Adding further to the discussion, not all proteins are absorbed at the same rate. Caesin for exaple is slow releasing/absorbing. You will digest it quicker in shakes than you will in food form.
Heres a little snippet of a post made this week by a very knowledgeable trainer/nutritionalist:
Originally Posted by another nob on the web
The idea that you can only process about 30gr of protein per meal came from a couple of studies that were inherently flawed.....
In the key study they gave them meals with 30gr of protein and meals with 90gr protein in and compared the uptake. There was no greater intake in the 90gr group leading them to conclude (wrongly) that the max was around 30gr. The primary issues with the studies (i think) were:
1. The study subjects were sedentary elderly people. Clearly they have VERY different macronutrient needs to younger people, especially those involved in strength training.
2. The measures used were not as reliable as more modern investigative methods for this and the timeframe used leads me to question whether they would have found different results with a longer time frame (and more sensitive measuremnents)
3. It completely ignores basic common sense.........
Think of it from an evolutionary perspective - we now have food available, widely, cheaply and in abundance. We no longer need to hunt for it...but our bodies (as an organism) don't "know" that. Traditionally we have had lean times when food was scarce and other times when food was plentiful. How would it make sense for the body to set some arbitrary limit on nutrient absorption?
Look at the many places round the world where people are genuinely lucky (relatively speaking) to get one meal per day. Let's suppose that meal contains 100gr of protein. Is the body really going to go "Oh you know what....I do actually need more than 30gr of protein but since I have this limit i'll just chuck the spare stuff out and wait for the next meal....that's the same time tomorrow right?". No.
The human body will take what it needs from every food source you ingest. Anything it doesn't need it will try to store if possible. If that's not possible than it gets disposed of. It also depends on the food source - you'll absorb whey shakes faster because they're liquid.
I would be tempted to suggest the guy in the supplement store does his homework a bit better......he works in a role where he advises people on nutrition but is not apparently remotely up-to-date with his knowledge. Hmmmm..........
TBH I'm a bit long in the tooth and others have done much much more than me. I am just a hobby lifter and do it because I enjoy it. That said I watch people on the net count macros, weigh food and go into it all scientifically with the likes of aminos absorbed etc etc and tbh they look like shit and never improve. Some people like going to the gym and throwing some iron about whereas others like to talk about it and go into the most anal of details that make fuck all difference at their (or our) level.
Go to the gym, lift heavy, eat and enjoy.