So another whey protein is innocently standing by to be pimped, only once it’s been pimped out you’ll have a protein shake that delivers the same calories as a large roast dinner...and it's healthy! A shake that delivers this amount of nutrition in just 300-500 ml of fluid is a must for anyone serious about the Autumn/Winter bulking season. Getting calories in is one thing, but you want them to be ‘clean calories’ because chronic (long term) health is a real consideration you should NOT lose sight of!
So what do you need to get prepared in order to pimp your shake out?
Ingredients
-1 scoop whey protein (60g) (120kcal ; 24g protein)
-300-400ml full cream milk (200-300kcal ; 9-12g protein)
-1 heaped tablespoon Peanut butter (30g) (200kcal ; 6g protein)
-50g porridge oats (315kcal ; 15g protein)
A hand blender, bullet blender or something like this will be needed to help blitz some of the semi-solid ingredients into a delicious, filling, smooth shake. Add all of the ingredients to the blender and blitz, the result is a thick yet smooth shake that delivers the following:
Nutrition
Calories = 835kcal
Protein = 55g
Not to mention a plethora of vitamins and minerals, essential fats and both soluble and insoluble fibre. Assess your tolerance when ingesting such a high number of calories in one sitting, some people may find the protein and calorie count causes some gastrointestinal distress (stomach upset) so it’s important to see how you get on. The next few months is prime time for gaining mass and bulk over the colder Autumn and Winter seasons, so be sure to get your calories in and be sure to do it as healthily as possible!
In order to gain weight you have to be in positive energy balance i.e. you need to be consuming more calories than your requirements (including activity levels). Therefore no matter how much protein you consume, if your calorie intake is below your requirements (putting you in negative energy balance) then you will NOT gain weight…it’s as simple as that. If you’ve ever tried to gain weight from food alone then you’ll appreciate how difficult this is, not to mention the cost implications! So get a ‘Mega Gain’ protein shake in your life and see the difference this makes to your mass gaining goals. If you want this shake to push your lean mass gains then it needs to be combined with a regular training regimen consisting of resistance work and some cardio work. However, more pertinent than this is the need to consume the shake on top of your habitual dietary intake and not instead of, so aim to consume a ‘Mega Gain’ protein shake in between meals say around mid-morning or mid-afternoon in order to shift your body into positive energy balance for growth. The shake should never take priority over whole food such as a main meal; instead it serves as a great addition, giving you that extra nutrition when you need it!