What is the Best Protein Powder???

countrygirl7mels
countrygirl7mels Posts: 36
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I am not sure if this is the best place to post this because I am not really trying to gain weight, or trying to lose it either, I am trying to build lean muscle.

My question is, what is the best protein poweder to buy on a budget. Right now I am using Body Fortress Whey Protein from WalMart. I don't want to spend a bunch on protein, but I don't want to be throwing my money away either.

I eat a balance diet, but I like a Whey Protein supplement to help me meet my protein goals. Even with eathing eggs, yogurt, and chicken, I don't meet my goals to build lean muscle.

What does everyone recommend?
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Replies

  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
    My personal favorite is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard. They have a lot of flavors. I'm currently in the process of finishing my cinnamon graham cracker and debating what to try next. 24g of protein per scoop and about 100-120 calories. Its a little more on the expensive side, but its high quality.


    Edited because I can’t spell.
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
    I love the Body Fortress brand. That's usually what I get. Another one I like is Vitasport Pro7ein. It's like 34g of protein and 2g carbs in a 41g scoop. Good stuff.
  • CaHusker
    CaHusker Posts: 21
    I agree on the Optimum Nutrition gold standard. I like the Vanilla ice cream flavor as it can blend with a strawberry or banana addition very well. Buy it online from Amazon is the the best cost option I have found. Also can be found at Netrition.com for about same price. Don't buy from a gym as they mark it up like 300 percent !
  • honsi
    honsi Posts: 210 Member
    Ditto. Optimum nutrition for whey and casein, tastes nice and mixes well.
  • amazon62goddess
    amazon62goddess Posts: 17 Member
    I really enjoy the taste of Tera's Whey Protein's. My fav is Organic Bourbon Vanilla. It's expensive though (at least I think it is) but I like that the cows aren't treated with rGBH hormone and they're grass fed. The taste blends well with my protein shakes.
  • hpheath
    hpheath Posts: 41 Member
    Ocean Avenue WavSmart. It is the highest quality undenatured organic whey protein and it tastes amazing. It has helped me gain lean muscle mass. I went from 24.69% body fat to 20.92% in 3.5 weeks. My goal was 17% by this weekend. We will see how I have done.
  • TFaustino67
    TFaustino67 Posts: 551 Member
    I'm with Optimum Nutrition as well but thought you might benefit from this link also:


    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/find-a-plan.html

    K...I'm done here...

    1313398002_baby_falls_asleep.gif
  • southerndream24
    southerndream24 Posts: 303 Member
    Gnarly Whey Chiseled Chocolate is my favorite. New Zealand Whey with zero artificial sweetners, colors, or flavors. The taste is amazing!
  • KayBallin
    KayBallin Posts: 111 Member
    Body Fortress Chocolate Peanut Butter is pretty good. Though, it bloats me a little. It literally tastes like a Nutty Wafer bar.

    I'm going to try Optimum Nutrition Extreme Milk Chocolate next. Read that it's very tasty.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
    Be careful of cheap protein powders like Bodyfortress. They are known to amino spike meaning the label may say 30 grams of protein but you are really only getting 15 or 20 grams. The rest is coming from BCAA which are not complete proteins. If you see Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine, in the ingredients then it's amino spiked.
  • KayBallin
    KayBallin Posts: 111 Member
    Be careful of cheap protein powders like Bodyfortress. They are known to amino spike meaning the label may say 30 grams of protein but you are really only getting 15 or 20 grams. The rest is coming from BCAA which are not complete proteins. If you see Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine, in the ingredients then it's amino spiked.

    Good to know. Thanks. What brands do you recommend?
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    Be careful of cheap protein powders like Bodyfortress. They are known to amino spike meaning the label may say 30 grams of protein but you are really only getting 15 or 20 grams. The rest is coming from BCAA which are not complete proteins. If you see Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine, in the ingredients then it's amino spiked.

    dude.. almost all powders have a BCAA complex

    5.5 in ON

    Buy whats cheapest per gram of protein.... that requires multiplying grams per serving*servings and diving that into the price.
  • mRoss27
    mRoss27 Posts: 33 Member
    Although any protein will suffice, since the main priority should be hitting your protein needs for the day, the difference between a cheap brand such as Body Fortress and something like Optimum Nutrition is that the cheaper product often contains more "fillers" and you may not be actually getting as many grams of protein per serving as on the label. Ideally, avoid products that say on the ingredients label "proprietary blend," which essentially a company's way of masking what they are actually putting in their product. Look for products that begin with "whey protein isolate" as the main ingredient. :smile:
  • LauraFouhse
    LauraFouhse Posts: 115
    I have an intolerance to whey and so use Mediclear Protein powder which is a rice based protein. It was recommended to me by my Naturopathic doctor. I love it.
  • Malaylah
    Malaylah Posts: 32
    I like Isopure and Syntha 6. Isopure is good for people looking to watch carbs and sugar and they have yummy flavours. I use alpine punch.
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 766 Member
    Currently using a jar of body fortress it's pretty decent in smoothies but looking for new powders, thanks.
  • ShreddingIt_84
    ShreddingIt_84 Posts: 141
    Dymatize Elite XT- Wont taste like protein powder, just exactly as the flavor!
    Fudge brownie is my fave!
  • bciloveme2014
    bciloveme2014 Posts: 213 Member
    I like to take syntha 6, banana is my favorite flavor
  • AlwaysInMotion
    AlwaysInMotion Posts: 409 Member
    I like Muscle Pharm Combat protein powder. Currently ripping through a tub of cookies & cream. I actually look forward to my breakfast shake (mix w/unsweetened almond milk & water). The first ingredients listed are "Micro Filtered Whey Protein Blend (Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Hydroslate)" so I'm not sure where it ranks next to Optimum Nutrition powders. But I sure do like it!!!
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
    Y'all protein powder sounds good.

    I have the cheap **** from Sam's Club.

    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
    Optimum Nutrition - Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Cinnamon Graham Cracker

    Cellucor - Red Velvet Cake Batter (phenomenal) and Peanut Butter Marshmallow
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    I luv Trutein. :love:
  • Rogiefreida
    Rogiefreida Posts: 567 Member
    Another vote for Optimum Nutrition and any flavor of Cellucor--have yet to find a yucky flavor from them.
  • youngdreamer
    youngdreamer Posts: 65 Member
    I just bought MyoFusion in Strawberry Cream. Soooo goooood. Best protein powder I've tasted yet.
  • ncrugbyprop
    ncrugbyprop Posts: 96 Member
    Be careful of cheap protein powders like Bodyfortress. They are known to amino spike meaning the label may say 30 grams of protein but you are really only getting 15 or 20 grams. The rest is coming from BCAA which are not complete proteins. If you see Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine, in the ingredients then it's amino spiked.

    Good to know. Thanks. What brands do you recommend?

    Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine are essential amino acids. A protien source without them would be considered an incomplete protien. Cheap protien powders do spike their product with cheaper amino acids so that a higher protien content content can be recorded during a basic nitrogen test. Usually they were higher amounts of taurine and glycine, and even creatine at one time when it was cheap(er), etc. This isn't to say that they are bad, just not as good as you might need and may have a substantial amount of non-essential amino acids.

    I use EAS 100% Whey mostly because I can get it dirt cheap. Occasionally I'll get a bag of Whey Isolate in bulk becasue its too cheap to pass up. Also, as with everthing else nutrition and excersie related, your results will vary.

    I always try to chew most of my protien sources whenever possible.
  • LFDBabs
    LFDBabs Posts: 297 Member
    I agree on the Optimum Nutrition gold standard. I like the Vanilla ice cream flavor as it can blend with a strawberry or banana addition very well. Buy it online from Amazon is the the best cost option I have found. Also can be found at Netrition.com for about same price. Don't buy from a gym as they mark it up like 300 percent !

    ^^This^^ I've tried several, and I've tried changing to save some money. ON Gold Standard is worth the few extra bucks. The vanilla ice cream flavor is awesome and very versatile. My favorite blend is with an egg white, tbsp of cocoa and a 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter. Tastes like a peanut butter cup!
  • countrygirl7mels
    countrygirl7mels Posts: 36
    Lots of great, informative responses. I will have to look into some of these suggestions!
  • billpriday
    billpriday Posts: 5 Member
    We all have our personal favorites.

    I used to use EAS until I looked in detail at the ingredients. I would recommend that you purchase an isolate protein (pure protein versus a concentrate that is not pure protein) and do not purchase the cheap stuff from Wal-Mart, Costco, etc. Go to a supplements store, Vitamin Cottage, Vitamin Shoppe, or GNC.

    For a whey powder, you can't go wrong with ProAction. It is an isolate protein that you can get at supplement stores. Approx. 23 grams of protein and 120 calories I am now eating a paleo diet (I hate the term diet) and use MuscleMeds Carnivore which is an isolate beef protein - no whey. 124 calories and 23 grams of protein. I use the Fruit Punch flavor. The chocolate takes a lot getting used to for taste.

    Egg white protein is good as well but very expensive.

    Basically, go with a good solid isolate protein that you can get from a supplements store, Vitamin Cottage, Vitamin Shoppe, or GNC. Your local 24 Hour Fitness or gym where the hardcore lifters workout will carry something similar. I don't know about Planet Fitness, Lifetime Fitness or the others.
  • bradXdale
    bradXdale Posts: 399
    You're going to get a LOT of different brands and variations.

    The three best brands in my opinion:

    ON Gold Standard Whey - You can buy it as small as 1lb containers (about 8-10 shakes) • http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html

    BSN Syntha-6 - My current protein, love it. Good stuff in it. I feel as if it works it's magic on all the recovery claims & it tastes / blends smooth. • http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/synth.html

    Cellucor Whey - Contains digestive enzymes, low carb, high protein blend. • http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cellucor/cor-performance-whey.html

    Just make sure you are supplementing your already good diet. Supplements are pointless if you're not already eating a good diet.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
    Be careful of cheap protein powders like Bodyfortress. They are known to amino spike meaning the label may say 30 grams of protein but you are really only getting 15 or 20 grams. The rest is coming from BCAA which are not complete proteins. If you see Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine, in the ingredients then it's amino spiked.

    dude.. almost all powders have a BCAA complex

    5.5 in ON

    Buy whats cheapest per gram of protein.... that requires multiplying grams per serving*servings and diving that into the price.
    More reputable companies will not have BCAA listed separately in the ingredients.

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