Protein in Fitness
If you’re new to fitness or healthy eating, you may not have encountered a lot of information about protein shakes. After all, when starting a healthy routine, the first advice you may hear is to decrease the foods you have been having and not add something to them.
What are protein shakes anyway?
Protein shakes are protein-rich drinks typically consumed before or after a workout. It aids in muscle recovery so it is common among bodybuilders or those that wish to define their muscles. It is composed of frozen fruit/ice, a protein source such as protein powder, and a liquid like water or milk.
What’s all the fuss about, then? What’s so special about fruit shakes with powder in it?
Too much focus is on calories and sugar intake causing people to forget about the protein they consume on a daily basis. Having enough protein in your system plays a key role in creating and maintaining the cells in our bodies so a relatively large amount of it is needed to stay healthy.
According to Nancy Waldeck, chef and dietitian at Thomas F. Chapman Family Cancer Wellness at Piedmont, our bodies do not store protein. They mentioned that it is important for individuals to consume protein every day. Daily protein intake plays a role in keeping one’s cells in good shape and should be part of your daily health maintenance plan.
Our body needs protein to:
- Build
- Repair
- Oxygenate
- Digest
- Regulate
In terms of working out and staying in shape, high protein foods and drinks have their benefits there too.
- Alleviates hunger
- Builds lean muscle
- Reduces the chance of muscle loss
- Speeds up recovery after an exercise or injury
- Helps maintain a healthy weight
It’s a very filling type of drink/meal so, in return, it decreases your urge to eat more often. It helps keep your weight down while helping you build muscle as well.
When it comes to being healthy or just losing the weight you’ve accumulated over the years, exercising isn’t enough. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to us that even if you work out for an hour on a daily basis but never changed your eating habits, it offsets the healthy activity you just did.
There are a lot of factors you must keep in mind but in a nutshell, protein shakes are pretty much should be an essential part of someone that wishes to have a healthier routine.
If you want to read more about how you should watch the foods you have been consuming, Lose a Stone in a Month has articles on reducing the amount of sugar you should take, as well as the different diets celebrities you know have participated in.
Here in Lose a Stone, we aspire to inspire readers on the wide range of activities they can do to help improve their quality of life. From the joys of Zumba to the peace one may find in Pilates, we have it written here and we will continue to update it according to the ever-evolving needs of society.
