Yes, Whey!

I walked away from yesterday’s post not satisfied with the info I gave about the benefits of whey protein in a diet. So, here’s a bit more to swallow…

First off, know that I am very skeptical about what works and what should go into our bodies. As a result, I am not a big supplement person. However, one thing I do eat daily is a scoop of whey protein powder (in my shake).

Whey protein is something that packs a killer punch that most people are not eating on a daily basis. Whey protein is like the valedictorian, student body president, star in the school musical, head of the basketball team, the Zac Efron of foods (can you tell who I have a crush on?). Powdered whey protein gives you a great amount of protein for very few calories. Other foods do not have those bragging rights.

There’s a lot of science behind this – but I’ll just tell you the essentials:

• Whey protein is fabulous for building lean muscle.

• Whey protein is fabulous for burning fat.

• Your body is desperately in love with essential amino acids to help it perform its best. Your body, however, cannot make these essential amino acids on its own – you’ve got to put them in your mouth. Whey protein is chalk full of those amino acids! BINGO!

If you want to burn fat and build lean muscle (hello, who doesn’t?), whey protein is your new BFF. I get my favorite kind (EAS Whey Premium Protein) in bulk from Costco and it lasts for several months. You can find good whey protein powder at your local grocery store, even at Wal-mart.

Trainermomma Tips for choosing your whey protein:

1. Make sure that the protein powder you use has a reasonable amount of calories per scoop – under 80 is reasonable. Many proteins suggest 2 scoops, I only do one to keep my calories low.
2. There needs to be enough grams of protein per scoop--around 12-15 grams is good.
3. If it boasts an enormous amount of protein that seems too good to be true, (45 grams of protein per serving, buy me now!) – it is too good to be true. Your body can only digest and use around 25 grams of protein at a time, so the extra just goes down the toilet.
4. Check the sugars, this number should be very low (under 5 grams).
5. Make sure it tastes good. There is no reason why you should have to endure plugging your nose or repressing your gag reflex to get these shakes down. These should taste great!

A sidenote: I have come across many who use Slim-fast shakes as their protein shake. It is OK, but not great. It has a lot of calories (220), not enough protein (10 g), and TONS of sugar (35g). You can do better than this. If you are going to do it, do it right.

Another great source of whey is ricotta cheese. Other cheeses are made from milk, ricotta is made from whey. I do have a few recipes using whey that I will post in the future.

Please don’t interpret my overzealous enthusiasm for whey protein. It is not the miracle food/drug that the world is looking for, it is just part of good, sound nutrition. And no, the whey protein “big wigs” of the world did not pay me to write this. I only tell you what I know works.

Some helpful links about the benefits of whey protein for women:

http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/women-can-get-great-benefits-from-whey-protein-261295.html

http://www.wheyoflife.org/benefits.cfm