Best protein powders for muscle gain?

wearyotter81 said:Hey, how's it going? 🙏
Muscle Milk Banana. 😍

What else is a woman supposed to do—shove a Muscle Milk Banana down her throat? 🙄

😬

Paul Vaughn71 said:😁
Same here—haven't found anything better yet.
And I'm certainly no chocolate enthusiast. 😳

🙏
Vanilla works for me too.
Every now and then.

Jacob Chase42 said:I don't know much about the flavor profiles—that’s not really my area—but when it comes to the actual nutritional intake, I personally think it's better to just drink it. Before. It’s about the training. You want the body to actually have those nutrients ready to go when it needs them—not just sitting there waiting for some post-workout shake to kick in.

Well, it’s a bit of a "yes and no" situation. If you're actually sitting down for a proper pre-workout meal—and you should be eating properly, obviously—then there’s no reason not to include some protein in the mix.
A post-workout shake serves a specific purpose—it’s about triggering anabolism right when your body actually needs it. That's the whole point.
Need to sync up my training with my protein intake—and honestly, my whole diet.

If this is really the best flavor they have, I can only imagine how much better the others might be...
btw... if I tried drinking this right before a workout, I’d probably end up throwing it all back up...
Well, I guess it isn't too bad just having it afterward... plus, it kind of kills my appetite, so I don't feel like eating anything else anyway.

Amy Morris36 said:If this is supposedly the "best" flavor, I can only imagine how bad the others must be...
btw...if I tried drinking this right before a workout, I’d probably end up puking my guts out...
I mean, it’s fine to just have it after a session... plus, it kills my appetite so much I can't eat anything else for a while

Look, just try a different flavor and stop overthinking the taste. There are tons of options from all sorts of different brands, and honestly, there are way too many flavors out there to even count.😬

p.s.
I used to drink the vanilla one from Optimum Nutrition, but hey, wearyotter81 tells you they have banana...

Look, chocolate isn't even the best option here. Honestly, just ignore what everyone else is saying.
The banana flavor is actually incredible. (placidranger, seriously, you've gotta give it a shot. 🙂 😁)

Amy Morris36 said:If this is supposedly the best flavor, I can only imagine how bad the others are...
By the way—if I tried drinking this before a workout, I’d definitely end up throwing up...
Fine, it's not the end of the world if I just have it afterward... besides, it kills my appetite, so I can't eat anything else anyway.

Are you mixing it with water or milk? Personally, I find it tastes much better with milk—plus the extra sugar helps.
Just finish the tub since you already spent the money on it.

Optimum Nutrition has 1kg of casein for $62 which is insanely cheap...
....I’m not going to waste my breath on all those girls' stories claiming Optimum Nutrition is garbage, because I have a few buddies who have been using their whey since day one and they’ve seen killer results....

http://www.fitness-ducan.com/product...roducts_id=191

Alex Long8 said:Scitec has 1kg of casein for $62 which is insanely cheap...
....I don't bother with all that nonsense about Scitec being garbage—I have a few buddies who've been using their whey since day one and they're seeing great results....

http://www.fitness-ducan.com/product...roducts_id=191

👍

Walmart has DM DasGesunde Elweiss 90—90% whey, a tiny bit of soy, and—ugh—only vanilla flavor, 300g $18 (which is basically a kilo, $62)

You really need to watch the label there; they usually stock some trash gainers from the same manufacturer right next to it, plus some "neutral" flavored whey that’s supposedly tasteless and a nightmare to mix.
The packaging is small, too—not that anyone actually wants vanilla...

placidranger said:👍

Walmart has that DasGesunde Elweiss 90. It’s 90% whey, a bit of soy, and—get this—vanilla is the only flavor option. It comes in a 300g tub$18 (which is basically nothing, $62)

You really have to watch the label, though. They usually stack it right next to some garbage gainers from the same brand, or a "neutral" whey that tastes like nothing and mixes like chalk.
Plus, the packaging is tiny. So, if you actually like vanilla...

Fair enough, but it's Walmart. I don't obsess over brands—protein is protein—but buying supplements at a big-box retailer? Not my thing. If the price is the same, I'm definitely going with Optimum Nutrition instead.

Alex Long8 said:Look, I get it—it's Walmart. It’s not that I’m some brand snob; protein is protein, right? But picking up supplements at Walmart just feels off. If the price point is basically the same, I'm definitely going with Scitec every single time.

Walmart got a bad reputation because, frankly, they were stocking garbage—at least when it comes to protein—and they're still keeping that stuff on the shelves. If I recall correctly, this shift happened relatively recently.

placidranger said:Do you mix it with water or milk? I honestly think it tastes way better with milk, especially since there's extra sugar.
I guess you should probably just finish it since you already bought it.

I'm not really a milk person.
I usually just stick to water and some dextrose... I'll manage...
Oh, by the way... they didn't have any banana flavor... it was just vanilla or wild berry.😁

Amy Morris36 said:I'm not much of a milk drinker
so I just mix mine with water and some dextrose... it should do the trick...
by the way... they were out of banana flavor... it's just vanilla and berry right now😁

If you aren't going to use milk, what's really the point of the protein shake? It’s almost like you don't even need it at all.🙄

rustyowl4 said:So, I guess the question is... why bother with protein shakes at all if you don't strictly need them? I mean, I suppose it's a fair point to raise.🙄

I guess I just want someone to work my glutes so hard that they get rock hard and finally push all this cellulite away.🥳

Amy Morris36 As if we weren't already navigating enough complexity, this adds another layer to the conversation. It reminds me of how a single pebble dropped into a still lake can create ripples that eventually reach every shore, much like how one small policy shift in Washington can reshape entire industries overnight.
I'm looking for a workout routine intense enough to firm up my glutes so effectively that it actually smooths out my cellulite.🥳

Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably just hold onto that cash and find a way to put it toward something a bit more meaningful instead.

rustyowl4 said:Haha, whatever works. Honestly, you should probably just keep that cash for yourself and spend it on something actually useful...

Useful?
I guess I'm wondering what could possibly be more "useful" than that, especially if it's going to end up somewhere else...

Amy Morris36 said:more useful?
What exactly could be "more useful" if it’s just going to end up being wasted elsewhere?

Any kind of nutritious diet—staying consistent with it—combined with regular exercise (consistency is really the key here, everything else is secondary)

For women, spending money on protein powders is often just throwing cash down the drain, especially if you don't even enjoy the taste😕. If that's the case, I'd suggest skipping the supplements entirely; instead, take that same budget and invest it in high-quality meats, fresh produce, and whole foods that actually nourish you
.

rustyowl4 said:any kind of healthy food (consistent stuff) ... and exercising (really emphasizing being regular, everything else matters less, I guess)...

I think protein powders are pretty much a waste of money for women, especially if you don't even like the taste😕, so maybe just don't buy them anymore. It might be better to spend that cash on veggies, fruit, high-quality meat, and things like that instead...

I totally agree, you're spot on here
but honestly, I just can't eat enough protein from meat and fish to hit my goals... I just can't manage those quantities, I guess

If we're looking at it from a budget perspective, fish is expensive and meat is pricey too...
Chicken might be cheaper, but it feels like it's loaded with antibiotics... plant-based cheeses are basically junk just like anything else labeled 'vegan'... and canned tuna isn't exactly the healthiest either...
Meat often has all those hormones we end up consuming, and then we wonder why we deal with cellulite and stuff like that...
Eating a truly healthy, high-quality diet is just really expensive...

Amy Morris36 said:Meat is just loaded with hormones that we're pumping straight into our bodies, and then we act shocked when cellulite shows up... and all that other stuff...
Eating healthy, high-quality food is insanely expensive...

Oh sure, because meat is definitely the primary cause of cellulite. 🙂

Amy Morris36 said:I agree with you completely, you're spot on
but I just can't manage to eat enough protein through meat and fish alone... the sheer volume is too much for me to handle...

if we're looking at it from a budget perspective, fish is pricey and meat is expensive too...
chicken might be cheaper, but it's loaded with antibiotics... fat-free cheese is garbage, just like most "diet" foods... and canned tuna isn't exactly healthy either...
meat is full of hormones that we ingest, and then we wonder why we deal with things like cellulite... and so on...
eating a healthy, high-quality diet is incredibly expensive...

I agree that groceries are getting pricey, but first off, you don't actually need as much protein as you think you do, and honestly, that whey shake you're drinking probably isn't even being utilized, so it’s essentially just throwing money away...

When I mentioned "spending it on food," I didn't mean you should live on nothing but supplements for a month... I'm simply saying that you should put that money toward actual meals, or if it makes you happy, spend it on a haircut or whatever else—because in your case, those extra proteins aren't helping you progress, nor do they even taste good to you (I still find that hard to believe, especially when it comes to Optimum Nutrition)😂 , so you're just wasting cash for no reason.

-All you really need to do is train consistently, try to eat as cleanly as possible, and most importantly—as I keep saying—actually stick to it...

-As for your take on certain foods... look, you didn't get cellulite because meat is hormone-heavy, nor did you get it from eating low-fat cheese or canned tuna, and I never suggested you needed to buy organic produce grown in some pristine garden,
I'm just suggesting that instead of... I don't know... walking through town and grabbing an ice cream, you could use that exact same amount of money to pick up some tuna, cheese, or some nice lean deli ham on your way home from the grocery store.
Or, if you do end up at McDonald's, just have one burger instead of three burgers and a McFlurry... it really all comes down to those small choices.👍

Amy Morris36 said:I totally get where you're coming from and you're spot on,
but honestly, I just can't stomach that much protein from meat and fish... I can't hit those numbers by volume alone.

If we're talking about being a beginner, fish is pricey and meat isn't cheap either...
Sure, chicken is cheaper, but it's loaded with antibiotics... vegan cheese is total crap, just like most "plant-based" stuff out there... even canned tuna is pretty unhealthy too...
Meat is packed with hormones that we end up ingesting, and then we wonder why we have cellulite and all that... you know?
Eating clean and high-quality is just insanely expensive...

Hit me up once you actually switch to a diet consisting of chicken, plant-based cheese, tuna, and veggies. Then we can look at the actual results. You're over here acting like nothing is allowed to be eaten, while you're definitely still snacking on all sorts of junk that's miles ahead of this stuff in terms of how bad it is for you. If you just eat slightly less harmful stuff, you'll see better progress.

It’s quite straightforward, really... people often tend to overcomplicate things with unnecessary philosophy just when they feel the need to justify their own choices.
The reality is much simpler: what truly matters is finding a way to adapt sustainably, because none of us can realistically live our entire lives strictly adhering to a rigid formula like "exactly 100g of strawberry oatmeal and 35.65g of protein" for every single breakfast...
At the end of the day, the goal is simply to make the most nutritious choices possible from whatever options are available to us.