How to Choose the Right RTG Protein Drink

As people start the New Year off with new fitness goals, more people are in search for good supplements and healthy snacks to help them stick to their diet. But what do you look for when trying to find a protein snack?

There are many different variations of protein supplements. There are shakes, bars and ready-to-go Shakes, or RTGs. RTGs are pre-made protein shakes that are great for people on the go and don’t have access to a blender and all the shake-making fixings.  The profile for various RTGs vary quite a bit. What you need will depend on what time you eat it.

For instance, if you are looking for a snack to eat between, or in place of meals, and you want it to curb your appetite and boost energy, you need an RTG that has a good amount of fat in it. Fat slows digestion, which will keep you feeling full.

The only time you would want a low-fat, high protein RTG is you are drinking it directly after a workout. A great example of an awesome RTG for a snack that will stick with you is Atkins Milk Chocolate Delight Shake (and the Café Caramel Shake looks to die for, but I haven’t tried that flavor yet!). Atkins RTGs are only 160 calories and have 15gms protein, 4-5g carbs (3g net carbs) and 9g of fat. Not only will you find that this shake tastes much better and richer, you will find that the higher fat content will help this shake stay with you longer – and that is important, especially while trying to restrict calories.

Beware of Sugar & Carbs

I compared Atkins shake (which you can get at the grocery store) to other so-called protein RTGs on the shelf, and there was a startling difference. One popular shake was 190 calories (vs 160), only 10gms of protein (vs 15gms) and 5gms of fat (vs 9gms), and a whopping 30 GRAMS of carbohydrates (vs 4-5gms). It had 18gms of sugar vs Atkins 1gm of sugar. What does this means to you? It means you’ll be starving in about 2 seconds after you drink it. The high-carb high-sugar shake will spike your blood sugar for a moment, but likely follow with a pretty quick and awful sugar crash – leaving you hungry and unsatisfied.

Boost Proteins & Fats 

When I reflect back on my first week on Atkins, I could most definitely tell that the higher fat, higher protein diet kept me much fuller and content. Sadly, people are scared to have fat because they treat fat like a 4-letter word. Healthy fats are incredibly helpful for dieters and maintain good nutrition. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, is what does the most damage. Unfortunately, many dieters aren’t getting the protein and fat they need on their high-carb, low-fat diets – and they’re wondering why they are so miserable and hungry all the time. (Watch the Fat Heads movie – SO enlightening!)

If you are changing your shopping and eating, choose fat over carbs, low-fat over fat-free items and beef up your protein (pun intended!). You will be amazed how much better you will feel and how much faster you will get results – both with your health AND your waistline!!

Here’s more on what i learned about Atkins Diet – definitely not what I originally thought!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Atkins.