Which protein powders are high-quality for making a couple of shakes per day? Which ones should I avoid? Typically I buy vanilla or chocolate powder and mix it with milk, banana, ice and some creatine too.
Looking for powders that won’t break the bank.
I’ve used (and liked) Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard whey protein before, but it’s gotten pretty pricey. GNC has their brand on sale right now (BOBO 50% off), but even that’s confusing – what with “GNC Wheybolic,” “GNC Wheybolic Ripped,” “GNC Pure Isolate,” “GNC Pro Performance” … my head is spinning.
I have a dumb followup question. If you’re getting your casein and whey from the same shake — other than around the workout — why and how would this be better than just drinking milk?
No lactose so you can control carb intake better? No fat, for the same reasons?
Whey Bolic is protein powder plus added digestive enzymes. Maybe for absorption and gut health.
WheyBolic Ripped is protein plus caffeine and niacin. Like whey with pre-workout mixed in.
Pure Isolate is the purest form of Just whey. So low calories and fastest absorption and use by your body. It’s also the most expensive.
Pro Performance is just good old fashioned protein. No gut health or stimulant additives. It’s got some of the fast digesting whey isolate and some of the slightly slower digesting whey concentrate. And some sugar/flavor. Probably the best “Bang For Buck” of the GNC stuff.
Nomad is right about micellar casein being great and Metabolic Drive being a great product. I don’t think it’s 50% of at GNC though.
My nutritionist say that the whey also has a different, “better” combination of amino acids compared to milk. Especially Leucine, (like 8 times more) which is super important for protein synthesis.
A scoop of leucine in milk is highly not-recommended. That was not a good flavor experience, lol.
I do remember reading once upon a time that milk highly stimulates insulin, above and beyond what you’d expect. Seems like a useful property if you know how to use it. Whey isolate in milk before the workout or something like that.
I literally haven’t looked at any of this stuff for years, but I remembered a general rule of thumb like whey around workouts, casein at night. Whey concentrate absorbs quickly, whey isolate even quicker, and hydrolized products (like in Plazma) even quicker. Casein then is the slowest absorption, but that’s useful at night since you hopefully won’t be eating for at least 8 hours.
But my memories are old and I don’t know if they were ever right in the first place.
Edit:
Very different population but it seems my memory was at least partially correct.
I look at the two differently:
Whey Isolate is fast acting (digesting) and provides an excellent supercharged anabolic window (though rather narrow window) per-workout and particularly post workout.
Micellar Casein is slow acting (digesting) and provides a broad anabolic window that last up to 4 hours. Casein is ideal for morning protein and evening protein if you eat just before bedtime. One concern if you take magnesium at bedtime (as in ZMA), is that casein is rather high in calcium and it competes with magnesium for absorption.
Metabolic Drive has both. At this time I am using Surge peri-workout. 30 minutes after finishing my Surge, I take a scoop and a half of Metabolic Drive in some water. I get the supercharged anabolic window and it is followed by the broader anabolic window.
I would not want to be drinking an equivalent amount of milk to reach the total protein in Metabolic Drive.
There just a certain level of disrespect asking about good protein brands on the forum of a supplement company.
FWIW, I’m not a huge supplement guy, and genuinely feel that 95% of them don’t do a damn thing. Only ones I think honestly matter at all are protein, Creatine, and some intra workout carbs.
For all 3, I’ve yet to find something I like more than Biotest. Metabolic drive is great, comes out less “watery” than some other powders. Surge lets me have the same energy during my workouts on a cut that I’d normally have during maintenance. Creatine is Creatine, kinda hard to fuck up, but the Biotest price is good so ya may as well pick it up here when ya order the rest of your stuff.
Yep. Absolutely no disrespect was intended. I find these forums tremendously helpful, and don’t think of them as the work of a supplement company. Thanks for the Biotest info – will check it out.