Is it safe to consume 3-4 protein shakes a day to build lean muscle, given the high calorie and fat content of some shakes?
Use them as what they are: a suppliment. Yes, you need the extra protein, especially after a workout during the recovery period. They shouldn't be your entire diet though.
Like mentioned, eat real food. Break your meals into 5 or 6 small, 500-600 calorie meals throughout the day. Throw some almonds in there as a snack.
I'm going to disagree with the best answer chosen so far and tell you that there's absolutely no such thing as "toning." You gain muscle and lose fat. That's it. If you're looking to put on muscle, eating is the most important step and then lifting big, heavy weights. Do squats, dead lifts, bench press, and barbell rows. If anyone tells you you're going to be "ripped and toned" by doing pushups and situps a million times a day, they're full of it. Big heavy weights produce big muscles.
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It should be "safe" but you have to ask your self why you need to drink so many. Whey protein shakes are especially good for recovery after workouts and are a relatively convenient, fast-digesting "meal." Are you working out many times a day? Some people can have "digestive" issues with drinking so many of them. Eating oatmeal separately or even in the shake itself helps with this but a mixture of solid foods will keep your digestive tract and body in order. Don't forget that total nutrition, not just protein, is important for building muscle and overall health.
It's OK, but just OK. If you have access to a kitchen, and you have the money, you need to try to get good, solid foods in your body. Not only are you getting the amount of protein you need, but also the vitamins, minerals, and fats your body needs to build muscle.
Remove the word "lean" from your mind when referring to muscle. Muscle is muscle. I would highly recommend getting yourself a good Crockpot and buy some frozen chicken breasts at Wal-Mart. You can dump the bag in, throw in the flavoring of your choice, and you'll have fall-apart, flavorful chicken with practically no effort. Make up a batch on Sunday, and you're set for the week. Making your meals ahead is the sure-fire way to assure you'll eat clean and proportionally to your goals.
Eggs are great, as are beans (which you can also cook in the crockpot), and 93/7 lean ground beef is cheap and easy to work with. Tuna Fish is great if you like it.
A shake in the morning and after the workout is great, but don't rely on it for your primary source of protein unless you cannot prepare or afford to make food. Hope this helps!
Yes it's ok BUT you need to be working out. If all your doing is just intaking large amounts of protein and not using it then your just wasting your money. Just because your getting lots of protein doesn't mean that your body will magically make muscle. You have to tell your body what to do with the extra protein, working out will do that.
In order to produce lean muscle you need to be doing high rep lower weights. Depending on what you want to work on will dictate what types of exercises you will want to do. But the best weights to be using is just using your body. Push ups (all variations close grip, really wide, normal, diamond and ect....) sit ups/crunches and lunges are just a few; but there are so many more exercises that you can do just do a search and you'll find lots. Good luck and happy toning.
Use them as what they are: a suppliment. Yes, you need the extra protein, especially after a workout during the recovery period. They shouldn't be your entire diet though.
Like mentioned, eat real food. Break your meals into 5 or 6 small, 500-600 calorie meals throughout the day. Throw some almonds in there as a snack.
I'm going to disagree with the best answer chosen so far and tell you that there's absolutely no such thing as "toning." You gain muscle and lose fat. That's it. If you're looking to put on muscle, eating is the most important step and then lifting big, heavy weights. Do squats, dead lifts, bench press, and barbell rows. If anyone tells you you're going to be "ripped and toned" by doing pushups and situps a million times a day, they're full of it. Big heavy weights produce big muscles.
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If you're not getting enough protein per day, you're not going to build muscle. As long as you stick to your daily needs for calories and protein(1 to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight) you should be able to build lean muscle without bulking up or gaining unwanted fat.
I like GNC whey protein products, they only have 130 calories and 2.5 grams of fat with 20 grams of protein, and they actually taste pretty damn good. My favorite is chocolate caramel, which you won't mind actually drinking 3-4 times a day.
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