Hello friend! Today's post is all about protein, specifically whey protein, which contrary to marketing images used to sell it is NOT some rocket-boosting-jack-you-up sorcery that will burn all the fat away and increase your metabolism STAT. Whey protein is exactly what it says it is.....whey isolated from cow's milk.
Hold the phone-are you saying whey doesn't give me super powers to magically burn more fat at rest and/or grow muscles without putting in the hard work? Yep. I said it. Here's the dealio: protein is an essential part of our diet. We need protein. Muscles are MADE of protein. Consuming adequate protein is an important part of building muscle. When you work out hard, you want to make sure your diet is conducive to muscle growth and not muscle wasting.
Growing muscles is not an essential function to keep you alive. Keeping your heart and brain and kidneys and liver and lungs and intestines working well IS essential. Therefore, if your diet stinks and you are malnourished (can still be overweight and malnourished BTW), your body won't spend time and energy growing muscles when it needs to work a little harder to keep everything else okay in that kind of stressed biological situation.
Okay so what about the whey? Protein is found in lots of different foods. Meats, seeds, eggs, greek yogurt, and nuts are great sources of protein. Sometimes, it's not convenient or desirable to eat a chicken breast at 10 a.m. to get your protein in. However, a protein shake at 10 a.m. IS more exciting. Whey protein is exactly what it says it is. Whey isolated from milk. That's it. TA-DA!
Unfortunately, when a potential for money making is in the works, marketing gets hold of this and before you know it there's whey protein all over everything slapped with images of bodybuilders and fitness models that lead you to believe that you NEED this in order to get FIT. Nope. Whey protein is simply a super convenient way to consume protein. You can combine it with fruit, greens, almond milk, or oats (the utility is endless) I am a HUGE fan of whey protein and the convenience it allows of being able to consume protein in fun ways, but I am NOT a fan of the marketing tactics that I've seen used to sell whey protein. As a consumer, you should question as much as you'd like when it comes to buying health and fitness related products. The good guys will not only answer your questions, but steer you in the appropriate direction based on YOUR health and fitness needs, not their commission. You got this! Now, go have fun finding ways to get your protein in...I know you can't WHEY-T.
LOL.
-LA