Why Does My Protein Shake Foam?
Protein shakes are very popular nowadays because many people use them to promote muscle growth and enhance their results in the gym.
However many people find that when they put some protein powder into their bottle, add some water and give it a vigorous shake, they are left with a frothy and foamy protein shake that can take several minutes to settle.
This can happen regardless of which protein powder you like to use, whether it’s a popular whey protein such as the Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein (pictured), for example, or whether it’s a different type of protein, such as casein, egg white or soy protein.
Of course this isn’t a massive problem, but this foam can result in excessive air and bloating when consumed, which is never a comfortable feeling, and because it generally occurs because of poor preparation technique, it is something that can easily be avoided.
So here are a few tips and tricks that will help you to get rid of foam and frothiness when making protein shakes:
Make Your Protein Shake Before Your Workout
One of the easiest solutions is to simply prepare your shake before your workout. That way even if it does foam up a lot, it will have completely disappeared by the time you are ready to drink it, and won’t cause any abdominal bloating.
Use Water Instead of Milk
If you are mixing protein powder and milk, you are far more likely to get a lot of foam and froth because it takes longer to dissolve and doesn’t mix as well.
Avoid Using a Blender
Putting the protein powder and water in a blender will help you eliminate any lumps and give you a nice smooth drink, but this method of preparation will often cause a lot of foam and froth, which is why it should be avoided.
Avoid Using a Shaker
Similarly, if you use a shaker and give it a good shake for a few minutes, you will often get the same result. Some protein powders are less prone to foaming using this obvious technique, but you will often get at least a little bit of foam using this method.
Mix it Yourself
The best solution is to put the protein powder and the water into your shaker, like you would normally, and then mix it by hand using a spoon or a fork slowly and deliberately until it has completely dissolved. After a minute or two, you should have a smooth liquid with no lumps, and more importantly, no froth.
Mix With a Little Water
If you are mixing it manually, it is also a good idea to only use a little bit of water to start off with. Then once the powder has completely dissolved and you have got all the lumps out, you can then top it up with some more water.
Use Alternative Protein Sources
If you have tried all the above methods and still have foamy shakes even when you mix it by hand, you might want to consider consuming protein in a different way. Therefore you could increase your consumption of high-protein foods such as chicken, fish, Greek yoghurt, seeds and nuts, for example, which will give you the same results, and will generally be healthier than protein shakes.
I hope you found this article useful. If you have your own ways to avoid making avoiding foamy, frothy protein shakes, please leave your comments below.
So tell me how much “Greek yogurt, fish, chicken, seeds or nuts” you’d need to replace the needed protein?
Most knowledgeable weight training sources advocate about 1.7 g of protein per kilo of body weight daily.
I weigh 291 lbs, so I need about 225 g a day.
For example, from the label on “lean ground beef”, you’d need 1059 grams of that daily to get that amount
That’s 2.3 lbs. of extra lean ground beef – more than most folks can buy or eat in a day.
If you make it all Greek yogurt, it would be almost 5 lbs (FIVE pounds…) of yogurt in a day.
Tuna, with 20 g protein in 85 g, would make you eat 2.1 lbs. (956 g) of that fish per day.
So your suggestions are ridiculous and won’t work.
Whichever one of these former you choose, you’ll need protein supplements; despite your final suggestion, you can’t realistically substitute any of these (especially yogurt) for the necessary protein.
You’re also 293lbs.. Perhaps that’s ridiculous
Dwk, that’s fabulous.
In regards to “not being able to consume 5 pounds of yogurt/1000 g beef in one day,” no one says you are supposed to eat only ONE source of protein a day. Spread it out throughout the day with a variety of protein sources, and if you’re still not making your lumberjack quota, mix in a smaller portion of protein powder into your beverages throughout the day, and a smaller amount of powder will be easier to dissolve.
The point of what that person said was to display that even using the most concentrated food sources, it still amounts to pounds of foods. It wasn’t the person asking how do they eat ONLY 5 pounds of yogurt to get their protein sources. Come on man, have better reading comprehension.
I ate 4.5 lbs if beef a day for 2 weeks post show. Take your tampon out. If you’re struggling with 2.5 lbs of meat at 295 lbs you just need to suck it up buttercup
It was just one suggestion, chill out. I do agree with you though. You have to supplement with protein powder if you lift weights or exercise generally. I thought the rule of thumb was 0.8 times your body weight in protein though, not 1.7, Lol.
I know this is a 2 year old post, but this rule scales down when you’re obese. At 291lb a much larger proportion of your bodyweight is just fat, and you don’t need as much as 0.8g of protein per lb of bodyweight. Doc Faust should have just been aiming for ~0.5g per lb of bodyweight, at least until they dropped to a leaner bf%. Or maybe Doc is 6’9″ and everything I said is completely wrong 🙂
So shouldn’t that tell you that the protein recommendation you listed may be overestimated? People have been building muscle for millenia without needing to gorge themselves on whole foods nor on protein powders.
I suggest adding hemp hearts and legume sources to your homemade protein shakes. With Greek yogurt and other interesting sources such as raw sweet potato and soy proteins