Protein shake at home: recipes and dosage regimen * Crossfit

A protein shake at home is exactly what people who are actively involved in sports or lead a healthy lifestyle need. Typically, they need to consume enough protein in their food to maintain a high metabolic rate, gain muscle mass or burn fat.

Most fitness experts believe that you should consume about 2 g of protein per kg of body weight.

Thus, a 90 kg athlete needs to eat 180 g of protein daily. That's a lot. For a better understanding of this figure, it is worth noting that so much protein, for example, is contained in 800 g of chicken fillet. Agree, not everyone can eat so many chicken in a day, because, in addition to this, you also need to replenish the body with the necessary amount of carbohydrates and fats. With such a volume of food, it will be difficult for the gastrointestinal tract to cope even with an absolutely healthy person. In such cases, protein shakes come to the rescue - it's convenient, quick and tasty.

In this article, we'll show you how to make a protein shake at home, share recipes, and give some helpful tips on how to use them.

Benefits of a natural cocktail

Without a sufficient protein content in the diet, fruitful sports are impossible - the body simply will not have time to recover. Amino acids serve as a kind of building material for the recovery of muscle cells injured during strength training. A special drink will help cover the body's needs for amino acids, accelerate recovery processes and create all the prerequisites for gaining muscle mass.

Choice of components

When making a protein shake for muscles at home, you yourself choose what components it will consist of. You can completely choose the optimal composition for yourself, for example, using cottage cheese, if you need a protein of prolonged absorption. Egg whites can be used if there is an urgent need to prevent post-workout catabolic events.

You can also vary the amount of simple and complex carbohydrates in your drink or make it without them at all if you are trying to get rid of subcutaneous fat.

Natural ingredients

Homemade protein shakes are a great snack for women. And all because they are made from natural ingredients and do not contain extra calories, since they are almost free of fat and simple carbohydrates. In the fitness environment, it is quite common practice when female athletes replace the last meal with such a cocktail. This allows you to get all the micro- and macronutrients necessary for the body, without loading the digestive system with a large amount of solid food. In addition, there is a moment of everyday convenience: there is no need to spend a lot of time cooking dinner and washing dishes.

Product quality guarantee

And most importantly, making a protein shake at home for muscle growth or weight loss, you are confident in the products you are using. When buying a can of protein in a sports nutrition store, you cannot have a 100% guarantee that the manufacturer has used high quality raw materials, and the actual composition of the product will correspond to that indicated on the package. Also, even in large sports nutrition store chains, there is always a risk of running into a fake made in incomprehensible conditions and from dubious ingredients. Such counterfeits often contain starch, maltodextrin, sugar and other simple carbohydrates, which reduces the nutritional value of the protein to zero.

The main components of the drink

The protein content of our cocktails is milk, low-fat cottage cheese and egg whites.

Milk

It is better to choose milk with a lower percentage of fat. Remember, however, that milk contains lactose, a high glycemic carbohydrate. Therefore, if you are on a strict diet, and even a small amount of simple carbohydrates is contraindicated for you, it is better to replace milk with plain water. It will not be so tasty, but much less high in calories.

Cottage cheese

A similar story is with cottage cheese, but its lactose content is less. Unfortunately, unscrupulous manufacturers often add starch to cottage cheese, which makes it practically useless in terms of proper nutrition. Buy cottage cheese only from trusted and trusted manufacturers. You should not buy cottage cheese by weight, since no one can guarantee you that its fat content will correspond to the declared one. You can use any cottage cheese: regular, grained or soft, but do not forget to check the amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and calorie content of the product on the label.

Egg whites

For egg whites, it is most beneficial to use bottled pasteurized liquid egg white. Now buying it is not a problem. This component can be easily purchased at any sports nutrition store or ordered online for home delivery.

Egg white is perfect for athletes. It is rich in essential amino acids and is highly digestible. Do not worry about salmonellosis, the protein is completely pasteurized and refined. Of course, you can also eat regular chicken eggs. But if you eat them without heat treatment, then there is just a risk, albeit small, of picking up salmonella. In addition, a whole chicken egg contains about 6 grams of protein and the same amount of fat. This will make the cocktail a lot more nutritious.

You can also replace chicken eggs with quail eggs, but this will hardly affect the end result - the amino acid composition of these two products is almost identical. The only problem with this protein source is that some people have difficulty digesting raw egg white. Taking enzymes right after drinking a cocktail will help solve this problem.

Carbohydrates

You can add complex and simple carbohydrates to your homemade protein shake. The best source of complex carbohydrates is oatmeal. They are inexpensive, you can buy them at any store, and their glycemic index is even lower than that of rice or buckwheat. And the calorie content of oatmeal per 100 grams of product in dry weight is only 88 calories.

In addition, when preparing a drink in a blender, the oatmeal will be crushed and give the cocktail a pleasant, slightly thick consistency. If you are in the period of gaining muscle mass, then a small amount of simple carbohydrates is also allowed. Especially if you are making a cocktail to take immediately after waking up or after training. It is best to choose natural products such as fresh fruit, berries or honey. In addition to the taste and health benefits, it will add fiber to the product, which will improve its absorption.

If you want to add sweetness to your shake, it's best to use a sweetener like aspartame or stevia.

The amount of the substitute should be moderate; you should not overdo it either. Of course, the taste of these sweeteners is very different from regular sugar, but they will not increase the calorie content of the cocktail.

If there is a need to make the drink more nutritious (this will speed up the recovery process between workouts), then adding a small amount of nuts is a good solution. Walnuts, almonds and peanuts should be preferred. They contain a large amount of unsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-9, which have a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system by reducing the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

You can also add peanut butter, but remember to weigh it. If you measure the portion "by eye", then you can easily not calculate and make the cocktail too high in calories, which, if consumed regularly, will create a surplus of calories in the body and can lead to weight gain. For the same reason, avoid adding foods that contain trans fats, such as ice cream or chocolate spread.

Cocktail reception scheme

When and how much protein shakes should be consumed is a purely individual question. It depends on many factors. For example, the time of waking up and falling asleep, the number of meals during the day, the tendency to gain excess weight, etc. matter.

In the tables below, we only offer a rough idea of when to drink the drink if you want to lose weight or gain muscle mass.

For most athletes, the following homemade protein shake regimen will work to gain muscle mass:

Immediately after waking up (the amount of protein should be small so as not to overload the gastrointestinal tract, 20-25 grams of protein is enough).
Between meals (this will allow you to further develop the metabolism and create more prerequisites for the growth of muscle mass, the optimal portion is 30-35 grams of protein).
Post-workout (this will stop catabolic processes and start recovery processes, ideal - 30 grams of quickly absorbed protein).
Before bed (this will protect muscle tissue from catabolism for the whole night, you can increase the serving to 50 grams of slow absorption protein).

If you want to lose those extra pounds, the following scheme for taking homemade protein shakes for weight loss will suit you:

Immediately after waking up (20-25 grams of protein will be enough, you can also add some carbohydrates to this and replace the first meal with a cocktail).
Post-workout (30 grams of Rapid Protein will help you recover and boost strength).
Instead of the last meal or before going to bed (in the evening, you still should not lean on carbohydrates, so dinner can be replaced with a cocktail made on the basis of low-fat cottage cheese).

Muscle Shake Recipes

If you want to gain muscle mass, then, in addition to protein, a significant part of the diet should be complex carbohydrates. This can easily be translated into a cocktail by adding oatmeal to it. A few simple carbohydrates will also do no harm, so you can safely add fruits, berries or honey, but in moderation.

So, here are a few recipes in which we'll show you how to make a protein shake.

350 ml milk + 80 grams of oatmeal + 200 ml of liquid egg white + 100 grams of strawberries	This mixture will give your body about 35 grams of excellent quality fast-digesting protein, about 50 grams of complex carbohydrates from oatmeal, and 25-30 grams of simple carbohydrates from berries and milk. This shake is perfect for taking immediately after training.
400 ml water + 250 ml liquid egg white + 1 banana + 25 grams of honey + 25 grams of walnuts	Drinking this shake will give you about 35 grams of high quality protein, about 45 grams of simple carbs. Ideal in between meals, this shake will energize your body for productive work.
350 ml milk + 200 grams low-fat cottage cheese + 2 sweetener tablets + 40 grams of raspberries	This drink supplies the body with about 50 grams of casein protein, which will ensure an even supply of amino acids into the bloodstream for 5-6 hours. There are very few carbohydrates in it, and this cocktail will not cause a strong release of insulin. Ideal for taking before bed.

Slimming Drink Recipes

Losing weight is impossible without following a low-carb diet. The amount of fat in the diet should also be small - no more than 1 gram per 1 kg of body weight. Therefore, we prepare the drink according to the same principle - a large amount of protein, a minimum amount of carbohydrates and fats. These homemade protein shakes are perfect for girls as they are low in calories and will not harm your figure.

400 ml water + 200 ml liquid egg white + 2 sweetener tablets + 50 grams low-calorie jam	This healthy drink will give you about 30 grams of quality protein and minimal carbs. If you find a calorie-free jam on sale, you can add it to the cocktail, but the taste can change for the worse. Ideal for immediate post-workout intake.
400 ml of water + 100 grams of fat-free cottage cheese + 100 ml of liquid egg white + 50 grams of oatmeal + 2 sweetener tablets + 30 grams of fresh berries or low-calorie jam	By drinking this shake, you will get about 30 grams from two different proteins: fast and slow absorption. Thus, you get a kind of analogue of a complex protein. By adding oatmeal and berries to your cocktail, you will make it much more nutritious and can replace your first meal with it.
400 ml water + 300 grams low-fat cottage cheese + 2 sweetener tablets + 100 grams of blueberries or blueberries	After drinking this cocktail, you will get about 40 grams of casein protein, and blueberries or blueberries will give the cocktail a pleasant creamy berry taste, practically without increasing its calorie content. Ideal for taking before bed.