Best protein powders for muscle gain?

Jamie Rivera70 said:I guess you might have missed Nicholas Kern90's sarcasm?

🤣

No, I didn't.

🤣🤣🤣

Sandra Brooks28 said:Nah.

🤣🤣🤣

Not sure why you think anyone cares about your taste in scrawny losers. 😁

Nicholas Kern90 said:I suppose I don't quite see why anyone would care about your preference for scrawny builds.😁

🙄

I guess I'm just looking out for everyone's health.😬

fadedrider17 said:So, I’ve got a question for you guys.
I was browsing that fitness forum—you know the one—and it seems like everyone there just assumes you *have* to slam some whey right after a workout. But we were talking about this here before, how you don't actually need protein supplements to see results. This guy on the forum keeps pushing some extreme brand, and apparently, a 500-gram tub of that stuff costs about $47. At that rate, it would only last me maybe 8 days. And honestly, I just don't have that kind of cash lying around.

Well, either you make more money or you save it, I guess!
Or you just skip the supplement altogether.

By the way, how did you even figure out that 500 grams of whey would only last you 8 days?

-Steve

briskjackal5 said:Either you earn it, or you save it.
Otherwise, you're just skipping it.

By the way, how did you calculate that 500 grams of whey lasts exactly 8 days?

-Steve

According to my math, one week comes out to 325 grams. If someone works out three times a week, they take two scoops after training and one scoop in the morning with their oatmeal; on the off days, they just have one scoop in the morning. That’s 13 scoops over 7 days. Since one scoop is 25 grams, you multiply them and get 325.

Yeah, I definitely botched my math there—my bad.
Let’s look at it this way: if you’re doing 30 grams per scoop, twice a day, that puts you at 60 grams daily. That adds up to 180 grams every single week.

Honestly, the MVP Iso Logic Neutral is the absolute gold standard when it comes to protein.
All that junk loaded with artificial sweeteners—aspartame, sucralose, or even worse, straight-up sugar—is total garbage in my book. I’m just not interested in poisoning myself.
As far as I can tell, aspartame is clearly bad news, and sucralose hasn't been studied nearly enough to make any real claims about its safety.
I don't touch glucose or refined sugar; I stick to honey. It feels way more natural on my stomach, even if there is some fruit sugar involved.
And seriously, get dairy out of your diet. Most people lose the ability to digest milk as they get older—any real bodybuilder knows this—so drinking milk is just a massive mistake. You've got the lactose, the fat, and all those other nasty additives to deal with.
When it comes to dairy, a bodybuilder's list should be pretty short—either plant-based or, even better, just plain oats. I usually just rinse them under water and eat the grains straight.
Also, let's be real: forget about trying to build muscle if you aren't prepared to drop thousands of dollars on protein tubs and high-quality groceries.
I’m talking about top-tier tuna, like Starkist or Bumble Bee, not that cheap five-dollar stuff$2.00that's basically toxic...
You need high-quality fish oil at pharmaceutical grade, packed with triple the EPA and DHA (not that low-grade stuff they sell with 120/180 concentrations)...etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.🙂

velvetfalcon44 said:I'm talking about high-quality tuna—brands like Bumble Bee or StarKist. Not that cheap stuff you find for five bucks.$2.00 What's the poison today?
Get high-quality, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil. I'm talking triple EPA and DHA concentrations—not that cheap 120/180 stuff you find on the drugstore shelves. Etc., etc., etc.🙂

I've been reading all over the place that your StarKist stuff is actually way worse for you than the budget brands.👍

fadedrider17 said:Yeah, I guess my math was a little bit off there, my bad.

Man, you're such a bodybuilder! 😁

-Steve

The moment you brought up honey, you were basically asking for 🤦

briskjackal5 said:Oh, please—you think I'm trying to be a bodybuilder? 😁--as if.

-Steve

That’s not even the point here—it isn't my goal at all. My actual goal is just to feel better and to stop my shoulders from looking so damn narrow.

Honey is solid—honestly, what's the issue? It’s got glucose and some fructose in there, but personally, I can't handle that pure glucose powder stuff; it absolutely wrecks my stomach and just irritates it way too much. Plus, you have to realize how many medicinal properties and minerals are actually packed into honey...
My go-to routine during workouts is mixing some honey with my whey and creatine ester, maybe tossing in a banana too.
And what's wrong with Rio Mare? They don't have those tiny little pieces you find in the cheap brands, which is why you end up paying a few extra bucks for them.$10
Lately, though, I've been sticking to Eva fillets because they actually feel like real food compared to that Rio Mare chicken.
If you want to do it right, just grab a solid tuna steak and sear it. That’s an actual meal, not these canned mess things.

Man, Rio Mare tuna... just... ugh. 🤮

Look, if glucose isn't working for you, just try using Maltodextrin instead.

Nicholas Kern90 said:well, if glucose isn't doing it for you, maybe give Maltodextrin a shot

Can you even find that stuff at Walmart or what?
I was reading somewhere that Scharzenberg recommends mixing whey with Maltodextrin for your post-workout meal.
But now I'm a little tripped up—aren't dextrose and Maltodextrin both complex carbs that won't spike your insulin? 🤷
If that's the case, how does it actually work for a post-workout shake?

Just caught a glimpse of what they've got over at Pronutrition,

velvetfalcon44 said:Just saw they have it at Pronutrition.

Maltodextrin spikes insulin a bit less than dextrose, so a 50/50 split in your intra-workout mix is probably the move. But hey, if glucose doesn't sit well with you, just stick to Maltodextrin.

Otherwise, if you're buying dextrose from Walmart, you're basically eating trash.

So, I finally picked up some Carbo Energy from Inkospor at Helix today.
Up until now, I’ve just been sticking to glucose powder in my PWM.
And as far as I know, Maltodextrin is more of a daily carb thing. Since I need something in the PWM to actually spike my insulin, I can't exactly ditch the glucose. I could always just stick to honey and bananas like I have been—though honestly, honey isn't exactly perfect since it's basically a fifty-fifty split of glucose and fructose, but hey, it is what it is.

velvetfalcon44 said:Picked up some Carbo Energy from Inkospor at the local GNC today.
Up until now, I’ve just been sticking to glucose powder in my intra-workout.
As far as I know, Maltodextrin is more of a daily carb. Since I need something in my intra-workout to spike insulin, I can't just ditch the glucose. I could always use honey or a banana like I have been, but honey isn't perfect since it's basically half glucose and half fructose. Whatever.

Maltodextrin bumps insulin slightly less than dextrose, so go ahead and use it.

Either way, it's better than relying on honey or bananas.

All good now.
I just realized—Maltodextrin actually sits at a glycemic index of about 105. So, it's slightly lower than pure glucose, which is interesting since it's a bit pricier, but it seems to digest way faster in the stomach too.
Honestly, I was a little tripped up because I thought it was categorized as a complex carb.
Thanks for the heads-up, Nicholas Kern90.
I mean, I knew about Maltodextrin before, but I was so focused on using things like Gatorade back in the day that I totally blanked on the fact that Maltodextrin was even an option. 🙈