Protein drinks - pros and cons

I'd recommend one for as active as you are.
A very good brand I could recommend would be Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey. (Google it)
Buying the powder is a better option than buying the drinks already made, it's much cheaper and you can add things that you'd like.
There really isn't any cons to supplementing with a protein supplement in my opinion. Whey is just a derivative of milk. Milk being 80& Whey & 20% Casein. Most protein powders are actually a refined cheese, so it's just food.
It's just a way to heighten protein intake, because eating 20 or 30 oz of chicken a day gets old.
A benefit of whey powder over just drinking milk, is that whey is very fast acting.
The Optimum Whey also includes BCAAs too, low on fat, and 1 gram sugar.
There's definitely many good options for a protein powder, that's just one I'd recommend.
Or you could check out MTS Whey.

I like optimum protein as well. In fact I just had a scoop mixed with milk with my breakfast cereal. (vanilla ice cream). I find this makes my breakfast more filling, plus it helps me hit my protein target and makes the meal balance better.

Somedays I just don't want to eat more and being able to drink the protein is really helpful. I find it much easier to get closer to my macros this way - and I have a scoop after doing weights to add muscle recovery.

The only con I can think of is if you buy one and don't like the taste - I bought strawberry to put in smoothies - and yuck, hate it - so now I mix it half and half with vanilla in a smoothie. It's not a terrible con - but see if you can try before you buy :laugh:

I have to admit I'm rarely tempted to snack on it for the sake of it - though I can see how that would happen, but I do have a chocolate mint flavour for when I get an occasional dessert craving that I don't want to satisfy with dessert.

Edit - oh and it blends really well - I bought a shaker bottle from ebay, tis brilliant.

just to be blunt:

constipation!

make sure you drink a lot of water otherwise you will get it. It's good not to jump into a high shake intake at first, just be a little gradual - don't start having 2 every day out of nowhere is what I'm saying. I tend to no have any issues in that department, but when I started having 2 shakes a day I found I did start to have issues. It can go either way - make things easier or harder if you know what I mean. Just make sure you have 3L of water a day if possible and you should be OK

I take Weider's weight down (vanilla) and mix it with chia seeds to get more fibre and soymilk because... yummy soy milk!

just to be blunt:

constipation!

make sure you drink a lot of water otherwise you will get it. It's good not to jump into a high shake intake at first, just be a little gradual - don't start having 2 every day out of nowhere is what I'm saying. I tend to no have any issues in that department, but when I started having 2 shakes a day I found I did start to have issues. It can go either way - make things easier or harder if you know what I mean. Just make sure you have 3L of water a day if possible and you should be OK

I take Weider's weight down (vanilla) and mix it with chia seeds to get more fibre and soymilk because... yummy soy milk!

I haven't had any problems in this area - so I suspect it just depends on the person. I'm sorry but you can't make blanket statements like the bold part. Feel free to say - this MAY be a side effect. As a warning that it may happen is always welcome. I'm not sure why more protein would cause constipation but hey, who knows, the body has a mind of its own at times

Never has an issue here either.

As far as pros:
helps get adequate protein
inexpensive ( I do a 50 gram protein shake for about $1.50 per day)
Easy and convenient

Cons:
Nothing that I can think of.

FYI, you want to shooting a 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass per day at a MINIMUM if you are very active with exercise. You said you weren't sure if you were getting enough and I wanted to give you a benchmark. Good luck!!

ETA: The best combination of great flavor, texture and and most economical I have used is Gaspari Myofusion Milk Chocolate. I get is from SB Muscle 10 lbs at a time. (My wife and son also use it). I've tried many including ON. Some people swear by Trutein but I have not tried it as it is more expensive.

EAS Myoplex premixed Chocolate Fudge shakes are really good! They taste great! You can buy them at Sam's club. I buy the 17.5 oz bottles and then drink 1/2 or 1/3 and save the rest for the next day. You don't have to drink the whole thing at once.

Also, you can make your own. Here is what I like to do:
Fage 0% plain greek yogurt, 4 oz
Pasteurized egg whites 1/2 cup
Blueberries or strawberries
Bananas
It's really yummy! And loaded with protein!

Pros: Less calories in the shake than trying to get it in whole food
Cons: If you have kidney problems, then talk to your doctor first. If your kidneys are fine, then you will be okay.

Pros:
Can be cheap.
Easily 'accessible'.
Whey protein is ideal before/after exercising.
Good protein per calorie ratio.

Cons:
Low in macro nutrients.
Usually means less variation in diet to get the same protein levels.

Note that it doesn't sound you're doing a massive amount that 'needs' protein so much - but I've always been in the camp that I'd prefer to have lots of protein when losing weight in the hope of reducing lean body mass loss.

I have had serious problems with protein shakes and constipation. I do think its different for everyone though. I have to watch my fiber intake at all times or I end up with issues like this. Its something a person should be aware of before they start using these shakes.

Can't get the suggested drinks in the UK but have found this:

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=100&prodid=5955&MCatID=5&sid=0

Will get the small ones to try it.

See how it goes....

Thanks for your help

I'm pretty sure Myofusion is available in the UK. One of our members, Matt Wild, is a athlete rep for them in the UK. Find him and PM him and he can probably give you some direction. I think his user name is Matt_Wild.

nutrisport 90+
- had decent results with this, very economical too
- keeps you fuller longer
- tastes like chalk

This was the first protein I ever had, I honestly would never go back, it tasted awful IMO! The results were not anything that I haven't got elsewhere either.

Since then I've used ON Gold Standard 100% Whey. Love this! Tastes a lot better, mixes well and fairly low calories so you can continue to get most from food Great results too.

I would say the main downsides with protein powders would be the taste, you have to find a good brand for this, they're not all amazing. Like I said above though, I like the way ON protein tastes - lots of good flavours. Also, the other downside is cost. It's not cheap, but then if you think about it, getting that amount of protein through all food sources would cost a lot more.