vague title i know but here’s the question :
most protein powders come in servings of like 24g. when i check nutrition labels on cookies or like nuts 1 small packet of them has 6g protein…
so does that mean i might as well eat 4 packets of nuts after workout instead of protein powder for the same effect?
same for calories kcal, instead of mass gainers just eat like 10 small packets of nuts for the same effect? (1 packet =140 kcal)
yes, instead of x amount of one food you can eat eat y amount of another food for the same calories. In your example nuts aren‘t really good because they arw mostly fat and for a post workout meal you‘d want easy to digest carbs and protein, eg oats+ the aforementioned protein powder. cookies would have lots of added sugar and fat
i really can‘t imagine dealing with serving sizes instead of per 100 g.
Yes, protein powders are a scam. Like supplements in general optimise your diet and then supplement for anything you still struggle with. Go see a dietician if you want a critical eye on what you eat, you don’t need to see them more than annually/or when your goals change.
Beyond getting your aminos from actual food is not very difficult it takes 2-6 hours after you consume them for those aminos to become available for synthesis. Hydrate after exercise with some electrolytes (or drink tap water), get your protein from meals. Protein is the hardest macro for us to digest and even with the fast varieties you are not going to get the aminos quickly.
If anything you want to consume some simple carbs just before working out but that’s about it. If having the protein shake makes you feel better so you work out more than great keep doing it, if you are just doing it because you think you need to do it then don’t feel like you have to do so.
While aminos are not stored conversion to fatty acids is not a fast process and you will continue to have plenty available from your previous meal.
Protein sort of works that way; you can contrive circumstances where it doesn’t, certainly - off the top of my head, you could live off pork rinds for awhile and you’d find that the protein label didn’t work that way.
The effect of protein powder is up to you, in a few senses. The protein is going to be comparable unless your diet is pathological. You’ll get fiber with the nuts; generally good. The next difference is just micronutrients.
Grinding and desiccating protein makes it a bit more insulinogenic.