Whey powder vs Protein bar

I don't think either is better, they're just different. I use a combination. I find that bars are much more palatable, but they're also more expensive and usually have less protein for the calories. Powder is versatile and can be made into shakes, smoothies, or baked goods (to a certain extent). I use a lot more powder than I do bars, mostly because of the expense.

Neither is going to be better for retaining muscle-- if you were getting the same amount of protein and calories it wouldn't matter whether it came from bars or powder.

consider that a $2.50 quest bar has about $0.40 cents worth of whey in it.

I'm a college student on weight loss and I want to retain muscle mass. I don't take enough protein so I need these supplements. I used to take a lot of Protein bars which was hella convenient but as a college student this drained my money. Whey powder on the other hand is cheaper in the long run but I don't know if I'll always have the time to make protein shakes. Which one do you think is better in retaining muscle mass during weightloss and why?

Powders are usually considered cheaper and there are special cups you can buy to help you mix them.

Imagine if you took a bottle with partially frozen water to school and it were melted but cold by lunchtime, or you bought a milk at starbucks or something. You could mix your shake assuming you had a shakey bottle. Alternately you could save your shake drinking for at home. And just eat regular food while at school as convenient.

The bars I'd suggest you have a pack on hand not for relying on daily because that can be expensive, but just to carry around at all times in case you get caught in a bind where you are seriously in need of food but don't have the time to hunt some down.

My bro buys a huge bag of cyto protein vanilla and portioned me some in a ziplock bag. Luckily I got it all the way home without being pulled over and having to explain to an officer the baggie of white powder in my purse. Sometimes people can get SO caught up in how things APPEAR and jump to judgements and conclusions and then never bother to change their minds back.

But yeah, oops tangent!....anyways that powder was yummy just with plain water and knowing my bro it was a good price.

I found it did well in my daily macro's too. Made that protein way easier to reach.

so how do you retain muscle while losing weight. just good old strength training ? and maybe less carbs more protein ?

Progressive loading strength training (meaning that you increase the weight or difficulty as you go). It can be lifting or body weight, but the key is that it needs to continue to challenge you to get stronger. If 6 months from now you're still lifting the same weight or doing exactly the same moves, that's not progressive loading.

Eating enough protein-- usually 1 gram per pound of lean body mass is recommended.

I found a pic of the big bag. That is the size of the bag but it was a different color.



I'm guessing he buys the big bag in order to have the better value. And since he was making shakes for everyone in a house full of people and portioning some out for me, he knew he'd blow thru it and save money buying in bulk.

Get out a calculator and see how much you think you will be using and if you'll use it up and make sure you like the taste. This vanilla flavored one was very versatile with frozen fruits, maple syrup, torani SF syrups, etc. and so on to make it easy to go thru a big bag without getting bored.

here's an example of the cups



i found it on the following google search

https://www.google.com/search?q=shake+cup&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=kDTVU57MFsfaoASQ-4HQCQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw&biw=1366&bih=643#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=5feHlpTPL2vYxM%3A;k4IJiYB-sA-reM;http%3A%2F%2Fwww.muscleandstrength.com%2Fstore%2Fmedia%2Fproducts%2Fshakercupbanner.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fwww.muscleandstrength.com%2Fstore%2Ffit-and-fresh-shaker-cup.html;593;374

honestly though I was using magic bullet cups from my broken magic bullet because it has blades and that was working just fine.

I'm not too picky though. Pretty much I throw enough crushed ice into something and that makes it palatable for me.