Just protein powder or more food?

[Tik-Tok]

So the last half of 2011, I lost the 25 lbs of fat I wanted to. Went from just shy of 200, down to 175. The first two months this year, I made sure I could keep the fat off without excercise and just counting calories. If I stick to around 2250/day, I seem to maintain.

Now, I'm feeling like I'm a little thin, so I want to bulk up a little. Not tons, go back up to maybe 190, but with muscle this time, and not fat obviously, lol.

The powder I bought is 120cal/serving, and was just planning on taking two servings a day, on top of my normal 2250cal. Is that enough, or more real food?

[davidI]

Real food is always better than powders. That said, I'm not a calorie counter...I'd eat your major 3 meals a day with real food, and supplement with protein depending on what you feel your caloric intake requires.

[Darkane]

Food no doubt. 2250 cals/day isn't hard to eat anyway and if you ask me a steak tastes WAY better than a "shake".

[max_boost]

Just eat more and try to eat more of the "good" stuff.

This might help:

http://www.thenategreenexperience.com/blog/what-i-eat-almost-every-day

[lellowrx7]

Theres nothing wrong with protein shakes at all.
Ill usually have 3 a day.
I buy a vareity to mix though so they dont get boring.
I dont calorie count anymore but i can seem to maintain 195 with 6 meals a day, including the 3 protein shakes.
All depends how much work you do in the day and how much excersize you get later on i guess

[duaner]

Both. Eat more, better food and take protein powder. There are great tasting protein powders and you cannot beat the convenience while at work or school. And, from nearly everything one reads, protein taken within 30-40 minutes of working out is best for recovery and gains. I would think that a high quality whey isolate will absorb significantly faster than eggs, steak, tuna, etc.

[Abeo]

If you just lost weight, eating too much is a sure-fire way to gain it all back. And the fat will come right back, while the muscle will stay small, making you look skinny-fat.

If I were you, I'd start doing squats, deadlifts, rows and presses seriously (if possible). You'll gain weight (and size), while avoiding getting a spare tire in the process. + 1 for real food, but I also like how protein powder makes me less sore from lifting weights. If you do eat more, I'd stay away from refined carbs, they are really energy dense and its easy to overeat.

[r3ccOs]

I haven't had the chance to do a body compsition breakdown in the last couple years, but I can tell you that changing my diet from being protein oriented, to:
a balanced mix of:
less than 8 oz of meat (generally fish, and white meats)
relatively low refined sugars
complex carbs
soluable/insoluable fibers
low dairy
lots of plant proteins (not soy though)
cocunut oil for cooking oil
pomegranate
fresh/seasonable vegatables

lots of water and tea's (but also a couple cups of coffee, especially prior to workout)

I haven't felt better...
I am as strong, if not stronger with the same maximum output, but better recovery and stamina
much better anerobic and aerobic cardio base

I actually lift less (2-3 days a week) and play hockey or soccer another 3-4 times a week

I generally eat whenever and as much as my body demands, but my goal isn't to lose weight nor fat... but rather fuel it to perform optimally to achieve a higher level of performance

when I went to a high protein, low carb + tons of stimulants (i.e. the stack, NOs, etc..) I found myself peaking out very fast and fatigued when playing any sports requiring a good anerobic base

[BigShow]

People are so quick to jump to powders and the like...

Why dont you hit the weights hard, you'll build up your appetite than nurish with high protein foods? You'll gain that weight easily.

[Tik-Tok]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm "quick to jump to powders", only because I don't want to gain much fat back, and I'm not great with diets.

As I said, I already bought the powder before I even posted, so I think I'll just keep taking that until it's gone. I'm not hitting the weights big time yet, I'm kind of going from pure cardio, to circuit training for a couple of months, just to get a little muscle at first before I really hit weights hard... (also because I'm feeling broke right now and need to buy more weights, lol)

[msommers]

I come from a different approach, which is neither right or wrong to yours, Tik-Tok. Building muscle and increasing density I think is much easier than doing cardio. But who I am to say, since I've gotten back from Europe in August my diet hasn't been great and I don't think I've done any heavy lifting either!

For me, cardio is boring. Doing cardio "passively" via gaining muscle mass and following a strict/semi-strict diet sheds more fat than cardio does (for me anyways but I'm pretty scrawny to begin with).

IMO, basically get to lifting first and do pure cardio in addition, if you want. Take your shakes but don't forget real food too. It doesn't have to be exact by any means. All this preaching, I think I better go head to Talisman and get myself a pass. :thumbsup:

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by msommers
I come from a different approach, which is neither right or wrong to yours, Tik-Tok. Building muscle and increasing density I think is much easier than doing cardio.

Yeah, that's why I'm doing circuit training, lol. 2 min. on bike, do a set of ______, repeat.

When I was doing pure cardio, I was playing xboxlive arcade games at the same time. Time FLEW by, hahahah.

[Tik-Tok]

Another question, didn't want to start another thread.

It's a lot easier for me to do my circuit training in the mornings 80% of the time, however to keep my wife motivated to exercise, she wants me to workout at night with her.

Would it overwork my muscles, if I did it twice a day? I'm not doing really heavy stuff, as said, it's just circtuit training. If it's okay to do, would it be better if I did "light" weights in the morning, and "heavy" weights at night, or vice versa?

edit: Oh, for an update on my original question. I increased my calorie intake to 2600-3000 calories a day, including protein powder, and have gained 5 lbs in the past month, but lost 1/2" waist :thumbsup:

[jwslam]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Another question, didn't want to start another thread.

It's a lot easier for me to do my circuit training in the mornings 80% of the time, however to keep my wife motivated to exercise, she wants me to workout at night with her.

Would it overwork my muscles, if I did it twice a day? I'm not doing really heavy stuff, as said, it's just circuit training. If it's okay to do, would it be better if I did "light"; weights in the morning, and "heavy" weights at night, or vice versa?

edit: Oh, for an update on my original question. I increased my calorie intake to 2600-3000 calories a day, including protein powder, and have gained 5 lbs in the past month, but lost 1/2" waist :thumbsup:

My best friend does cardio during lunch at work and does heavy weights at night. Seems to work well for him? I did the same thing for a couple weeks last summer and it worked wonders... however that's also when I first started working out, ever, so probably why I saw great results.