Is a protein shake good for weight loss, or is it just an expensive habit? A strength coach with 114,000 followers says the tub is optional — and names four Indian meals that do the same job.
Dhamkee doesn't give medical or nutrition advice. This post reports what a qualified professional said on Instagram — their original post is embedded below, in full.
You do not need one. A fat loss and strength coach's position is that a protein shake is convenient rather than compulsory — and that regular Indian food covers what your body actually needs after training.
The shaker bottle has become part of the uniform. Somewhere between joining a gym and being sold a tub, most people absorb the idea that the window after a workout must be filled with powder or the session was wasted. So is protein shake good for weight loss, or is it something you can skip?
Simran Khosla, a fat loss and strength coach with 114,000 followers, answered it in one word and then explained the rest.
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Post by @buttlikeanapricot, embedded with credit.
Her answer is no
She opens with the question — do you have to take a protein shake after a workout — and answers it immediately. Short answer: no. Her point is that you do not need anything out of a tub straight after training to see results.
Miss the shake after your session and you have wasted the workout.
Protein shakes are convenient, not compulsory. If you are already meeting your protein needs through your meals, that is more than enough.
What she says your body needs instead
Three things, and none of them requires a purchase:
- Protein — to repair and rebuild muscle.
- Carbohydrates — to refill energy stores.
- Water and electrolytes — to stay hydrated and support recovery.
And her position on where those come from is the useful part: all of it is available in regular Indian food.
The four meals she names
These are her suggestions, in her words, for what to eat after training:
| Her post-workout options |
|---|
| Moong dal + rice + ghee |
| Paneer or eggs with chila, plus some fruit |
| Boiled eggs + roti + sabzi |
| Sprouts or chana chaat with lemon and rock salt |
Every one of those is a meal a lot of Indian kitchens are already making. None of them is a special purchase, and none is something you have to eat alone.
The line worth keeping
Protein shakes are just convenient — not compulsory.
Simran Khosla, fat loss and strength coach
A tub of protein powder is a recurring cost, and it arrives with a quiet implication: that the food already in your kitchen is not adequate. That framing does more damage than the expense. It turns dal and eggs into a compromise, when they were never the weak option.
There is also the practical part nobody mentions. A shake is one more thing to buy, store, carry and remember. A plate of dal and rice is already being made for everyone else in the house. On a weekday morning with children to get out of the door, the meal that requires no separate preparation is the one that actually happens.
Nuts sit in the same argument — treated as something to ration when they may not need to be: how many almonds to eat per day.
If you are working out how much protein is on your plate to begin with, which yogurt is best for weight loss puts real numbers on dahi and Greek yogurt, and is poha good for weight loss covers the same question at breakfast. On the carbohydrate side, is rice good for weight loss. The full section is Indian diet for weight loss.
And if the training is going in but the number is not moving, that has its own explanation.
Questions people also ask
Is whey protein necessary for weight loss?
Her post does not single out whey. Her argument is that a shake of any kind is convenient rather than required, if your meals are already covering your protein.
How soon after a workout do I need to eat?
She does not give a window. What she addresses is the belief that something must be taken immediately after training, and she says it does not have to be.
Can I get enough protein from vegetarian Indian food?
Three of the four options she lists are vegetarian — moong dal with rice, paneer chila, and sprouts or chana chaat.
Which protein powder is best?
We don't recommend brands, and neither does her post. If you want a specific product for a specific reason, that is a question for a dietitian who can assess you.
Shaina writes for Dhamkee. She is a mother of two who runs, practises yoga, and cooks — usually before the rest of the house is up. She is not a nutritionist or a doctor and does not play one here. On this blog she reports what qualified professionals have said publicly, and points you to them. More about how we work.