We’ve all heard about protein powder at one time or another.
If you’ve ever been consistent with your workouts, I’d be willing to bet you’ve at least tried a protein shake once before. Maybe it was a protein powder, or maybe it was a pre-made protein shake.
If you haven’t tried one before, then don’t worry. There's a first time for everything!
Now, why is protein powder so popular?
I would argue the main reason it's so popular is because of convenience. Protein powder can be a quick and easy way to help meet your protein goals for the day. Plus, your protein intake can be crucial for achieving just about any fitness goal.
Especially when it comes to building muscle, protein powder can be a big help. That's why a lot of people choose to use protein powder for weight gain.
But, how can you use protein powder to gain weight? Also, is there a protein powder for weight gain specifically?
All of this and more I'll cover with you today. By the end of the article, you'll know exactly what you need to do to gain weight the right way.
Before we discuss how you can use protein powder for weight gain, let's dive into what it takes to gain weight as a whole.
How The Body Gains Weight
If you want to gain weight, you may be wondering: How does weight gain actually work?
While it would be nice, working out isn't the only thing you need to do to gain weight. Trust me, I would love for that to be the case. The truth is, there are a few other factors to consider.
1. Weight Gain Happens When You Consume More Calories Than You Burn
These calories come from everything that you eat. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat all have calories in different amounts.
Protein has 4 calories per gram. Carbs have 4 calories per gram. Fat has 9 calories per gram.
On top of that, it doesn't matter where these calories come from. So, you could eat protein only and still gain weight if you consume enough calories.
Calories are just a way to quantify how much energy your food has. If you think about it like this, it makes perfect sense.
You eat food that has energy, and everything you do requires energy. If you consume more energy than you use, your body will store it.
This can be stored in the form of fat or muscle. But, how do you control what gets stored as fat and what is used to build muscle? This is all determined by what you eat and how you train!
2. If You Don't Work Out, Weight Gain Will Likely Come From Body Fat
You need to lift weights in order to gain muscle. At the very least, you need to do some form of resistance training like bodyweight workouts. Without a form of resistance, your body will have no reason to add new muscle.
You see, our bodies don’t necessarily want to gain muscle. We have to force our body to build new muscle by giving it a reason to. Allow me to explain.
When you lift weights, you’re putting your muscles under stress. This stress is giving our muscles a greater challenge to overcome whether that's through weight, reps, sets, or intensity.
Consider when you push a set to failure in the bench press for example.
Without a spotter, you’d be stuck under that bar without any way to get out from under it. To your body, that’s a survival issue.
So, your body responds by increasing the strength and size of your muscles. That way, if the situation were to come up again, your body would be capable of handling it.
Sure, you still need to eat correctly to support this process, but you get the idea.
Basically, if you want to build muscle, you need to signal your body to adapt through resistance training.
Otherwise, your body will take the excess energy you give it and store it as body fat. So, unless you plan on adding significant amounts of body fat, make sure you’re in the gym too!
3. You Need Protein To Build Muscle
Yes, you need to eat more calories than you're burning.
Yes, you need to work out.
...and if you want to gain muscle, yes, you need to eat enough protein.
Your muscles are mostly made of protein. Without enough protein, you can't add muscle tissue to your body.
You see, there are two processes always taking place in your body. These processes are:
1. Muscle Protein Breakdown (MPB)
2. Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS)
Muscle protein breakdown is when your body breaks down muscle for energy, or specific amino acids that it needs.
Muscle protein synthesis is the opposite. This is the process of adding new muscle tissue from the protein you’ve eaten.
Whichever process is greater will ultimately determine if you gain or lose muscle (2).
When you eat enough of the right kinds of protein, you can tip the scales in favor of muscle protein synthesis. So, eating enough protein is a major key here!
How much protein do you need? Well, studies show that up to 2.2 grams of protein per kg of your body weight is enough to maximize muscle growth (1). This comes out to be right at 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight!
That's exactly how much I'd recommend you shoot for as well.
I get it, it's not always easy to eat that much protein. I am about 200 pounds myself, so I need 200 grams of protein per day.
Without protein powder, I likely wouldn't hit that amount. This is why a lot of people will take protein powder for weight gain. It can be an easy way to get the protein they need to build new muscle.
Clearly, this answers the question of how protein powder can be beneficial for weight gain. However, are there protein powders for weight gain specifically?
I would say the answer is yes and no. There are different types of protein powder, but not any that I would necessarily consider to be "better" for weight gain.
Let's talk about what these different protein powders are so you can understand what I mean by this.
What Types of Protein Powders Can Help Me Gain Weight?
There are many types of protein powders on the market today.
Some of the common protein powders you'll find are made from soy, casein, or peas. By far the most popular type of protein powder you’ll see, though, is whey protein powder.
Whey protein comes from milk, and you could definitely argue it’s the best option out there.
For instance, there was a study comparing protein powder from soy, casein, and whey. They found that whey protein stimulated muscle protein synthesis much more than the other two (3).
Whey protein also has the highest biological value when compared to other proteins (4). This refers to how easily your body can absorb and utilize the amino acids from the protein.
So, when it comes to maximum value in a protein powder, it doesn’t get better than whey protein. However, other milk proteins like casein have value too.
The differences among protein powders don’t stop there either. There are 3 main types of protein powders you’re going to see...
• Fast-Digesting Protein Powders
• Slower Digesting Protein Powders
• Mass Gainer Protein Powders
Let's take a quick look at what these are and how they're different.
Fast Digesting Protein Powders
Fast-digesting protein powders are designed for after your workouts. These are most often made with whey protein isolate.
This is a form of whey protein that’s been isolated by removing excess fats and lactose.
This type of protein powder can stimulate muscle protein synthesis rather quickly. For this reason, it can be very beneficial after you train.
Most often, this is a protein you'll mix with simple carbs like glucose for a well-rounded post-workout shake. Glucose spikes insulin which can help support muscle protein synthesis and inhibit muscle protein breakdown (5).
So, after you work out, whey protein isolate and glucose is the way to go! That can help you gain the kind of weight you’re looking for.
Slow Digesting Protein Powders
Slow-digesting protein powders are designed for any time that isn’t after a workout.
In the morning, before bed, or between meals are all good times to use one of these protein powders. Think of it as a meal replacement protein shake.
These are typically going to be a blend of different proteins. Most of the time, this means a mixture of whey protein concentrate and casein. Both of these are slower-digesting sources of protein that can help prolong muscle protein synthesis.
On top of that, these slower-digesting proteins can inhibit muscle protein breakdown to a greater extent (6).
During or in between meals, this is very advantageous. Again, the longer you can maintain muscle protein synthesis, the better.
So, these types of protein can definitely help you gain the weight you're looking for. At least, that's as long as you're working out and eating in a calorie surplus too!
I will say though, I don't recommend ditching whole-food protein sources for protein powders. If you can eat some steak, eggs, chicken, fish, or any other high-quality source of protein ... You should!
Use these slower-digesting protein powders when you need them.
I use mine when I don’t have time to eat a whole meal. For example, when I’m buried with work, I can just mix up a protein shake and get back to it.
They’re convenient, but shouldn’t replace whole foods. For best results with weight gain, eat some carbs on the side of these protein shakes as well. It's an easy way to get more calories in and make your protein shake a well-rounded meal.
If you want my opinion, I think fruit and a protein shake make a great pair.
Mass Gainer Protein Powders
If there was a type of protein powder for weight gain, this would be it. However, I would argue that there are far better approaches to weight gain.
Most mass gainer protein powders will have slower digesting protein sources. For that reason, they can be great for a meal or snack throughout the day.
The problem is, they take the carb count to a whole new level. A lot of them will have anywhere from 200-300 grams of high-glycemic carbohydrates. That’s a massive glycemic load!
Basically, this means every shake can potentially bring your blood sugar up a ton. This surely won't have you feeling the best throughout the day.
Plus, when blood sugar goes up, it must come back down, and it has to have somewhere to go. Your muscles and liver will take some, but there’s only so much room there. Now, I’m just speculating, but after that, it may go into fat storage.
Your overall calorie balance will determine if it stays there or not, but still. I’m sure that’s not the weight gain you’re looking for.
Plus, they can be very expensive for what you get. Many of them only have 10 servings or less.
Don’t get me wrong, mass gainers can help you gain muscle too. Anything that increases your calorie intake can help you gain weight.
If you want my advice, here's what I do. I use faster-digesting protein powders with glucose after my workouts. Then, I'll use slower-digesting protein shakes with a whole-food carbohydrate when I need a quick meal.
Picking The Right Protein Powder For Weight Gain
When you’re trying to gain weight, you need enough protein and calories to make it happen. At least, that's if muscle weight is the weight you’d like to gain.
When you struggle to meet your protein intake, that's when a protein powder can help. Unfortunately, not all protein powders are made the same though.
When it comes to supplements, you get what you pay for.
At 1st Phorm, our mission is to help real people earn real and long-term results. We know you don't cut corners when it comes to earning the results you want. That's why we don't cut corners when it comes to the products to help you reach your goals!
Our protein powders are no exception to that commitment either.
We only use low-temperature processing and cross-flow microfiltration to process our protein powders. These processes can help minimize the denaturing of the proteins.
If you didn’t know, denatured protein powders can have reduced effectiveness (4). That just means less total protein for your body to utilize effectively for your goals.
So, if you're in need of a high-quality protein powder to help you reach your goals, we have you covered!
When it comes to protein for after your workouts, we have Phormula-1, which also comes as part of our Post Workout Stack! I’ve been using this stack for the last 12 years, and it has helped me out a ton.
Phormula-1 and the Post Workout Stack even come in naturally sweetened versions: Phormula-1 Natural & The Natural Post Workout Stack.
If you’re looking for a slower-digesting protein powder to use for meals and snacks throughout the day, check out Level-1.
Like Phormula-1, you can also get a naturally sweetened version: Level-1 Natural.
Personally, I use Level-1 for breakfast because I’m always in a rush. Also, like I mentioned before, I use it at work to keep the gains coming between meals.
If you follow a plant-based lifestyle, we also have a plant-based protein powder: Vegan Power Pro. Vegan Power Pro also comes as part of the Vegan Post Workout Stack!
I know I threw a lot of information at you today, so if you have any questions or need help ... Don't hesitate to reach out!
We have a full team of NASM Certified Personal Trainers and Nutrition Coaches right here in St. Louis, Missouri who are happy to help out. Just give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 or send us an email at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com any day from 6 AM to 10 PM Central.
References:
(1) Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, McGlory C, Phillips SM. Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training. Nutrients. 2018 Feb 7;10(2):180. doi: 10.3390/nu10020180. PMID: 29414855; PMCID: PMC5852756.
(2) Tipton KD, Hamilton DL, Gallagher IJ. Assessing the Role of Muscle Protein Breakdown in Response to Nutrition and Exercise in Humans. Sports Med. 2018 Mar;48(Suppl 1):53-64. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0845-5. PMID: 29368185; PMCID: PMC5790854.
(3) Tang JE, Moore DR, Kujbida GW, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM. Ingestion of whey hydrolysate, casein, or soy protein isolate: effects on mixed muscle protein synthesis at rest and following resistance exercise in young men. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2009 Sep;107(3):987-92. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00076.2009. Epub 2009 Jul 9. PMID: 19589961.
(4) Hoffman JR, Falvo MJ. Protein - Which is Best? J Sports Sci Med. 2004 Sep 1;3(3):118-30. PMID: 24482589; PMCID: PMC3905294.
(5) Timmerman KL, Lee JL, Dreyer HC, Dhanani S, Glynn EL, Fry CS, Drummond MJ, Sheffield-Moore M, Rasmussen BB, Volpi E. Insulin stimulates human skeletal muscle protein synthesis via an indirect mechanism involving endothelial-dependent vasodilation and mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug;95(8):3848-57. doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-2696. Epub 2010 May 19. PMID: 20484484; PMCID: PMC2913031.
(6) Boirie Y, Dangin M, Gachon P, Vasson MP, Maubois JL, Beaufrère B. Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Dec 23;94(26):14930-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.26.14930. PMID: 9405716; PMCID: PMC25140.
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