Protein drinks

I heard something about protein bullets at the last support group meeting and I was wondering if someone could tell me more about them? I ride a bike about 10 miles a day and by the end of the ride I feel really run down. I am eating about 1500 cal a day and I am not overly hungry but I know that I am burning more calories then I am taking in calories.

 

Not knowing where you are on surgery post-op etc.etc., if you are riding 10 mi a day, I would say you should be taking around 200 gmns of protein a day to feel descent.  Remember we do not have the capacity to absorb all we take in so you're not getting 200 gms if you take it in.  You are probably only really getting benefit from about 100 to 130 gms absorbed of those 200 ingested.  B-12, iron, and potassium could be players in helping you feel better also.  Try a banana after a workout.  If bananas and you don't get along real well or you don't want the fat gms, try a small biottle of the over the counter supplement. These all helped me feel much more energized before and after my daily/weekly jogging workouts.

Hello Phatzcat, I see that you are hoping to have surgery...it is great that you are getting out there and riding ten miles a day....better than I manage to do. Anyway, since you are only eating 1500 calories a day it is going to be important that you time your carbohydrate intake properly. I know that you asked about protein bullets but protein is going to do very little for you in regards to supporting your energy needs during and/or directly after exercise. Prortein is not the answer for everything and importance of carbohydrate often gets overlooked.   Now, I am not saying to go over 1500 calories a day but the times you ingest your carbohydrate made need to change a bit. Get some nice complex carbs 30-60 minutes prior to your ride, being careful to not consume anything that is going to upset your stomach, and take some gels or gatordade with you during the ride. Your body does not readily utilize protien for energy and protein by itself is not going to do much for stabilizing blood sugar. DO NOT FEAR....this is not going to decrease weight loss. In fact, timing your nutrients properly will help replenish glycogen during and after exercise, better preparing you fro exercise the following day. Let me know if you have any questions.

There have been some studies where one group ingested something with 3:1 carbs to protein after exercising and another group ate only carbs. Some studies used a 4:1 ratio. In both studies, the group that had the protein/carb combination had better recovery than the group that used only carbs.

I think this has lead some people to think "I need to eat a lot of protein after I exercise" but 3:1 and 4:1 is not a lot protein. It's just a little bit. A protein bullet is all protein and no carbs so it's not the sort of thing you want to be using as a recovery snack.

Chocolate milk is supposed to be a good recovery drink. I'm lactose intolerant so I generally have a sports drink with protein in it or a PB & J sandwich or some cheese sticks instead.