My First Visit To GNC

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gpstrucker
gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am laid over waiting to pick up the rest of my load in Cleveland tomorrow. As I was driving to the only hotel close by that has truck parking I passed a GNC. It turned out it was only half a mile from the hotel so after lunch I decided to walk down there.

I wanted to get some protein shake powder and had read a few MFPers mention Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard as being a good one (probably better than the Jillian Michaels stuff I bought at Walmart). They had that, naturally, and after asking the sales clerk a bajillion stupid questions I wound up with a jar of Gold Standard and a bottle of CLA.

I'm still not convinced about the CLA but I figured what the heck, I'll give it a try.

I have to admit that I found the selection of health and nutrition related products at GNC to be bewildering to say the least. I had no clue what most of the stuff was or is supposed to do. The prices also seemed to be quite high to me, but assuming the products are of high quality I suppose it's a "you get what you pay for" sort of thing.

I did read a few labels and will probably stop in at a GNC again in the near future to pick up their men's multivitamin as it did seem to be quite complete.

On the topic of prices, I feel I did get a good price on the protein powder as it was on sale. Not so sure about the CLA, or if I even need CLA, but I'll give it a try and see if I can see any difference in body fat after a few weeks. If not, well, "A fool and his money"...

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  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    I am not sure what they usual pricing is for Optimum Nutrition but I paid like $26 for a 2lb tub.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    I am not sure what they usual pricing is for Optimum Nutrition but I paid like $26 for a 2lb tub.

    That's the same price I paid. It's normally quite a bit higher. According to my receipt it's normally $46.99 which seems very high to me.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    Order online man
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    If you think you are going to frequent at the store or online get the Gold card from them. Saves 20% the first week of every month. Mine paid for itself the first month.

    Optimum Nutrition and their brand (Pro Performance) are two of the best tasting I have found so I always get mine there. Especially with gold card and going to the store cheaper than online since I don't pay shipping and rarely meet the minimum for free shipping on those sites.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    Order online man

    Yeah, I suppose I could do that, but being a trucker mail order can be something of a hassle. I'll keep it in mind though.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    If you think you are going to frequent at the store or online get the Gold card from them. Saves 20% the first week of every month. Mine paid for itself the first month.

    Optimum Nutrition and their brand (Pro Performance) are two of the best tasting I have found so I always get mine there. Especially with gold card and going to the store cheaper than online since I don't pay shipping and rarely meet the minimum for free shipping on those sites.

    Yeah, the guy mentioned the gold card thing. I don't know yet how much I'll be buying from them, but if it looks like I may I'll keep it in mind. The sale price on the Gold Standard did stipulate that it was less than the gold card price so I guess I made out ok there.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Order online man

    I ordered mine online and he says he paid the same price.
  • mndamon
    mndamon Posts: 547 Member
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    I only buy from bodybuilding.com or amazon.com. Even during GNC's sales you'll still save money going through those sites. Although it's nice to check the product out in person sometimes, I'll research but I'll never buy there.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    I only buy from bodybuilding.com or amazon.com. Even during GNC's sales you'll still save money going through those sites. Although it's nice to check the product out in person sometimes, I'll research but I'll never buy there.

    I'll check them out. The price I paid is just a GNC temporary sale price so I'll want to find someone less expensive than GNC's regular price before time to restock.
  • TenderBranson
    TenderBranson Posts: 114 Member
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    If you're not going to order online & have a Vitamin Shoppe in your area definitely give them a try. Prices are not as ridiculous & they don't' try to push any of their product on you. Also from my experience their supply is a lot bigger as far as brands/quantity.

    I have a gold card & go to one GNC where I'm pretty cool with all the employees. I got the gold card originally because it paid for itself the first time & when I go in there they always have clearance stuff that I get an extra 20% off of and get absolute steals.
  • ShaneOSX
    ShaneOSX Posts: 198
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    You can get every single item at GNC cheaper on Amazon.com
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    Thanks folks. I'll definitely look in to the online ordering thing. I have already found that it's cheaper at bodybuilding.com than GNC regular price. I'll just have to have the stuff shipped to my office, which i visit every week or two.
  • Tropical_Turtle
    Tropical_Turtle Posts: 2,236 Member
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    I love the GNC BOGO deals - that is how I buy my protein powder. 2 - 2lb tubs for $59 vs paying $80 with my Gold Card.
  • shmoony
    shmoony Posts: 237 Member
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    Regardless of the price, the GNC AMP wheybolic powder gives you 20 grams of well balanced protein and only 93 calories per scoop. I think quabbling over $20 for something that's going to last you a month is worthless. You may be able to get it "online" for $17, so congrats for saving $.10 a day!
  • jennkain97
    jennkain97 Posts: 290 Member
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    Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) aides weight loss, and has also been shown to be effective in warding off certain cancers. My husband's cousin works for Cornell and has been studying it pretty intensely for the past few years. It's one of the few supplements he takes religiously (and he's studied many).
  • jennkain97
    jennkain97 Posts: 290 Member
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    As for GNC, their prices are higher than most, but they do have one benefit -- you can return any product for a full refund if you do not like it, regardless of reason. I suggest trying new things there first. If you don't like it, return it. If you do, get it somewhere cheaper thereafter.
  • bufflo
    bufflo Posts: 17 Member
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    From what I read, you made some good choices. I have read that the best protein is whey protein isolate which I think is what you got. Also, I've read that CLA's have been linked to reduction in cancerous tumors. I take both daily.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    Thanks for the input folks.

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