Hi,

I am looking for a healthy and nice tasting protein shake?

Can anyone recommend me any good ones?

Are they specific ones for different purposes?

Thx.

http://www.atlargenutrition.com/

They are a sponsor of this site. The only protein I've used much is Nitrean from At Large & GNC Whey. I like the taste of Nitrean and hate GNC's taste so I've been using the Nitrean for a while now. I don't have experience with anything else so I can't really comment on any other products.

Ditto for the Nitrean. It's a blend (whey, casein, egg protein) rather than whey only. I've used a few other brands with varying opinions and always come back to ALN. GNC tasted horrible and wasn't all that great. I've used ON whey in the past. Alright I guess, but DO NOT get vanilla ice cream flavor. :nope:

I read that a person should consume 1g of protein for every 1kg of lean body mass per day. Is that true? Also are there any down-sides to supplementing protein intake with Whey powder?

Better is 1g per 1 *lb* of body weight. Whey powder is a great protein supplement but it's not a meal replacement. You should try to get as much protein as you can from real food, but that can be tough. When you're aiming for 200g of protein a day a protein shake or two helps get you there.

Depends on what your day is like, however, I have no problems getting my protein fix with real food. Just takes a bit of creativity and planning in most cases. Not saying shakes don't have their place, but I hope none of you are planning to replace a chunk of your meals with one or using them as an excuse to be lazy and not prep something real to eat...A 4-5 pound jug of protein powder can cost anywhere between 40-80 (CAN)dollars depending on the brand and where you buy it. Imagine all the steak you can buy for that amount...

Depends on what your day is like, however, I have no problems getting my protein fix with real food. Just takes a bit of creativity and planning in most cases. Not saying shakes don't have their place, but I hope none of you are planning to replace a chunk of your meals with one or using them as an excuse to be lazy and not prep something real to eat...A 4-5 pound jug of protein powder can cost anywhere between 40-80 (CAN)dollars depending on the brand and where you buy it. Imagine all the steak you can buy for that amount...

I've done the math in the past out of curiousity, and even at the increased protein powder prices, they are g for g of protein pretty competitive. I think the reason people complain is because you buy a tub of protein all at once, compared to buying perishable meat a bit at a time.

Casein is cheaper for me in a powder than it is in cottage cheese for instance.

US prices might be a bit better than you are seeing, though.

But I agree that your core protein source should be real food, as it brings with it a lot of other micronutrients you need. Plus, it's more fun :eat:

Dollar difference could be a factor, but I definitely find if I watch for sales and stock up my freezer, I get good value when I purchase meats and other groceries. I also don't need to buy fancier cuts since I don't mind the fat, and that brings price down overall compared to someone who buys chicken breast compared to thighs or a whole chicken.

I feel like such a lemming saying this, but I would also have to recommend Atlarge's Nitrean. I have tried MANY different shakes from a local place (popeyes lets you try whatever you want before you buy anything) and probably purchased ~10 different kinds, of which Nitrean tasted the best. Also I like the idea of the protein blend for an extended release instead of just whey, although I still use a whey isolate as a PWO drink (the juice flavors are my favorite here, made by a couple different company's but sytrex nectar is the best IMO)

I prepare most of my meals for the week on sunday night, breakfast is about the only meal I cook fresh everyday. I also usually drink 1-2 shakes a day, not because I'm lazy or I'll prepared, but because at work I don't always have time to stop, heat up a meal, sit down and eat it. I have tried eating chicken and brown rice with my hands while driving down the highway, and it just wasn't fun. But its VERY easy to eat a banana and a small bag of nuts while pounding back a shake while driving down the highway. Also, after eating 2-3 pieces of meat in a day (whether its steak chicken or pork), sometimes you just gotta have something different.

While I do agree real whole foods should come first, with "supplements" used to supplement your diet, I also believe that a protein shake with a hand full of nuts and a banana, is MUCH better then a nutrigrain bar with a juice box. Lets face it, NO ONE plans perfectly (and when you think you have, life throws you a curve ball and all your planning goes out the window) and a shake can be a decent protein source in a bind, or just as a way to keep it different.

Well said sevenatenine! When I began working out I used Nitrean, but a college budget seems to get less and less so I was forced to switch. I looked around for another protein that was Time-Released a.k.a. a blend of whey, casein, etc.

I found EAS at costco, two flavors to choose, 6lb bag for $30... cant beat it, period. I have yet to find a better tasting protein that mixes well for such a good price.

I use whey protein after workouts because whey releases much faster than a blend powder, which is what we want. The brand I choose is 100% ON Whey. I purchased a large 10lb bag once off amazon for about $60 during a promotion and still have plenty left because I only use it PWO. Hope that helps.

I found EAS at costco, two flavors to choose, 6lb bag for $30... cant beat it, period. I have yet to find a better tasting protein that mixes well for such a good price.

Funny you mention EAS, because I found their chocolate whey concentrate, tastes a lot like chocolate nitrean.:nod:

Funny you mention EAS, because I found their chocolate whey concentrate, tastes a lot like chocolate nitrean.:nod:


Thanks for the Nitrean recommendations guys!

The main advantage of Nitrean is its blend. You will retain more protein on a gram for gram basis when you consume Nitrean than virtually any other protein supplement available.

Chris

I found EAS at costco, two flavors to choose, 6lb bag for $30... cant beat it, period. I have yet to find a better tasting protein that mixes well for such a good price.

You talking EAS blend or EAS 100% whey? I found vanilla and chocolate EAS 6 lb protein blend bags that are a blend of whey, soy, and 3 L-things. It's incredibly cheap compared with other protein powders, but it has a quarter of your cholesterol for the day in a 2-scoop serving. I've yet to taste it, though, since I'm finishing up my other stuff first.

You talking EAS blend or EAS 100% whey? I found vanilla and chocolate EAS 6 lb protein blend bags that are a blend of whey, soy, and 3 L-things. It's incredibly cheap compared with other protein powders, but it has a quarter of your cholesterol for the day in a 2-scoop serving. I've yet to taste it, though, since I'm finishing up my other stuff first.
Mystery solved :tu:

You talking EAS blend or EAS 100% whey? I found vanilla and chocolate EAS 6 lb protein blend bags that are a blend of whey, soy, and 3 L-things. It's incredibly cheap compared with other protein powders, but it has a quarter of your cholesterol for the day in a 2-scoop serving. I've yet to taste it, though, since I'm finishing up my other stuff first.

It's most likely cheap because of the cheap soy protein.

hey i have also bought nitrean and use it...i haven't ever had any other shakes so don't know what to compare it to but the chcocolate is very good

btw what does it mean to be time released?

and is nitrean better like inthe morning or at night

i usually do weights around 9 pm so is it better before sleep like 10 pm or something or in the morning at breakfast like at 10 am

Ditto for the Nitrean. It's a blend (whey, casein, egg protein) rather than whey only. I've used a few other brands with varying opinions and always come back to ALN. GNC tasted horrible and wasn't all that great. I've used ON whey in the past. Alright I guess, but DO NOT get vanilla ice cream flavor. :nope:


Is that just a flavor pref? Because I just wolfed 5 lbs. of vanilla ice cream flavor with 5 more on the way. Different strokes?

hey i have also bought nitrean and use it...i haven't ever had any other shakes so don't know what to compare it to but the chcocolate is very good

btw what does it mean to be time released?

and is nitrean better like inthe morning or at night

i usually do weights around 9 pm so is it better before sleep like 10 pm or something or in the morning at breakfast like at 10 am

The "time released" idea relates to the fact that Nitrean has different forms of protein which are absorbed by the body at different rates thus supplying your body with a more or less continuous stream of amino acids for hours after its consumption.

Nitrean is thus excellent to be used at any time of the day.

Chris

I like Nitrean. It's a quality product made by REAL PEOPLE.

When I ordered my first tub, there was a handwritten note on the order form with it that said "Thanks Jon".

You can talk about taste or mixability or whatever. That goes farther with me than any claim of taste or clumpiness ever could.

Great Product Chris, Great Company too. :tucool:

I like Nitrean. It's a quality product made by REAL PEOPLE.

When I ordered my first tub, there was a handwritten note on the order form with it that said "Thanks Jon".

You can talk about taste or mixability or whatever. That goes farther with me than any claim of taste or clumpiness ever could.

Great Product Chris, Great Company too. :tucool:

Agreed -- I've tried all kinds of different protein powders. I like the composition of Nitrean, but overall, I just really like the taste. Of all that I've tried, the only one that can really match Nitrean in terms of taste is Muscle Milk (but then again, MM is more of a meal replacement than a straight up protein supplement).

I like Nitrean. It's a quality product made by REAL PEOPLE.

When I ordered my first tub, there was a handwritten note on the order form with it that said "Thanks Jon".

You can talk about taste or mixability or whatever. That goes farther with me than any claim of taste or clumpiness ever could.

Great Product Chris, Great Company too. :tucool:

Thank you very much! Statements like that make our packers (and me) very happy :).

Chris

Agreed -- I've tried all kinds of different protein powders. I like the composition of Nitrean, but overall, I just really like the taste. Of all that I've tried, the only one that can really match Nitrean in terms of taste is Muscle Milk (but then again, MM is more of a meal replacement than a straight up protein supplement).


Thanks Joe!

I realize this thread is now over a month old, but it does seem to address a part of my question. Protein shakes have been the only thing that makes the difference for me. At 53 and working hard all my life, only by starting intense "protein therapy" and many hours a week of heavy resistance training, can I finally see a difference in my weight and see my muscles bulk. I can eat food like crazy and never gain weight nor muscle on regular exercise and dinners. Did that all my life up until the end of last year. It's working great but I want it to work as well as it can.

I've been using EAS 27% and I like it though I supplement with protein food (steaks, pork chops and chicken) at every meal. What I'm worried about is the presence of the soy protein in it. Am I right that I'm potentially minimizing my gains by using a protein powder that contains something estrogenic? I'm pretty serious about my regimen now and I want to get every last bit out of it. Especially for someone over 30, keeping the testosterone levels up and estrogen down would appear to be critical to the chemistry? I stopped drinking alcohol for that reason yet now I notice this stuff has soy? I'm just about out of my two most recent 5 pound bags and I'm wondering if I need to switch.

I have also used MLO Milk and Egg 21% which I can get locally but can only get small quantities and that shoots the cost way up.

The other question I've had is that I mix with Orange and Grapefruit juice just because I tend to eat very little sugar or fruit. Is that a bad idea?

Thanks for any opinion,
Chris

A friend introduced me to Syntrax Nectar whey isolate protein. It taste amazing. The only downside to it is that there are artificial sweeteners. It is, however, aspartame free. It has sucralose and another pottasium based artif. sweetener.

A friend introduced me to Syntrax Nectar whey isolate protein. It taste amazing. The only downside to it is that there are artificial sweeteners. It is, however, aspartame free. It has sucralose and another pottasium based artif. sweetener.

It's also a whey protein isolate only, so it's a "fast" protein. That's fine around workouts, but I'd much rather use a blend for regular use to spread out the protein digestion.

I went ahead and purchased a couple of the Syntrax Nectar jugs to give it a shot. I have read that to reduce the speed of digestion, whey isolates can be mixed with skim milk. Not sure that makes any sense to me. True, false or is there some other way?

I went ahead and purchased a couple of the Syntrax Nectar jugs to give it a shot. I have read that to reduce the speed of digestion, whey isolates can be mixed with skim milk. Not sure that makes any sense to me. True, false or is there some other way?

That won't necessarily slow digestion. It will add milk sugar, some more whey, and some casein. So you'd be adding a bit of casein which is slower digesting, but the majority of the protein is going to be made up of whey.

But the Nectar stuff is really fruit tasting. They aren't creamy like most protein powders. So mixing them with milk might be nasty.

Fats will actually slow down digestion, so maybe eat some nuts or something.

As to the Nectar stuff, the lemonaid is good. Stawberry Kiwi...not so much. I haven't tried the other flavors, but I've found I can actually sip this stuff during workouts since it's not creamy.

The Apple Ecastasy is awesome. I'm worried about the strawberry as I tried the Fruit Blast stawberry and it tasted like Pepto Bismo.

I hear the Cherry and the pina colada (SP) is awesome.

I use ON Chocolate Mint. It's a 5 lb jug that I bought last year but only used a little of it. But now I'm back so I gotta use it up. It's really good for my PWO with somedextrose and fat free skim milk and it tastes awesome. But I do plan on buying Nitrean once this runs out to give it a shot since everyone recommends it so much.