Making The Best Post-Workout Protein Shake?

[kahntrutahn]

My current shake (which is really good btw) consists of:

1 Scoop Optimum Nutrition Whey Powder; Vanilla
6 Cubes of Ice
1 Banana
4 Blueberries
1 Tablespoon Pure Honey
1 Heaping Tablespoon Plain Yogurt (from skim)
1 Heaping Tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter (w/1000mg Fish Oil added)
1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ
1 Handful of Plain/Raw Oatmeal
8-12 Almonds
Ground Cinnamon; Random amount sprinkled in
Add skim milk until 3/4 of blender full
Blend for 2 min

Once blended its 44+ ozs. I drink it immediately upon returning home from the gym. I usually eat a real meal 2 hours later when hunger returns.

My questions are:

1) What, if anything is missing from this shake?
2) Do you disagree with any of the ingredients?


[b] FWIW: I'm a buck 62 @ 5'9 and in college I was measured @ 165lbs/7% BF... these lame electroscales that calculate bodyfat (which always put me 2-3% higher than calipers did... something about body chemical makeup can alter results of bioelectric blah blah) say that I am ~15% BF right now. Ideally I'd like to reach 170lbs @ 7% BF while I'm still young and chasing ass...

[TroutMaskReplica]

4 measly blueberries????

edit: i make similar stuff to this all the time. i wouldn't bother with the honey because there's enough sugar in there already with the fruit/yogurt, and i'm not a fan of cinnamon

[Scary_Tiger]

That sounds pretty beastly.

1 Scoop Optimum Nutrition Whey Powder
Plus Water or Milk or whatever.

[Skoob]

Creatine supplement additive?

[kahntrutahn]

[ QUOTE ]
Creatine supplement additive?

[/ QUOTE ]

You know, now that Im really getting back into working out for 2007, I ordered some creatine.

It has yet to arrive though, so it isn't included in the mix.

Speaking of creatine, what are your thoughts on this? I havent taken creatine since it was the big thing 10+ years ago when I was in high school and started working out. Effective stuff still? I just ordered some to try it out again really...

[skunkworks]

I disagree with a lot of the ingredients. You want very little fat to be in your post-workout (PWO) shake -- that means you'll want to take out the peanut butter and almonds. What's important is to have simple, quick-absorbing carbs in the right ratio to the amount of protein in your shake. Honey, plain yogurt, and oatmeal all have a fairly low GI (glycolic index, the measure of how quickly something can be broken down to glucose) so they are not ideal additions to your PWO shake.

I'm sure your shake is pretty tasty however. I'm also being a bit nitty about the contents of the shake, but hey you asked. It's obviously most important to lift regularly and have a protein shake afterwards than it is to be a bit anal about the macronutrition profile of your shake.

Edit: FWIW, my shake is a scoop of Optimum Whey Vanilla with 1.5 scoops of Dextrose. For me, this is close to the ideal 2:1 ratio of carbsrotein. Also, 5g of creatine monohydrate.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
I disagree with a lot of the ingredients. You want very little fat to be in your post-workout (PWO) shake -- that means you'll want to take out the peanut butter and almonds. What's important is to have simple, quick-absorbing carbs in the right ratio to the amount of protein in your shake. Honey, plain yogurt, and oatmeal all have a fairly low GI (glycolic index, the measure of how quickly something can be broken down to glucose) so they are not ideal additions to your PWO shake.

I'm sure your shake is pretty tasty however. I'm also being a bit nitty about the contents of the shake, but hey you asked. It's obviously most important to lift regularly and have a protein shake afterwards than it is to be a bit anal about the macronutrition profile of your shake.

Edit: FWIW, my shake is a scoop of Optimum Whey Vanilla with 1.5 scoops of Dextrose. For me, this is close to the ideal 2:1 ratio of carbsrotein. Also, 5g of creatine monohydrate.

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Lock the thread. Other than making sure that your shake stays inline with your calorie requirements, and you drink it within 30 minutes of leaving the gym, this is the only right answer.

[Thremp]

Skunk crushed it. Toss in BCAA is you can get them cheaply, moving to hydrolyzed whey is also better, but you might not stomach it.

[kahntrutahn]

[ QUOTE ]
Skunk crushed it. Toss in BCAA is you can get them cheaply, moving to hydrolyzed whey is also better, but you might not stomach it.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yea, this optimum nutrition whey is hydrowhey as they put it. I remember reading what the difference was years ago, but I've since forgotten heh.

BCAA is branched chain amino acids correct? What is missing from whey (and all the other sources of protein in this shake) that BCAA would add in? Is it really necessary with the current concoction?

[skunkworks]

kahn,

Also, your shake is effing gigantic. If you're trying to gain weight (which it sounds like you're doing), you'd probably be better off breaking up that shake into portions and having it before, during, and after your workout. I sip on some shake during my workout, and I slam the rest after my workout. Usually when I do this I bump up how much whey and dextrose I put in my shake.

Like guids said, shake should be within 30 minutes of finishing your workout. Your next meal should be carb-rich and around an hour after you finish your shake. I'm pretty sure the reason you don't eat for 2 hours after your shake is because it's a Big Gulp-sized beast.