Here is one of my favourite shakes. Sometimes protein shakes can be a bit boring, and adding them with other ingredients can spice things up a bit, as well as boosting your intake of calories and vitamins.
The purpose of leaving the mixture overnight will allow the oats to soak up the liquid without the need for cooking. I find this useful when you dont want breakfast straight away and if you have to, for example, quickly get to work, you can carry this with you and guzzle it down an hour later without the worry of cooked porridge going cold. Plus the chocolate flavour makes it taste mega.
30 grams of protein! As you can see in the pictures above, the ratios are pretty good. However I am a bit dubious about the ingredient list, as there are certain hydrogenated oils and other fats and sugars which are only there to enhance the taste.
Overall these are pretty harmless bars. If the protein is good quality, then there is nothing wrong with using them occasionally for your lunch if like me you are always on the move. Nothing beats real food though!
I bought these from Sports Direct which is a popular chain sports store in the UK. They cost £1.50 but I have found them on sale before for £1 or less.
Flavours I have tried include Chocolate Fudge, Mint Chocolate and Strawberries and Cream. They are all pretty nice, due to the levels of fat and other ingredients mentioned ealier. The texture is a bit like eating a chewy, slightly chalky toffee bar (UK readers, imagine a thick Chomp bar).
I'd say go for it, but with this being a vegetarian based blog, be wary of the ingredients, as the packet warns it may contain gluten and nuts, so who knows what else may be derived in the process (one amazon review claims it contains gelatine).
Thought about trying BCAA's, Testosterone Boosters, Deer Antler, Fat Burners, Natural Steroid Alternatives?
You dont need any of it!
If you work hard at the gym, in my experience there are only two supplements which work, and thats besides sweating your ass off and eating clean.
Whey Protein andCreatine Monohydrate
I recently heard Marc Lobliner call whey protein "chocolate chicken". Its not a magic formula, that when you consume a 5lb tub in a few days you grow huge. Its essentially the macro's of something like a chicken breast in an easy convenient formula. Think about it. Easting 6 chicken breasts a day wont make you huge, so why should a protein powder.
Of course it helps. I myself find it hard to eat a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight a day, but if i have 6 servings (6x1 scoop) per day, i can get close enough on top of my other food. Please note, as whey protein is derived from milk, it is not suitable for vegans. There are other protein sources available out there which may be suitable.
Creatine should be used in the monohydrate form. All of the other forms are marketing techniques on the same product. Also, the loading phase isnt necessary. It will fill your muscles faster, but you will also burn through your stash faster. My advice is to take 1 5g scoop per day throughout your required term. There is no need to cycle either.
Save your cash for the gym membership and rubbish gym clothes!
