You might mix whey in the morning, after exercise, or before bed. The pack tells you how much powder to use, and how much cold water or milk to mix it with.
Whether you drink it at breakfast or late in the evening, use the protein printed next to the serving. A Horlicks Protein milkshake is already mixed, 20 g of ultra-filtered milk protein in 240 ml. The time of day does not change those 20 g.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests eating about one to four hours before activity, rather than immediately before, because the meal is still being digested. It also suggests eating again within about an hour after. Have the whey in the gap before you are active, or within about an hour after. If you are active in the morning, the earlier one is with breakfast.
One to four hours before activity, or within an hour after
How much protein you actually need doesn’t change with the hour. ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, put a 65 kg adult at about 54 g, from 0.83 g per kilogram.1 The UK reference for 65 kg is about 49 g, from 0.75 g per kilogram, at breakfast or before bed.4 Use the grams on the pack for that glass. Morning, after exercise, or before bed, the pack still says the same amount.
If you use half the serving, you get half the protein. The grams on the label are for a full serving.
How much to mix
If the pack is Horlicks Protein powder, one serving is the 36 g sachet, and it lists 24 g of protein. You stir that sachet into 200 ml of cold water or milk. Even if you have it in the morning, after exercise, or before bed, you still count 24 g.
The amount stays the same through the day
USDA lists one large egg at about 6.2 g of protein. Two of them are about 12 g.2 Put a 24 g whey serving with those eggs and you are at about 36 g, with about 18 g of a 54 g day still in other food. Eggs at lunch and the whey in the evening leave that total where it is.
A tub that lists 30 g as a serving and 20 g of protein is a different amount from a sachet that lists 24 g. When you read a pack, use the serving size and the protein printed next to it.
The eggs' 12 g is in the day whether or not a whey serving is added. If you add a 24 g serving, the total goes from about 12 g to about 36 g, so about 18 g of the 54 g is still left. If you leave the serving out, you still have the eggs and the other food.
One to four hours is a range, so an hour before is fine, and four hours before is fine too. If you mix the whey once in that time, count the grams on the pack once. The same serving mixed again within about an hour after the activity is a second serving, and the grams are added again. A 24 g serving before and another 24 g after is 48 g toward the 54 g day, with about 6 g left for other food. If you mix only one glass, count only 24 g. Two large eggs, about 12 g, are part of the same day's total. Even if you shift the glass from two hours before to three hours before, the 24 g stays 24 g.
In conclusion, you can take whey in the morning, after exercise, or before bed. The hour does not change the grams on the label. A published guide puts the meal about one to four hours before you are active, not right before, or again within about an hour after. Mix what the pack describes, and that protein joins the day's total.
Sources
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ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024.
View ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. -
USDA FoodData Central. Eggs, egg whole, Large, Grade A. FDC 748967
View USDA FoodData Central -
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Timing your pre- and post-workout nutrition.
View Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics -
British Nutrition Foundation. Nutrition requirements, Reference Nutrient Intake for protein, from the 1991 UK Dietary Reference Values.
View British Nutrition Foundation Reference