Can You Have Premier Protein On The Keto Diet?

Thursday 28th March 2024

Are you following the keto diet in an effort to lose weight? I remember that I was someone who struggled with my way for many years. I tried just about every diet and exercise plan, trying to find something that would work for me.

Even though it took a while, I was able to lose weight on the keto diet.

One of the biggest challenges of following the keto diet was figuring out what “keto-friendly” and what was not. In an effort to develop more lean muscle, I increase my protein intake.

One source of protein is called Premier Protein. Can you have Premier Protein on the keto diet? Is Premier Protein bars keto-friendly? Is Premier protein shakes keto-friendly? There are a few important points to keep in mind.

Yes, Premier Protein Is Keto-Friendly

In general, Premier Protein is keto-friendly. This is something that you can have on the keto diet. At the same time, this does not mean that premier protein has a grand total of 0 carbs. It is important to take a closer look at Premier Protein, its nutrition content, and the keto diet as a whole.

Before taking a closer look at Premier Protein, it is important to define what is meant by “keto-friendly.”

The Keto Diet Replaces Carbohydrates With Fat

The goal of the ketogenic diet is to consume very few carbohydrates while also eating a lot of fat. By rapidly decreasing your carb consumption and replacing this with fat, you try to put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.

When this happens, your body burns fat for energy. When available, your body would prefer to burn carbohydrates. It takes less energy for your body to break down carbohydrates. Furthermore, your body can access energy that is stored in carbohydrates more quickly.

If carbohydrates are available, your body will not burn fat. If you would like to lose weight, you would probably like your body to burn fat.

When your body burns fat, it converts fat into an energy source called ketones. This process takes place in the liver, and ketones can be used at the power of a variety of the body’s energy function.

Ketones can even be used to power the brain.

Because you do not consume as many carbohydrates, you can also keep your blood sugar levels under control. You can also improve your body’s sensitivity to insulin.

Therefore, in addition to losing weight, following the ketogenic diet does provide a number of other health benefits.

How Many Carbs Is Too Many?

If your goal is to lose weight on the ketogenic diet, it is important to track your carbohydrate intake closely.

There is no set limit when it comes to the number of carbohydrates you can consume on a daily basis.

On the other hand, if you consume too many carbohydrates, you will knock your body out of ketosis. Some people try to limit their daily carbohydrate intake to 50g per day.

Some people may try to limit their daily carbohydrate intake to 25 grams per day. Therefore, everything you consume, including Premier Protein has to be counted. That way, you do not consume too many carbohydrates.

There Are Multiple Flavors of Premier Protein

Whether you are eating Premier Protein bars or consuming Premier Protein shakes, you need to read the nutrition facts closely to see exactly how many carbohydrates are in each shake or protein bar.

Furthermore, keep in mind that if you consume more than one protein shake or protein bar, your total carbohydrate intake will go up.

Even though every flavor has a slightly different carbohydrate count, all of them fall within the acceptable range, as long as you are not consuming too many of them.

Keep in mind that there may be some “hidden” carbohydrates in the form of corn fiber. Your body takes longer to digest fiber.

Therefore, this may not have as drastic an impact on your blood sugar levels.

Carb Count in Premier Protein

Now, it is time to take a closer look at the net carbohydrate content in Premier Protein shakes. Each protein shake is 11 ounces. Therefore, the number of carbohydrates is for a single, 11-ounce shake. The carb content is as follows:

  • Bananas and Cream: 3 grams of carbohydrates
  • Cafe Latte: 3 grams of carbohydrates
  • Caramel: 3 grams of carbohydrates
  • Chocolate: 2 grams of carbohydrates
  • Cookies and Cream: grams of carbohydrates
  • Peaches and Cream: 2 grams of carbohydrates
  • Pumpkin Space: 3 grams of carbohydrates
  • Strawberries and Cream: 3 grams of carbohydrates

You can see that the carbohydrate count in each of these protein shakes is relatively minimal. On the other hand, if you drink multiple of them, you may start to approach your carbohydrate limit for the day.

If you are using Premier Protein powders, there are also multiple flavors available. Therefore, you should take a closer look at the carbohydrate content.

The numbers below are for two scoops of Premier Protein Powder. This is a total of 41 grams. If you use more than two scoops, you may have to increase your carbohydrate count. The carb content is as follows:

  • Café Latte: 2 grams of carbohydrates
  • Chocolate Milkshake: 2 grams of carbohydrates
  • Vanilla Milkshake: 2 grams of carbohydrates

Again, the carbohydrate count in Premier Protein powder is also very low. On the other hand, if you are trying to increase your protein intake by throwing in extra scoops, you may have to adjust your carbohydrate count.

Are The Other Ingredients Keto Friendly?

It is also important to take a look at the ingredients list on the back.

There may be extra ingredients that are not necessarily friendly for the ketogenic diet. Even though the exact ingredients in Premier Protein shakes can vary from flavor to flavor, they are relatively similar.

Some of the most common ingredients include milk protein concentrate, sunflower oil, magnesium phosphate, sodium sorbate, water, vitamins, minerals, salt, sucralose, cellulose gum, and cellulose gel.

Fortunately, there are only two ingredients on that list that are not friendly for the ketogenic diet.

They are cellulose, and cellulose gel.

Cellulose and cellulose gel are both insoluble fibers. They both are starches/thickeners, listed as ingredients to avoid on a low-carb diet.

However, both do help with digestion. So indirectly it is still important to have in premier protein.

Also, both ingredients are present in such minuscule amounts in Premier Protein powders. Therefore, they should not have an impact on your ability to enter ketosis 🙂

What about the ingredients that are present in Premier Protein powders? Some are the most common ingredients include whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum, salt, potassium, sucralose, natural flavors, and soluble corn fiber.

Again, most of the ingredients on that list are friendly for the ketogenic diet. The only ingredient on that list that is not friendly is soluble corn fiber.

Because it is such a small amount of the actual protein powder, it should not have an impact on your ability to follow the ketogenic diet.

Is Premier Protein Healthy for Keto?

Premier Protein is keto-friendly based on its carbohydrate count and overall ingredient list.

A single serving of Premier Protein has almost 60 percent of the average daily recommended intake of protein. Furthermore, they also have a lot of vitamins and minerals.

The best part is that you can access all of these benefits without having to worry about knocking your body out of ketosis.

However…

Please be wary that sucralose is an artificial sweetener. Of course, your goal is to enter Ketosis in a healthy way, eating healthy ingredients.

I have talked about some of the downsides of sucralose in my other articles. It’s up to you whether you’re ok drinking sucralose.

Overall Premier protein has high protein content, low carbohydrate content, numerous vitamins, countless minerals, and essential amino acids.

Therefore, I would say that premier protein shakes are healthy for keto. You should be ok consuming these shakes in moderation.

With only two scoops of protein powder, you provide your body with enough protein to handle all of its growth and maintenance reactions.

Of course, you can also adhere to the ketogenic diet.

How is the Taste – Will you struggle downing these shakes on Keto?

The answer to this question is subjective.

Everyone has their own individual taste preferences. Some people may enjoy the taste of Premier Protein shakes or powders. Other people may not like the taste and could find them a bit bland.

Because these powders and shakes are finally for the ketogenic diet, they do not have a lot of sugar. Instead, they use artificial sweeteners. Some people may notice that artificial sweeteners have an aftertaste. Some people don’t mind this aftertaste. Other people can’t get around it.

Of course, there are multiple flavors available as well. Some people who do not like one flavor may prefer a different flavor.

There are more varieties of protein shakes and protein powders. Therefore, anyone who is trying to find a specific flavor that is agreeable to their palate may want to try the protein shakes first.

With numerous flavors available such as vanilla, chocolate, bananas and cream, strawberries and cream, and even caramel, there is a good chance that people can find at least one flavor they enjoy.

There are ways to alter the flavor as well; however, if you add something to the shake, make sure it is keto-friendly!

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