I am a fan of food...but there used to be this Canadian IFBB pro that was very active on Pro Muscle as well as another Canadian Forum that swore he consumed all his protein from Whey. So literally 6 shakes per day.

I cannot recall his name at the moment...but will update if it comes back to me.

real food man

I prefer food. protein powders are used in cooking (as a substitute for flour). Sometimes, when in a hurry, I do drink whey protein but that's only I have no time for taking a meal.

Protein powders are a stable in most lifters diet. I personally wouldn't have the time to consume that much food.

It's about balance. There is benefits to each. I know that I don't have the time to make up 6/7 meals a day.

I use protein shakes to fill in the blanks. Try eating 6 meals of real food. Stay fuller longer and I just seem to feel better altogether.

They are not all that wrong, but do they actually know why or is it just because they tend to be the targeting group of the big supplement companies? First off you must be aware that most supplement companies make millions a year of and of course they will make everything possible to attract new costumers and make them believe that their products will give you the best results.

That being said, the reason for why your buddies aren't all that wrong is that surprisingly, most animal and dairy sourced proteins are nearly equally digestible to whey protein. 97% of an egg’s protein reaches the bloodstream, as compared to 94% of meat and fish. Whey proteins are estimated to reach approximately 99% digestion.
It's because of the bioavailability or bio value, which is a measure of how much of the protein ingested is actually incorporated into body tissue. Conveniently, BV accounts for digestibility. If 1g of protein is ingested and only 75mg is incorporated into tissues and metabolism, that source of protein has a BV of 75%. Sometimes, however, BV can be determined relative to another source of protein, typically an egg. The BV of an egg is only 93.7% but its relative score would be 100. Whey proteins have a higher relative BV compared to an egg reference – between 93.7% and 100% – which is why Whey Protein Concentrates and Whey Protein Isolates are often seen having BV’s of 104 and 100-150, respectively. Whey proteins typically have a bioavailability of 96%, a whopping 2% more than a cooked egg, and only about 20% more than fish, beef, and chicken which clock in around the 75% range.

However, for an individual like myself, it’s irrelevant. If I hit my range of protein per day with whole foods easily and this is what's actually more important. As long as you hit your daily macro target for proteins, they will be used from the body, no matter which source did provide them. Further it satiates me much more than drinking shakes. For some it might seem to have it's place when they have trouble getting calories in, on a bulk for example.
So in this case, I’d say it’s a wash. A diet of whole animal protein, a liquid meal replacement shake diet, or a combination of both will yield sufficient bioavailable protein. In fact, slower-digesting beef, chicken and fish may be more favorable than a rapid-digesting whey protein, which tends to favor amino acid oxidation because of its rapid uptake into the bloodstream. (Which is why whey is so effective when consumed around periods of exercise at retaining muscle mass and stimulating growth.) Not to mention, substituting whole food meals of meat in favor of a replacement shake means missing out on valuable micronutrients. So I would always, really always prefer whole foods over powder because it's about more than just getting protein, but still it has it's place...but remember, it's a supplement and I would recommend using it that way!