Should I be taking a protein shake both before and after working out?

M-Th eating schedule.

7am: Pre workout shake (Nitrean (two scoops/50g protein) + 1% organic milk) + breakfast (1% organic milk + a handful or more of organic granola).
8-8:10am: Workout for about an hour.
9:30am: Post workout shake (ON 100% Gold Natural Whey (two scoops/50g protein) + 1% organic milk)
10:00am: 1 organic banana
11:30am: small sandwich bag of organic carrots + spinach (vinaigrette dressing)
1:00pm: sandwich (2-3oz of turkey + 1 slice of dill havarti + spinach + mustard + two slices of whole wheat bread)
2:30pm: 1 organic banana
3/4pm: 1 organic orange or apple
6/7pm: dinner of some sort, usually consisting of quite a bit of meat (beef/lamb/pork/chicken/salmon) + veggies + rice/bread.

Am I eating enough?
Also should I have the Nitrean shake every morning even on non-workout days?

Workout schedule

M: 8am - 15 min of cardio (running @ indoor track) + lateral pulldowns + rows + back exercises
2:30pm - tennis (1 hr+)
T: 8am - (heavy day) squats + bench press (inclined/declined/regular) + military press + skullcrushers + tricep kickbacks/pulldowns + dips (assisted for now @ 22lbs) + abs (time permitting)
5:30pm - 3.5 mile run (25-30 mins outdoors)
W: 8am - 15 min of cardio (running @ indoor track) + leg press + glut + all the other leg exercise machines I can't name off the top of my head
2:30pm - tennis (1 hr+)
TH: 8am - (light day) squats + db press (inclined/declined/regular) + overhead press + bicep curls + pushups/pullups (time permitting) + might start high pulls
5:30pm - 3.5 mile run (25-30 mins outdoors)
F: off day
S: 2/3pm - 3.5 mile run (25-30 mins outdoors)
Su: 10am - tennis (2-3hrs)

Should I have more off days?

That activity schedule on your diet? What do you weigh, like 120 lbs or something?

Need more info. What are your goals, stats (age, height, weight, training history), etc.?

That activity schedule on your diet? What do you weigh, like 120 lbs or something?

Need more info. What are your goals, stats (age, height, weight, training history), etc.?

haha sorry. I'm 158lbs as of yesterday (w/gym clothes). I'm 21 and about 5' 9" (medium bone structure). I used to weigh about 190lbs~ (mostly fat) about 2 years ago and decided to lose most of that, did heavy cardio/light lifting up until this past winter (dec 07). Started this regime since Dec 07. I got down to about 155lbs sometime last summer (april/may 07) so I lost the fat slowly, but also did lose a lot of muscle.

Right now, my BF% is probably 15% give or take so my goals would be to gain muscle mass and become a bit leaner, but not by too much.. Target weight probably 165-170lbs built on additional muscle. My current squat is 150lbs (3x10 w/warmups) and bench (regular) is 115 (3x10) [max 150lbs/1 rep], (declined) is 115 (3x10), and (inclined) is 95 (3x10). Leg press is 270lbs (3x10). My goals are my BW (160lbs~ x 1.5) so 240lbs for squat, 200lbs for bench, and 480lbs for the leg press by mid to late summer if it's possible..if not the end of the year. I am however soon going to start decreasing the reps and increasing weight within a few weeks.

Should I be taking a protein shake both before and after working out?Ideally, no, I'd say. Try for more whole foods.

Am I eating enough?It doesn't look like it.

Should I have more off days?It depends how you feel and how much you enjoy your current activity.

What can I exchange a protein shake before and after working out that'll give me that much protein close to the times I work out? I'm not sure what I should be doing instead.

On Friday/Saturday/Sunday I tend to eat a lot more food compared to what I eat on M-Th. How much more should I be eating?

I feel great and the activities I'm doing I like very much.

How much protein do you need close to the times you work out?

Did you read the stickies?

How much protein do you need close to the times you work out?

Did you read the stickies?

Doesn't whey isolate + the banana help with the insulin rush and protein absorption? I've read through a few threads/stickies and I'm looking at intaking between 240 to 320g of protein for bulking. Isn't Nitrean good for protein absorption throughout the day and the whey for immediately post workout?

I would cut down to one scoop pre and one scoop post.

But you need more protein in other meals (real food probably like guava suggests). You also have a near absence of healthy fats. Eat some nuts, use some olive oil on dressing, eat some fatty fish, fish oil supplements, etc.

I would cut down to one scoop pre and one scoop post.

But you need more protein in other meals (real food probably like guava suggests). You also have a near absence of healthy fats. Eat some nuts, use some olive oil on dressing, eat some fatty fish, fish oil supplements, etc.

Ok sounds good. It's hard to pack a lot of meat for lunch but I'll try to up the meat content in my sandwiches for lunch. Also I only use olive oil for cooking and eat almonds/walnuts/pecans regularly. Fatty fish as in salmon, I do that as well. Most of the meal plan is just what I'm able to bring to school and eat, it doesn't include the other days of the week and what I eat for dinner.