Thrive Personal Fitness Springfield, MO Personal Trainer Pamela Hernandez is your guide on the journey to health and fitness. Personal training for weight loss in Springfield, MO.

Designer Whey Protein Review

by Pamela

Protein is an often discussed topic. You find a multitude of recommendations for protein intake. Most of them are accurate in some form or fashion, depending on the individual and their goals.  When I start working with a client, I do stress eating more protein because more than not often they aren’t eating enough. I also stress a post workout whey protein shake.

Why the recommendation to have a post workout protein shake?  There have been many studies over the years that have found numerous benefits to using whey protein, in addition to resistance training, to help preserve and increase lean muscle mass. The theory behind having it within a 30-45 minute window after working out is that your body is most ready for it then. It is ready to start the repair process and needs a boost of nutrients to help, as well as rebuild depleted glycogen stores. A shake, as opposed to solid food, is more quickly digested and therefore more accessible to your muscles. Having a shake made with whey protein and some sort of simple carbohydrate is a perfect solution to replenishing your body and assisting with the recovery process.

While I use several kinds of protein shakes, the one I have used the longest and the one I consider my standby is Designer Whey. Mostly because it tastes good. There are lots of whey protein shakes out there and, frankly, a lot of them don’t taste good. They either don’t mix well and taste chalky or they are bland and boring. Designer Whey is neither, blending easily in a shaker bottle with water, almond milk or juice. My absolute favorite flavor is Vanilla Praline. It makes a very simple tasty shake on its own, but also tastes great to make a tropical shake (with bananas, pineapple and blueberries) or as in ingredient to a multitude of recipes (including my favorite Vanilla Coconut Protein Pancakes). At 100 calories and 18 grams of protein per scoop, you can’t go wrong.  Also, since it blends so easily in just a shaker bottle, you can take it with you to the gym to drink immediately after your workout, during that 30-45 minute window, instead of waiting to get home and mix it up in a blender. Just add water and accompany with a piece of fruit.

Designer Whey also makes another of my favorite products, Protein 2Go. When I traveled a lot for my job, toting protein powder around was a big issue. There was no way a big container was going to fit in my carry on. Trying to put it in smaller containers or bags just made a huge mess. Protein2Go comes in a single serve skinny pouch (similar to the lemonade or tea ready to mix pouches that are so common right now) that you can just pour into any water bottle, 50 calories and 10 grams of protein ready to go. When you have to work out on the road, or simply can’t find a healthy source of protein while traveling, Protein2Go is the perfect solution. It has saved me more than once on the road.  Just like their other varieties, it also tastes fantastic! My personal favorite is the Orange Mango but Pomegranate Fruit is yummy too.

The great folks as Designer Whey want you to give their products a try and find out for yourself just how great they are. They have agreed to let me give away one 12.7 oz container of Vanilla protein powder, one 12.7 oz container of Chocolate protein powder and one box of Protein2Go. I need to pick 3 lucky winners for these products. This contest is only open to U.S. residents. To enter post a comment to the blog telling your favorite post workout shake recipe. Comment must be posted by 10 pm CST Wednesday July 7. Winners will be drawn at random, will receive one product each (first response gets first choice, second get next choice, etc) and notified via a post to the blog and email where available.

Can’t wait to hear all of those great recipes. Good luck!

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Posted on July 1st, 2010