if one more person pushes shakeology on me i swear..

ninerbuff

I love beachbody and their products, mainly P90 but I think a big problem they have is that (if i'm not mistaken) they allow just anyone to be a beachbody coach. No offense but if I want a coach I would like someone who knows about the product, has had great results, etc. Alot of ppl be a coach because they get the discount on the product and then you have all these ppl pushing the product to get cash from it.

This. I could be a coach by signing up!!! The biggest mistake is that Beach Body made an MLM out of Shakeology. When that happens, the cost (if you Beach body coaches don't know it) is split up amongst many people, and many who have had NOTHING to do with your success. So in essence, you and whomever you are selling to are paying UPLINE people for YOUR efforts. I'm not talking owners of Beach Body, I'm talking other Beach Body "coaches" who don't know you, don't really care about you, but are happy you're buying. I despise MLM's since the people on the bottom get screwed all the time.

ninerbuff

i think calories are calories one protein is as good as the other.. ive learned from experience generic isnt bad at all i buy off brand everything except car speakers and fireworks :laugh:
glad to see people agree with me

I respectfully disagree. Not all proteins are created equal. Whey and egg whites are the only 100% bioavailable proteins to our bodies. Even fish, chicken and beef don't give us all of the protein listed on the package. Now, if you're comparing whey to whey, then, yeah, milk protein is milk protein anyway you slice it.

Nitrocore 24.......................10 different proteins. And it tastes good. And it's manufactured by Optimum Nutrition who is also the distributor. This and 100% Gold Standard Whey are what I use.

ninerbuff

I'm a paid professional and give solid FREE advice on MFP. Why? Because it's the right thing to do. It's not about money for me. I get my reward by hearing how I helped people achieve success and they give me their gratitude.

redcore

All of those MLM programs drive me nuts. They always make it more about the so-called business aspect than the actual product. I don't get into the "ra! ra! you'll get a new BMW!" nonsense. I'm sure it happens, but if I opened up any other business I wouldn't be trying to get all my friends to open the same business and undercut my own.

That aside...

Shakeology DOES have a lot of great ingredients and the protein to calorie ratio is pretty good. That said, it is awfully expensive and the green drink tastes absolutely awful. I personally try to source protein from multiple avenues so I don't overload on one source. Not only is this good for your metabolism, but some people develop allergies to things they over-consume. I've never ever had that experience, though.

But is a protein just a protein? Kinda. Most of the time I stay away from soy protein because most soy is genetically modified (GMO) and unfermented (so it includes phytoestrogen and trypsin inhibitors). If you're trying to bulk up and consume a lot of protein, going all out on soy is definitely not a great idea alone. There are some soy protein/meal replacement drinks out there, like Body by Vi, that are non-GMO. I do drink Body by Vi quite often and it's pretty good. Less protein than Shakeology, but also 60 less calories, less sugar, and less carbs. Most people are going to add something to their drink whether that be a half cup of milk, a banana, etc, so the less calories part is key if you're using it as a meal replacement. It has a little more fiber too, so that does help help curb appetite.

Speaking of which, nothing will curb your appetite if you eat like a horse. Eating sensibly takes some getting used to at first and if you're used to eating 500+ calories for breakfast or lunch (whichever you want to do a meal replacement), it's going to be a little bit tougher of a transition. I used to think that I needed to eat a lot to get the most out of my workouts so I'd eat a bunch two hours before a tough workout. In reality that's not necessary. All of those "pre-fuel" things (someone before mentioned Gatorade products, so this is for them too) are essentially full of sugar. Anything with 20+ grams of sugar are not sensible for anyone trying to lose weight. You just don't need that much sugar before a workout, much less after. People are just too addicted to sugar which is why they're trying to lose weight in the first place. Protein bars are exactly the same: watch the sugar and carbs. By and large they should be used as a meal replacement...so make sure they have at least 3 grams of fiber as well. Also not all protein bars are made the same. I've seen some Apex bars that are full of crap and others that are pretty good. Eventually your stomach kinda turns when you consume too much sugar - probably a good thing! :P

So you now know that I use Body by Vi myself, which is not a whole lot of my protein intake. For my tough workout days (2 hours weight lifting, an hour of so of cardio and/or tough calisthenics) my goal protein intake is 150 grams. That's a lot. The average male in their 20s should be consuming 60-80 grams a day. Consuming 150 grams while watching my calorie intake requires a little bit of work. One thing I do for all my protein shakes is add two raw eggs (organic, free-range, etc) which are about 8 grams of protein a piece. Not everyone likes this idea but you don't taste them (if anything, they add a slight vanilla flavor). My other main protein source is Mercola's Pure Power Protein. Many times if I haven't eaten enough protein throughout my day from my meals (like chicken, bison, beef, etc) then I will double-up my mix because it only runs 20 grams of protein per serving, but this is more than Shakeology at the same amount of calories (with more fiber, less sugar, etc). I chose this brand of protein because it's whey (which is better for rebuilding muscle while soy is a good pre-workout fuel), it's organic, and it's not full of crap. A lot of those huge bins of "super protein" off brand whatever ya-call-em's are full of absolute garbage. I look at it as octane (as a previous commenter said) and I don't want my body trying to process a bunch of fillers when it needs to rebuild quickly for the next day's workout (and even the next workout that day). Many also include unnatural sources of sugar, like sucralose, and MSG to make them taste better. I'd rather be burning pure than sputtering to a crawl. They're cheap, but of course there's a reason for that. If you eat McDonald's burgers instead of a nice local free-range beef or bison burger with fresh ingredients, then this probably doesn't matter a whole lot to you in the first place. So my protein isn't cheap (at $2/serving - not including milk and eggs), but I find it to be worth the price. If you sit down to calculate how much most meals cost you (like burgers, pizza, etc) more likely than not it's either the same price or cheaper.

Open to questions if you have any!

neanderthin

It only proves to me, people will buy anything, and pay a lot of money in the process. It's like the wild west in nutrition, and the townsfolk are buying up the wagon stock. Love it. lol

neanderthin

double post.