Protein powder is a great way to ‘top up’ your protein intake and help achieve your protein goals, especially during the early post-operative period. But the big mistake we see so often, is people believing the addition of protein powder gives them a ‘free pass’ that overrides every other nutritional aspect of a food, making it ‘healthy’ or ‘superior’.

Let us explain a little more.

If we take a rich chocolate brownie for example, packed with a good dose of sugar and fat, the addition of a scoop of protein powder doesn’t make this a ‘healthy snack’. The fat and sugar are still there, and so too are the calories, so this nutritional ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ won’t help move you towards your goals.

Often our clients will proudly tell us of a snack they are enjoying everyday that they believe to be beneficial, that is actually not helping at all.

An example we recently came across was a super tasty (and rather indulgent) dip and cracker combination with a good hit of protein powder added to the dip.

Now, adding protein powder to yoghurt based dips in the early post-operative period may be an excellent way to give you a protein top up, but once you have healed and you are able to meet your protein targets with whole foods, it isn’t really necessary.

Don’t get us wrong, we are all for including regular indulgences, after all, food is one of life’s great pleasures. However, what we don’t like to see is including indulgent foods under the illusion that they are a great choice.

When deciding if a food is in fact a good choice, it is important to consider not only its protein content, but also what else it contains. If it is excessively fatty or sugary, consider it a treat and enjoy it in small quantities.

If you need to learn more about using protein powder or boosting your protein intake in positive ways, get a copy of our Protein Planner. You can get a copy in our Book Bundle, which also includes our Shopping Companion, Meal Plans and our Single Serves and One Meal, Many Ways and Fifty in a Flash recipe books for only $85 ($110 value)!Find out all the details here.