I started drinking WHEY after exercising...

I went mountain biking for an hour on Saturday and Sunday. I also played squash today.  In each three exercise sessions, my heart rate monitor watch claims I burned about 1000 calories per session.  I've lost a total of 10 pound in October.  I've read that I not only lost fat but also muscle.  I decided to try drinking whey for muscle repair and to curb my appetite.

According to my food analysis, I only eat less than 100g of protein a day.I still log the consumption of it while calorie counting.

Is drinking whey a good idea for me or is it overkill??

Thanks.

5'6" 203 lbs 35 yo

Depends on your protein needs and how easy you find meeting them through food otherwise is; whey is just one decent-quality protein source with a useful amino acid profile that's slightly more useful than most when you're in need of rapidly-absorbing protein but it's not bleeping magic and unlike what the ads and advertorials in muscle rags will tell you it's not indispensable.

 It's very useful for being a convenience food that's transportable and it's easy to use when you need to supplement your protein from food to reach the desired level, but the key word here is supplement. I like what Tom Venuto says about protein shakes in his book- first thing he does with any client is take away their shakes until they've learned to eat real food and have earned the right to supplement by showing that they can't get everything they need through actual food. You might be there already, since you're only supplementing after particularly strenuous workouts.

I started drinking way BEFORE exercise.

Maybe that's why I kept falling over...........

Whey is an excellent protein to consume after exercise.  It's fast acting and gets to the muscles fast, which is what you want after a workout.  During the day you should look into Casein protein.  It's slow release and stays in your stomach for hours which helps you feel "full" longer.  The best Casein protein available is from Optimum Nutrition  Another good one is Monster Milk (it tastes alot better).  Don't bother with the regular Muscle Milk, that stuff is garbage.

There are many ways to manufacture Casein, Opt Nutrition uses the "good" Casein.

I can't stress enough the importance of Melkor's advise. Too many people read the muscle mags and ads on bodybuilding sites and think that those spokesmen and women use these products as their first choice and nothing could be further from the truth. Whole foods are the alpha to the omega for proper nutrition, but what do you think millions of years of evolution were all about anyway? Learn to eat right and the supplements are just that: supplements.

Chocolate milk is great after a workout if you can handle the calories, and the sugar gives you the insulin spike that so many lifters are looking for and it's cheaper than whey. If you really want pure protein look then skinless chicken breasts are the fruit of the gods and the must-have food for all serious lifters.

^^That's a very good point!^^

Good points above. Also, you don't need much protein after a predominantly aerobic exercise like mountain biking or squash. Immediately following aerobic exercise, you actually need carbs much more than you need protein. As long as you make sure to get a good amount of protein spread throughout the day (i.e. don't get 75% of your protein from chicken for dinner), your muscles will recover just fine.

Ive started drinking whey protien only after I lift just to get rid of the soreness in my muscles.

Original Post by bertocci:

Good points above. Also, you don't need much protein after a predominantly aerobic exercise like mountain biking or squash. Immediately following aerobic exercise, you actually need carbs much more than you need protein. As long as you make sure to get a good amount of protein spread throughout the day (i.e. don't get 75% of your protein from chicken for dinner), your muscles will recover just fine.

Ever since I started my "diet" I've avoided meat and carbs.  I know I have to figure them back in somehow.  I'm just fearing some food at the moment since I don't want to screw up my progress.  Whey has been an easy way to up my protein.

I guess I'm realizing just now it i snot only about counting calories.  You have to count carbs, fat, protein, sodium.....etc

Thanks for the responses.