Yo,
Expectedly, most people transition from debating if they should take protein powder, to how much protein powder per day. It’s understandable though, since protein powder can appear to be a complex supplement to some people.
When I initially started in my fitness journey, I believed that more protein powder=more muscle and more progress. However, I was wrong… as usual. To be honest, there are many ideas and expectations that you hold, but are unfortunately quite wrong (if you’re new to the fitness space)
Anyway, we’ll be going into how much protein powder you should take a day. Now this should not be treated as law, as there are times when I’ve had more than I’m going to recommend simply because my protein intake was quite low for the day. However, you should keep this in the back of your mind when thinking about how much protein powder you should have a day.
If you’re low on protein for the day, as this happens to the best of us because of a number of factors, look to whole foods first before deciding on having more protein powder for the day.
Some doctors and dietitians will recommend some intricate calculations to determine how much protein powder is suitable a day and if you’re expecting something like that today, you’ll be quite surprised. I’m going to make my own reccomendation based on my own fitness experience and how it’s positively affected my body. The fitness journey should not be so complex after all.
Let’s get into it.
The Standard Serving
The standard serving is not a widely accepted quantity. Prior to creating this post for you, I researched six protein powder options on the market and none of their servings’ were consistent with one another. Furthermore, this didn’t require an extensive search, so try it for yourself.
The quantities ranged more than I expected. They were:
1. 30g
2. 31g
3. 33g (now watch how it jumps bro)
4. 40g
5. 45g
So that’s a spread of 15g per serving. Now this happens for a number of reasons. It may be because of their scooper size and/or the desire to make the protein powder serving look better. Moreover, some health and fitness blogs will recommend a large range, such as 20-50 grams, which is quite a large range. Keep in mind, I am not saying that this is a bad range at all.
Nonetheless, we see that someone looking for a standard size may be confused on what it actually is.
Moreover, this article is about “How much protein powder a day?” Therefore you may be wondering why we are speaking specifically about servings. Well, the reason is that it is generally reccomended that you have around 1-2 servings a day, but as we just went through, the serving size differs amongst different options, so we have to discuss the serving size.
Think about it like this:
– In the previous list, the first serving size was 30g. If we have 2 servings, that’s 60g in total.
– However, also in the previous list, there was a serving size of 45g. If we have two servings, that’s 90g in total.
That’s a 30g difference and a large one at that.
Ok, let’s move on to my preferred serving size.
My Serving
As mentioned previously, I initially thought more protein powder=more gains, but I was wrong. Fast forward a few years, and I have set my serving size at around 30-40g.
I recently completed a bulk that was just over 2 years (it was quite successful, and I’m excited for what I’m going to look like after this cut) and I was having about 40g of protein powder a day.
I’m now in a cutting phase and I’m going to be consuming the lower end of the serving range. This is because I’m not trying to eat so much protein and calories like I’m in a caloric surplus, but instead, I’m eating for a caloric surplus.
Anyway, I’ve found this serving size and overall quantity to be enough in a day. For myself, and until something changes, I will recommend 30-40g of protein powder a day. Additionally, I am 100% certain that after you’ve gained a significant amount of experience through your fitness journey (so getting better at allocating foods and nutrients), 30g will be the perfect amount.
When I flip things back to myself, I know that soon enough, 30g a day will be perfect and eventually even less will be ideal.
However, in the past there have been times when I’ve had more than my recommended amount. That is, I have had an extra protein shake. I actually don’t like doing this, since I prefer to get most of my protein and nutrients from whole foods. Despite this, it is a rare occurrence (it is never a routine thing) and I’m outlining this to let you know that it may become necessary.
Under the Standard
So let’s talk about consuming under the general standard a day (So about under 30g).
In this case, it is better to have less protein powder than too much protein powder. There aren’t any negative side effects of consuming too little protein powder a day, however, there are side effects of consuming too much protein powder.
More likely than not, if you’re consuming less than the standard recommendation a day, it’s most likely because you’re able to get the majority of your protein and calories from whole foods (which is excellent by the way!)
Essentially, having less than the recommendation of protein powder a day is a good thing since you’re able to easily get your protein through other options.
Beyond the Standard
This is where you don’t want to be. As an absolute max, 40g a day is enough, however going beyond this routinely is not a good idea.
There are side effects associated with too much protein powder a day and an overlooked effect (aside from your health, which is the most important thing in your life) is the price. Too much protein powder a day is obviously going to cost you a lot more in the long run, so keep that in mind.
Now, I’m aware of some of these superstar athlete’s and celebrities’ diets being posted on social media and they have around 4+ protein shakes a day supposedly. You may then be wondering “But they’re doing it, so why should we listen to you?”
Well firstly, you don’t have to listen to me, I’m providing my own advice based on my own experience and success through it. Another thing, I actually doubt that these people seriously and consistently have so much protein powder in a day, however, I do keep an open mind. Finally, do you really think that so much protein powder in a day is optimal for your health? Just think about that and take what you will from this post.
To Wrap Up
So the question of “how much protein powder a day?” My answer is around 30-40g and aiming to reduce the quantity progressively over time is best.
I hope this information does you well and clears up any concerns. Of course, if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I’ll respond promptly.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope you learnt something.
