I always drink 'EAS' whey pro powder, but switched to 'Body Fortress Super Advanced' a little over a month ago, and I'm noticing a big difference in muscle definition since the switch.

I forget how many grams of protein were in EAS, but Body Fortress has 52 grams.

Just passing that along to anyone who might care.

Are you based in the UK? If so, Myprotein.com have great products and unbeatable prices. I use their stuff.

52grams per shake is very high Thats a level i would expect to see in a gainer shake rather than just a whey protein. The average is usually around 25g. Unless you double scoop (as i do) then its the 50g you mentioned.

I buy 5kg a tub of unflavoured whey protein from the website i mentioned. That cost just 30 quid and lasts forever. Also, as its unflavoured you dont run the risk of grim tasting products which protein shakes often suffer from.

What are your training aims? program etc?

I'm set to start working out this year. Do I need extra protein in the form of shakes though?

No, I'm in the US.

I started with just one shake a day with the EAS and I think it was like 16 grams????

Then I went to 2 a day, now I'm onto two a day of the 52 grams stuff, so I'mup to 104 grams a day. I never tried the unflavored stuff, but I stick to vanilla flavoered. Except I accidentally got strawberry once, and I kept giving it to my kids as "strawberry milk".

I do 40 minutes 6 days a week of circuit training, and alternate days. Like, lets say

Monday : upper body and abs
Tuesday : lower body and abs
Wednesday : upperbody abs
ect ect
Then the 7th day I do just cardio, no resistance training that day for a break.

I switch it up a little every couple weeks, but I try to do a large muscle group in conjunction with abs atleast 6 days a week, because I noticed that my ab workout shows more results when I do it immediatley AFTER a large muscle group.

Any tips???

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I don't know the amount of 'protein' your getting now.....

But in all seriousness, yes!! I would drink protein shakes right after your workout, so you can build muscle and burn fat. Your muscles need the protein to recover and thats how they 'grow'.

And drink Wheatgrass BEFORE your workout and you'll get more out of it, and feel all around better and more motivated!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

And what do you mean "set to start this year" ?????

Like you have a date picked out to start. Thats like picking a date to quit snorting coke.

Get off the F'in org and do it NOW!

I love EAS products. Because of this thread I'm thinking about starting to drink the shakes. I really like the chocolate.

I'm just doing cardio right now. I need to move up to weights again. It's been a while though and I'm afraid of failure.

BUT, I have to do it. I feel so much better physically and mentally when I work out.


Oh yeah, protein drinks give me gas.....
[Edited 4/30/09 11:00am]

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Lots of people say that.....I don't get gas from them though. I poop a lot but I don;t know if its from the shakes the wheat grass or the body cleanses....

I never use any of the sports or protein bars. All the ones I've seen have way to much friken SUGAR!!! Do they have any with less than 5 g or sugar???

TotalANXiousNESS said:

I've been out of the "scene" for a while so I don't know if have products less than 5 g of sugar.

You becoming a body builder Dani?

That's a TON of protein for just getting in to shape...

1 gram of protein per one kg of bodyweight is the daily recommendation even for those who don´t work out. Hardcore bodybuilders use a lot more, some consume up to 350 grams of protein a day.
I drink my protein shakes after a workout but also right before going to bed for better recuperation during nighttime. I also drink one with my breakfast to stop the catabolism. I use different brands and change them a lot but the one I´m currently using is a multi component protein which contains the usual milk protein, whey and a bit of egg protein. I don´t trust soy protein and I´m not that much into whey, either.
The taste of proteinshakes is pretty ok IMO but it´s all those artificial sweeteners I have a problem with. Unfortunately , most of them have aspartame or saccharine or even both.I´d rather have them with regular sugar than that shit.

3121 said:

Most gainer shakes are heavy in carbs and calories but usually much lower in protein than real protein shakes. Gainer shakes contain a lot of carbs in the form of maltodextrin or other sugars.
I heard that Optimum Nutrition and All Star make the tastiest protein shakes, and Weider´s products are also quite tasty but way too expensive.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Aprotein shake is a 'suplement'. It's exactly that. You need to get your diet down first. There are 40g of protein in a tin of tuna - thats almost double that found in a protein shake. A can of baked beans has around 20g of protein. It is easy to get all the protein you need from your diet without suplementing with shakes.

Shakes have their place, are convienient for instance. They should never replace a good diet though. They can help 'top you up' if you are on the move or havent met your daily intake with food.

I also dont really see the need in taking them if all you are doing is cardio. Protein is absorbed to assist in muscle repair after their firbres have been torn in tension e.g. weight lifting. It is in this state of repair that muscles grow.

It is said that an average male should consume 1g of protein for every 2lbs of body weight whilst training. I have also heard people go pound for pound - 1g of protein for every pound of body weight.

Suplements are big business now. Dont believe the hype. A shake wont give you musles or make you ripped. Eat well, train hard and get adequate rest. More importantly, learn your subject. Working out is almost a science. Determine your goals and seek the knowledge to achieve them. It is well worth it and you will see results quicker and far more safely.

KoolEaze said:

I respectfully disagree. That is not my expeirience. I have used both. My gainer always had around twice the protein content as its whey counterpart. However, most gainers are 3 times the quantity of a protein shake so i understand your point and gram for gram you may very well be correct. I agree about the extra carbs though - thats its point after all. Most of a gainer is junk. I would never use them for that reason anymore, there are far better natural gainer shakes you can make yourself.
[Edited 4/30/09 12:44pm]

oh Dani, like you were a fat ass anyway.

3121 said:

Agree, most gainers are unnecessary and contain a lot of junk that I try to avoid, and yes, making your own gainer is much better. For my post-workout shake I put a banana in a blender and blend it with milk, a bit of oatmeal, a bit of raisins or dates and a scoop of protein powder so that my muscles get some glucose and protein after a heavy workout. In the past I would only drink a protein shake after a workout and I used to overtrain, i.e train a muscle way too often.
Now that I don´t train the same muscles more than three times a week and with the fast and slow carbs I see much better results.

I guess you´re right about gainers being high in protein. The ones I used to drink were probably some old school stuff or something, this was years ago. One product was called "Crash" and was high in cheap carbs and contained 20 grams of protein per serving whereas my protein shakes contain 20 gram per serving.

There was this thread about Taimak here on the org, you know, that guy from The Last Dragon with Vanity, and in that thread ( interview) he said that overtraining is a big myth but I experienced for myself that it´s not just a myth, overtraining is very real. You seem to know a bit about working out, how often do you train the same muscle in one week ? Some say one workout per muscle every 7 days is okay while others say the best thing to do is to do a workout every 48 hours.

What do you think ? How often is too often, and how often would you work on the same muscles ?

KoolEaze said:

Hey koolEaze,

Your homemade gainer sounds similar to mine! I have this

500ml of skimmed milk
8oz of natural yogurt
50g of oats
scoop of unflavoured whey protein
1 banana or frozen berries

Mix it in a blender. Thats around 800/900 cals. Full of goodness as you'll already know and no junk. I am sick of drinking them though but they work great. better than any gainer product i've ever purchased give it a go!


I began practisng muay thai (kickboxing) and calisthenic exercises a few years ago. I took the calisthenics as far as i could and the martial arts takes care of my cardio. Then i began to become interested in building lean muscle mass so i began reading into weight training. The goal was to put a stone of lean muscle mass onto my frame. I have just reached my goal.

I achieved this through 'Full body' workouts 3 x a week. have you used them? They are the opposite of 'split' training and are excellent for mass building. If you are not aware of these then let me know and i can tell you some more as it will aid in me explaining my opinions on 'overtraining' AND the best method to train muscle groups each week.


The short answer would be 'yes' i do agree that overtraining exists. Like you, i have experienced it. In fact i am experiencing its effect right now I've identified it and have now revised certain things in my program. Those who say its a myth are very often juiced up (steds) and can afford shorter recovery periods and far more intense workouts.

Let us know if you want to know any more about 'full body' and 'splits'
[Edited 4/30/09 13:57pm]

I take muscle juice...

Anyone else use creatine?

uPtoWnNY said:

I used to. All it did, for me, was get me bloated.

KoolEaze said:

I tried soy once, and I actually like the taste better but it has less protein.

3121 said:

Yeah, but with a supplement you can get the protein without the added fat.

I'm not saying only drink protein, and don't eat it, but I'd rather drink the protein all day then eat the beans or some chicken for dinner.

I also don't agree that you don't need a shake if you're only doing cardio, I think you should throw the extra protein into your diet even if you're not working out.

IMO doing only cardio is a waste anyways.

KoolEaze said:[quote]

3121 said:

You need to give the muscle atleast 24 hrs to recover

Imago said:

One of the keys to look for when purchasing a protein is the amount of grams of fat and or saturated fat per serving that a shake has. EAS and Muscle Milk taste great but have between 12 to 15 grams of fat per serving and also a high amount of saturated fat. A good product would be Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex or Isopure which are very high protein, lo carb, lo sugar, and 0 to 2 grams of fat per serving.

Imago said:

TotalANXiousNESS said:

I think a common misconception with folks is that the more protein in a serving the better.

The issue is that your body can only assimilate so much in one sitting. Although the original myth that we could only absorb 20 grams of it at one time is wrong--it's more like 38 grams or something for men, the average woman (150 pounds) needs only 55 per day.

I'm not a fan of high protein diets, nor sources of protein derived from dairy (whey). It's absolutely disgusting stuff, highly process, and flavored so you don't vomit when you ingest the stuff from it's putrid oders/flavors (does anybody remember what whey protein USED to taste like before the perfected the ability to mask it's nastiness?)


That being said, EAS is one of the better suppliers on the market. They tend to not sell bullshit supplements and stick to ones that actually work or have been shown to have results.

If you're trying to increase muscle and drop fat, what's currently working for me is a combination of HMB, CLA, and creatine during workouts. Although soy protein is not nearly as efficient as whey protein in it's ability to be assimilated, and there's the factor of having estrogen precursors in it, I supplement with soy protein if I feel I need additional protein.


Either way, I need to really get my ass in gear now. I feel a fire in me. lawd.

Imago said:

Wait, so are you saying that a chics body can only process 55g of protein a day??? Or did I misunderstand you?

So does that mean I'm waisting the other 50 some grams of protein I'm getting a day from supplements....not to mention the protein I'm getting from other sources???

Why don't you like high protein diets? What could happen?