Recovery and Protein Shakes for Women - Any Ideas?

Jrud22

Happy New Year! - I decided to start the P90X program this week and read about the recovery drink and how important it is to have after a workout. I am new to this and do not know where to start as far as recovery drinks or protein shakes. I am interested in toning and becoming more lean (currently at 5'5 and 140lbs). Yet I am not sure what shake to take since some are high in sugar, others are for bulking up and others are meal replacements for weight loss? For what my goals are, would a recovery drink and an increase of protein in my meals suffice? or should I do both? I am afraid of getting bigger, I am looking for muscle definition (currently non existent) and I can not have dairy or soy which makes things more complicated. I am not looking to substitute a meal but is this recommended?

I would appreciate any input or a link to somewhere I can find more information on shakes or nutrition for becoming more lean without getting bigger?

adjones5

I'm not very knowledgeable on this subject but I am lactose intolerant and use muscle milk when I need to get some more protein in. Its delicious! Best of luck to you!

Chadwick891

All right.

Post workout is the anabolic window of opportunity where your body absorbs the most from nutrients in foods and vitamins from what you eat. Your body will be completely depleted and need something to recover from. This is the anabolic window and it closes very quickly within 20-30 minutes.

Your BEST bet for this is a fast digesting protein that has low carbohydrates.

Go for any good blend of protein that "Whey protein isolate" or "WPI" for short. Look at "Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold standard whey" - That's voted best WPI protein for 2008-2010 I believe and still holds up to its name. But any WPI will do the trick.

Don't worry about the sugar contents of it. All Whey proteins have sugar, since Lactose (Milk, cheese etc.) is a form of sugar.

Usually, when people are cutting fat - They take WPI as a meal replacement as well as a post-workout shake. You can also add Vitargo or some Oatmeal to the shake if you want to take advantage of a 'carbohydrate' kick to restore glycogen levels after a workout too.

Hope this answers your question!

LookoutLisa

Sounds like we are in a similar situation looking for more protein; I'm 5'3", 114lbs and workout to get more lean, toned and for strength. I am pretty lactose intolerant as well. I hope we can find some good suggestions!

Chadwick891

Also - A good place to start if you're in America would be http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/protein.htm < This will show you a 'list' of protein supplement categories and their roles with how they benefit you.

Stick to WPI though. It digest within 40 minutes of consuming it, unlike other, soy based proteins, that take up to 3-4 hours.

You actually CAN take WPI protein if you're lactose/soy intolerant, but with caution. Just have a talk to the nutritionist or research the brand and see. I know a few of my friends who are lactose intolerant who can take WPI without any adverse reactions.

Lift_hard_eat_big

Post workout is the anabolic window of opportunity where your body absorbs the most from nutrients in foods and vitamins from what you eat. Your body will be completely depleted and need something to recover from. This is the anabolic window and it closes very quickly within 20-30 minutes.

Your BEST bet for this is a fast digesting protein that has low carbohydrates.

Nice, another fellow Brofessor

seastreifel

I personally drink the Premier Nutrition High Protein Chocolate Shake every day- its the best tasting one I've found that is so full of vitamins, low on carbs and fat, and seriously high in protein.
I buy them from Costco and they are my after work out drink every morning. You should definitely give them a try.

I also strongly recommend QUEST PROTEIN Bars- they taste incredible, really curb the cravings because they are like desserts, full of protein and are an awesome mix of fat/protein/carbs.
My cousin is a pharmacist and thinks that Quest Protein Bars are the best healthy eating/workout supplement

Jrud22

Thank you so much for the info! I found the website very useful and purchased the Gold Std Whey Protein today, I am going to use it as my recovery drink and perhaps also as a snack? Do you think this would be ok? it is hard for me to get in as much protein as the program I am following requires. Also, I know that the recovery drink is best to be taken I guess as long as I keep my calories in ck I should be ok.after the workout as you had mentioned earlier, but if I also take it as a snack later in the day is there a certain time that I should take it by? does it matter or should I avoid doing it close to bedtime. I am planning on working out first thing in the morning.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

As far as protien shakes go, I use GNC 100% Whey Protien (Strawberry). I think its great because it doesn't taste too bad, isn't that expensive, & offers about 20g of protien per scoop! This has really helped me reach my protien goals (or come close to it) most days of the week.

However, I am looking to switch to a different shake - looking for something with 25-30g of protien since I'm trying to build more musle.

velvetkat

I do the Optimum Nutrition Gold Choc for breakfast and then one after my workout in the afternoon(LATE) i use 8 oz of water 2 Tbls of Fat free half and half 2 Tbls of powdered peanut butter and sometimes 1/2 banana. if you find its not sweet enough for you then add a little bit of Splenda or Stevia. I dont like fruity drinks but I love choc and peanut butter so It satisfies my cravings!

2lb container of the protein powder is $19 on Amazon.

jogdog

I use no sugar added frozen fruits (about a cup), greek yogurt (1/2 cup), 1/2 cup water (becuase my blender has to have some sort of liquid with the frozen stuff to work well), and a scoop of protein powder. I used to use this after every workout and then as a snack when I was having trouble meeting my protein through regular meals. Really helped me get some energy back after workouts and helped with the starving hungry feeling I get about an hour to two hours after working out if I don't eat anything after.

forgtmenot

I use biorhythm afterglow post work out euphoria in orange push up. It was recommended to me by the guy at GNC when I was looking for something to help with post work out soreness. Here is a link to the website where it gives some more info about it and what it does: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bio-rhythm/after-glow.html. The orange push up is pretty good and kind of tastes like a push up pop but not exactly. I have heard the watermelon is also good but to avoid the cherry bomb because it tastes like "burnt hair" lol.

jluera

I love Vega Sport Performance Protein powders. They're vegan (so no worries at all if you're lactose intolerant!!) and not dependant on soy or loaded with sugars which is really nice. I have the worlds worst digestive system and this does not cause any problems at all. I get cannisters of it from Whole Foods but I know there are plenty of places that you can get it online.
http://vegasport.com/

snkeller24

I didn't read through all the comments, so if someone else already pointed out the largest myth of the world please excuse me ... and here it is - YOU WILL NOT BULK UP.

stands off soap box.

Sugar intake is a concern for many people. Do your research - I use bodybuilding.com. I also usually mix mine with water or unsweetened almond milk.

My go-to brand is Gaspari Myofusion. I love the vanilla! Whatever, I'm bland. Now since I'm switching to paleo I've cut back on them and just eat more meat.

sherbehr

I use EAS advantage. You can find it at walmart and it is a low carb protein suppliment. I replace it with a meal.

aaronburgess

After your workout is not a bad time to consume some carbohydrates. Your muscles need carbs to recover also. The best way to get protein is always through a food source and not through a shake. If you can eat chicken and some brown rice that is a good meal to eat when you are done with a workout.

Acg67

All right.

Post workout is the anabolic window of opportunity where your body absorbs the most from nutrients in foods and vitamins from what you eat. Your body will be completely depleted and need something to recover from. This is the anabolic window and it closes very quickly within 20-30 minutes.

Your BEST bet for this is a fast digesting protein that has low carbohydrates.

Go for any good blend of protein that "Whey protein isolate" or "WPI" for short. Look at "Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold standard whey" - That's voted best WPI protein for 2008-2010 I believe and still holds up to its name. But any WPI will do the trick.

Don't worry about the sugar contents of it. All Whey proteins have sugar, since Lactose (Milk, cheese etc.) is a form of sugar.

Usually, when people are cutting fat - They take WPI as a meal replacement as well as a post-workout shake. You can also add Vitargo or some Oatmeal to the shake if you want to take advantage of a 'carbohydrate' kick to restore glycogen levels after a workout too.

Hope this answers your question!

Wow, such broscience

i'll defer to Alan Aragon on this

The postexercise "anabolic window" is a highly misused & abused concept. Preworkout nutrition all but cancels the urgency, unless you're an endurance athlete with multiple glycogen-depleting events in a single day. Getting down to brass tacks, a relatively recent study (Power et al. 2009) showed that a 45g dose of whey protein isolate takes appx 50 minutes to cause blood AA levels to peak. Resulting insulin levels, which peaked at 40 minutes after ingestion, remained at elevations known to max out the inhibition of muscle protein breakdown (15-30 mU/L) for 120 minutes after ingestion. This dose takes 3 hours for insulin & AA levels to return to baseline from the point of ingestion. The inclusion of carbs to this dose would cause AA & insulin levels to peak higher & stay elevated above baseline even longer.

So much for the anabolic peephole & the urgency to down AAs during your weight training workout; they are already seeping into circulation (& will continue to do so after your training bout is done). Even in the event that a preworkout meal is skipped, the anabolic effect of the postworkout meal is increased as a supercompensatory response (Deldicque et al, 2010). Moving on, another recent study (Staples et al, 2010) found that a substantial dose of carbohydrate (50g maltodextrin) added to 25g whey protein was unable to further increase postexercise net muscle protein balance compared to the protein dose without carbs. Again, this is not to say that adding carbs at this point is counterproductive, but it certainly doesn't support the idea that you must get your lightning-fast postexercise carb orgy for optimal results.

To add to this... Why has the majority of longer-term research failed to show any meaningful differences in nutrient timing relative to the resistance training bout? It's likely because the body is smarter than we give it credit for. Most people don't know that as a result of a single training bout, the receptivity of muscle to protein dosing can persist for at least 24 hours: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21289204

Here's what you're not seeming to grasp: the "windows" for taking advantage of nutrient timing are not little peepholes. They're more like bay windows of a mansion. You're ignoring just how long the anabolic effects are of a typical mixed meal. Depending on the size of a meal, it takes a good 1-2 hours for circulating substrate levels to peak, and it takes a good 3-6 hours (or more) for everythng to drop back down to baseline.

You're also ignoring the fact that the anabolic effects of a meal are maxed out at much lower levels than typical meals drive insulin & amino acids up to. Furthermore, you're also ignoring the body's ability of anabolic (& fat-oxidative) supercompensation when forced to work in the absence of fuels. So, metaphorically speaking, our physiology basically has the universe mapped out and you're thinking it needs to be taught addition & subtraction.

kellyscomeback

General heads up, Visalus/Body by Vi/BBV is NOT a protein shake, it's a general meal replacement with less protein than a protein shake. Plus you want a whey protein, not soy isoflavones which is in BBV.

If you want a recovery drink that's similar to the P90X recovery but less the cost I recommend Accelerade. Like people have said you want a recovery drink with a 4:1 carb/protein ratio and with sugar to help replenish the body.

For a protein shake I really like BSN's Syntha-6 if you need something for higher calories. Designer whey is good for low carb & lower calories and I just received a sample of Progenex Belgian Chocolate Whey Recovery Protein Shake which is delicious! Optimum Nutrition is great tasting too.

eddyca

I'm taking Designer Whey All Natural. It's low carb, only 100 cals per scoop, it's easy to mix and tastes pretty good! The only thing I don't like about Designer Whey is that it has some Whey Concentrate along with Whey Isolate. I'm on the hunt for an even lower cal and more natural (Whey Isolate taken from grass fed dairy cows) so I ordered some sample packs from EnergyFirst to see if it's worth the high price tag. Link: http://www.energyfirst.com/whey-protein-isolate

bluefairy1

I love Vega Sport Performance Protein powders. They're vegan (so no worries at all if you're lactose intolerant!!) and not dependant on soy or loaded with sugars which is really nice. I have the worlds worst digestive system and this does not cause any problems at all. I get cannisters of it from Whole Foods but I know there are plenty of places that you can get it online.
http://vegasport.com/
[/qu

N_BEAST_MODE_24_7

I use Visalus protein shake, its great for either sex! If you want to know more just hit me up...

bluefairy1

I agree with the Vega, last year my friend and I used the Vega Sport and it was an amazing recovery. We call it our magic powder, trained to do a 220km bike ride using this and felt little to no pain or fatigue during or after our ride!

makethisworkout

shakes are for those juicing - for those who arent, regular good clean food is more desirable - the super fast absorption of whey for example means your body cant utilise it fast enough (unless you're on the juice) so you'll likely store it as fat - not recommended over food
Makethisworkout
BSc (Hons) Exercise Physiology

bluefairy1

new to this site and still learning how to post!

fitnessyeoja

bump

skywa

I like GNCs protein isolate. Its affordable, low fat, no carbs, and has 30 grams of protein per scoop. Strawberry is my favorite flavor.

It doesn't matter wither your male or female. You can use the same protein supplements.

FitnActiveMom

May I ask why if you are doing P90x, are you not doing the recommended recovery drink and Shakeology with the program?

cherubcrnp

I use UNJURY protein powder which you purchase online. Our surgeons recommend it to their patients for healing, and I know many WLS patients that use it as well. It is medical grade protein...the best for you. They have several flavors including a cheese sauce and a chicken soup. I have them all and love each flavor.

Pam

Russian1

I've done P90X a couple of times it works great, for me anyway! It's my first day of P90X2 today.

Anyway - for a recovery drink when I did P90X I used Waxy Maize Maxx by Maxx Essentials - used the orange flavor (that's what my husband liked - tastes like an orange drink!) The instructions said to use 2 scoops in 700 mls (2.45 cups...) water. I would use 1 scoop in about 2 cups of water. 0 sugar contains gluten... I tended to only use it after plyo and the legs & back routine.

For protein I used Ultimate Nutrition Whey sensation 81 in chocolate truffle. YUM! 1 g sugar per scoop. Contains milk & soy. There again I only used one scoop and didn't use it every day. My husband used 2 scoops and after every workout. I tended to get most of my protien from my diet.

Hope this helps. (If this is your first time doing the 'X' one thing I noticed was that in the 3 month I wasn't losing weight at all. I wasn't taking in enough calories - once I ate more, I lost most. You may want to watch for that.) Good luck!

rudyalvarez

Proto Whey Protien Supplement would be Great for you. A Very High Quality Protien and Great Tasting too. I Love their Protien Bars.

_Amy_Budd

Multiple sources all say that a cup of chocolate milk has the perfect carb-protein-sugar breakdown for post-workout recovery, and it's WAY less expensive than specialized recovery drinks or protein shakes.

http://www.naturalnews.com/029013_chocolate_milk_muscle_recovery.html
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/152240.php
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/organic-foods/organic-manifesto-recovery-drink.php