Okay, enough with the F#!-$&* protein shakes.

I would love to know — and will conduct a survey shortly — if people know why they are including protein shakes in their fitness regime. I am willing to bet most people don't.

The answer I am expecting to hear from shakers is because they think it helps build muscle.

If you are one of the people who would give me that answer, you don't need to be taking a protein shake.

Here is the deal: some people can metabolize only 30-40 grams of protein daily (without aid, meaning "such as drinking gallons of water to flush the excess protein out of the kidneys"). Consuming more than that amount taxes the kidneys to an unhealthy level.

General RDA is 0.8mg per kilogram of ideal body weight per day. To figure this out, take your ideal body weight and divide by 2.2 then multiply by 0.8.

For example, my formula would be:

190 / 2.2 = 86

86 x 0.8= 69

For my ideal body weight, I should consume no more than 69 grams of protein per day.

Way back in the day (pre-protein shake availability), weightlifters were eating cottage cheese and beef to meet their protein needs.

Beef has all essential amino acids, plus nine essential vitamins and minerals. According to the May issue of Golf Digest, a recent study found that consuming four ounces of lean beef "can actually stimulate muscle protein synthesis by 50 percent in the young and elderly." Most cuts of beef have 7 grams of protein per ounce. So a quarter-pound lowfat patty has about 28 grams of protein — not too shabby.

Kevin Anderson, a well-known and respected trainer, agrees. Like me, he does not consume them and he does not recommend them for his clients. He points out that pre-digested, processed protein in these shakes do not digest the same as natural protein. Anderson adds that they're often just empty calories: our bodies don't recognize these shakes as food, so our body isn't satisfied and remains hungrier than it would if we ate, say, cottage cheese. Finally, our bodies are fine-tuned machines and work best on pure fuel, not chemical compounds.

Just remember: your body needs only a certain amount of protein, and there are natural, healthy ways to consume it — better than protein shakes with additives.

However, if you insist on consuming protein shakes, please read the labels carefully to see what else you are getting along with your protein.