Recommendations needed for a good protein powder, please

[Barefoot TJ]

What are some good muscle-building, protein drinks to buy? I'm looking for some to add more non-meat and non-bean protein to my diet that are low in calories and fat and taste good too. Also what % of protein in a drink = a good protein drink? What % of carbs = a good "protein" drink. (I know there is supposed to be more protein than carbs, so that's why I ask.) Know of any?

 

[FreeYourToes]

This is probably THE most

This is probably THE most popular whey protein http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html . Very low calories, average amount of protein (24g per serving), very low in carbs and a decent price. It is a very lean protein without alot of extra added things (a plus). I used it before and many of friends still use it today.



Average protein per serving is usually between 22-30g

Ideally the lower the carbs the better= more lean muscle. Except in those people who have trouble building muscle/putting on weight, they usually go for the higher carb/calorie shakes.

 

[Abide]

I use this stuff

I use this stuff occasionally. It tastes like paper pulp. Hemp protein works good too, but it also does not taste good. Pretty much any protein powder without sugar or crappy sweeteners is going to taste gross.

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-of-Life-RAW-Protein/dp/B0031JK96C

Unfortunately the plant based food with the highest protein are legumes. You could try quinoa and almonds too, but they are a little lower in the protein count than say lentils.

 

[footloose2]

I use whey protein from

I use whey protein from myprotein.com

I am not sure if this is available outside USA but worth a look. They are probably cheapest in UK for a quality product which tastes good too. It helps me to recover quickly after weight training sessions. I am sure there are benefits for runners too. The company website has useful information too

 

[barefoot kean]

Im a really big fan of

Im a really big fan of "optimum nutrion" products, specifically their soy protien. Soy has a bad rep. unfortunately, but ive found it to be optimal if taken at the right times. However, if your looking for muscle gain then whey is your best bet.

 

[saypay45]

Whey protein is kind of the

Whey protein is kind of the standard for muscle building, because the body absorbs it the fastest. It is a dairy protein.

When selecting one, the higher quality products are labeled "Whey Protein Isolate" and not "Whey Protein Concentrate". The isolate has less filler protein in it. The most common filler is Casein, which is also a protein, but isn't absorbed into the body as fast.

Unless you're doing some serious bulking up, you probably only need one serving of the powder (around 20g of protein) a day, taken either immediately after you wake up, or right after a workout. I do a lot of strength training, so I go with a 40g serving immediately after working out. Taking more than you need will just cause you to gain fat fast.

Again, unless you're bodybuilding, I wouldn't buy anything with too many carbs in it. Most powders hardly have any carbs to speak of in them, and work just fine.

Let me know if you have any more questions TJ. I used to pretty much live on protein powder in my "meat head days". No jokes about how my meat head days are not yet over either

 

[Jonny00GT]

SayPay, you're a legit

SayPay, you're a legit SuperHero and no one likes to see saggy tights! Do what you gotta do, Bro!! ;o)

TJ, what's your goal? Is it just to change up your diet, suplement something already in your diet as an option, speed up recovery after working out...? There is a lot of good info on http://www.bodybuilding.com/ and it sounds like SayPay is a good resource. What ever your plan, there is a protein for it!

I was just using the cheap whey stuff at Wal-Mart and Target, but I don't want to get any bigger than I am, so I switched to the Optimum Gold Standard Casien, which I only take on my lifting days. http://store.lockoutforums.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=1819&zenid=n8llj2ifc5m7b3boj74a7hk6v3

I was also a fan of the Nitro-Tech by Muscle Tech...taste good, even in water. The cheap stuff from Wally world and the Optimum Casein also tastes good, but the Casein REALLY wants to stick to the bottom of my shaker! I get serious arm pump just shaking that stuff up! haha!

(I use Lockout, cause these guys are fellow Mustang Freaks, I usually have my order by the next day or 2 and they are local to me...good prices, too, near as I can tell.)

You'll have to let us know what you find and what works for you.

-Jonny

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Thanks everyone for the great

Thanks everyone for the great info! I should have said what my plans/goals are. I want to increase protein, to increase muscle mass thereby lose weight. After reading some of this, now I'm scared that I will just be gaining more weight. I thought lean muscles mass helps you to burn more calories. What am I missing?

 

[dunetraveller]

well... basal metabolism, the

well... basal metabolism, the calories burnt while in a coma like state, or basically everyday minimal caloric needs go up with increased body weight and decrease with weight loss. However, if you build muscle mass, THEN exercise, you will up the need for more calories as you have more muscle working at the same time, and calorie expenditure goes up. Many people who don't exercise think they will put on some muscle and the fat will come off all by itself, then are sad to learn they just got bigger and not leaner. The key is build the muscle then work it baby! work it!

John T.

Edit: As you put on more muscle you ought to experience weight GAIN, then with fat loss (with a concurrent gain in muscle mass) it will BE STEADY, and if you don't gain muscle and burn yet more fat you will experience WEIGHT LOSS. This is why they say you cannot GAIN muscle weight and LOSE WEIGHT at the same time. What you are eventually hoping for is to get to a certain amount of muscle, plateau, then continue to lose fat. It may be a while. In the mean time you will see the scale go up, but waistline and saggy areas firm up and shrink. Rejoice in the small successes.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Thank you, DT.  I appreciate

Thank you, DT. I appreciate your taking the time to share that. I do work my muscles, running maybe 5 days a week on average; although I can't get my 10 miles per run anymore due to Morton's Neuroma, I do manage about 6 miles each run.

 

[dunetraveller]

I know you get the whole

I know you get the whole exercise thing. I just thought about how often I've seen that question, and obviously I've thought a lot about the answer. Of course others have similar questions and I always think it's better to give a complete answer for them

I know it gets confusing when phrases and terms appear to contradict themselves, so I'm glad to (hopefully) remove some of the confusion; especially about the "you can't gain muscle mass and lose weight" because that comes after they just told you to gain muscle and lose fat, so you're like "what the hell?"

Of course the easiest, and really essential way to lose fat is through diet. You could run a couple of miles and burn 200 calories and then put them back in with just two slices of bread. Makes you realize how much easier it would be to just knock out the calorie intake, doesn't it?

The caveat is of course if you try and build muscle you need adequate protein intake, which you figured out already. First for maintenance and repair and then more to build new muscle. Then having adequate carb and fat intake for energy so the body won't steal the protein to use for energy since the body can convert extra protein into carbs (or fat of course). There are formulas to calculate how much protein you need to have to get where you want without overdoing it and encouraging fat storage.

The only thing I haven't been able to nail down is if it is possible to have the right protein intake, exercise appropriately, but with slightly less calories than you would need to maintain current weight and thereby build muscle and lose fat, and maybe overall weight, at the same time. I figure from my research the correct way is eat to gain (just enough extra over maintenance levels to account for muscle building) and let the exercise take care of it later(calories out), but bodybuilders would know more. It seems like a nuance to me, but there could be something I'm missing.

John T.

 

[Jonny00GT]

First and foremost, any body

First and foremost, any body builder or fitness Guru will tell you, a 6 pac and shedding weight is 80% diet. Caloric deficit has always been my problem. My current goal is to become addicted to running, so I can eat what I like and still get sexy! ;o)

TJ, I don't know what your current work out program involves, but a great book for motivation and the best fitness program I've used so far is "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips. I use a modified version of his lifting program for strength. I was always an athlete and after HS, I was still pretty strong, but I never got muscular or looked the way I wanted to, till I did this program! Now I alternate it and an endurance minded, light(er) weight more reps 5x20 superset program (five sets of 20 for 100 reps per body part combining opposing muscle groups). Muscle confusion is important in burning fat as well as putting on muscle, so once my body adapts and I no longer get sore on one program, I change it to the other.

Resting Metebolic Rate and muscle mass research data is all over the map. The problem lies in the data collection. How do you increase muscle mass without stoking up the ol metabolic furnace? Well...you can't. Here is an interesting read: http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm

The cliff notes are this: Lifting weights to add lean muscle speeds up the metabolism. Determining how much of the increased metebolic rate to attribute to the lifting program and how much is the muscle gain is the conundrum. Still, cardio and weight training together are the sucker-punch combo I'd recomend for keeping the metabolism up and the fat on the way out.

One of my wife's friends, who was a competition body builder in 2 dif classes, said all she ate to put on muscle was fish, turkey and chicken, when I asked her about which protien shake. She said she had problems with the protien shakes. She would gulp them and get something called a "protein baby". Basically a pooch in her lower abdominal area...I did not ask the cause. I didn't want to know! LOL! So if you go with a protein, remember to sip it! Haha!

Hope this helps.

-Jonny

PS: Don't forget that gravity pulls harder on muscle than it does fat. If you are on, or just started a weight training program or add protein to your diet and start to see changes, temper the scale readings with a tape measure, the mirror and how your closthes fit. I actually gained 10lbs on the scale from lean muscle mass out weighing my fat loss over about a 4mo period, but my clothes fit looser and I looked better in the mirror.

 

[Abide]

dunetraveller wrote:The only

The only thing I haven't been able to nail down is if it is possible to have the right protein intake, exercise appropriately, but with slightly less calories than you would need to maintain current weight and thereby build muscle and lose fat, and maybe overall weight, at the same time.

Isn't this the million dollar question? Let me know when you figure it out.

 

[dunetraveller]

Sure does seem to be that

Sure does seem to be that kind of question....

John T.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Thanks again for all the

Thanks again for all the info, everyone. I used to be a gymnast and was always very athletic. I weighed 108 when I met my hubby when I was 32. After marriage, kids, and life, things change.

I actually did the 12-week Body for Life program at the gym I was at, at the time, and lost 10 pounds. I followed the diet pretty well. I exercised my butt off nearly 5 to 6 times a week at the gym. I just don't seem to lose weight, I guess. I know if I lose weight because my clothes will fit differently, or I'll have to buy smaller sizes, which is a rarity lately. I never weigh myself. I maybe weigh myself 3 times a year. Seriously. No lie. My friend weighs herself every single morning. I told her that was self-defeating. She is depressed about her weight all the time. No wonder.

My plan is to get my feet healthy. First, I will be wearing some Correct Toes to realign my malformed feet, and hopefully, that will take the pressure off the already-developed neuromas. Then I will try to get through running the next four months, until winter (during our hibernation season), when I can have the neuromas cut out. After I heal, as long as all goes well, I plan to be able to get back up to my what used to be usual 10 to 13 mile regular runs three or four times a week and add in a good solid longer run each week. If I can get back to 40 miles per week, I will be satisfied. If I can get over 50 miles per week, I will be excited. At that time, there's no doubt I will be much healthier. Right now, as my feet are, I can't seem to get healthy. The neuromas don't allow me to run as often as I like or as far as I like, although I am able to get in some running most days of the week, they're just not quality runs, as far as I am concerned.

 

[Jonny00GT]

Sounds like a good plan,

Sounds like a good plan, TJ!

I plan to try the Paleo diet starting next week after the wife gets back from CA, but I also want to give a Tarahumara style diet too...Salads for breakfast, I'm already all over the chia seeds, fruits, veggies, peppers, beans and their corn. I'm hoping that, pluss cross training for sprint triathalons starting in the fall and a marathon next year will push my metabolism into turbo charged mode and burn me down to about 200lbs in fighting trim without spending money on protien powders, preworkout supplements and diet pills!

I guess you gotta try a few things before you find what your body likes, though...

-Jonny

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I guess.  It just would be

I guess. It just would be nice after 44 years mine knew what to do already. Ha!

 

[Jonny00GT]

I'm also going to start a

I'm also going to start a food journal, to keep track of both what I eat and how it affects me. See if I can't eliminate the crap that makes me feel stuffed, sluggish and blah! Think I'll wait till my iPhone gets here...that way I'll always have the log with me...

-Jonny

 

[Barefoot TJ]

That's a good plan.  I read

That's a good plan. I read somewhere that those who keep a food journal (writing down how many calories, protein, fat, etc., they eat a day) lose on average something like 67% more than those who don't. I tried that for a long time during my Body for Life program, and to be honest, I hated it. I've tried doing that a few times since, and I can't stand it. I don't record my routes, intensity, and all that junk too like some people do. All I record are how many miles I ran for the day. Makes my life simple.