Yup. So, a protein shake will not cause you to bulk up. Protein is used by the body in making lots of stuff, so when you want to bulk up and are strength training you need protein to do it. Which was not what the OP was asking.

Adequate protein is critical to maintain LBM. Thats why its important for someone dieting. Not because its going to increase your metabolism enough to show a significant difference (which I really doubt anyone is going to notice).

Really good ?? I must be try it...

I dont know if its good for you but I'm definitely going to try this one that was suggsted in an earlier post here on this thread:

6-7 strawberry's
1 large banana
2 scoops protein - 50-60g Protein
10 Ice cubs
Half Cup Milk


Sounds delish.

It's so difficult to bulk up. Especially for women. Don't worry. 2 of my 6 meals every day are a protein shake with over 20 grams of protein per shot, and I don't look bulky and muscular at all. I wish!

Drinking protein shakes while lifting weights will NOT make you bulk up. Good grief!

It's not that easy to bulk up and you certainly can't build muscle while in a calorie deficit.

Drinking a protein shake and lifting weights will help you maintain the muscle that you have while you're losing fat. In fact it'll help you lose MORE fat because you're not losing as much muscle.

You have to work your ass off to bulk - and women have to work even harder than men to do it because women don't have enough testosterone to build the same kind of muscle bulk that men can.

I can attest to this, because I have a male friend we'll call him "John" who tried desperately to add weight to his skinny frame. He gained 8 pounds, total, over several years of weight lifting and protein eating and all that stuff. Of course, men and womens bodies are different, but I've heard that too tough for women to bulk up unless you are like a body builder who is trying to. Ok well I'm no expert on protein shakes so I"m gonna go back to what I know...my little diary. bye.

I use water, frozen strawberries and frozen blueberries with 2 scoops of protein powder. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of natural peanut butter - without hydrogenated fats or a couple of tablespoons of cooked, refrigerated steel cut oats or a tablespoon of low-fat cottage cheese for flavor/texture variety.

What about all the Cholesterol in the whey? Aint that bad for ya?

For years studies have shown that dietary cholesterol has much less effect on serum cholesterol than was previously believed. In other words, eating foods high in cholesterol is not as bad as we were told in the past. It's more the saturated fats that cause serum cholesterol issues.

But aside from that I'm not sure what you mean by "all the cholesterol". The RDA for cholesterol is to eat less than 200mg per day and the three brands of protein powder I use on a regular basis all have 5mg or less of cholesterol per serving. The only one I have in the house right now that's higher than that is Body Fortress and that's 28mg of cholesterol per serving. That's hardly a lot, even if you're taking 2 or more scoops each day.

EAS has 65g per serving.. thats 22% DV

I can't stand EAS - tried it once and it made me gag.

But even so, again, dietary cholesterol is not the evil baddie that they used to say it was. As with anything ... you have to see what's in the products you choose and make your own decisions.

So which brand would you suggest based on taste?

Steve got me to try Syntrax brand and so far I've liked every flavor from them that I've tried. Like being relative, you understand - none of it is gourmet, but I can mix the Syntrax flavors in water and they're not too bad.

I do ok with the Body Fortress brand as well, but I prefer to mix it with milk or juice because it's got more of a chalkier flavor. As soon as I finish this little bit I've got left, I'll probably keep buying the Syntrax and ditch the BF.

Thanks again kara. think this is like the 20th time you have helped me out.
I appriceate it...

No problem. Glad I can help.