anyone drink this stuff as a post ride "recovery drink"?

Maybe not the best choice for that purpose. It has fat added, which slows digestion. Very popular protein brand though.

I like the MM Lite, but usually not after a ride.

Their CytoGainer is probably better for recovery...pretty tasty too

I've used it. Its really sweet -- it has sucralose (artificial sweetener AKA Splenda) in it. Other than that it seems to work OK. Its kind of expensive compared to my home brew recovery drink.

Muscle Milk is, bar none, the best tasting protein powder I've used - and I've used A LOT for weight training. However, I wouldn't use it for PWO recovery. For that I'd get bulk maltodextrin and whey protein isolate, and depending on your current level of fattitude, vary the proportions. I think a "safe" starting point would be 25g maltodextrin and 25g protein in something like 6oz water 4oz skim milk for palatability.

The huge 3:1 ratio to carbs/protein is very old-school thinking and isn't necessary in the least. Especially with the amount of carbs that most cyclists intake on the bike during a ride.

You ever read up on the chemicals in that drink, just use whey protein that stuff is so loaded with chemicals and fat...not worth it.

I agree with the just stick with the whey protein. Vanilla tastes like scrotum though. I heard chocolate is good.

And what does that picture have to do with what you said? And HOLY *****! I didnt know he was ripped like that. I wish i had pecs like that.

I posted that picture because I'm a silly *****, but also because that is the mentality that goes with muscle milk in my opinion. I tried the stuff and was floored by it, i mean its effect on me was almost too good to be true it woke me up, gave me energy made me feel a bit sick for a few minutes after i had the shake (prepackaged one) but then i felt great.

So I bought 4 shakes and took them home, my mom happened to see them when she was over and convinced me to research into it, she didn't like the looks of all the added chemicals. I did my research and even found some body building websites saying that between the chemicals (one or two if i remember correctly have been linked to neurological damage) and the high fat and sugar content it's just not worth it.

The fact that the company is telling people to drink 3 shakes a day, saying that the fat in the shake is a "good type" that promotes loss of fat is insane. Unless your riding 3-4 hours a day or spending 3-4 hours in the gym weight lifting a day drinking that much muscle milk will most likely have you pack on the pounds.

When you compare it to whey (and your right chocolate is better imo) it just has too much uneeded crap. You can make a whey shake with a water base and lots of fruit and a bit of non fat yogurt and get away with 16-20g of protein and only 200ish calories with almost zero fat and a marginal amount of carbs and sugar. I am drinking two whey protein shakes a day and i run at least 45 minutes every day or ride 17 miles on the bike, on top of core training and 30-90 mile rides on the weekends.

Look into organic whey and I say steer clear of companies like muscle milk that obviously have little concern on what they put in their drink and have in my opinion a shot box idea of how to approach fueling your body. Look for companies like Hammer or Cliff Bar who are more concerned with contents than trying to get you to down as much as you can.

Oh yah and Carrot Top is a juicer.

And last but not least try Designer Whey, I've tried that and I've tried the Whole Foods "365" brand and liked them both but enjoy the lower carb's and sugar in the designer whey. If anyone has any whey suggestions that fall into the standard 100 calories .5-2 grams of fat 3-10 grams of carbs area i'm all ears.

photonick,

Seeing as you know a lot about protein mixes, I was wondering if I could get your opinion on a few. For the past 2 years, I've been using Champion Pure Whey Stack -

https://www.dpsnutrition.net/get_item_cn077.htm

But was looking to try something different for a change. Not to mention, something a little less expensive (the cost of protein powder has skyrocketed in the last year!!!). A year ago, I was paying $24.95 for the 5lb. Champion Pure Whey...today, it is up to $37.99!. Anywho...I've thought about switching to Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Series...mainly because I've heard good "taste" reviews on it.

https://www.dpsnutrition.net/get_item_on009.htm

But I honestly don't know the difference between various protein mixes. I don't understand all the "jargon" regarding amino acids and such. Plus, being female...I am concerned with calories, fat, & carb content. But again...I'm not exactly clear on what I should be looking for in a protein supplement. I do quite a bit of weight training in the gym (I lift 5 days a week) and of course, I'm not looking to "get big"...I simply want to maintain and/or increase my muscle tone.

Should I stick with the Champion stuff...or is there a reasonably priced alternative that you could recommend? Thanks!

Linda

You know, I honestly wouldn't say I know alot about protein mixes, my buddy had to force me to buy some designer whey ($11.00 @ Trader Joes). I still only drank it when I was hungry late at night or after rides over 60 miles. Then lately I developed a pretty bad appetite irregularity from what i think was taking in too many carbs so i started having a water based whey shake in the morning with some blueberries for and yogurt for about 150-200 calories and the same at night right after dinner and found that I feel much better.

I looked at your whey and really like the nutritional values but they aren't a WHOLE lot better than Designer Whey which retails for $11.00. I mean it has about 5 more grams of protein but i don't know if thats worth 3 times the price lol. You could take designer whey with a 1/2 cup of FAGE 0% yogurt (also available at Trader Joes) and get that much protein for about 160 calories.

If your fine with breaking the 200-300 calorie mark I'd say make your shakes with chocolate desinger whey, banana,blueberries, water, 1/4-1/2 cup of fage. That would create a very thick and tasty shake that would pack about 250-300 calories depending on how much of everything you put in, if you really want it to be even richer and taste better add milk instead of water for an extra 100 calories.

I personally like to sacrifice taste and keep it low in fat and under 200 calories but high in vitamins so I drop the milk and peanut butter and other such things that sweeten up a shake for water and berries. I think its alot better to add fruits for taste rather than buy over done protein products that taste better. No pain no gain, my shake this morning was disgusting...i warn you unless its FAGE yogurt....don't add too much plain yogurt with vanilla power...disgusting.

Also FWIW I don't know how your mixing your shakes but a blender is key IMO i started by doing the spoon stirring in a glass and just was disgusted by the drink. I then mixed the same ingredients in a blender and found myself drinking a rich shake instead of a glass of what seemed like sweetened milk.

Optimal Nutrition 100% Whey. Now if you want to bulk, Cytogainer is great for that...put 10lbs on me last summer.

i use it when weight training, but it has quite a bit of fat in it and prob isnt the best recovery drink. VERY tasty though

How do you make your protein shakes? Cuz all I have is vanilla, and I want to use it, but hate the taste of it. Just mix in a bunch of fruit and yogurt and it wont taste like nuts?

Ok i base most of my drinks with water, they're ok but not great but i'm willing to deal with it. To thicken up the shakes and make them more palatable there are several things that you can use.

Things To Try:
Bananas - thicken up the shakes like crazy
fage yogurt - thickens up shake
ice - gives shake texture and a nice crunch
blue berries, raspberries and other such fruits - gives alot of flavor and tons of nutrients and also thickens it a bit.
Peanut butter - i have not tried this but i hear it really thickens it up and gives it some flavor.
Milk - Gives it a richer texture and flavor

Things I avoid:
Plain Yogurt (just a really gross taste, i mean a small amount is cool but don't make it the bulk of your shake I had a 1 cup amount today and it made me sick)

You just have to decide how much you want to ad fat and calorie wise and then go with it. I've made shakes so rich it was like having jamba juice but then again they came out at 300-400 calories lol. I just went back to vanillia shakes i definitely liked the chocolate better, ideally i'd like to have both because sometimes i want to taste the fruit more and not all fruits go well with chocolate.

its a weight gainer, basically melted ice cream with protein powder added.

Exactly.

AfterShock by Mygenix was recommended to me today at a shop near where I work. The guy at the store went through the ingredients and explained all of them and it seemed to sound just right for after long endurance rides. Before this I've always used Met-Rx with a scoop of peanut butter and it seemed OK, but the aftershock has a few things that sound better for endurance sports.

https://www.myogenix.com/after.html

FWIW with whey you could get about the same amount of calories and alittle more protein with almost none of the fat and half the carbs.

Try www.trueprotein.com. You can make your own designer protein/carb/whatever powder with or without flavors. If you go to their forums you can get a code # to get 5% off of the order. If you order bulk you get even more off. I make up a whey/soy protein blend without flavors that I add to juice for a PWO. Works for me.

im carefully watching my weight drinking this stuff. i only drink it after a hard ride no shorter than 1 hour. so far my weight has been going down and ive been drinking it for 2 weeks. but i do feel stronger. my legs feel like they are a bit larger too. probably my imagination

Probably not your imagination. 2 weeks is definitely enough time, with a supplement like muscle milk, to get bigger. I'd like to take something like this for a month maybe and get my muscles just a bit bigger.

your post got me reading the ingredients of the two proteins shakes i bought. they both have sucralose! this is a poor job on my part. i read the labels on bread so im suprised i didnt think to read these products'. im going to def check out alternatives. in the mean time im debated even finishing the amount i have. waste of money,. but also dont want to ingest that crap.