Of course, I don’t know your history and current diet, and Krista may. In which case, ignore what I say.

Although whey protein can temporarily spike insulin, I would personally disagree that this is necessarily problematic, particularly right after strenuous activity, when it can actually be highly desirable for good recovery.

However, “protein shakes” can contain tons of sugars, depending on who is making them. A ton of extra sugar can increase appetite in a big way. If your protein shakes are made at the gym or at home from pre-packaged protein shake mixes, beware the ingredients.

It also matters when you’re consuming these shakes. After training, a shake with a highly digestible protein like whey and a source of high-GI carbs can help a lot with recovery. I tend to have something like this after a hard training session, even when I am trying to cut fat. But unless I’m trying to put on mass, I don’t consume protein shakes throughout the day.

Secondly, how is the rest of your diet? Are you trying to stay low-fat? Because this will do terrible things to appetite control. Conversely, did you just go low carb? If so, you may need some time to for your body to adjust before it stops craving massive amounts of glucose.

Also, you may be experiencing increased hunger because you simply need more food. If you are putting on lean mass while losing fat, and you have recently cut too much food intake, it’s not necessarily a problem that you are hungry. This may be your appetite doing its job and telling you that you’re restricting intake too much.

As for your weight on the scale, muscles can temporarily retain a significant amount of fluid after being trained hard. This can add to your weight even as you lose fat. I would think that this has a lot to do with your overall weight gain if you are a woman (and even for most men). A stone and a half of muscle gain in a month and a half is unlikely.

If you are drinking whey protein, that may be part of the problem — whey can cause an insulin response that in susceptible people actually increases appetite. Also, liquid calories are much less satiating. Try getting that 180 g of protein from solid food, throw in 1/4 cup of legumes here and there, eat plenty of high-fibre colourful veggies, and that should help.

I’ve noticed that In about a month and a half I’ve loset some fat around my waist and my stomach, and feel healthier, but I’m weighing more than I did before. I was 13 stones before I began and now I’m almost 14 and a half. I look thinner than I did so what’s going on?

I have been tartgetting an intake of over 180g of protein every day. and I’ve noticed I feel hungry for most all so much more than I did before, even after having a meal I sometimes feel hungry. Do you know what this could be down to (I have a feeling this has something to do with the protein shakes I have been drinking)?

Sounds pretty much like what I’m doing now. (Which is good, because I wasn’t terribly keen on the idea of drinking a galleon of milk a day). I’m having some slight issues with getting the carb/protein balance down to pat because I’m a vegetarian. Do you think a protein drink would be appropriate in this instance? A girl can only deal with so much tofu in a week before it starts coming out your ears.

I’ll definably get started on the tape-measuring thing and see if I can’t get a hold of a pair of skinfold calipers.

Thanks!

First, don’t bother reading sites geared to male bodybuilders, especially old-school guys who will tell you to eat like a PMSing walrus. At each meal, eat:

-a palm-sized serving (3-4 oz) of lean protein
-1-2 fists (1-2 cups) of veggies, ideally colourful ones
-1-2 thumbs (1-2 oz) of good fats

Don’t worry about “eating for mass gain” if you’re someone who started out trying to lose weight. The folks who need to focus on eating more are the folks who are “naturally” more ectomorphic, aka lean/thin. You just focus on eating the best quality food you can, eating when you are physically hungry and stopping when you are physically full/satisfied (not stuffed), and getting as strong and powerful as possible.

Cheapo body fat tracking: use tape measurements of the circumference of neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs, calves, upper and lower arms. You can also buy skinfold calipers online and track 7 sites.

For almost a year now, I’ve been working on improving my health. I’ve lost about 22 pounds over that time period (I started out somewhat overweight and very out of shape). Over the summer and now in the fall I decided to get into weight-training as opposed to cardio-focused workouts, and I really love it!

Generally speaking, my goals amount pretty much to “don’t stop training” and “get stronger, preferably loads stronger, because it’s kick-ass”. So, this is my problem: Having a history with moderate weight-problems I definitely don’t want to pack on the fat again, but I also recognize that a strength-gain and a muscle gain will mean an increased weight. Apart from being able to lift heavier, how do I distinguish between fat gain, and muscle gain? I have a very hard time eye-balling these things, I don’t really trust my eyes when it comes to how my body looks.

I’d go get my body fat-% checked, but I don’t seem to have access to any reliable methods in my area that doesn’t cost a fortune.

Cheers,
Malin

PS. I’d just like to say that I’ve been following your site since I was in high school and while it took me a really long time to get to a place in life where I could maintain an exercise routine and eat healthily, this site has always been an inspiration for me. It really rocks.