Bodybuilding Forums

just wondering what everyone else mixes their protein shakes with? I personally use milk because it tastes nicer with my powders. Is there any scientific advantage to either or is it just down to preference?

My blend:
Whey 1-2 scoops
A piece of fruit(banana or apple)
1 cup of milk
Optionals:
some cherries
An ounce of oats/oat brans
some nuts/almonds
some honey/sugar(better honey)
ice cubes

this usually pre-workout, it starts around 300 cals and can build up to even 500 or 600.

Post Workout is just Whey+Orange Juice or Milk

Whey+water is ok but blends are far more nutritional.Someone who need to lose a lot of weight though should forget about calorie full blends like the above and just use Whey with Water or a bit of milk or juice or a piece of fruit.

Just to add to what undertaker610 had to say, I use Whey + Water. I'm around 20% body fat right now and dropping. I know I'm going to have to radically increase my food intake once I get close to goal, though, as I'm currently dropping 2-3 pounds of fat per week right now and that's pretty damn aggressive.

I've experimented some with berry blends and strawberry whey protein with mixed (heh, heh, pun intended) results. It radically improves the taste of the "tastes like ass" strawberry IsoPure, and berries run around 8-10g of carbohydrate per cup so they're well within my plan. The mixture is pretty good, but mixing it with milk makes a berry-based shake taste kind of strange.

Anyway, I second the advice: aiming for fat loss? Whey + water. Aiming for mass gain? Whey + milk or milk substitute. I suggest Hood's Calorie Countdown (higher fat) or 8th Continent Light Soy Milk (lower fat) to keep the carbs low if you're low-carbing.

I don't drink milk anymore unless I really feel like entertaining my co-workers with frequent trips to the bathroom and incessant passing of gas.

--Matt B.

If you mix milk in with your whey protein and use before or after workout, it will slow digestion somewhat. For that reason, I use water. Best not to impede amino uptake during this time.

For other shakes, say during the day or before bed, I am not afraid to add a little cream, olive oil, etc. Slowing digestion is preferred at those times.

If you mix milk in with your whey protein and use before or after workout, it will slow digestion somewhat. For that reason, I use water. Best not to impede amino uptake during this time.

An first glance milk has casein(and whey) some fats and carbs so it slows down digestion a bit.
But when you try it you see that you feel far better with milk+whey even with other ingredients like fruits etc than just whey and water.

And with that logic why then we use whey and not just pure amino acids which are way faster digested than whey or any other protein?

The question is hypothetical...

Many people do use free aminos. The problem is they A: usually taste like a$$ and b: They are more expensive, gram per gram, than even whey isolate.

I do use raw milk in my "regular" protein shakes and sometimes even in my pre-workout shake, but not the post workout one. I want to get those aminos into my muscles fast and then do it again so I stick with whey and water. A shake made with milk tastes a lot better than with water, that's for sure. That's why I invest in good quality whey protein that tastes good either way. My favorite is ergopharm GF pro. Orange Cream... i actually look forward to drinking the stuff. American Whey is excellent also and actually pretty cost effective. I believe andrewpmast uses it also. Good stuff.

rob09 wrote:just wondering what everyone else mixes their protein shakes with? I personally use milk because it tastes nicer with my powders. Is there any scientific advantage to either or is it just down to preference?

Most of the time I use water, but sometimes I use low-carb soy milk which thickens it up. Yea, I use American Whey... 10lb bucket for $60... tastes really good and low carb too.

10lbs for 60dollars.I mean wtf!!.I buy 2.2lbs for 35euros and the protein I buy is considered cheap!!!(in greece)
I think I should start shopping from internet very soon.

I have been adding about 3 TBSP of Heavy cream (15g of fat) to my post workout shake, would you guys think that is a bad move?

Dude, if the fat doesn't hurt your fat-loss efforts, go for it! A bit of cream helps the flavor immensely.

Measure, experiment, measure, adjust, repeat.

--Matt B.