Training & Nutrition - Looking for good, safe, economical protein powder

I'm currently making morning and evening shakes using GNC 100% whey protein. However I suspect there may be products out there that are better and more economical. I've heard people say they went for a cheaper protein powder and regretted the poor quality. I also suspect that I'm paying too much to GNC.

How good is the GNC stuff? Is it overpriced? Is there an equivalent product out there that is more economical? I read in one of the threads someone who uses unflavored powder and adds cocoa (unsweetened) powder to it, that might be an option for me. Thanks.

I've tried a bunch and settled on Optimum Nutrition. Decent quality, reasonable price, good tasting and more flavors than you can shake a stick at.

I use whey "super advanced whey protein". they sell it at Walmart and the price was $14 for large container.

No disrespect, but if you're trying to lose another 50 lbs why do you feel it necessary to take protein supplements vs just eating a normal balanced diet? If you're cycling to lose weight you shouldn't need any additional protein.

No disrespect, but if you're trying to lose another 50 lbs why do you feel it necessary to take protein supplements vs just eating a normal balanced diet? If you're cycling to lose weight you shouldn't need any additional protein.

Because it offers nutritional satiety in a very lean form, and when coupled with other ingredients such as fruits and fiber, it provides a balanced, low-Energy-Density meal replacement. In other words, a protein shake can fill you up and keep your appetite from seeking out protein while keeping the unnecessary calories to a minimum.

The numbers, in case you're interested (sorry, the column formatting sucks):

calories weight(g) protein(g) fat(g) fiber(g)
12oz water 0cal 340g
1 scoop protein powder 130cal 31g 20g 2.5g
1 banana 100cal 119g 1.5g 3.5g
3 strawberries 17cal 51g 1.1g
1 tbsp fine bran 7.5cal 4g 1.8g

254.5cal
545g total weight
21.5g protein
2.5g fat
6.4g fiber

That makes a meal replacement with 21.5g of protein, 6.4g fiber and a very low Energy Density of 0.467 ( http://www.webmd.com/diet/volumetrics-what-it-is )

I use Scivation Protein because it is low calories and high protein, but most of all chocolate tastes delicious.

That makes a meal replacement with 21.5g of protein, 6.4g fiber and a very low Energy Density of 0.467

Life is ours, what you consume is up to you, but a protein supplement will never be a replacement for a healthy diet.

Life is ours, what you consume is up to you, but a protein supplement will never be a replacement for a healthy diet.

Did you read the nutrition data? Of what do you think a healthy diet is composed? FWIW, this is not my entire diet, this is my breakfast (a double of this, actually) and what I have in the evening. Both are filling, nutritious and prevent taking in other bad/fattening things.

For protein powder I use hemp seed and add it to green smoothies (fruit and vegetable smoothies)for breakfast. Its good and safe but usually not economical compared to whey. But it tasts about 1000x better and doesnt need to be masked by chocolate and vanilla flavours.

Did you read the nutrition data? Of what do you think a healthy diet is composed?I prefer lean meat or beans for my protein. I can't imagine drinking protein shakes for all my protein needs.

Try this. Less than $6/lb for whey isolate. http://proteinfactory.com/shop/product.php?productid=971&cat=1&page=3

probably not what you had in mind with respect to economical but i use Zero Carb Isopure which i get from Vitamin Shoppe.

but its not just zero carb. its zero fat too. all it has is protein and vitamins and of protein it has ALOT. of vitamins it has PLENTY as well.

the only "downside" is its very bland and watery tasting. but it's also a plus because you get to choose what to mix it with therefore it gives you some flexibility in what the final taste is.

i have the cookies n cream flavor now and i mix it with trader joe's organic unsweetened soy milk and splenda.

i used proteinfactory back in college. their proteins don't mix as well as isopure, and the taste is not as good. also using their plastic bags is a pain in the ass. ordering huge bags then realizing you wanted a different protein and getting stuck with 20 pounds of some crap you don't want but got more than you will ever need because you wanted to save on shipping ... eventually it just got old.

but yes. it's cheaper than isopure and if you're a college student maybe even somewhat glorious because you're "beating the system" so to speak.

krazy don't listen to idiots. they usually repeat what they been told to sound smart without understanding anything on their own. there is nothing wrong with using protein supplements as part of a well designed diet. however if you make any drastic changes to your diet make sure to do blood tests and overall physical check ups regularly as sometimes you can get unexpected results. for example when i completely switched from meat to whey protein i ended up with iron deficiency. i eventually solved it with an iron supplement but it only showed up during a blood test.

i have been researching nutrition since high school and my idea of a perfect diet is:

YES:

1 - raw vegetables, raw unsalted nuts, leafy greens, legumes
2 - isopure protein or equivalent ( high quality whey isolate )
3 - fish ( only in limited quantities, make sure you get the kind that is low in mercury )
4 - IRON SUPPLEMENT (to make up for lack of red meat in diet)
5 - multivitamin / mineral compelx
6 - additional vitamin C, additional B-complex vitamin, additional Calcium+Magnesium
7 - morton lite salt ( 50/50 potassium/magnesium mix )
8 - pure water. i buy Gerber baby water at walmart. unlike tap water it doesn't have fluoride and chlorine added to it. it's sourced form a well, purified by reverse osmosis and has potassium calcium and magnesium restored to it. the alternative is to buy a reverse osmosis machine and make your own drinking water - don't forget to reconstitute minerals.

NO:

1 - no meat
2 - no eggs ( unless you throw away egg yolks )
3 - no milk products ( except protein isolate and possibly lowfat plain yogurt )
4 - NO SUGAR or sugar containing products ( no candy etc )
5 - NO FRUCTOSE or fructose containing products ( no orange juice etc )
6 - NO PROCESSED FOOD except whey isolate.
7 - NO TABLE SALT ( use sodium/potassium balanced salt instead )
8 - NO HYDROGENATED FATS

in other words basically a raw food vegetarian diet augmented with a high end source of animal protein, fish, vitamins and minerals plus a touch of sodium/potassium balanced salt.

i haven't been able to stick to this so far but i am inching ever closer to this ideal. it takes a while to kick old habits like cooking food.

krazy don't listen to idiots. they usually repeat what they been told to sound smart without understanding anything on their own. there is nothing wrong with using protein supplements as part of a well designed diet. however if you make any drastic changes to your diet make sure to do blood tests and overall physical check ups regularly as sometimes you can get unexpected results. for example when i completely switched from meat to whey protein i ended up with iron deficiency. i eventually solved it with an iron supplement but it only showed up during a blood test.

i have been researching nutrition since high school and my idea of a perfect diet is:

YES:

1 - raw vegetables, raw unsalted nuts, leafy greens, legumes
2 - isopure protein or equivalent ( high quality whey isolate )
3 - fish ( only in limited quantities, make sure you get the kind that is low in mercury )
4 - IRON SUPPLEMENT (to make up for lack of red meat in diet)
5 - multivitamin / mineral compelx
6 - additional vitamin C, additional B-complex vitamin, additional Calcium+Magnesium
7 - morton lite salt ( 50/50 potassium/magnesium mix )
8 - pure water. i buy Gerber baby water at walmart. unlike tap water it doesn't have fluoride and chlorine added to it. it's sourced form a well, purified by reverse osmosis and has potassium calcium and magnesium restored to it. the alternative is to buy a reverse osmosis machine and make your own drinking water - don't forget to reconstitute minerals.

NO:

1 - no meat
2 - no eggs ( unless you throw away egg yolks )
3 - no milk products ( except protein isolate and possibly lowfat plain yogurt )
4 - NO SUGAR or sugar containing products ( no candy etc )
5 - NO FRUCTOSE or fructose containing products ( no orange juice etc )
6 - NO PROCESSED FOOD except whey isolate.
7 - NO TABLE SALT ( use sodium/potassium balanced salt instead )
8 - NO HYDROGENATED FATS

in other words basically a raw food vegetarian diet augmented with a high end source of animal protein, fish, vitamins and minerals plus a touch of sodium/potassium balanced salt.

i haven't been able to stick to this so far but i am inching ever closer to this ideal. it takes a while to kick old habits like cooking food.

Why does whey protein get a pass, while all other processed foods do not? Please do not tell me this is linked to The China Study, of which there is plenty of criticism.

As for vitamin and mineral supplements, a common motto of nutritionists, consistently backed up by studies, is to be the type of person who takes supplements, but spend your money on something else (like higher quality food). It's probably not the vitamins in plants that make them so good for you, anyway. A lot of people are hung up on vitamin D at the moment, and it appears to have some things going for it. We'll see how that turns out. Special needs can be met with supplements; the elderly, for example, need to take in more of many nutrients, but have a lower need for food and absorb nutrients poorly. Vegetarians may do well to take B-12 and iron.

Your ideas about the health effects of a few egg yolks on your health are also way outdated. Some people are sensitive to dietary cholesterol, but most are not. Overall saturated fat is much more important, and eggs are not where Americans get most of their saturated fat. The link between traditional measures of serum cholesterol and heart health is also under some serious scrutiny.

I'm not saying your diet is bad. Most of would be healthier if we ate like that. There also isn't a lot of actual evidence to say that this type of diet is actually any better, in the long term, than a "prudent" diet. You can point to Okinawans all you want, but plenty of other indigenous cultures existed, and apparently in very good health, on their native diets, the macronutrient distributions of which are all over the map. A lack of industrial foods and more physical activity are the main common bonds here.

There are certain rules I try to hold myself to, but they're based on the things I think are actually important. I can't prove to you that they are, but I have reason to think they have an impact on my health.

I'm also pretty sure there's no such thing as a perfect diet. There is always some compound, even in plants, that isn't ideal for human consumption. Some of these are actually reduced or destroyed by cooking, by the way. Of course, others are created in the process.

EAS Whey powder from he grocery store. 23 grams per scoop

i just switched from Isopure to Syntrax Nectar - big improvement.

http://www.diy-av.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=463

Why does whey protein get a pass, while all other processed foods do not?

because protein is a result of processing where everything unwanted in the milk is removed and only what is wanted remains.

with most other processed foods the opposite happens - vitamins and fiber are lost, then sugar, fat and toxins are added.

the water i drink is also processed. i buy that water specifically for the processing it undergoes. processing is good when you know exactly what that processing consists of and what the point of that processing is.

most of the time the only goal of processing is to make the food cheaper, easier to store, faster to cook, and yummier to people with unsophisticated taste - that food is to be avoided at all costs.


Please do not tell me this is linked to The China Study, of which there is plenty of criticism.

i haven't heard about that study.


As for vitamin and mineral supplements, a common motto of nutritionists, consistently backed up by studies, is to be the type of person who takes supplements, but spend your money on something else (like higher quality food).

i watched a film about food which makes the opposite point.

http://www.diy-av.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=462

it makes a point that we teach people not to use vitamin supplements when all the evidence we have is that they have tremendous benefits and virtually no side effects. you should eat healthy foods ( vegetables ) AND supplement vitamins.

keep in mind that everything FDA says is a lie. so FDA recommended vitamin values can be ignored. the fact that we get "enough" vitamins from raw veggies means nothing because "enough" was determined by FDA/USDA - which are the same people who said you should eat mostly pasta to be healthy. which are the same people who said Aspartame is good for you while simultaneously instructing navy pilots not to drink anything with aspartame as it will impair their ability to fly. etc.




It's probably not the vitamins in plants that make them so good for you, anyway.

what makes veggies good is that they are alive. all live beings feed on other live beings - except humans, who eat ****.


A lot of people are hung up on vitamin D at the moment, and it appears to have some things going for it.

i have been away from the whole health scene for a few years ( enjoying alcoholism ) so i missed that one.


Vegetarians may do well to take B-12 and iron.

i take iron. i didn't realize vegetarians needed B-12 i thought it were the elderly.


Your ideas about the health effects of a few egg yolks on your health are also way outdated. Some people are sensitive to dietary cholesterol, but most are not. Overall saturated fat is much more important, and eggs are not where Americans get most of their saturated fat. The link between traditional measures of serum cholesterol and heart health is also under some serious scrutiny.

my ideas are not outdated - you simply misinterpreted them. i don't watch my cholesterol intake at all. i know close to 100% of blood cholesterol is made in the liver and not dietary. i do watch saturated fat - all sources of it, including egg yolks.


indigenous cultures existed, and apparently in very good health, on their native diets, the macronutrient distributions of which are all over the map. A lack of industrial foods and more physical activity are the main common bonds here.

you said it. exactly right. walmart doesn't sell vegetables - everybody in walmart that is over 15 years old looks like they have one foot in the grave - and they do. it doesn't matter if they do low car or low fat - they are killing themselves. then walk into whole foods market - everybody looks like they will live to 100 - again regardless of whether they do low carb or low fat.


There are certain rules I try to hold myself to, but they're based on the things I think are actually important. I can't prove to you that they are, but I have reason to think they have an impact on my health.

what are those ?


I'm also pretty sure there's no such thing as a perfect diet. There is always some compound, even in plants, that isn't ideal for human consumption. Some of these are actually reduced or destroyed by cooking, by the way. Of course, others are created in the process.

agreed. it probably won't be another 100 - 200 years until we can know for sure what is good for us and what isn't. 99% of people who come out with a certain diet and claim that it is the only way to eat are only trying to make money off of people's naivette.

overall good post and looking forward to more discussions with you.