Friday, July 9, 2010
Whey Isolate Pricing Outlook
In the past 12 months whey protein isolate wholesale pricing has increased by over 100% and is expected to keep climbing through the end of this year. The prices are being driven up by a couple of factors but mainly Coke and Pepsi. Coke has developed a new product in China that uses whey concentrate and Pepsi has recently launched a new version of Gatorade called G3 that is a post recovery drink. My sources tell me that Gatorade alone purchased over 500,000,000 lbs of whey protein; yes, that is 500 million pounds! This has left the whey isolate market in complete devastation. If smaller companies can get the product, they are paying outrageous prices. The medium sized companies are probably being hurt the worst and many of them are going out of business. At Muscle Feast, we were lucky and locked in pricing and product before prices climbed too high. What happens next is still a mystery. If the new G3 Gatorade product does well, pricing will stay high and availability will remain scarce. If the G3 product does not do well, then prices will come back to normal levels after a period of time.
Monday, March 22, 2010
How to Make Your Own Weight Gainers
My son is 17 years old, stands 5 feet 6 inches and weighs 180 pounds. It would be easy to assume that he is over weight or even obese by some standards. He actually only has about 10% body fat and is trying to gain lean muscle weight because he is a competitive bodybuilder. His goal is to get up to 210 pounds in the next 2 years. Needless to say, he has to eat a lot to gain this much weight. Unfortunately, I am not the kind of person that spends money freely, I investigate every expenditure I make to ensure I always get the best value for my hard earned money.
I have to admit that I have spent a few dollars at the local GNC buying weight gain supplements. Unfortunately, spending $60 for a weight gainer with only about 10-12 servings doesn't go very far, especially when they recommend taking 3-4 servings per day. So, being the consummate shopper, I did a little investigation and found the main ingredient in any weight product is maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is complex carb that can be purchased for under $2.00 per pound from many different websites. The other ingredient in weight gainers is protein. Buy the protein and maltodextrin from a wholesaler on the internet to ensure you are getting the best prices; you should only pay about $30.00 for your protein (5 pounds of whey isolate).
So, if you go buy 20 pounds of maltodextrin for about $15.00 and mix with 5 pounds of whey isolate or whey concentrate protein, you can create about 25 pounds of your very own weight gainer for about $45.00 and you get about 5 times as much product for less money. Most supplement companies would have you take about 10-12 70c scoops of this stuff 3 or 4 times a day. This will yield about 1,000-1,300 calories. In my humble opinion, you can't consume all this powder and still eat a normal well balanced diet. My personal recommendation is to cut the serving size in half.
To make an even better weight gainer that you won't find in any product in the stores, try mixing 10 pounds of maltodextrin ($15.00), 10 pounds of Waxy Maize ($25.00), 5 pounds of whey isolate ($30.00) and 5 pounds of micellar casein ($35.0) This concoction will come make up about 30 pounds of an the best weight gainer you can imagine. If you take one scoop of each, you will have 529 calories per serving with 39 grams of protein, still have room in your stomach to eat a normal diet and pack on quality pounds. Each scoop would be the standards 70cc scoop. Note: the waxy maize and maltodextrin are almost exactly twice as dense, so even though the proteins are in 5 pound quantities, all 4 of the volumes of these products are virtually identical.
These product formulas will not be flavored, so you still need to flavor. If you are trying to gain weight, then simply add in Nestle Quick to get the flavoring you want and you have your very own weight gainer and haven't wasted your hard earned money!
I have to admit that I have spent a few dollars at the local GNC buying weight gain supplements. Unfortunately, spending $60 for a weight gainer with only about 10-12 servings doesn't go very far, especially when they recommend taking 3-4 servings per day. So, being the consummate shopper, I did a little investigation and found the main ingredient in any weight product is maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is complex carb that can be purchased for under $2.00 per pound from many different websites. The other ingredient in weight gainers is protein. Buy the protein and maltodextrin from a wholesaler on the internet to ensure you are getting the best prices; you should only pay about $30.00 for your protein (5 pounds of whey isolate).
So, if you go buy 20 pounds of maltodextrin for about $15.00 and mix with 5 pounds of whey isolate or whey concentrate protein, you can create about 25 pounds of your very own weight gainer for about $45.00 and you get about 5 times as much product for less money. Most supplement companies would have you take about 10-12 70c scoops of this stuff 3 or 4 times a day. This will yield about 1,000-1,300 calories. In my humble opinion, you can't consume all this powder and still eat a normal well balanced diet. My personal recommendation is to cut the serving size in half.
To make an even better weight gainer that you won't find in any product in the stores, try mixing 10 pounds of maltodextrin ($15.00), 10 pounds of Waxy Maize ($25.00), 5 pounds of whey isolate ($30.00) and 5 pounds of micellar casein ($35.0) This concoction will come make up about 30 pounds of an the best weight gainer you can imagine. If you take one scoop of each, you will have 529 calories per serving with 39 grams of protein, still have room in your stomach to eat a normal diet and pack on quality pounds. Each scoop would be the standards 70cc scoop. Note: the waxy maize and maltodextrin are almost exactly twice as dense, so even though the proteins are in 5 pound quantities, all 4 of the volumes of these products are virtually identical.
These product formulas will not be flavored, so you still need to flavor. If you are trying to gain weight, then simply add in Nestle Quick to get the flavoring you want and you have your very own weight gainer and haven't wasted your hard earned money!
Friday, February 19, 2010
A Guide for Picking Whey Isolate : The Easy Button
As the owner of a supplement company, I get many questions on what makes our whey isolate better than other products. I have a tendency to go into way too much detail and probably confuse most of the people I talk to, so I thought I would write a very short guide to picking your protein.
When choosing a whey isolate protein, look for one that is not denatured, meaning the protein chains are still intact and have not been broken down. Then simply determine how much protein you are actually purchasing. To do this, just look at the nutritional facts label and you should see how many servings are in the container. Take the number of servings in the container and multiply by the amount of protein per serving. This will give you the total amount of protein you are purchasing.
Next look at how many calories are in the container. Whey protein isolate contains 4 calories per gram of protein. So, if you are buying something with 26 grams of protein per serving, you should only have about 104 calories per serving. If the labels says there are 130 calories, the additional calories are coming from something other than the whey isolate and you want to keep these to a minimum, especially if you are trying to stay or get lean.
Remember that many supplement companies do not reflect the flavoring or sweeteners in their label calculations, flavoring typically takes 20%-25% of the volume of the product.
In summary follow these steps for buying your whey isolate:
1) Not Denatured
2) Amount of protein you are actually buying
3) Protein to calorie ratio as close to 1:4 as possible
Follow these steps and be the person in the gym that brags about their whey isolate by knowing how to buy the best quality products, not the best tasting one.
When choosing a whey isolate protein, look for one that is not denatured, meaning the protein chains are still intact and have not been broken down. Then simply determine how much protein you are actually purchasing. To do this, just look at the nutritional facts label and you should see how many servings are in the container. Take the number of servings in the container and multiply by the amount of protein per serving. This will give you the total amount of protein you are purchasing.
Next look at how many calories are in the container. Whey protein isolate contains 4 calories per gram of protein. So, if you are buying something with 26 grams of protein per serving, you should only have about 104 calories per serving. If the labels says there are 130 calories, the additional calories are coming from something other than the whey isolate and you want to keep these to a minimum, especially if you are trying to stay or get lean.
Remember that many supplement companies do not reflect the flavoring or sweeteners in their label calculations, flavoring typically takes 20%-25% of the volume of the product.
In summary follow these steps for buying your whey isolate:
1) Not Denatured
2) Amount of protein you are actually buying
3) Protein to calorie ratio as close to 1:4 as possible
Follow these steps and be the person in the gym that brags about their whey isolate by knowing how to buy the best quality products, not the best tasting one.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Flavoring Whey Protein Isolate
Flavoring Whey Protein Isolate
By now, I think it is a well established fact that the best way to buy protein is in the unflavored and unsweetened state. Unfortunately, if you just add whey isolate in a glass of water or milk, it doesn't taste very good. If you are trying to cut weight for your next bodybuilding show, then this isn't really a problem because most hardcore bodybuilders don't mind the taste so much when they have a clear goal in mind.
If you are like the vast majority of us and are just taking the protein to see better results as you try to get in better shape, then taste does matter. I often hear people talk about the proteins they take in terms of taste. Just the other day, I overheard someone in the gym talking about a very well known protein brand and saying how great it was because it tasted so good. I was a little curious, so I looked up his protein on the Internet and it was a junk protein powder. The number one ingredient was whey concentrate, not whey isolate and it contained about 50 other ingredients, including flavoring.
It made me think, "How many people out there buy their whey isolate based on taste and not quality?" I imagine there are a lot more people like my friend in the gym. If you really want to see results, don't be one of these people. Choose your whey protein based on quality not taste. Whey isolate is really easy to flavor when it comes in the pure form, once you get used to taking the unflavored version, not only will you see better results in terms of muscle gain and fat loss but you will also save a lot of money on your protein powder and have a ton of flexibility in how you take it.
Here are a few secrets or ideas I can share with your regarding how to flavor your whey isolate:
1) If you drink chocolate milk, put a scoop in your chocolate milk, you will hardly notice a difference in taste. This is not the best option for those trying to lose weight but if you already drink chocolate milk, you are not adding any additional calories.
2) Sprinkle a scoop over your oatmeal, you won't even know it's there and you will start the day with a great source of protein and carbs.
3) Put a scoop in your favorite sports drink. I often mix a scoop with about 4 ounces of Gatorade or Powerade and find the taste to be even better than just the sport drink.
4) Try mixing nonfat powdered milk with a scoop of protein and some cocoa powder and Splenda. Virtually, zero added calories and the ability to drink it in chocolate milk when you don't want to drink it for a few hours and don't have a refrigerator handy.
5) Make your own sugar free sport drink, buy powered Kool-Aid and sweeten with Splenda. This recipe includes 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite Kool-Aid (try dumping packets into a small resealable container) and adding 1/3 cup of Splenda in 32 ounces of water.
These are just a few examples of how you can flavor your whey isolate, please email or comment on other recipes you use, so I can share them with other people. Remember, if you buy your whey isolate protein flavored, you are buying a product that only contains about 60% protein. The next time you buy your protein, try looking at the Nutritional Facts and buying based on the amount of total protein you get for your hard earned dollars and be the person in the gym that says, "This whey isolate is great because I just bought 2,000 grams of whey isolate protein for less than 30 bucks!"
If you are like the vast majority of us and are just taking the protein to see better results as you try to get in better shape, then taste does matter. I often hear people talk about the proteins they take in terms of taste. Just the other day, I overheard someone in the gym talking about a very well known protein brand and saying how great it was because it tasted so good. I was a little curious, so I looked up his protein on the Internet and it was a junk protein powder. The number one ingredient was whey concentrate, not whey isolate and it contained about 50 other ingredients, including flavoring.
It made me think, "How many people out there buy their whey isolate based on taste and not quality?" I imagine there are a lot more people like my friend in the gym. If you really want to see results, don't be one of these people. Choose your whey protein based on quality not taste. Whey isolate is really easy to flavor when it comes in the pure form, once you get used to taking the unflavored version, not only will you see better results in terms of muscle gain and fat loss but you will also save a lot of money on your protein powder and have a ton of flexibility in how you take it.
Here are a few secrets or ideas I can share with your regarding how to flavor your whey isolate:
1) If you drink chocolate milk, put a scoop in your chocolate milk, you will hardly notice a difference in taste. This is not the best option for those trying to lose weight but if you already drink chocolate milk, you are not adding any additional calories.
2) Sprinkle a scoop over your oatmeal, you won't even know it's there and you will start the day with a great source of protein and carbs.
3) Put a scoop in your favorite sports drink. I often mix a scoop with about 4 ounces of Gatorade or Powerade and find the taste to be even better than just the sport drink.
4) Try mixing nonfat powdered milk with a scoop of protein and some cocoa powder and Splenda. Virtually, zero added calories and the ability to drink it in chocolate milk when you don't want to drink it for a few hours and don't have a refrigerator handy.
5) Make your own sugar free sport drink, buy powered Kool-Aid and sweeten with Splenda. This recipe includes 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite Kool-Aid (try dumping packets into a small resealable container) and adding 1/3 cup of Splenda in 32 ounces of water.
These are just a few examples of how you can flavor your whey isolate, please email or comment on other recipes you use, so I can share them with other people. Remember, if you buy your whey isolate protein flavored, you are buying a product that only contains about 60% protein. The next time you buy your protein, try looking at the Nutritional Facts and buying based on the amount of total protein you get for your hard earned dollars and be the person in the gym that says, "This whey isolate is great because I just bought 2,000 grams of whey isolate protein for less than 30 bucks!"
How to Buy the Highest Quality Whey Isolate For the Lowest Cost
Whey Isolate For the Lowest Cost
Now, what I am going to tell you isn't rocket science but there are a few key elements that you really need to understand when you purchase protein.
First of all, you have to know how to read the Nutritional Facts. When you look at a protein powder, make sure you review the nutritional facts before you buy because the quality standards are all over the place. Here are some quick things to look for:
1. How much protein are you actually buying? Simply multiply the number of servings times the amount of protein per serving. For instance, if you have 20 grams of protein per serving and there are 100 servings, then you are buying approximately 2,000 grams of protein.
2. Look at the total number of calories (lower is better). Each gram of protein will have 4 calories. Ideally, if you buy a high quality protein, you can simply multiply the number of grams of protein per serving times 4 and this will tell you how many calories are in the product. If there are more calories in the product, then you have added fats and carbohydrates. If you are trying to put on lean weight or lose weight, you don't want very many extra calories.
3. Should I buy flavored or unflavored protein? I always recommend buying unflavored protein. The reason I recommend unflavored protein is because flavoring will take up about 25% of the volume of the product you are buying and many supplement companies do not account for this displacement of volume on their nutritional facts. For instance, if you are purchasing 2 pounds of whey isolate and it is not flavored, you are actually buying about 1.8-1.9 pounds of pure protein. If you purchase a flavored product, then you are only buying about 1.3-1.4 pounds of actual protein, the rest is flavoring. Most companies use sucralose for a sweetener, so the sweeteners do not take much volume. If Spenda or other sweeteners are used, then another 25% of product may be just sweetener, lowering your total protein purchase to only be about.8-.9 pounds of actual protein.
4. In short, flavor and sweeten yourself and save a ton of money. Once you get used to buying unflavored protein, you will probably never buy flavored again.
5. What about whey concentrate? Follow the same rules as stated above and if you can get more protein for your dollar and are not concerned with calories, then purchase the concentrate.
6. What should I pay for protein? There are several very good companies out there that are selling whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate at great prices. Follow the steps above regarding how to pick a good protein and do not pay more than $40.00 for 5 pounds of the best quality whey protein isolates. Many companies will try to charge $10.00 per pound or even more but if you stay away from the popular brands, you can save a bundle.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
MuscleFeast.com Update
Sales on the musclefeast.com website are continuing to grow. We officially started this company selling whey protein isolate and micellar casein in September of 2009 on ebay and our sales keep growing each week. We are currently processing about 200 orders per week and we are very happy with how things are progressing.
We recently added more products to compliment our whey isolate and micellar casein product offerings. The products we added are maltodextrin, waxy maize, a lean weight gainer, and hardcore weight gainer. The hardcore weight gainer product we have is very similar to ON's "Serious Mass" but in my humble opinion, our Lean weight gainer product is a much better product because it contains slow and fast proteins with the addition of whey isolate and micellar casein, has a much higher quality of complex carbs with the addition of waxy maize to the more popular complex carb maltodextrin.
All of our products are all natural and contain no flavors. We continue to experiment with flavoring and will probably offer flavoring as an option in the future.
We recently added more products to compliment our whey isolate and micellar casein product offerings. The products we added are maltodextrin, waxy maize, a lean weight gainer, and hardcore weight gainer. The hardcore weight gainer product we have is very similar to ON's "Serious Mass" but in my humble opinion, our Lean weight gainer product is a much better product because it contains slow and fast proteins with the addition of whey isolate and micellar casein, has a much higher quality of complex carbs with the addition of waxy maize to the more popular complex carb maltodextrin.
All of our products are all natural and contain no flavors. We continue to experiment with flavoring and will probably offer flavoring as an option in the future.
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