When Should I Take Whey Protein?

Whey protein comes from milk and is the best type of protein to provide branched-chain amino acids. These types of amino acids help to build and retain muscle tissue. Whey protein can act as an antioxidant and help the immune system as well.

Weight Loss

Whey protein can be helpful for people wanting to lose body fat. Whey protein, and other proteins, help regulate blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates can cause blood sugar levels to jump and dive, which can lead to binge eating as the body tries to stabilize the blood sugar levels.

Many dieticians agree that a healthy diet is made up of a variety of foods, and should include some low-fat proteins. Comparing proteins on a gram-to-gram basis, whey proteins have less fat and fewer calories than other protein sources and are therefore better for people wanting to lose weight.

People wanting to start a diet may benefit from whey protein isolate, which has the lowest amount of fat and carbohydrates. Adding whey protein isolate to the regular diet can help a person lose body fat and develop muscle mass. As weight is lost, metabolism increases, helping the body continue to lose fat.

Muscle Building

Body builders and athletes deplete their stores of protein as they train. It's important for them to ingest a good amount of protein to stay healthy, keep their muscles from becoming sore and fatigued, and help build more muscle tissue.

Whey protein helps produce glutamine, an amino acid that helps build muscle, reduces muscle deterioration, and builds muscular endurance. When the body has more glutamine available, it is able to produce more muscle. This is why body builders take in so much protein while training.

The amount of protein a body needs depends on the person's age, weight, sex, activity level, health and size. Most athletes who are training will want to take in about 25 grams of whey protein a day. Body builders who work out heavily will want to take in up to 150 grams a day when they are at their peak of training. In the case of whey protein, more is not necessarily better. The human body can not process very large amounts of whey protein, and will cause potential harm to the liver in trying to do so. Therefore it is better to ingest smaller amounts of whey protein three to five times throughout the day.

When to Take Whey Protein

Whey protein is good to take at many different points during a day when you exercise. Studies show that taking in whey protein prior to working out will ease muscle soreness markedly in the post-workout phase. Whey proteins can also help reduce the amount of muscle damage during the workout and help to rebuild muscle more rapidly after the workout.

Drinking whey protein during a workout can have many of the same effects as taking whey protein before a workout, such as reducing muscle damage and promoting faster muscle recovery after the workout. However, drinking whey protein during the workout can also increase endurance.

Whey protein is also excellent to take after a workout, especially if it is taken within an hour following the workout. This will help build muscle faster and help the body gain strength more quickly.

Taking whey protein before going to bed can help people who are trying to increase their lean muscle mass. The human growth hormone peaks at night, and with the amino acids found in protein, can help to build muscle mass while you sleep. Therefore, a high-protein meal or shake before bed can help increase your muscle mass without even having to work out.