Originally Posted by ConcussedJ

You are wasting your money. You don't need the protein supplements.

At your activity level and if the rest of your diet is typical, all the protein from the supplements is probably ending up in the toilet. Excess protein intake is extremely hard on the kidneys as well.

Just eat (more) real food in a balanced diet if you want to get bigger, and exercise as much and as hard as you can without triggering your symptoms or otherwise hurting yourself.

Protein supplements may be useful when it is inconvenient to prepare and eat real food. For example, there is an alleged "protein window" that last for about 30 minutes after a hard workout -- the kind that leaves you sore for days afterward -- where your body is said to optimally absorb protein. So for someone interested in building muscle and who believes in that window, it's much easier to gulp down a protein shake right after a workout than to prepare and eat a real meal with the same amount of protein at the gym.

For sure, the protein intake requirements for a highly active athlete are much greater than for the average person, and it may be difficult to satisfy those requirements with real food.

But nothing replaces the nutrition you can get out of real, whole, unprocessed food in the end. Besides, real food tastes better and (I bet) calorie-for-calorie, cheaper.

If you can get the protein from a steak, ditch the protein shake.

Source: lifelong competitive athlete in weight-classed sports.