Protein Powder Versus Whole Food

As you go about your diet plan, you may start to wonder about the real different between protein powder and whole food. Different people have different views on protein powder.

Some people feel that it is best to avoid it because they don’t think of it as real food. Others think it’s a great way to meet their protein requirements.

So who’s right? What’s the real deal with protein powder?

Let’s look at the main points that you need to keep in mind when comparing the two.

The Calorie Content

The first thing that you need to think about is the calorie content. One nice thing about protein powder is that it is very calorie controlled as most scoops are between 100-120 calories. So regardless of what brand you use, you should be taking in this much.

With food sources of protein, you’ll need to get into weighing and measuring it each time you cook and different protein sources do vary in their total calorie content.

For instance, 3 oz. of steak or salmon has more calories than 3 oz. of turkey or white fish, so you’ll need to account for this difference.

There is a bit more tracking involved when it comes to whole food.

The Added Nutrients

Second, you also need to think about added nutrients. Some food sources of protein can be quite fatty if you aren’t choosing the right cuts, so this can contribute a high amount of calories to your diet if you aren’t careful.

As long as you are choosing protein powders and not meal replacement powders, most of them don’t have many grams of fats or carbs added to them. You’ll be looking at three grams at most for almost any variety.

This makes protein powder a very lean source of protein to take in. But at the same time, if you choose proper protein sources, you can find very lean ones as well.

The Satiety Factor

Finally, you need to think about the satiety factor. That is one place where protein powder does come up short.

Most people will not find protein powder nearly as satisfying as they will whole food, so if you are trying to combat hunger, you will want to stick with whole food as often as possible.

Otherwise, you may find that you’re constantly hungry.

So there you have the main points to keep in mind. All in all, protein is an excellent way to help get your protein requirements met, but at the same time, you should never exclude real food from your diet plan.

A good balance is what will yield the best possible results in terms of fat loss or muscle building.