hypothetically, can i live off protein powders?

qm111

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Just purely hypothetical, because I want to ask this question to understand how the digestive system works..

If I eat/drink nothing but water+protein powders and other vitamins that are necessary for my body, would I still be able to bulk up?

I just want to know whether my body would be able to absorb protein powder if I don't take any food. The reason is because I have a very low appetite and I'd like to rely on mainly a liquid diet. But is there a certain point where if I take too much of these supplement stuff, my body will just start rejecting it/passing it?
 

youngandfree

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Well the velocity diet is a crash diet of liquid shakes and one solid meal a week. But is only intended to be done for 4 weeks and then transition into more solid meals. I wouldn't do it for bulking though. What do mean by very low appetite? If you just put a priority on eating some extra smaller meals a day, then you can build up your appetite. If you don't eat much, your stomach shrinks and it is harder for you to get hungry. So if you just eat some more, your stomach will stretch a bit and when it is empty, you will get the hunger pangs and want to eat again. Try to put something down every 3 hours and just build up to it.

I wouldn't recommend the liquid diet for long term use though. What are your stats and what are your goals for bulking up?
 

suresha

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"don't push away the messages you receive from the wisdom of your subconscious mind"
 
schwellington

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Complex carbohydrates are needed to bulk up buddy..... they refill your muscles glycogen stores.....dont get me wrong protien is essential too....but you need carbohydrates
 

qm111

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Well the velocity diet is a crash diet of liquid shakes and one solid meal a week. But is only intended to be done for 4 weeks and then transition into more solid meals. I wouldn't do it for bulking though. What do mean by very low appetite? If you just put a priority on eating some extra smaller meals a day, then you can build up your appetite. If you don't eat much, your stomach shrinks and it is harder for you to get hungry. So if you just eat some more, your stomach will stretch a bit and when it is empty, you will get the hunger pangs and want to eat again. Try to put something down every 3 hours and just build up to it.

I wouldn't recommend the liquid diet for long term use though. What are your stats and what are your goals for bulking up?
im something like 5"11 125lbs. so obviously Id like to gain weight.. any gain that doesnt make me fat is good.

You know overweight ppl have self control problems with eating too much? Well im the opposite of that. I dont have an urge to eat that much, and my discipline isn't too good so its hard to force myself to eat more than I usually do. I've certainly tried to make myself eat more and go on a diet plan, but eventually I give up..

Im not planning on going on purely a liquid diet, but Im wondering if its ok if the majority of my calories/proteins are coming from protein shakes? Would my body absorb it well, or would I just be wasting money?
 
mkretz

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in a way i have a similar problem ... my problem is more towards exercise.... i tend to do a lot of it lol............ i used to have your problem as well though, the trick is, if u are serious about gaining weight u will eat. Its not like food isnt good ya knwo what im sayin lol. Alot of the time it really is urself telling urself that ur not hungry... lik einstead of snacking on a pickle or sumthin grab a bar of sumthin...more calories right there. Just eat sum pb every once in a while, more cals..... drink shakes sumtimes yea, but make sure tehy mass shakes not jsut straight protein, get sum carbs in them whether its a homemade gianer (better) or store bought. Anytime u have an issue with food jsut say to urself "im bulking" "i need it" at ur weight even if u tried u probably woudlnt get "fat" until winter anyways and by then it woudlnt matter so just go for it dude, all or nuttin.
 
CopyCat

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To answer your question simply... NO!
 

risktaker

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Just purely hypothetical, because I want to ask this question to understand how the digestive system works..

If I eat/drink nothing but water+protein powders and other vitamins that are necessary for my body, would I still be able to bulk up?

I just want to know whether my body would be able to absorb protein powder if I don't take any food. The reason is because I have a very low appetite and I'd like to rely on mainly a liquid diet. But is there a certain point where if I take too much of these supplement stuff, my body will just start rejecting it/passing it?
Are you on crack, the human body cannot absorb all the nutrients in protein powder because is not natural to the body. Eat real food to bulk up. Don't you read labels, the powders said that you cannot use it as a food source.
 
2k1s

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its a bad idea. I researched this while I was taking protein shakes as meal replacements twice a day.

Excess Protein
Your kidneys will have a very hard digesting too much of any protein. Excess protein is responsible for two reactions in the body:
Your blood will turn acidic.
Your blood pH should be in the 7.0 range. When blood becomes very acidic, the body must correct itself by making your blood more basic. The most basic available element in your body is calcium (showing off my college degree here). Your bones will release calcium into your blood, which will then bond to the acidic byproducts of the protein, turning your blood back to a neutral level. Goodbye healthy bones, hello osteoporosis.
You could develop kidney stones.
That doesn’t sound too bad, until you realize that your body is going to need to remove those little calcium deposits that are floating around in your blood. These calcium deposits end up in your kidneys to await your next trip to the restroom. I’m sure you have heard of kidney stones and now you know one of their causes. Ouch! Be sure to limit your initial intake of protein in order to ensure your body responds to well to it.
 
mkretz

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wow....never thought of that lol great info!
 
CopyCat

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It'll be a few days, maybe a week, but I will post a nutrition assessment paper I just wrote on a 3 day diet diary of myself. It's 7 pages so maybe it will be easier to email it, but I think you'll be quite shocked at the results. I mean when at first you read the diet diary you think how can anyone find anything wrong with this. However, by the end you will realize just how much your best diet lacks. Then compared to to a protein shake only diet or even the so called meal replacement drinks there is no contest. My paper not only includes general health, but dental health, which was it was written for.

I'll keep you posted brother.
 

Robbo

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I didn't think you can exist just on protein.

Rabbit Starvation?
 

Aitaronz

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Rabbit Starvation?
Oooh, you beat me to it! Never mind, I'll see your Rabbit Starvation comment and raise you a Rabbit Starvation QI video clip. :D

youtube.com/watch?v=XC2RYiaM6WU


(Sorry about the lack of linkiness. I'm a long-term lurker with <50 posts.)
 

Jstrong20

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I live off crushed oatmeal/protein/peanutbutter most of the week. Probably not ideal but it will work.
 

nyoung807

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What if I just ate green beans? Could I live off those?
 

Draikaiden

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From the time I was 18 until I was 28 i was 6'1 and 155 pounds. I always liked the weight room, but lack of knowledge on nutrition made any attempts to add weight futile.
I had a high stress, high speed job too, so rarely had time to eat.
i never ate breakfast, rarely ate lunch and if i did it was usually not the best choice of food, and had a decent dinner.
Point is I like you had a hard time eating due to numerous factors, and really had no care to. Often the thought of food would make me feel sick.
It may be hard at first and at times will make you feel bloated and stuffed, but eat.
Start out small making sure to eat every 2-3 hours. and increase the amount little by little tell you reach the point you want to be at.
i now weigh in at 205 and i was at 220 before an ankle injury really halted my proggress for a few months.
I went from never eating breakfast to working my way up to 6-8 eggs every morning.
Start with 2 eggs if that is all you can eat and do it every day.
then eat like 1/2 cup of real oatmeal 2-3 hours later,
Lunch 2-3 hours after.
then say at least a 1/4 cup cottage cheese in the afternoon.
and dinner 2-3 hours later.
use cottage cheese again or casien protein before bed.
Do this religiously and as you get used to it up the amount at each serving tell you are where you want to be for your calorie intake.
Point is eat every 2-3 hours, healthy and good foods. NO sweets! cept maybe low fat after your workout. it will just hurt your appetite for good foods.
And in a month or 2 you will be eating like a champ and will definetly see the scale going up. If you are putting your time in the gym as well it will be muscle and you will thank yourself for it.
 

gymrat827

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you need real cals, not BS protein powder. Eat 6-7 real meals a day, plus protein powder. You will grow if you lift. Eat every 3hrs whether your hungry or not. Otherwise you will be 125 for a long time.
 
mkretz

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i would love to see that paper if u could post it..... if not an email would be great too..
 
alwaysgaining

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if you did you would be a skinny mofo lol u need real solid food!!
 

Shane0Mac

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bit off topic but i was told there was some REALLY REALLY FAT guy who managed to survive 1 year only having water and vitamins.

again i heard it, not completely sure if its true
 
Vengeance187

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bit off topic but i was told there was some REALLY REALLY FAT guy who managed to survive 1 year only having water and vitamins.
I saw a guy on tv a long time ago that claimed to live off of nothing but goat milk. There was also a lady who ate dirt on the same show...
 
BigBlackGuy

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You could do it. You would probably feel like trash, though. And then you would die of scurvy.
 
CopyCat

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i would love to see that paper if u could post it..... if not an email would be great too..
It's 7 pages typed so dunno how well it would post over, but yeah I'll hit you up when I'm ready to email it out. I'm just waiting till I turn it in and get it back with a grade.
 

youngandfree

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For what its worth I'm finishing day 3 of the velocity diet. It sucks. Day 2 was explosive gas and today my bowels just unloaded. I'm taking quality multi and 7-9 grams of fish oil along with some fiber powder. I can't wait till day 28 to eat real food again. I make several shakes a day into Sludge to make myself feel like I'm eating something solid. Just my observations from 3 days if protein shakes.

I don't recall reading Anywhere on the V-diet website about the explosive gas and BMs.

BTW, currently using vanilla Nutrpro, which is great, and LG chocolate Lipotropic, which is definitely not my favorite.
 
UGHQTempus

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For what its worth I'm finishing day 3 of the velocity diet. It sucks. Day 2 was explosive gas and today my bowels just unloaded. I'm taking quality multi and 7-9 grams of fish oil along with some fiber powder. I can't wait till day 28 to eat real food again. I make several shakes a day into Sludge to make myself feel like I'm eating something solid. Just my observations from 3 days if protein shakes.

I don't recall reading Anywhere on the V-diet website about the explosive gas and BMs.

BTW, currently using vanilla Nutrpro, which is great, and LG chocolate Lipotropic, which is definitely not my favorite.
If you are on the V-diet you need some probiotics. Take 2 caps a day (morning/night) of whatever you can find. It'll cure the gas issues.

If you can find GUT HEALTH (RPN) I'd get that but since things went ... bad.. its really hard to find.
 

youngandfree

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Thanks. Just got some probiotics yesterday.
 

Matt6969

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protein poisoning........ it means you would be ****ed
 
LichKing

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haha Youngandfree log this with pictures of gains/loss ... Heres an example:

Day 13...im sh*ting red and bedridden
hahah i could never put myself through that torture
 
R1187

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if you did you would be a skinny mofo lol u need real solid food!!
This is broscience.

The body needs calories for energy, and an adequate supply of nutrients including protein and fats.

While you couldn't live off protein powder and water, if you blended in some oats and whole milk, and consumed sufficient calories, yes you could live off it indefinitely and even make gains.
 
Jiigzz

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Are you on crack, the human body cannot absorb all the nutrients in protein powder because is not natural to the body. Eat real food to bulk up. Don't you read labels, the powders said that you cannot use it as a food source.
Whey isn't natural? You sure about that? Just because it is processed, much like your cereals and things, does not mean it is not naturally occuring.

its a bad idea. I researched this while I was taking protein shakes as meal replacements twice a day.
No. Just no.

Excessive protein intake IS NOT HARMFUL. This has been well studied. But, you cannot survive off protein alone for long durations. Carbs yes, but fats no. Well you would live, but it wouldnt be optimal.
 
broken bottle

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You could spend hundreds of dollars at Tnation for their supplement only diet. Let us know how you do
 

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