Fitness & Health Notes

I had been disillusioned from my days when I worked at GNC in the first couple years of the 21st century. GNC employees received a 40% discount off even sale items. This made protein very cheap and economical for me.

For years I have been huge on people taking protein powder. Depending on your goals, you may still want to fork out the money for protein powder.

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THE PURPOSE OF PROTEIN POWDER CONSUMPTION

Basically, protein powders function as a substitute for real food. This is good for several reasons:

a) By consuming protein powders, you eliminate the fats and extra carbohydrates that you would otherwise receive from eating an equivalent amount of protein in foods like steaks, hamburgers, or peanut butter (among others).

b) It is much easier to add water to powder than it is to cook a full meal (I hate to cook! George Foreman [grill] is a good friend of mine because it makes cooking easy!)

c) It is much quicker to throw together a protein shake than it is to prepare a meal, eat it, and clean up afterwards.

d) You can take a protein shake with you to the gym, and drink it immediately after your workout. This is good because directly after your workout is when your body is most susceptible to utilizing protein. In other words, your body can use the protein for rebuilding muscle most efficiently directly after a workout.

However, there are several things you should know:

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THE TRUTH ABOUT PROTEIN POWDER

a) If you think you are saving money by buying protein powder, you are sadly mistaken - you have become yet another victim of persuasive and misleading marketing.
b) You are not saving any money at all! Actually, I have discovered that 4 oz of chicken breast is not only equivalent in amount of protein to a typical protein shake, but it has many overriding benefits:

i) It is less expensive!

ii) It helps to build muscle more effectively!

iii) It tastes far better! (I love chicken)

iv) It leaves you feeling full and satisfied!

v) There are zero additives and fillers! (It’s just chicken!)

vi) That’s one less meal to cook! (You could even cook in bulk and microwave it!)

vii) A boneless skinless chicken breast has little to no fat anyways!

viii) You can add seasonings!

x) You can add variety!

xi) Did I mention it’s cheaper than protein powder!

xii) Oh, one more thing is that your roommate can’t steal your protein powder anymore! (You won’t have any for him to steal - all your protein will be in the form of chicken in your freezer! No more getting pissed at your roommate, and if you catch him stealing your chicken, just go kick his ass! It’s easy to notice if a piece of chicken is missing but impossible to monitor protein powder!)

With all this in mind, it only makes sense to just get some boneless, skinless chicken breast from Costco or Giant (when it’s on sale at Giant) for $1.99/lb!

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THE MATH

What triggered my decision is when I actually took the time to do the math. Here’s what I got:

Cheapest [good tasting] Protein Powder: SciFit Econo Whey

PRICE: $34.99

SERVINGS: 80

PROTEIN PER SERVING: 18 grams [used to be 24!]

GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN BOTTLE: 18 [grams] x 80 [servings] =  1440

PRICE PER GRAM: $34.99 [price] / 1440 [grams in bottle] = $0.02(429861) [per gram of protein]

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Giant or Costco Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

PRICE: $1.99/lb (pound, 16 oz)

SERVINGS: 15.075(37688442211) [servings for a package that costs $7.50 @ $1.99/lb]

MATH TO FIND SERVING SIZE:

Step 1.   $7.50 [total price]/$1.99 [per pound] = 3.76(8844221105528) [total pounds in package]

Step 2.   16oz [ounces in a pound] / 4oz [serving size for 23 grams of protein] = 4 [servings per pound]

Step 3.    3.76(8844221105528) [total pounds in package] x 4 [servings per pound] = 15.075(37688442211) [servings for a package that costs $7.50 @ $1.99/lb]

PROTEIN PER SERVING: 23 grams

GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN PACKAGE: 23 [grams] x  15.075(37688442211) [servings for a package that costs $7.50 @ $1.99/lb] = 346.733(6683417085) [grams of protein for a package that costs $7.50 @ $1.99/lb]

PRICE PER GRAM: $7.50 [price for package] / 346.733(6683417085) [grams in package] = $0.02(16304347826087) [per gram of protein]

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This proves that even the absolute cheapest protein is more expensive than good quality chicken! To give some perspective, 80 servings of 18 grams of protein in the form of chicken (the same amount of servings and grams of protein that is in the cheapest good tasting protein out there) will cost:

18 [grams] x 80 [servings] =  1440 [grams of protein in a bottle of the cheapest good tasting powder]

$0.02(16304347826087) [per gram of protein from a chicken breast]

x   1440 [grams of protein in a bottle of the cheapest good tasting powder]

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$31.14(782608695652)

as compared to the $34.99 of SciFit Econo Whey, which is the cheapest good tasting protein.

If you take an average costing protein, or an expensive protein powder, the difference in price is exponential!

Protein powders are not as effective as meat, no matter how many things they add in there. If you want better protein absorption, then add some other supplements like Glutamine (which enhanges recovery) or Leucine (a BCAA that has many great benefits to exercise).

IN CONCLUSION
You see, the problem here is that the protein manufacturing companies know how well their marketing has hypnotized the general public, and because of this, they have steadily raised the prices over the years, and steadily decreased the amount of protein per serving (another way to raise prices).

As a result, unbeknownst to me, even the most economical protein powders have slipped past the price of good, solid food. This means I have been wasting money on protein powder when I could have been spending the money on chicken instead! I’d love to eat chicken 2-3 times per day - now I can afford it!

Since I am now making the transition of investing the money that was previously spent on protein powder, into real food like chicken and milk, I am considering buying a bigger George Foreman Grill so I can cook in bulk faster. Right now my smaller model only makes 2 at a time.

The awesome thing about the George Foreman Grill is all I have to do is plug it in, wait 5 minutes and do some homework or something, then stick on the chicken (or hamburgers), close the top and go back to homework or whatever (TV anyone?), set the timer for 9 minutes, and come back and I have a meal that tastes better than if I had cooked it myself in the oven. There’s like no work involved except cleaning it. That only take about 5 minutes to do. Get a wet paper towel and stick it on there right after you unplug it. Close the lid and a couple minutes later just wipe it off. That effectively "steam cleans" it.

Then I have a ton of Tupperware and I just shove ten extra pieces I made for the week in the fridge. Heat it up in the microwave when I come back from my workout. Meal and all is done and I’m happy and full, and back to homework. The life of a college student lol.

I hope this review of protein powders helped a lot of people. Hopefully you can now make a more educated decision when decided whether or not to fork out $80 for that top-notch protein powder!

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You should note that you should never take any type of hormone without the direct supervision of a doctor.
First, here is an excerpt from a website for the nutrition facts for NOW’s version (I buy mostly NOW supplemts; they are a great and reliable brand):

2 SPRAYS (0.32ML) PROVIDE:

After hours of searching, I have found the answer. You need to take 40-60mcg of IGF-1 per day to be beneficial. The supplements that are sold over-the-counter (without a prescription) contain almost no IGF-1. Take a look at the label above - 27.5ng for an 11mg serving. There is probably less than 200 servings in the whole bottle.

Now let me explain to you:

1,000 nanograms (ng) = 1 microgram (mcg)

This means that there is 0.0275 mcg per serving.

If you were to consume all 200 servings (for $25 a bottle), then 200 x 0.0275 = 5.5 mcg. There might only be 100 servings, but let’s be gracious since the label didn’t say.

If there are 200 servings (that’s really just a guess) per bottle, and thus 5.5 mcg of IGF-1 per $25 bottle, then in order to get just one day’s worth, you would have to consume:

60/5.5 =  10.9 bottles per day for a normal serving.

10.9 bottles x $25 = $272.72 per day.

The reality is that 1,000 mcg of IGF-1 costs $838.80 at the following random website I just googled:

http://www.anabolstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&product
s_id=274&zenid=8a8c7d8d73309c05f9a2bed9b36dd244

At $838.80 per 1,000 mcg, that means an injection costs $0.84 per mcg for true injections. In other words, it will cost only $33.55 to $50.33 per day for 40 to 60 mcg, respectively. Add the doctor’s visits and you’re talking around maybe $40-$75/day.
In comparison with the [SCAM] products on the market that claim to be IGF-1, my gracious math showed they are charging $273.00 per day, not including doctor’s visits. That is almost 550% of the cost of real injections! Not only that, but you’d have to DRINK almost 11 BOTTLES a day; and the results of the liquid are not even close to that of injections! Also, the amount of the other ingredients (the "fillers") you would be consuming with thousands of servings a day of those products on the market has gotta be bad for you!

In short, stay away from IGF-1 and HGH products! If you want to take them, go to your doctor and have him get you on some and monitor you - the results will definitely be worth the $1,800 per month if you can afford it! If you buy one of those sprays that people are selling, you will only be wasting your hard-earned money!

First, here is one NOT to buy:

LG Sciences Lipotropic protein

This protein is disgusting. I have a very high tolerance for protein, and can make some awful combinations, like fruit punch Labrada Super Charge, chocolate protein powder, and a scoop of glutamine (glutamine is supposed to be tasteless, but it tastes bad), all together in one shake.

Heck, I have mixed grape Cell Tech with cookies and creme protein powder; and that is horrible, trust me, but I can bear it. However, this lipotropic protein is absolutely horrible. Do not buy it.

Good Suggestions

These taste great and cost the least per gram of protein:

SciFit Econo Whey (Chocolate or Cookies-and-Creme)

HDT Premium Pro-rated (Bavarian Chocolate)

Cytosport Complete Whey

HDT 5-in-1 (Rich Chocolate) [discontinued]

Vitamin Shoppe Whey Tech (Chocolate)

Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey (Chocolate)
[its not excellent tasting, but not bad either;
gives gas if you’re not lactose intolerant]

Hope this helps your protein search!

I wrote this as a post but decided to put in here as a blog post as well since I spent some time on it:

In response to: Originally Posted by crazyquick

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Hi Crazyquick,

Cell Tech (by Muscletech) is known to give acne, particularly on your back.

Cell Tech helped me to gain some serious mass back in high school, but the results didn’t stay very long. Also it has a massive amount of sugar, and always made my stomach queasy (which I of course ignored). Whatever you do, if you do buy Cell Tech, only buy the Fruit Punch or Grape, because in my opinion, the Lemon Lime and Orange are unbearable. This flavor preference (at least for me) is true for all similar types of products, including Cell Mass by BSN.

For me, Cell Tech was the only form of creatine that gave me back acne, but it was worth it while the results lasted. I recommend Cell Tech, but the things to consider are, the [high] price; that the results, at least for me, did not stay long after going off it; and the massive amount of sugar, which is bad for your teeth, bad for your liver, and also throws off the healthy bacterial flora that keep down levels of candida albicans in your stomach (in other words it surely doesn’t help your stomach be healthy). Also, you must cycle it to be most effective (on two weeks, off a month is one good way to cycle it that I would recommend).

On the other hand, one of the good things about the massive amounts of sugar is that so much sugar helps the creatine (and other ingredients) to be more bioavailable for your system, which is really why it works so well.

Although I recommend it because it works well, I personally no longer take it because now that I am in my 20’s and in college, I am more concerned about the long term effects on my body from using it. You can make your own conclusions from this. I do think it works probably the best of all, but I do not take it because of possible long term negative effects and because I care about my teeth and my liver and such.

I liked Anavol (by NxCare) because it is just creatine on a time release, so instead of forcing its way into your system, it works with your system to be the most bioavailable. Also, Anavol has glutamine, which helps with recovery. There are no other ingredients; and simplicity, in my opinion, is always good, especially if it works.I don’t take any creatine right now, because I drink an occasional coffee (after reading new studies that coffee can actually help you live longer — google it!), and because coffee has antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

I also find that coffee after workouts helps to eliminate the psychological fatigue, or mental drain, that you get after a great workout; although most of the time, since my personal ideal workout time is at night, I just go to sleep afterwards.

You see, caffeine has properties which negate the benefits creatine gives you. I could go into all the adenosine triphosphate description of exactly how this is, but most people either don’t care about the technical aspect, or don’t understand such technicality.

Basically, drinking coffee (or soda or energy drinks with caffeine, or weight loss supplements with caffeine, or anything else with caffeine) makes the creatine not work.

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Creatine is essential for energy in every human because it is actually part of the molecule that makes every person’s primary energy source, which is ATP. When ATP is used for energy, it is broken down, and the part that goes to waste is called creatinine. Taking creatine monohydrate simply “recycles” your primary energy source (ATP) by adding the missing part (creatine monohydrate) of the broken down energy (ADP), so it can be ATP again.

–

In short, although Cell Tech works and is powerful, it has its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is back acne, which is not a side effect of all forms of creatine. Consuming creatine in general can be beneficial to give you more energy to work out as long as you do not consume any caffeine.

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