hey guys, I'm very new to weight training and have laways been told that if you are overweight, protein supplementation will only make you bigger, and that it's better left to underweight people looking to only gain muscle. Is this true? I only have a very basic understanding of how it all works. This thread just sparked my curiousity.

http://spikediet.blogspot.com/2010/07/protein-protein-protein.html

This is my blog post on the 3 best types of protein powders and when to use them. The article you posted is great.

I also list my favorite brands.

Best time for Whey is in the morning and post workout

Casein and egg protein is great as a meal replacement and before bed.

Casein vs. Whey Protein

The difference is clear between the effects of these two forms of protein. Whey protein is digested extremely quickly in comparison to casein, which means that most of it will be in excess. What I mean is, your body can only handle a given amount of protein at any given time. Having too high a concentration of amino acids in your blood will force your body to either store them as fat or to excrete them via the kidneys.

With casein protein, instead of having a spike of amino acids in the blood, a more controlled release of amino acids into the blood results. You’ll have the amino acids you need to build muscle long after your meal, preventing muscle wasting and promoting muscle growth.

The Nitrogen Balance

This can also be explained using your overall Nitrogen balance. In general, when your body is losing muscle mass (amino acids) through energy metabolism or excretion, you have a negative nitrogen balance (at least one Nitrogen atom is present in each amino acid). In other words, you’re losing more Nitrogen than you’re taking in, resulting in a negative Nitrogen balance.

Taking in casein protein is a way to equilibrate this Nitrogen balance and shift it towards the positive end. Your muscles will be less likely to lose mass since amino acids are being released slowly into the blood through the digestive tract. “Case in” point? More muscle growth, less muscle wasting during a short fast.

However, one advantage of whey protein is that muscular synthesis occurs much more quickly since there’s a surge of amino acids in the blood following ingestion.

The point I’m trying to make here is that you should use both sources of protein in moderation – too much whey protein and you’ll begin to lose muscle mass during a fast along with storing much of it as fat. Too much casein and your protein synthesis will be extremely slow.

So, the obvious conclusion is to use them both together in your protein supplements, shakes and normal diet. Don’t just take a whey protein shake or just a casein shake. This way, you’ll have a fast-acting protein that’s fantastic immediately following a workout along with a slow-acting protein (casein protein) that’ll prevent muscle wasting later on.

The main advantage of casein protein comes when you hit the sack. What happens to your body for that 7-8 hours you’re laying in bed at night? If you haven’t had any casein protein before bed, then chances are you may be losing some muscle mass. Why? Most of your muscle rebuilding occurs while you’re asleep, not during the day. Without casein protein, you’re liable to lose amino acids from another muscle source to rebuild the damaged muscle. Not good!

Taking in some whey protein before bed won’t really help either, since you’ll be without a source of amino acids for about 7 of your 8 hours of sleep (whey protein is completely digested in about an hour). On the other hand, casein protein continues its release of amino acids into the blood for about 6-8 hours following ingestion. Goodbye muscle wasting!

If you focus on one or the other, you’ll be losing some serious benefits!

I find it easier to focus and make sure I'm really doing high/low intensity when I'm using a heart rate monitor. Maybe you already have one. I do think they're helpful, even when you're on a machine. That way you don't have to touch the handles or whatever to get a reading. It's just a constant flow of heart rate information.