Are you not sure how to pick a protein powder? There are so many options out there, I know how overwhelming it feel to go to a vitamin shop, look at the hundreds of options they have and not know which one to choose.
Here’s the things ladies, protein is critical when it comes to weight loss. Protein helps to keep you full, maintain muscle mass and decrease cravings (especially for carbs). You don’t need to get protein from a protein powder but I do find it to be a really convenient way to make sure you are getting enough in. You can add it to things like oats, smoothies and even healthy desserts!
But to clear up all the confusion for you babes, I am going to share with you my top three tips on how to select the best one to help you hit your protein needs so you can feel good, look good and lose weight.
How to Pick a Protein Powder:
1) Choose a protein that has a simple list of ingredients
A simple list of ingredients is the best for us because it reduces the amount of artificial flavors, fillers, and preservatives that you might find in certain powders. I try to aim for about 6 ingredients or less when it comes to choosing a protein powder.
I would pay attend to the type of ingredients used to flavor and sweeten your protein powder. Instead of getting protein powders with artificial sugars or sugar alcohols I suggest sticking to ones sweetened with vanilla, cacao, stevia and/or monk fruit.
A lot of times you’ll also see added green powders, vegetable blends, vitamins, minerals or herbs, which may sound enticing. However, the problem is protein powders are still considered a supplement and they are not FDA regulated. Especially for supplements, “more” is not always “better.” The more ingredients you have in your protein powder, the higher risk of contamination. Also, if you do try a protein powder that doesn’t agree with you and it has a lot of ingredients it will be hard to tell what bothered you.
Bottom line, if you want extra nutrients eat more veggies and/or take a multivitamin but let’s leave our protein powders to just protein!
2) Make sure you are using an adequate amount of protein to hit that 20-25grams
You don’t need to make sure that one scoop has 20 grams of protein but I do recommend making sure you are using the serving needed to hit that bench mark. Ensuring you are having between 20-25 grams of protein with meals will help keep you full, maintain muscle mass and decrease carb cravings. All things that can help you lose weight 😉
To reach this amount, make sure to look at the serving size and grams of protein per scoop. For example, most collagen proteins have about 10 grams of protein per 1 scoop. You would want to use 2 scoops to hit the 20 grams of protein. Some protein powders have 15 grams of protein per serving and for those I would suggest to use a heaping scoop. But a lot of protein powders out there have 20 grams or more per scoop. Either way, just make sure to hit that 20 grams minimum.
3) Make sure your protein powder is actually a protein source, not a carbohydrate source!
There are so many products out there that are marketed to be “protein” when really they are just a source of carbs with a boost of protein. My rule of thumb is to look for 5 grams or less of net carbs (total carbs-fiber) per serving used.
So for example, if a protein powder has 11 grams of protein and 2 grams of carbohydrates per scoop, you would want to use 2 scoops to hit that 20 gram of protein bench mark. That would make the total amount of carbs would be 4 grams. That’s a great option to use as a protein powder.
Click here to check out one of the protein powders I use and that meets my standards! Even if you’re someone that think’s protein powders taste chalky and gross, I’m pretty confident you’ll like this one. It taste like chocolate milk!
Protein is super essential for living your healthiest life and weight loss. And using a protein powder can be a great way to meet your needs. You just want to be mindful of the type of protein powder you are using since they are not all created equal. Hope this helps you next time you are at the store looking for a protein powder 🙂
If losing weight living a low carb lifestyle without counting calories or being hangry is something you want to learn more about, I have a FREE workshop on exactly that. You get instant access to it if you click this link. It will bring you straight to the video and you can watch my step-by-step process that I teach my clients to lose weight, living a low carb lifestyle.
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