How much whey protein should I really take?

Question

I just bought whey protein called muscle gainers 900.. it says the serving size is 4 scoops! with 2 cups of milk.. then it says take it 45 minutes before your workout, immediately after your workout and 1 hour before bedtime. Does this mean I take the 4 scoops 3 times a day? or do I divide those 4 scoops throughout my day? .. I'm 5"11..130lbs, I'm desperately trying to gain weight. Thanks!

Answer 1

156 g. if your looking to build some serious muscle then your supposed to get 350 g of protein and 450 g of carbs a day. dont get all of that by taking whey protein.  if you do, then the protein and carbs you get from food will most likely turn to fat instead of help build muscle. just take 2 scoops before and 2 or 3 scoops after your workouts.

dont take it before bed. your not supposed to, even though it says you are. take it as a meal replacement instead of before bed if you want to take it 3 times a day. it wont do much good though because it helps repair the muscle and its useless if you dont get it within 45 minutes after a workout.

your best bet is to just take it before and after. i take whey protein before and after my workouts and ive gained 12 lbs in 2 months of muscle. while stripping fat off my body.

Answer 2

Nah it means split it up, considering 4 scoops, 3 times a day is a bit much.

I use Body Fortress Whey Protein, as it's easier to get and the procedure is quite simple. One scoop daily for adults and 1-2 scoops immediately after exercise for athletes. Each scoop has about 52 grams, so that's 104 grams for me.

I think the 4 scoops split up sounds about right. Remember if you're trying to gain weight mix it with some peanut butter and 1-2% milk. However since you're 130lbs you should ideally take about 90 grams daily.

The calculation is 130 / 2.2 = 59 (to convert into KG).

Then multiply 59 by 1.5 = 88.6 (about 90) this is the number of grams you want to take, ideally. Considering you exercise regularly and lift weights.

So I suggest you take 1 scoop before your workout, 1 scoop after and about half a scoop before bed. This will give you about 98 grams of protein, which should be enough.

Answer 3

First of all don't use that junk and take it back...you will only end up getting kidney stones! Get a all natural whey protein that give u about 40-50 grams per 2 scoops. Right after you are done working out take it within 15 minutes to get the full effect.

Hope i helped

Answer 4

It would help if you had listed how many calories are in a 4 scoop serving size.  However, in this particular case it appears that 4 scoops, mixed with 2 cups of milk = 900 calories. I'm also going to assume that since it's a weight gain powder, they want you to use whole milk, which has 150 calories per cup.  Therefore, the milk contains 300 calories out of the total of 900 calories. Next, that must mean that each scoop has 150 calories x 4 = 600 calories. Add them up and you get 900 calories.

The next issue is whether you're supposed to consume 4 scoops x 3 per day? Yes, that is what the manufacture is suggesting. Therefore, if you follow the manufactures advise, you would be consuming 2700 calories through the drinks.  At your current body weight 2700 calories would be a good starting point in order to gain weight.  However, if you consumed 2 meals, plus  three of the drinks, which each have 900 calories per meal you'd probably gain muscle and a lot of FAT.  Therefore, if I were you I'd use 3 scoops x 2 cups of milk each (750 calories x 2 = 1500 cal). Finally, I'd eat two meals that average between 500-700 calories each. Then you be consuming between 2500-2900 calories per day. If this does not work, add an additional 200-300 calories per week.

A final note on how much protein you actually NEED. As reported in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and the National Strength and Conditional Journal, individuals who participate in hard weight training need between 1.3-2.0 grams of protein per kg.  Therefore, the actual range NEEDED would be 77-118 grams per day for recovery.  However, since you probably have a fast metabolism you will need to consume more calories per day.  Therefore, it is normal that you would consume more protein than the amount required to repair muscle tissue. This is based purely on the fact that you will need more overall calories and therefore will end up with more than the calculated amount of protein needed.

Dave Barry

Former AAU Mr. America

Former NABBA Mr. USA