Whey protein powder has swiftly gained popularity in recent years, with some people using it as a healthy snack to aid weight reduction, but with most using it to assist them in building muscle.
So what exactly is the ideal times to consume whey protein powder for building muscle?
There are two key times in the day when we benefit the most from whey protein. These times are immediately following a workout and at breakfast. The reason behind this is that these times are when we need to digest protein fast and we digest whey protein faster than any other protein source. This is why whey is considered the best protein powder for building muscle.
Each morning our bodies are feeling protein deprived because it has gone many hours without food, so our muscles will be screaming out for a fast protein fix to keep them growing.
After each workout we need to replenish our muscles with protein and also carbohydrates to encourage the muscle growth process. It is strongly recommended to consume a protein shake within 0 to 30 minutes of working out to help prevent an accumulation of the catabolic (catabolic means anti-growth) hormone called cortisol; this hormone stops the body from developing muscle and promotes fat deposition on the belly.
The quantity of grams of protein that we need to eat to promote the best muscle growth results is 1.25 to 1.5 times our own body weight measured in pounds. So we can also benefit from consuming whey protein as a between meals snack to help us reach these high protein requirements on daily basis.
It is important that we do not sacrifice real food completely for whey protein powder because it is just a supplement, even if it is a very healthy one! There are endless nutritional benefits from eating a varied but healthy diet, so we attempt to eat a variety of protein, carbohydrate and fat each day from different foods. If we were to get almost all of our protein just from whey powder, our bodies would lack a lot of the goodness that real foods deliver.
