more enjoyable! Mix it with your favorite protein powder, some frozen fruits, and a splash of almond milk for a heavenly treat! 🍹
 
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