Protein Powder in your diet

If you are looking to have a lean, muscular, toned and energetic body, you may already be cutting on your carbs and looking into high protein foods.
With more and more people choosing to adopt low-carb high protein diet, be it for health reasons or just to look great, the availability of lowfat protein rich foods such as protein shakes, protein powder, protein food bars in the market has considerably increased over the last decade or so.
This is a good thing especially for vegetarians. Since the plant sources of protein such as legumes, pulses etc are also high in carbohydrates, so therefore defeat the purpose of a high protein diet. I, personally, am a vegetarian and my diet would generally contain lot of rice, curried vegetables, as I'm from south India. I also eat legumes, bread and sometimes eggs. But that basically is it. Like me, pretty much all vegetarians from South Asian background would typically eat the same kind of food high in carbs every day. The amount of excercise one usually used to get by doing everyday chores has considerably reduced over the years, thanks to the increasing comforts provided by the latest technology gadgets. therefore the carbs do not get spent as energy by our body but get converted and stored as fat deposits in our body.
Fortuantely, I came across a very good brand of protein powder and other protein products that helped me tremendously.
first of all they taste great! which is really key for me to continue using them.
second, the shakes provide 35 grams of protein with only 5 grams of fat and about 240 calories which is great. It keeps me full without having to eat extra carb rich foods to curb my hunger.
I was able to lose upto 6 lbs in 4 weeks with this diet and ofcourse 30 min excercise everyday.

Before you go ahead and purchase a protein powder, make sure you do a liittle research of your own to find out a good brand. There are many brands available in the market to pick from. A good place to start is at your local gym. Talk to a few body builders and find out what brand of protein powder they prefer. You may also find that people with diabetes also consume protein powder drinks and can suggest you some good brands. I basically look for these things:

• Source of protein: I prefer whey protein as that is the best form of protein.
• Price of the product. I don't always go for the cheapest one. You need to strike a balance between cost and quality.
• how much grams of protein does it provide.
• Taste. I usually go for a neutral taste product. That way I can add it my dinner, or a smoothy or a low fat milk shake etc. but it is your personal choice. There are flavored ones available in the market. Chocolate, vanilla are the popular ones.

Lot of women from Indian background who are vegetarians always wonder what can they do to lose some pounds and if possible even get a slim and toned body. But seldom, are they open to other diet options that may most likely would need them to avoid rice or atleast reduce the quantity consumed.

I agree that change is difficult, but some wise person said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

So, if you tend to gain weight easily just by eating a dessert or carb rich food over a weekend, then you may want to consider switching to protein diet low in carbs. But before you do that, read more about it and get more information. Finally, consult your doctor before you make any diet changes to make sure that is what your body needs.

Happy eating...