Whey protein powder or whole natural food sources??

[DanTheManB]

Just curious, because I've been using whey powder because it's cheaper but I recently found out I can get wholesale prices on chicken breasts and extra lean hamburger meat...so I'm wondering which direction I should go in??? Especially I want to start competeing soon?? Also, should I cut creatine and glutamine out of any shakes??

[pumpkinhole]

Just curious, because I've been using whey powder because it's cheaper but I recently found out I can get wholesale prices on chicken breasts and extra lean hamburger meat...so I'm wondering which direction I should go in??? Especially I want to start competeing soon?? Also, should I cut creatine and glutamine out of any shakes??

whey has a high biological value and digests and enters your bloodstream very quickly. i think this makes it the very best pre- and post-workout protein you can take. isolate is the best, but concentrate is still better than anything else imo. if cost is an object, i would buy whey protein for pre- and postworkout only, then eat those whole food sources for the rest of your meals. beef is a great protein, even if the bv is not as high as other sources. it contains anabolic properties and is the best source of absorbable iron you can get.

as for the creatine and glutamine, what kind of creatine are we talking about? if you're using creatine monohydrate, i think you should consider switching to cee. it's absorbed much better and doesn't require a loading phase. it's also purported not to cause the weird water balance issues that some people have, with their weight swinging around and water being retained OUTSIDE the muscles.

glutamine is a controversial one on this forum. i believe it's a great supplement, but i can't counter the well articulated arguments against it, at least not by simply saying 'it works for me.'

[TurboGuy]

If the choice comes down to whole foods vs. "liquid" food/protein, always go for the whole foods. Particularly for lean proteins. Whole foods offer the highest thermic effect, or basically require the most energy to consume and digest, effectively increasing your metabolism more than "liquids" ever would. You caloric intake should come from whole foods whenever possible and supplements should be used for convenience and "supplementing" for any defeciencies in your nutrition. That said, a whey shake is a good idea pre or post workout though with my preference being post workout. As mentioned above that will provide you with quick supplementation of muscles that are in dire need.