Protein powder for women... What's your recommendations?

hbunting86

Hi all

Looking to build muscle and thinking of getting some protein powder to help this along. I'm training pretty hard so think it'll benefit muscle repair etc in addition to this.

I just wondered what people's recommendations are - which seem to have benefitted you and which are tasty too. If it tastes rank I'm very reluctant to carry on using it!

Tia
H

thelovelyLIZ

First, let's just disspel the myth that there is a protein powder for women vs a protein powder for men. It's just another pink tax! My boyfriend and I have always used the same protein powder and we both have always gotten great results!

We're cheap and not super particular so we just always buy the EAS Whey protein that can be found at Target and other big box stores- we buy the big 5lb container on Amazon. I like the taste of both chocolate and vanilla, it blends well, has pretty solid macros, and it on the low end of the cost scale. I will drink it time to time when I just need a protein nudge and my boyfriend drinks it after a workout. I also like putting it into smoothies and it tastes great!

I have recently been having the Vega One nutritional shakes, which are more a complete meal replacer than a protein powder but they also make a regular protein powder. They are vegan, so dairy free. I don't like the taste as much, but dairy doesn't always agree with me and since I drink them every day I'm willing to forgo the flavor a bit.

I think most GNCs or other supplement stores have individual packets- maybe grab a few and try them?

cathipa

Protein does not discriminate between male and female. Taste is subjective. I like Quest and MTS. Both in vanilla because I like to make different flavors with addins.
ETA: it's just a supplement to boost your protein levels. It's not going to change your muscle gains in the sense that you will start using it and will develop muscles. Make sure you are also eating a relatively high protein diet (0.8-1g/lbm). Building muscle will happen with a calorie surplus, however if you are new to weight training you may have some newbie gains. Either way keep with it since it is beneficial for more reasons than just muscle definition.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I love Trutein. It's not cheap, but it's really good quality and the taste can't be beat. Tons of flavors to choose from, and you can buy samples before committing to a whole tub.

http://www.bodynutrition.com/samples/

hbunting86

Thanks that's all really helpful! I was just wondering if there WAS a difference between M and F but if it's a pink tax, I'll take whatever haha. Yes it's for more than muscle definition per se - to boost my overall protein intake as I can't always meet my macros by just eating protein, and also muscle repair etc. The training I've been doing is 5-6 days per week and so pretty intense on my muscles so I'm keen to prevent any injury or damage by boosting protein where I can.

Thanks for the advice - vanilla is a good idea as I like adding pb or berries to my current smoothies

H_Ock12

Isopure Whey Isolate is my protein powder of choice. It's unflavored and can be bought on Amazon and mixed into pretty much anything with no taste.

utahmomof10

My husband and I both use Impact Whey Protein Isolate from MyProtein.com. It's high-quality protein for a lot less money than the name brands. Before that I was using Combat from MusclePharm and I liked it, but I like the Impact at least as much and the price point is a big win for me. I use it with just water or in my smoothies. It mixes really well and the flavors I have tried so far are good. My favorite is the chocolate smooth.

luluinca

Hmmm, agree with everyone else that there's no difference between men and women re protein powder but I will add that I personally cannot tolerate whey protein so I use an organic sprouted brown rice protein from Nutribiotic. It has most of the essential amino acids, tastes good and is pretty cheap on amazon.

I mix the vanilla with frozen blueberries, ground flax seed, coconut water, spinach and 2% plain greek yogurt. With the chocolate version everything is the same as above but instead of frozen blueberries I use frozen cherries..both taste good and get me through a workout!

brewerfan13

hbunting86 wrote: »

Hi all

Looking to build muscle and thinking of getting some protein powder to help this along. I'm training pretty hard so think it'll benefit muscle repair etc in addition to this.

I just wondered what people's recommendations are - which seem to have benefitted you and which are tasty too. If it tastes rank I'm very reluctant to carry on using it!

Tia
H

Check out myprotein.com. Cheapest you will probably find and I've only had chocolate but mixed easily and tastes good. Head over to slick deals dot net. They always seem to point to the best deals at myprotein.com. I got 10 pounds for 60 bucks shipped.

brewerfan13

utahmomof10 wrote: »

My husband and I both use Impact Whey Protein Isolate from MyProtein.com. It's high-quality protein for a lot less money than the name brands. Before that I was using Combat from MusclePharm and I liked it, but I like the Impact at least as much and the price point is a big win for me. I use it with just water or in my smoothies. It mixes really well and the flavors I have tried so far are good. My favorite is the chocolate smooth.

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canadianlbs

i buy vanilla whey isolate from canadianprotein.com. isolate because lactose doesn't seem to be good for me.

shaumom

Um, just to point out...unless you are protein deficient, it's not likely to make a difference, honestly. The original study done that showed extra protein helped for muscle building was actually only done on MEN.

The original researcher of that study had a lot of female athletes come talk to him because they weren't seeing a lot of positive results and so he finally redid the study, this time on women. And women, it turns out, don't seem to build more muscle when they ingest more protein, unlike men. Our bodies do not seem to work that way.

As an aside, this same researcher also looked at carb-loading before an athletic event, another study originally done only on men, and it turns out women are also different in men with this. They either have no positive effect, or a negative effect, if they carb load before an athletic event.

I wish I had a link for the study for you, but it was years ago and I can no longer find any working links (and neglected to write down the researchers name, other than recalling that he was in sports medicine).

cwolfman13

I like ON 100% whey isolate chocolate...protein powders aren't gender specific...it's just protein.

jessef593

Yep dispel the myth. Don't buy any supplements ever that are designed for, "women."
Then for muscle growth a caloric surplus, proper rest, and adequate protein intake are required. Not just one of the three. So make sure you meet the other two before thinking about just one.
For myself im a big fan of bulk proteins, I buy from Canadian protein in 12lb bags for about $90 Canadian. Which considering in a store you get 5lbs for roughly the same price. No special protein will make or break you, so save your money, buy a recommended but cheap protein.