Working out without protein

[riced]

I wanted to get some personal opinions on this, most of what I found on the net were people who swear by protein and insist on taking it if you work out.

I'm about 5'5-5'6 and 145lbs. I don't consider myself super scrawny like the "typical" (don't mean to offend) asian, but I'm not super huge either. I work out 3-4 times a week for an hour each session.
I feel like I'm packing the fat, especially in the gut, but I'm not getting toned like I want.

At first, I was 125lbs and since then have gained the weight to what I am now and I'd like to tone the muscle. Is working out WITHOUT protein an effective way to do so? I know it builds muscle, but perhaps it's preventing me from becoming toned?
Should I just drink protein and not be so worried about it?

[adidas]

You packing on weight could be due to you eating alot. People who usually take protein are the ones who cant afford steaks and chicken breasts for every meal.

Taking protein will not get you toned, protein is usually used as a meal supplement or to gain weight.

If your lookign to get toned then re-evaluate your diet, and consider eating a little less so that you lose that weight.

[EG STyLeZ]

By toning muscle, you mean losing some body fat? If your main goal is to become more defined, I would be more worried about what you eat throughout the day than the protein shake after your workout.

[riced]

So a protein shake can act like a meal replacement at times?

Well, most of the body fat I'd like to lose is in the gut. I usually don't eat too much, 3 meals a day.. rice in the morning, rice at night.. and maybe a burger for lunch.

Thanks for the advice guys

[muse017]

Originally posted by riced
So a protein shake can act like a meal replacement at times?

Well, most of the body fat I'd like to lose is in the gut. I usually don't eat too much, 3 meals a day.. rice in the morning, rice at night.. and maybe a burger for lunch.

Thanks for the advice guys

My answer is No, Protein shake cannot replace your regular meal.
Working out doesn't make you tonned if you don't control your diet properly. Eat smart and do cardios

[4lti7ude]

Isnt Less weight more reps more tone
More weight less reps more size.

[ZorroAMG]

Rice is not going to help, especially if it's white rice. Simple carbs like white rice, bread, pasta etc are not your friend if you want to lose weight.....

Cardio FTW.

[Eclipse_Spyder]

if u wanna maintain ur regular weight and nothing else u need to have atleast 1gram of protein per pound of body weight, if u wanna get really muscular and big u need atleast 2 grams of protein for each pound of body weight

[Jerms]

you got to consider genetics and really importantly your diet..

but i do suggest you do higher reps with lighter weight and see where that takes you.. working out and goals are different for everhbody so start somewhere.. then change it up as you see changes in your body

but don't forget to sweat..

[dkmlam]

cardio burns fat and tones your body overall. i take protein after i work out because i find that it helps my body recover and you get faster gains in size and tone. if you want gains, you will need protein directly after your workout (when your body needs it the most). a whey isolate absorbs fast but is more expensive relative to a whey concentrate or whey blend (does not absorb as fast and is not as pure).

[max_boost]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
Rice is not going to help, especially if it's white rice. Simple carbs like white rice, bread, pasta etc are not your friend if you want to lose weight.....

Cardio FTW.

Now I'm no expert on this stuff but it is that simple.

I'm also 5'5 145llbs LOL and have a gut but 30 mins on the cardio nightly is slowly shredding away the fat, but that's all for not because some nights I load up on the rice or go for late night fast food/pizza binges to satisfy cravings hahahaha. I can feel and see the effects it has. I figure since I was going to be eating this stuff anyway, at least I'm doing some cardio to combat it

[JAYMEZ]

Originally posted by max_boost


Now I'm no expert on this stuff but it is that simple.

I'm also 5'5 145llbs LOL and have a gut but 30 mins on the cardio nightly is slowly shredding away the fat, but that's all for not because some nights I load up on the rice or go for late night fast food/pizza binges to satisfy cravings hahahaha. I can feel and see the effects it has. I figure since I was going to be eating this stuff anyway, at least I'm doing some cardio to combat it

AHHHH! No late night eating , and pizza is SHIT!!

Eat your damn breakfast and eat through out the day , then you wont have the late night urges to eat!

Also eat 10-20mins after your work out !

Food and diet is so important to loseing weight!

[snowboard]

Originally posted by JAYMEZ



AHHHH! No late night eating ,

is it honestly that bad?
maybe i should cut it out lol...

[ZorroAMG]

YES, Jaymez is correct. As much as I LOVE pizza and poutine late at night, nothing could be worse for the fat battle.

CRAP high carb, high fat greasy food plus eating before bed where your metabolism is at its slowest is OF THE LOST.

But a pound or two of Fruit Creme or Pirate peanut butter cookies is ok, right Jaymez??

[Rocky]

Protein should come with eating properly. If you're not eating properly then you should look at protein -- but most likely you won't need it. It's not a muscle growth formula like some people make it out to be.

You should be more concerned about how you're spending that hour in the gym. Are you doing an effective mix of different sets? Are you working each part of specific muscle groups? Are you doing too many or too few reps per set? These are the questions to answer if you're looking to get sizable OR toned.

For toning though, cardio is key. If you are having trouble with the weight battle, take up a sport. It's a much funner way of getting cardio, you'll meet people, and you'll diet better as a result of wanting to play better. Personally, my love of soccer has been great for me as I don't eat very healthily living as a student. For blasting the stomach, running is great & couple it with a lot of ab exercises at least 4x a week. Develop the muscles so they push outwards while cutting the fat so you can see them.

Oh, and my opinion: Throw out the scale. That number is based on water in your body, doesn't take into account that muscle weighs more than fat... IMHO it's a useless measure for a man. Get a full body mirror and make that your basis of judging how effective your working out is. Once you start seeing the improvement even a little, you'll be driven 5x as hard to eat right, exercise frequently, and hit the gym more.

[BenC]

Rocky basically summed it up. I'm in a somewhat same boat. im 5'6 at 205. i was 220 few weeks ago. and all i can say is CARDIO is key, half an hour everyday. You'll notice changes right away, my cardio is up alot and im so proud of it. Also Diet is HUGE!. Cut out all unnecessary carbs like white rice, and white bread. Cutting consists of at least 70% diet.

[riced]

wow thanks for the great info guys

I guess I'll try out the more reps, less weight thing
and try and fit in some cardio within the exercise

I do have a mixed set of workouts for each day, not just bicep bicep tricep bicep like I see most people doing. I've learned it's not the way to go

I'll try to watch my diet too..

[dharminder]

I would like to add couple of things regarding protein. This is just my personal experience, but so is working out what works for one does not work for all.
Like someone has mentioned, eat a good breakfast, lunch and keep it lean meat for dinner. But in between I take 3 shakes through out the day. With my shake I would have a fruit or veggie depending on the day and what I packed. To maintain your body weight 1g protein for body weight just adjust your shakes accordingly seeing your looking to maintain size but trim down. This will also help with the late night eating. Example would be
7am breakfast
10am shake fruit/veggies
1pm lunch
3pm shake
6pm dinner
9pm shake and tablespoon peanut butter.

Cardio is good, but the biggest that people forgot to mention is water. Drinking water will help alot. This will cut down on your eating but will help you drop weight also. Aim for 4L a day (working your way up to it)

[98type_r]

I for one have never taken protein, mainly because I've never really felt the need to. Through HS and university, I worked out regularily and saw decent gains without it. I stopped hitting the gym for a few years but just got back into it about a year ago.
At 6'0 and 195 lbs I think I'm a good size and really don't want to bulk up anymore at the risk of having to replace my wardrobe.
That being said, I do need to ramp up my cardio and watch my intake to get the rest of my goals. Like most others here, I have some excess fat in the midsection that needs to go.

[rx7boi]

For starters, you'll want to take protein just to replace materials that your body needs for growth. Different foods have different b.v's (biological value). The b.v. basically means how much of a food your body utilizes.

Bottom line, you NEED protein to grow.

By comparison, natural foods such as whole eggs have the most biological value (100%). Most protein powders have a b.v. of 125% - 150%. The reason they pack so much into it is because many people experience poverty of time in our busy society these days.

If you're still not losing the weight that you want, you may want to consider doing more cardio. Furthermore, you will want to research the difference between fat burning and caloric burning.

Don't worry about eating calories - you won't get fat if you keep it in check. Why? Because your body burns calories throughout the day. All you need to make sure is to keep a caloric deficit so you don't eat more than you can burn off.

Just one more thing, being cut/ripped also means you need to do your core exercises. You obviously know that cardio is important, but every muscle is the same - the more you work it, the more you bring it out. If you burn alot of fat, that's great, but you still need to pump your abs if you want them to show. Otherwise you'll have "skinny man" abs as opposed to "male model" abs.

Hope this helps.


- Marco