Protein Shakes to Lose Weight
Whether you are a sedentary person or an active, gym enthusiast, if your purpose is to lose weight, boost sports performance or improve muscle mass, you will soon find out that you need protein to achieve your goals while maintaining a healthy body and overall wellness. Enter protein shake.
Courtesy of manufacturers, we can now find the best-tasting protein shakes that deliver the nutrition we need without sacrificing flavor. So you can forget about the unpleasant, chalky taste of aftertaste that most people associate with such products.
We’ve gone through some of the best tasting powders and shakes for weight loss available on the market, and came up with a list of products that, in our opinion, satisfy even the most picky of people.
But first let’s find out some useful information about protein powders that can help you make a better choice.
What are protein powders?
For those less familiar with the term, protein powders are supplements which contain protein extracted from various sources such as dairy (whey or casein), leguminous plants (pea or soy), seeds and even meat (dehydrated liver). While they are mainly protein-based, depending on the mix, these can also include carbs, vitamins and minerals, healthy fats and enzymes which help you digest the proteins.
Protein powders are usually mixed with water or milk (dairy or non-dairy), resulting in protein shakes. And since taste is a very important characteristic of protein shakes, those in search of the best tasting protein shakes and want to avoid the usual chalky flavor also mix the powder with fruits or juice.
What are protein powders used for?
Losing weight is actually one of the most common reasons people start using protein powders. Studies have shown that diets based on proteins are more successful because they reduce the hunger sensation, replacing it with satiety. More than that, they are a lot easier to follow on the long term.
Combined with proper workout, a protein powder can be even more effective in losing weight and improving muscle mass, which is what most people want. They help you reduce the calories intake by 20-30% simply by burning them during the protein digestion and metabolizing process.
What better way to consume extra calories than by drinking something you like? Protein powders also serve to boost sports performance, improve muscle mass and increase or balance the health of the body.
Continue reading to see the benefits of protein powders for weight loss
Convenience
One of the most important advantages of protein powders is the fact that they are really convenient. People nowadays are constantly on the go, making it difficult to have a proper diet, hardly eating or skipping meals on a regular basis. For all those out there in this predicament, protein powders are godsend.
They are easy to make and also to digest. You can take protein shakes wherever you go, have them as a midday snack or as a replacement for a meal which would take longer to prepare. They also stop you from giving in to unhealthy foods, all while delivering the nutrition of a complete meal in a savory way.
For people who want to lose weight but have busy schedules, time is essential. And protein meal replacement shakes for weight loss are a much healthier alternative.
Control of macronutrient intake
Everyone is different. Depending on age, lifestyle, diet, health, activity and daily needs of one’s body, the protein intake is calculated. Specialists recommend protein use based on the following formula:
0.8g x X kg bodyweight = Xg protein per day
Different gender, different protein needs
This means that the average man needs around 56 grams per day while the average woman requires around 46 grams per day, in the case of sedentary individuals. For active people, hitting the gym regularly, 1.6–2.2 g per kg of body weight seems to be the optimal amount of protein.
Nonetheless, studies have shown that this amount is not always enough to ensure the optimum level of health. That’s where a good quality protein shake comes in.
Losing weight using protein shakes
Protein powders provide the nutritional intake your body needs, without increasing the level of macronutrients such as carbohydrates and fats. If your weight-loss strategy is based on cutting back on calories, you should know that most protein shakes contain 200–400 calories and a significant amount of protein, fiber and important minerals and vitamins. These balance your diet and deliver the nutrients that you might lack.
A protein shake should contain around 20-40 grams of proteins. However, quantity may differ depending on individual parameters. If you have the means, ask for the specialized opinion of a nutritionist. If not, read the label carefully, and go for the one that suits you best in terms of ingredients, purpose, flavor, etc.
Faster weight loss
Proteins are an important element in a diet because they control your appetite and reduce cravings which otherwise might derail you from your weight-loss plan.
Enter protein meal replacements. When you replace a meal with high protein meal replacement shakes you manage to reduce your levels of the hunger hormone and boost your satiety hormone.
This helps you stay fuller for a longer period of time. No more feeling ravenous during the day and dying to have snacks during the night, which means you eat fewer calories while enjoying one of the best tasting meal replacement protein shakes for weight loss.
According to studies, protein shakes also balance your sugar level, boost metabolism for fat burning and improve muscle tone.
You lose weight but manage to look fit and maintain a lean muscle mass, repairing the muscles and tissues affected by workout or diets. By simply moving around, calories are burnt automatically, by approximately 80 to 100/day, without you becoming obsessed with calorie-counting.
Specialists, however, emphasize that meal replacements are not recommended on the long term for fear of excluding important whole foods such as fruits and vegetables. While they are efficient in losing weight faster, without a healthy lifestyle and eating habit, you might regain your weight and all your efforts could go to waste. So do enjoy your best tasting meal replacement shakes for weight loss but make sure to do it in a safe and healthy manner.
Continue reading to find out how to choose the best protein powders for you.
Type
Whey protein is the most popular type among consumers. It has the highest rate of absorption and contains essential amino acids that facilitate weight loss, muscle repair, boost your energy and reduce stress. Most of the best tasting weight loss shakes consist of whey.
Casein, the main protein in milk, is another protein of choice which contains all essential amino acids and helps muscle recovery.
If you’re lactose intolerant, vegan or simply don’t like milk, then you should resort to non-dairy protein powders. These can be based on soy, pea, rice or hemp which are easily digested and also provide the sufficient amount of proteins your body may need for workout or simply for day-to–day activities.
Quality and cost
It’s recommended to choose a protein shake from reputable companies to avoid low quality or counterfeit ingredients. Protein powders with low-quality ingredients do not assimilate properly and do not exactly have the best taste out there.
Usually, a higher price shows that research has been made for that product prior to being released on the market. The products may be a little more expensive, but quality over cost is a way much healthier option for your body.
Make sure the powder consists of a higher concentration of protein and less carbohydrates and fats. The more additives and protein blends, the less efficient. Also be careful about artificial sweeteners when searching for best tasting protein powder or protein shakes for weight loss. These should be kept to a minimum because they enhance the hunger sensation and this is the exact opposite of what you want from a powder or protein shake.
Taste
Believe it or not, one of the most important criteria is taste.
While taste is subjective, you can still ensure your protein intake without sacrificing your taste buds. There are products out there that meet your requirements in terms of flavor and help you achieve weight loss or muscle mass in a delicious manner.
If a protein powder has a good taste, it is likely that it will be better absorbed by the organism. Not to mention that you will feel much less inclined to drink it if it tastes like chalk, mud or other unsavory things.
Best-tasting protein powders for weight loss
All that being said, if you’re new to the world of protein shakes and powders, finding the best tasting product to meet your goals, whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle or something else, can be difficult because of the vast array of choices.
To help you with this time consuming task, we’ve researched and found 1 top product that, in our opinion, is the best tasting powder for weight loss for men and women. We’ve analyzed them in terms of flavor, but also ingredients and quality so that you can select the one that is perfect for you. Here’s our favorite:
Our choice
All the reviewed products are successful on the market and satisfy the main requirements in terms of taste, ingredients and quality. With them being so similar, it was rather difficult to choose only one winning product, but after much consideration, we believe Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100 % Whey Protein Powder deserves the title of best tasting powder for weight loss.
It contains 79 percent pure protein by weight, the purest form on the market, thus granting it a pole position compared to some of the other brands.
With 24 grams per serving, this supplement is efficient in any weight loss strategy by boosting metabolism and helping with the fast burning of calories. Add in the 5.5g of branched amino-acids, a higher value than the other products, and you get a top source for building and improving your muscle mass.
The extremely low levels of carbohydrates and fats facilitate a low calorie intake and are ideal for someone who’s on a low-caloric diet. And low calories obviously don’t mean low taste in this case. The powder is widely known for its great taste and smooth texture, with a variety of flavors that appeal to a wider range of preferences at a reasonable price, providing some of the best tasting protein shakes for weight loss.
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