Almost on a daily basis I get clients asking about using protein shakes or powders.

Let’s keep this really simple and before you take ANY supplement you need to answer this simple question:-

Did you sort your diet out yet?

You should forget about taking any protein supplement (these typically come in the form of a powder) unless you focus on improving your food quality FIRST. Many people that ask about taking a protein shake are so far away from eating right 80-90% of the time that the last thing they need to worry about is taking something that is designed to assist with their nutrition NOT become the cornerstone of their food intake.

This also extends to other basics, such as, you want to follow a training program that’s ADVANCED AND HARDCORE yet you can’t do push ups or chins ups easily, swing a kettlebell, get through 10 burpees without turning into a complete mess, you never drink enough water and you’re not getting enough sleep - essential to fat loss.

Danny Lennon did an excellent interview with Kirk Parsley where they discussed the importance ofquality sleep here. She didn’t get in that kind of shape by accident, it takes deliberate action and smart nutrition and appropriate supplementation to get into that kind of shape.

So what should you look out for in a protein shake?

1. Avoid companies that use excessive and poor quality soy protein. 
2. If you don’t or can’t tolerate a milk based protein (whey or casein) then there are some companies that are making plant based protein powders that are centered on rice, pea, hemp or soy protein but only use the highest quality, NON GMO ingredients. My favorites are Natures Plus and Sunwarrior protein. Both can be quite expensive but the quality of both is second to none.

Here are the brands I like (due to their use of high quality whey protein isolate and or concentrate).

In the past I have recommended using www.myprotein.co.uk for whey protein (I still like the impact whey protein they sell) as there were no Irish companies doing it for the same price. Over the past 1-2 years there are a number of companies that offer great value for money like Discount Supplements

With this change it’s now possible to get a 5lb tub of high quality whey protein for under €50 with most companies throwing delivery in for free.

I currently use KInetica and will be unfront and say that I am sponsored by them. However I love it and I think it is a really high quality product which is the only reason why I would use it and I have used it for years.

Quest Bars – think I have single handedly turned on most people in Ireland to these. These contain whey protein isolate but would be better used as a snack between meals as opposed to a post workout protein source.

Overall, get a simple whey protein, take it daily or more often if you’re looking to gain some weight and struggle to get in your 1g of protein per 1Lb of body weight. Just avoid using it as your main source of protein. Use real food for the bulk of your protein and use a shake or bar to make up what your missing.

However, don’t for one second think a shake or bar is any better than eating quality food, it’s just handy.

Post workout it’s much easier to throw down a drink than it is to eat whole food. This also goes for using the shakes as a way to get your protein intake up between main meals as they are digested quickly and make getting in protein every 3hrs far easier.

Eat good clean food, supplement if you have to and get stronger, simples. Just remember you can't out supplement a bad diet.