Buying your supply of protein supplements with groceries will add a significant amount of cost to your grocery budget. Consider most people will spend about $90 per week (a family of two) to twice this amount on cost of food. I have personally sold the smallest package of high quality 10 gram protein at about $2 for single use. Of course, some protein shakes, ready made will run you about 3.50 (they’ll be higher calories, too).

Multiply this out to three to six times per week (2 per workout) and your minimum cost of food will increase to $15.Since, you’re temporarily supplementing, you need way more than a single use-single week supply. Scale for 15, 20, or more grams per portion and for other brand names. You cost goes up a lot.

Protein rich foods and protein rich supplements

Protein rich foods include the usual meats and yogurts. What about protein rich supplements? As well will get into a little bit later, most of your protein supplements are not created equally. In fact, most of your protein supplements typically have two aspects in common with one another.

1. Contain protein
2. Average about 7 grams protein per 15 grams of “powder”
3.  

We are focusing on powders because they’re the most convenient and the easiest to incorporate into our eating.Looking then at powders, we find something intriguing.

According to Efficiency is Everything the amount of protein rich food supplement you get for your buck is with Muscle Milk, a gym staple. Consider, as we carry on later, that this supplement is higher in calorie and essential can be a whey protein meal replacement. Companies still create vitamin rich protein shakes and yes, intimate they are replacements.

Know that the non-replacement proteins, like rice, hemp, soy and even bone broth proteins, are not listed on this list. And, more quality brands, which pride themselves on mostly organic and natural protein sources are not on this list either.

Essentially, you get the most protein for the less money but questionable food practices and quality at the same time, unfortunately. Again, you must consider your goals – as we will cover later.

Consider your usage accordingly – adjust your ratios.

Adjusting your protein ratios with a nutritionist or coach is key for weight loss. It is also key for performance gains and body fat percent loss. In fact, adjusting your ratios, namely your protein ratios is the smartest means of carb-cycling. Carb-cycling is not the domain of athletes looking for performance, nor the domain of those looking to lose weight.

Instead, you should always alter your ratios.

You’ll start by altering your protein ratios first – always. 

This is a simple rule. It safeguards against dieting as we never automatically look to reduce protein. When protein ratios are low (10%-15%) they’re really just at normalized – non-workout – levels. Furthermore, the range at which we adjust is relatively small – a 20 point threshold – low:15% to high %35.

Protein recommendations are Wild

I recommend you adjust your ratios. During exercise weeks and cycles, adjust toward 25% or 30% of your total calories in protein. You can easily derive some smart results from here. If you have a total of 1800 per day goal, then a quarter, or 450 calories – about 110 grams – of protein should be taken in. 110 grams of protein.

This is the equivalent of 16 eggs, 3 quarter pound hamburgers, or 15 cups of regular pasty milk. And, consider the stature and goals of this 1800 calorie person. He might be a 180 pound cyclist looking to drop body fat safely by putting on some lean muscle and lifting.

Or, maybe a 145 pound woman, who does jiu-jitsu and is maintaining her weight through kettlebell and bodyweight training. Both folks require lots of protein to assist in building lean muscle. And, if these are highly active people, they should be actively working out semi-daily.

So why do protein recommendations vary into the absurd. Sometimes, I’ll hear a recommendation for 2 grams per kilogram and still wince.It’s smarter, safer and doesn’t obliterate your food choices like diets and bad protein recommendations will.

multiple types and protein Examples.

Protein supplements are as nearly ubiquitous as whole food protein sources are.

Despite protein supplements’ sheer omnipresence, there are LOTS of protein examples out there for the buying based on preference and need. For instance.

Vegan and vegetarians might need extra protein sources from foods and so they will search for protein vegetarian sources like buckwheat, miso, tofu, polenta, chutney and soy. Yet, protein vegetarian supplement sources exist too.

Protein supplements vary widely in quality, ingredients, and effectiveness. Here’s what you need to consider:

Types of Protein Powders

Key Considerations When Buying:

1. Ingredient List – Avoid excessive fillers, artificial sweeteners, or unnecessary additives.

2. Protein Content per Serving – Look for at least 20g per scoop.

3. Amino Acid Profile – High leucine content improves muscle protein synthesis.

4. Digestibility – If you experience bloating, try hydrolyzed whey or plant-based blends.