What protein is best for me?

Become your own personal protein supplement expert.

It can seem like a bit of an overwhelming task to browse a massive list of different coloured protein tubs and expect to find the one that is best for you. However there are a few easy ways to really simplify this whole process. While just about every protein powder has something unique about its formula, there is always a shortcut to categorising a protein powder. Once you understand these main categories of protein powders it is very easy to determine the one for you.

There are two main categories of protein powder.

Lean Protein Powders

Identify these by seeing less than 5g carbs and 3g fats per serve on the nutritional table.

• Whey Protein Isolate – only whey protein isolate protein and flavours in the ingredients
• Whey Protein Blends – more than one protein plus flavours in the ingredients
• Casein Protein – only casein protein plus flavours in the ingredients
• Fat Burning Protein – any protein mix with fat burning ingredients like green tea extract, carnitine, guarana, tyrosine etc… plus flavours on the ingredients

Weight Gain Protein Powders

Identify these by seeing carbs that are about equal to or higher than the amount of protein per serve on the nutritional table.

• Mass Gainers – approximately 50/50 ratio of protein to carbs
• Hard Mass Gainers  – approximately 20/80 ratio of protein to carbs

Okay, so as you can see it is easy enough to determine whether a protein powder is a lean protein or a weight gainer… obviously you can figure out if you want to focus on being lean or gain weight but which lean protein or which weight gainer should you pick?

These are the main reasons for protein supplementation and their respective optimal protein option:

Lean Protein Powders

• Post workout recovery shake – Whey Protein Isolate
• Increase protein levels throughout the day – Whey Protein Blends
• Before bed recovery shake – Casein Protein
• Meal Replacement – Whey Protein Blends or Casein Protein
• Fat Burning – Fat Burning Protein Powder (Should note that most people prefer to buy their protein powder and fat burner supplements separately for higher potency!)

Weight Gain Protein Powders

• Increase protein and calories to “bulk” or “clean bulk” – Mass Gainers
• I can’t gain weight no matter what I do! – Hard Mass Gainers

Every brand will have a protein product for each of these main categories so once you have found a brand that you like, picking the right protein becomes easy.