whey protein shakes.. good or bad? HELP

Hello everyone! I have a question about whey protein. my friend really recommended it to me, as a substitute for breakfast because I never have time to actually eat anything more than a kiwi.. so I bought it today, chocolate flavored : ) yummy. I have not tried it yet but she says it's delicious. I'm really scared it might make me gain weight, but I am gonna keep an eye on my weight and see how it goes. so my question is actually.. it says to mix one scoop with 8 ounces of water.. how much exactly is one scoop?? like how many tbs.. or ounces? because I  feel like a scoop could be many things... and also if anyone else has any experience with whey protein shakes .. i would love to hear more about it.. if it has worked for people and such. I don't exercise much. I have a job where I'm up on my feet for about 7 hours a day and I try to walk at least 30 mins a day, but I've stopped going to the gym. I most definitely don't want to bulk up and the guy at GNC told me this product would NOT make me bulk up or gain weight. But again I feel like I trust you guys more than him, so if you have had any experience or use whey protein, could you tell me how it went for you, and how much you used and all that. I want to have it for breakfast tomorrow.. but I wanna hear more about it from you guys first.  All comments appreciated, thanks y'all.

firstly - 99% of them all have a scoop inside the tub. It may be just deeper inside. so have a dig and I bet you'll find one.

The good thing about whey powder is it will have MEGA data on the side about what its got in it - so you can add it as a food here and put ALL the information in about it and get exact calories etc.

I have the same problem with eating breakfast and also keeping my fibre up, so i mix my protien pwdr, all-bran and a banana and whizz it up with a stick blender then drink that. its easy to drink and also so nutritious. I mix it with milk, or soy milk or even water depending on the day.

I chose a powder which had very high protien but very low carbs, as i am a carb addict and usually make it through the day with WAYYYY more carbs than protien, and if i want extra carbs i just add a banana or berries or something like that.

Its NOT going to make you bulk up just becuase you are taking powder. Women don't "bulk up" easily.. we have like 1/40th of the testosterone of a guy, so you'll be safe unless you're out there pushing weights that would make most guys cringe and you're eating over 2g of protien for ever kgs you weigh... Its just not going to happen.  All you're doing by taking protien powder is making sure you get the right level of nutrition in a convienient form. Sure you could cook everything from scratch 6 times a day.. but really who has the time for that.


Good luck.

rae thanks so much for your very informative response. : ) .. i did find a scoop all the way at the bottom of the container lol, silly me.

I LOVE MINE! i use the strawberry and sometimes the chocolate. i usually fill my Nalgene bottle up with milk and put a scoop in- then shake away. all the liquid fills me up and then there is the protien with it! ive been using it and it is great- doesn't make me gain. it is protien just like a steak, do you gain from eating steak? no. so i wouldn't worry... hope this helps!

I'd also like to point out that even if you're a guy taking whey protein isn't going to magically bulk you up. You have to lift big and eat big. Protein supplements are just supplements.

I think a lot of people here have a warped idea of how difficult it is to build muscle. It takes focused effort. You aren't going to do it by accident.