The post-workout meal is an important one.
It can be in solid food form or supplement form, there is no mandatory requirement to make it a shake unless that is what you want and choose.
However, there is nothing wrong with using a shake for post-workout nutrition.
Actually, you might want to experiment with both because one or the other might make you feel less hungry later during the daytime.
It’s perfectly normal to struggle with hunger or cravings later in the day.
Small amounts of hunger are normal and are something you have to learn to tolerate if you are on a reduced-calorie nutrition plan for fat loss.
Large amounts of uncontrollable hunger is an indication of bigger problems, usually calories too restricted.
You have to be able to feel a little hungry sometimes and fight the temptation to eat, or it will be very difficult to succeed at losing fat.
Cravings are usually psychological in origin and you can (mentally) very easily train yourself to get past them.
Thats because cravings pass quickly (as many thoughts do) but hunger intensifies the longer you go without food.
This is one way to tell the difference between physical hunger and mental/emotional cravings.
Cravings can pass quickly if you do a mental trick or simply “procrastinate”.
Cravings usually go away on their own.
Also distracting yourself or getting involved in other activities is a good way to get your mind off food by stimulating yourself mentally in another area.
As for physical hunger, you might be able to manage that by experimenting with the types of foods you eat and that includes shakes.
While post-workout shakes are easy and convenient, some taste terrible.
Also, some people say that they don't feel full when they drink a shake compared to eating whole food.
So it would be a good idea to experiment with post-workout shakes and post-workout meals and see what satisfies your hunger better.
Also it's worth noting that the type of protein you consume makes a difference.
Whey and casein are both high-quality proteins that come from milk sources.
Whey is the most commonly used and is of extremely high quality.
The downside is it could be a little watery though inconsistency. Casein is thicker, almost like a pudding.
So a protein shake that has a casein/whey mix or is simply thicker inconsistency can make you feel fuller.
Last but not least, there are people who ad a shake in addition to their post-workout meal.
I do not recommend doing this unless you reduce the calories in your meal to compensate for the calories in the shake. in the shake.
In other words eat the same amount of calories regardless of whether you choose a protein shake, post-workout meal, or both.