Protein Powder Questions

[JnS Mama]

Hi!

I'm new here, so quick intro: I'm Ami, 27yrs old, female living in the currently rainy Bay Area, CA.

I am starting out on the weight lifting program outlined in 'New Rules for Weight lifting for women." Right now I am very overweight and weak. I need to lose around 70lbs, so pretty overweight. I'm starting slow (not neccesarily doing all the sets in the book just yet, some modifications if needed) but I WILL do this. No more fat, weak body. Eventually I would like to be strong and fit.

Now, I want to lean out and know I can't build muscle WHILE losing fat. This is fine. I want to preserve as much muscle mass as possible. If I need protein shakes to do this, than so be it. I just don't want to lose lots of muscle with the fat. Any extra tips on doing this would be lovely too.

In the book, they talk about needing a protein heavy diet to preserve muscle mass. I generally need a higher protein diet to feel good, but probably even more when working out. In the book, they also talk about needing a protein shake right after the workout to supply much needed protein. However, they only talk about whey protein. I can't do dairy, not even whey. It will literally run through me, causing more nutritional issues than it would be solving.

So, what is a good non-dairy equivalent? I know whey is a very bio-available protein, which is good. What is a good, non-dairy based bio-available protein powder? Any good sources? I'd like to stay away from soy, since I'm pretty sensitive to the estrogens in it (I 'lost' my period while regularly drinking soymilk once--not fun!).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I dream of getting back into the shape I was in before babies, when I could do basic gymnastics and run without feeling like dying.

Ami

[LisaS]

You can always just eat some food. There's nothing magic about the shake except that for the calories you can get an abundance of protein without anything else.
Have a couple of eggs - hard-boiled if you need them to be portable. Have some chicken or turkey or a can of tuna. Or rearrange your calories to have a sandwich.

If you want powder and neither whey nor soy you can look for egg, hemp, rice or pea protein powders. I'd say casein too, but you it is rare to find casein outside of a whey-casein blend.

[Fulmen]

Sun Warrior is a vegan protein powder.

http://www.sunwarrior.com/

I'm disgusted at the thought of drinking that. whey ftw brah

[Simon C]

yeah food wins! I'm not taking any supplements at all now.

[JnS Mama]

Good to know I can just eat food. It's just pushed so hard in the book, like I'd never be able to eat THAT much protein during the day, especially when restricting calories.

Yea, Fulmen, that drink looks gross.

Has anyone had tried any of those egg-protein powders? I think I even saw some beef protein powders on Trueprotein (sp??). Barely any reviews though. I'd hate to get something that tastes disgusting.

Ami

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by JnS Mama

Good to know I can just eat food. It's just pushed so hard in the book, like I'd never be able to eat THAT much protein during the day, especially when restricting calories.

Yea, Fulmen, that drink looks gross.

Has anyone had tried any of those egg-protein powders? I think I even saw some beef protein powders on Trueprotein (sp??). Barely any reviews though. I'd hate to get something that tastes disgusting.

Ami

Egg protein is pretty nasty i've heard. Beef protein powders i've never tasted, but they're marketed as being a big deal but in reality, they are probably one of the cheapest proteins to produce.

I'm not a big expert on veggie proteins. I've tried gemma before and thought it was gross, but a friend who can't have gluten tried it and loved it.

Maybe check out egg white protein, OR just try to get your protein from whole foods. Hope this helps.

[LisaS]

I've heard that the Jay Rob Egg protein is pretty good but have never had it.

[Ogedei]

I had tried a vegan powder as a sample in a store a few weeks back, it was pretty good. However I didn't really pay to much attention to it.

So not Mr. helpful. I was looking for it online though but found something different.

Hemp. I have hemp hearts in my fridge, a serving is 2 tbsp, 160cal I think and 11grams protein. Might be worth looking into in the form of a powder.

My quick looks seems to indicate it has all the amino acids and as well has some good omega 3s in it as well.

[Ogedei]

I believe this is the stuff I tried in the store.

http://sequelnaturals.com/vega