Many athletes will tell you: protein is essential for progress. Whether you want to excel in a sport, improve your recovery or build muscle for bodybuilding, consuming protein supplements will help you achieve your goal.
Knowing why you should consume whey is one thing, but you also need to know how to incorporate it into your diet. In fact, there are many different ways to consume whey protein or gainer. It's important to know the rules for effective supplementation.
Adopt the right attitude before starting supplementation
Unfortunately, many athletes don't have the right attitude to sports nutrition. For them, taking whey or other proteins takes precedence over training. They see a protein powder as a drug, a miracle solution for improving performance and boosting muscle growth.
Quite often, we typically come across people who ingest several shakers a day, with no regard for their basic diet. (If this is your case, this article will interest you: how many whey shakers to take a day 😉)
First and foremost, whey, BCAA and casein consumption should not be restrictive. Just like a balanced diet, you need to adapt your intake to your routine and taste, so that you get pleasure from it. Like all dietary supplements, whey doesn't just provide you with proteins, amino acids and nutrients: it also has to make you feel good, otherwise you're likely to stop supplementing sooner or later.
There are many ways to consume whey, depending on your individual goals. A person looking to gain mass quickly won't consume as much whey as a fitness enthusiast looking to maintain muscle mass or optimize lean muscle.
In fact, whey and protein powders offer many possibilities: by adopting the right dosage, you can slim down, effectively tone every muscle in your body, or even supplement your daily protein intake as part of a low-protein diet (people eating little or no meat, for example).
In any case, it's worth bearing in mind that muscles only get stronger once they've been put to use during exercise, so training will be at the heart of the results.
Finally, note that taking whey in itself is not doping, but choosing the wrong product manufactured under the wrong conditions can lead you to ingest doping substances in spite of yourself. So choose your favourite whey brand with care!
How do I take whey?
If you do a little research on the internet, you're likely to come across articles advising you to take whey immediately after exercise. However, this practice is no longer unanimously accepted by sports nutrition specialists.
For some years now, some of them have been saying that waiting a few hours after training might not be such a bad idea after all. The famous "metabolic window" may not be so short after all. However, the post-workout period seems to be the most suitable and consistent with taking this kind of supplement, corresponding to a period of calming down and rehydration. We're not talking about rest days here, but it's all there: should you take whey on non-workout days?
This confirms that everyone can incorporate whey into their diet in the most convenient way. Whenever possible, however, wait until you're resting to ensure optimal digestion.
In the case of a single daily intake, it may even be advisable to consume these protein supplements before bedtime. Whey does not prevent sleep, and may even have a beneficial effect on sleep, thanks to certain amino acids such as tryptophan and glutamine, precursors of serotonin and GABA respectively.
Athletes usually mix whey with water. However, there's nothing to stop you mixing it with vegetable, cow's or goat's milk. This alternative will be more popular with those who allow themselves a moment of sweetness from time to time.
Indeed, whey mixed with milk reveals a more gourmet flavor, all the more so if you've opted for a natural cocoa or vanilla taste. When this product is mixed with water, it's more thirst-quenching, making it perfect for midsummer, or if you don't have milk on hand. To find out more, take a look at our article on how to take whey and our dietary programs for mass gain.
How to dose whey?
As a general rule, 20-25 g of protein is the optimal amount to optimize post-workout muscle recovery. For those looking specifically for mass gain, the calculation is a little more complex.
You need to consider your daily protein intake without supplementing with whey, BCAA or any other protein. In other words, the protein intake in your basic diet. Ideally, over a period of several days, you weigh the foods and dishes you eat to estimate the average daily protein intake. This figure can then be subtracted from your protein requirements, as part of your training and fitness sessions.
Let's imagine, for example, that a person weighing 60 kg consumes an average of 70 g of protein per day, without food supplements. For mass gain, he needs to reach 1.6 to 2 g of protein per kg per day. In principle, taking into account his weight, his body should therefore absorb 96 to 120 g. In this case, 26 to 50 g of protein per day should be supplied by whey, casein or other products. But if you have too much protein, will you gain or lose weight? We answer this question in our article "Does whey make you put on weight?
The measuring spoons supplied with whey allow you to take the quantity of product corresponding to 1 dose (between 20 and 25 g of protein). To absorb 50 g of protein as a supplement, you'll need to take around 2 doses, i.e. 2 shakers. Please note that we do not recommend taking two doses simultaneously.
Indeed, a dose of more than 25/30 g will be less well assimilated than two doses spread out over the day. In this case, it would be interesting to integrate these two shakers into this person's habits, with one shaker as a snack and a second, in the evening, as a dessert, for example. All these calculations are based on body weight, so you also need to monitor your weight throughout your training program to adapt. We'll cover these aspects here if you need us to: when to take your whey shaker?
Good to know: protein, carbohydrate and fat content vary from one product to another. Focus on the protein content per dose rather than per 100 g of product. The wheys with the highest protein levels per 100 g are often those containing the most additives. In fact, chemical additives (sweeteners, synthetic flavourings, lecithin...) take up much less space than their natural equivalents, and therefore make it possible to obtain very high levels.
A few tips for better sports nutrition
Whey protein is filtered, lactose-free and dehydrated whey. It is therefore easily assimilated by the body and enables muscles to receive valuable protein quickly. Under normal circumstances, with quality products, whey is very well digested. However, to prevent any discomfort, we still advise you to drink plenty of water. Water improves your metabolism and facilitates the absorption of amino acids for effective muscle recovery and mass gain.
If you need to consume more than 30 g of protein as a supplement, plan to take several servings throughout the day. You should therefore prepare at least 2 protein shakers. This recommendation is all the more valid if you have chosen whey or highly bioavailable BCAAs. The body can only absorb a certain amount of protein over a certain period of time. There's no point in "gorging" yourself on protein, as the surplus amino acids will be oxidized and/or converted into fat.
We must stress, however, that protein powder is no substitute for a balanced diet. Consumption of even top-quality whey is not an alternative to a balanced diet.
That's why you need to take a close look at your eating habits first. We encourage you to consult a nutritionist or specialized health professional, who can teach you the basics of sports nutrition. To help you, we offer you an article on choosing whey when you're just starting out.
To find out more :
- What whey protein should I take after running?
- What protein powder should you take if you're a top-level athlete?
- Whey protein: before or after sport?
- Should I drink whey before going to bed?
- Which protein to take to boost muscle recovery?
- Is whey a dietary supplement?
- What type of whey brand should I choose?
