New member with a few questions

[Fulano]

this may be a tough question to answer as well since it varies by person to person but in general how much does your food budget go up when your on gear?

Dunno. I don't pay that much attention to my grocery budget. I just buy whatever food I plan to eat and figure it costs whatever it costs.

From what I've read I need to keep the shakes to a minimum and not rely on my protein/cal intake to be mainly liquid. Whole foods is where it's at. Would 4 shakes a day be too much?

That's what I do. Mostly real food, plus 3-4 shakes a day.

But I'm no pro, so you probably want more opinions on this.

 

[Get Some]

Shakes are "supplements" to your diet and should not be the main source of our protein. Use the shakes wisely as a source of protein when you do not have time for anything else. Whey protein can be very damaging to the kidneys when consumed regularly in heavy doses. Eat most of your protein and get the shakes when it's convenient, that is my advice.

 

[Fulano]

There ya go. Well-informed advice.

By the way, the shakes I drink aren't just whey protein. I drink mass-gainer shakes that are supposedly sources of carbs and other nutrients as well as protein. Honestly, I don't know how good they are. No matter what, I always try to get most of my calories from clean real food.

 

[someanddone]

Just to give everyone an idea of my journey and experimentation with protein shakes, gainer shakes, and whole food protein, here's my experience.

As a teenager and in my early twenties, I'd have half my calories daily from gainer shakes. Constantly had wicked liquid shits and very slowly put on some muscle and some fat.

In my early to mid twenties, I would have a whey protein shake in between each of my 4-5 meals per day. Again, had bubble-gut, protein-farts (smelliest ever), and slowly gained muscle and fat.

About 6 months before my first cycle, I started drinking whey shakes only on workout days to bracket my workout (and only 25-30 grams per shake, 1 an hour preworkout and 1 an hour post workout) and casein every night in the amount of 30 grams. So on non-workout days, all I had would be one 30g casein protein shake immediately before bed. I replaced the shakes I was having with whole food, and the shits went away, the bubble-gut went away, and the mass started to pile on. I probably gained 10 very solid pounds in 5 months while losing some bodyfat, just by cutting out the excessive shakes and working on my diet. Then I cycled, and changed nothing except for adding BCAAs and waxy-maize starch.

I think that gainers make you full and in the long run you eat less and can't absorb the massive amount of protein that is in the average gainer shake.

I think whey protein is awesome for bracketing a workout, or if absolutely necessary, when you have no time to eat real food and don't want to slip into a catabolic state.

I think casein protein is perfect for pre-bed, and also mixed with your post-workout whey protein.

I think whole food is the most anabolic thing in the world.

 

[SleepyG]

This is a great thread for new members. There is a heaping wealth of info for people new to this. Thanks to everyone for their input and also their support. I was pretty lucky to stumble onto this thread my first time here.