Quick Question!

[Stephen Hatchfield]

Hello,

I am a new member. I couldn't find an answer to this on the forums anywhere and hopefully this is the right place to post this. My own personal research has resulted in conflicting answers so here goes:

Does Whey Protein Shakes and/or Creatine impede weight loss?

I'm a 29 year old man trying to get back in shape. I'm currently 5'10 and about 215lbs which puts me in the obese category. Not too long ago I was an athlete/weightlifter/endurance runner, but a new sedentary job, poor eating habits, and lack of time for exercise has created the perfect breeding ground for weight gain.

Anyway to achieve my weight loss goals I've set aside time every morning to work out and have begun a new plant-based dietary change.

In the past I've used creatine to boost my performance in weightlifting and Whey protein shakes after workouts for recovery. Now that I am no longer the athlete I used to be, I'm wondering if these supplements will do more harm than good. Some seem to think Whey protein will make me fat as I'm not necessarily trying to add mass while others say that the protein shakes will help curb hunger as well as increase fat loss. I've got a ton of this stuff! Do I use it or lose it?? Any insight is greatly appreciated!

 

[CrazyOldMan]

I do cover the high protein in mythbusting the fitness files because it is such a massively mis-sold joke.

There has to be a bit of a red flag at any form of diet that declares you can gain and lose weight using the same stuff, usually in the same quantities. But the picture of the tub of a slim woman and huge guy is enough for most to assume it works.

The real world is not as pretty.
Protein is 4 calories a gram, the same as carbs, just under half the 9 of fat. It has a very real energy value which most don't know and this ignorance is encouraged because of the money to be made from it.
The body can absorb a maximum of 17 grams of protein in one go or 25 within an hour after training, there is some variation in this but not much. Eating food makes more protein available for absorption due to the delay ingesting and releasing it from the stomach, a shake will be all in at once. If your shake has more than you can absorb you don't get the extra, it just binds up your stool.
Muscle is not made of protein as most declare it is predominantly water, like most of the rest of us. The protein holds this together but in truth there is very little protein needed for growth and repair, around 12.5% of calorific intake in fact, so if you are on a high protein diet most of it will be excess which is floating around as unstable amino acids. Left unchecked these can become ammonia and cause massive internal damage so the body gets rid of it. The human body doesn't like waste so what ever can be is converted to lipoproteins (a form of fat) and stored away. The rest is converted to urine and flushed out with a whole mass of water, giving instant weight loss while you actually gain percentage body fat, because water is so much heavier than fat.

That's the long answer to say yes high protein diets have a very negative effect on fat loss.

Creatine is an energy supplement at it's most basic level. But there is a catch, it is only used at the most incredibly intense end of training. If you are doing steady cardio of mainly endurance work you will gain virtually nothing if at all from taking creatine. if you are doing explosive work, heavy weights, sprints etc. you will gain performance from this.
I don't think it would effect your weight loss because excess wouold simply be disposed of but it would be a waste of money if not used by the body.

The sciency bit.
3 energy systems and what they do
Aerobic system - The one that literally lasts a life time. Uses oxygen and pays the debts created by the other two spendthrifts, Takes time to get going though, think of it as high gear in a car, efficient but you have to go through the other 2 to use it. If you increase the intensity you can manage on this level I have always thought you will be able to do more in the other two, I would of course because this is what I do best but strangely I am not competing in worlds strongest man so there's a flaw here.
Anaerobic system (aka lactic acid system) - Lasts around 90 seconds if used alone takes a couple of seconds to be able to provide the energy effectively, this is 2nd gear. The waste product for this is lactic acid which gives you stitch, if you take longer than 90 seconds to get this you are either a jammy sod with great endurance (some get up to 2 minutes) or not using this energy system alone but operating at a level where the aerobic system just needs a top up.
Phospho-Creatine system - Lasts a maximum of 10 seconds for most of us and is the form of energy you would use to run out of the door if a lion leapt through the window. The most common activity you will do that uses this is standing up from your seat, an activity that demands energy instantly so neither of the other 2 could provide you the ability to do so. this is first gear, low down grunt that kicks in instantly but uses massive amounts of fuel. it will also be used alongside the other 2 on occasion when doing some activities.