# Cheap protein vs. brand name



## fuzzymusketeer (May 22, 2019)

This year I have been very disciplined with my nutrition to build lean muscle and lose a few extra pounds.

With that said, I have been supplementing my protein with Body Fortress Whey protein from Walmart($20 for about 20 servings of 30 grams of protein/serving).

In the past, I had been using brands bought at GNC, and other "weight-lifting" stores and the price of that stuff was about 3X the cost.

The nutritional facts seem to be the same, if not better, on the cheap Walmart brand. They also claim to have 9 essential AA's, and it tastes good.

Is there any benefit to paying more for protein?


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

from walmart you save money

what you lose on the cheap stuff is taste and clumping/mixability

the high end stuff tastes better and mixes easier.

farts ? you'll get used to whatever you stick with


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## 101 (Nov 14, 2017)

A lot of the cheap stuff contains quite a bit of filler and will often require 2-3 scoops to get the equivalent protein serving as higher quality brands. With that in mind, be sure to compare serving sizes vs. protein content.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

^^^ Yeah. What I do is compare the calories per gm of protein. Body Fortress is a legit mainstream brand, not an Walmart brand. I like it and right now am using their whey isolate which has 140 cal/30gm of protein, or 4.7 cal/gm. Pure protein is 4 cal/gm, so not much added calories in their whey isolate.

At most I use ~1/3 scoop to augment oatmeal or if making a shake/smoothy of some sort.


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

Look into True Nutrition. They supply a lot of protein to the big names. They sell direct as well. You don't pay for fancy labels and packaging.


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## fuzzymusketeer (May 22, 2019)

Is True Nutrition as cheap as Body Fortress? BF is easily accessible to buy from Walmart or local grocer, mixes easy, tastes good, and is cheap for the amount of protein per serving. I guess I was just looking for confirmation that I'm not wasting my time/money on this stuff because its label seems to be the same, if not better than some of the pricey stuff at nutrition shops. 1 scoop is 30 grams of protein, 3 grams of sugar, and 210 calories. It seems legit to me.


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

Look to see if BF has any independent lab test. A lot of supplements don't meet label claims.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

Big, small, known and no name brands will use same ingredient manufacturers. You can also just eat whole or real foods if you're concerned about content, quality and flavor.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

^^^ definitely, but it will take more calories to get the same amount of protein. Daily recommendation is .36gm/lb for a sedentary male. That goes up to around 0.9 for very active males. If you're active and old, like me, you need more. But, let's say you weigh 165 lb and need 0.9 gm/lb. That's 150 gm of protein, which if pure would be 600 calories. If you got that 150 gm of protein from steak it would be 1200 calories. From eggs, it would be 1800 calories. Greek yogurt would be 2400 calories. It adds up and if you're trying to control or lose weight while continuing to train and be active, it's something to be aware of.


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## A/C in Az (Jan 14, 2019)

Lone Rager said:


> ^^^ definitely, but it will take more calories to get the same amount of protein. Daily recommendation is .36gm/lb for a sedentary male. That goes up to around 0.9 for very active males. If you're active and old, like me, you need more. But, let's say you weigh 165 lb and need 0.9 gm/lb. That's 150 gm of protein, which if pure would be 600 calories. If you got that 150 gm of protein from steak it would be 1200 calories. From eggs, it would be 1800 calories. Greek yogurt would be 2400 calories. It adds up and if you're trying to control or lose weight while continuing to train and be active, it's something to be aware of.


You should look into the recent studies showing that higher protein with fat diets will cause you to lose weight fastest. Those are more natural diets and they train your body to metabolize the fat more readily and quickly as a fuel for energy.


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## richard1hammond (Sep 18, 2019)

There's a lot a difference in quality with price! Like others say cheaper protein powers have fillers, sugar, carbs and low quality hard to digest protein blends.

I've been bodybuilding for 3 years now and put on decent lean mass. I've tried a lot of different proteins trying to find the balance of value and quality and always come back to My Protein, namely there isolate and impact whey. Watch for deals as they regularly have 30-40% sales on.

I also chug down 12 raw egg whites a day for source variation as you can't have all the same source of protein or it goes to waste. This is a excellent lean source and can be very cheap if you shop as Costco. I know this turns a lot of stomachs but it's honestly not bad once you learn how to drink it in one hit and swash some coffee to lose the taste after.

My referral link if you want to check out My Protein and get 30% off! 

https://ca.myprotein.com/referrals.list?applyCode=RICHARD-RG93

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

A/C in Az said:


> You should look into the recent studies showing that higher protein with fat diets will cause you to lose weight fastest...


I know about them, but that's a somewhat different discussion. It certainly helps, but you still have to be cognizant of total calories. You can always put a pat of butter on your protein powder.


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

fuzzymusketeer said:


> Is True Nutrition as cheap as Body Fortress? BF is easily accessible to buy from Walmart or local grocer, mixes easy, tastes good, and is cheap for the amount of protein per serving. I guess I was just looking for confirmation that I'm not wasting my time/money on this stuff because its label seems to be the same, if not better than some of the pricey stuff at nutrition shops. 1 scoop is 30 grams of protein, 3 grams of sugar, and 210 calories. It seems legit to me.


Supplements rarely meet label claims when they're cheap. ON is a good company sold at WM


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## slimphatty (Sep 9, 2011)

I use body fortress whey protein and take On opti multi vitamin 3x a week. I try to get most of my nutrition from my diet.


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## jeeper0122 (Sep 8, 2020)

I second optimum nutrition, they have quality ingredients, good flavor and are lab tested. You can get their stuff at WalMart or most locations (best price is amazon)


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## mtbman123 (Nov 7, 2020)

I'm a UK-based trainee.

On that basis, I favour MyProtein.com and BulkPowders.com for the vast majority of my supplements, including protein powder.


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