Review: ON Glycomaize

It's been about 2 weeks since I've been using Glycomaize so I think it's about time I posted a review of the stuff.  It really is an interesting product and supplements your carbohydrate intake nicely after a workout.

Price: 7.5/10
Glycomaize's main competitors is dextrose and when compared side by side, Glycomaize is quite a bit more expensive.  There's really no other way of looking at it.  The one that I got is a 50 serving for container... provided that you only take one scoop per serving.  Unfortunately, it recommends that someone in my weight range take between 1 to 2 scoops.

Effectiveness: 8.5/10
Before taking Glycomaize, I used to eat a banana with my post-workout shake.  It's nice that it adds extra calories and carbs to the post-workout shake.  For people trying to gain weight, it's a very convenient way to add some healthy calories to the mix, particularly if you're taking more than one scoop.  One of the reasons why I think I've managed to not lose weight (an understandable worry for those trying Insanity) is because of this product.  Please note that for people within normal body weight range, not losing weight while losing fat is a good thing.  The reason why I didn't give it a higher score is because for those taking only one scoop per serving, they might as well buy bananas (if you can get it for cheap.  I live in SoCal so most produce is cheap year round).

Taste: 6/10
It is labeled as being unflavored.  But remember, unflavored does not mean no flavor, just that any additional flavor has not been added.  And indeed, this proves true when it comes to Glycomaize.  Glycomaize adds a slightly off taste to my shake as well as a chalky texture.  In the beginning, this was very off-putting.  The first time I drank it, I kind of regretted buying it.  I really liked the taste of my strawberry flavored protein and didn't like the way this affected the taste.  But you get used to the taste after a while, although the chalkiness doesn't really disappear.  Plus, if you shake it, that weird taste gets hidden even more.

Mixability: 6/10
Don't even think about stirring it with a spoon.  You'll just get gnarly lumps.  Not cool.  When you shake it, it's fine, but not stirring.  No way.

Overall:
I think that it's a pretty decent product.  A very nice way to add calories if that's what you're looking for and you just want to drink it instead of eating it.  The flavor initially is pretty bad, but you get used to it fairly quickly.  Also since most people shakes their post-workout shake anyways, it might be a non-factor for those people.  On a side note, Glycomaize is like cornstarch.  It likes to poof and make a mess everywhere.

Review: Gold Standard Whey Protein 100%

For my one and only nutritional supplement, I take whey protein.  Why is it my only one?  For one thing, it costs a LOT of money to buy supplements (these don't come cheap) and to be constantly buying to replenish your stock of several supplements is more money than I'm willing to use.  Another reason is that the number of supplements out there is huge and for each of those supplements, you have a company telling you why you need it.  But I did my research and as far as I'm concerned, I don't really need any of it.

The whey protein I take is Gold Standard Whey Protein.  I would rate this protein 8.5/10.  

Protein Content:

The amount of protein that it supplies is competitive with other whey proteins.

Mixability:

I had to rate it a bit lower because it doesn't mix very well.  I get lumps and no matter how much I stir it, it doesn't really go away.  Maybe it mixes better shaken, not stirred... but I doubt it.  I've tried several methods and none of them seems to work very well.

Update: I finally got myself a shaker and I have to say, it does make a huge difference.  When shaken, it dissolves into the milk very well and didn't leave any noticeable lumps.  I would recommend using this product the James Bond way.

Price:

I found Gold Standard proteins to be a bit lower in price compared to its competitors at my local nutrition store.  Sure, there are other lesser known brands that are offered cheaper online, but if you want one that has been used by many people, it's hard to go wrong with Gold Standard.

Taste:

This is a big one for me.  I've tried chocolate, I've tried vanilla.  I didn't like either.  If you don't like the taste of your protein, you're not going to want to drink it.  I got the Delicious Strawberry flavor (I like strawberries) and I have to say, it tastes pretty good.  Kinda like strawberry Nesquik mix.

Overall:

You really can't go wrong with Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard Whey Protein.  The price is decent (they constantly have sales so you don't need to pay msrp), the quality is good, various flavors, and comes from a big name manufacturer.  They are probably the most well known protein sellers on the market.  It's a very solid product.

Workout Nutrition Tips #1: Pre/Post-Workout Meal

I've read several different articles online as to which is the "most important meal of the day," and I've run across some conflicting articles.  Each stance seems to have some convincing points in nutritional theory.  I find find it to be a bit of a pain trying to follow the current trend so I just follow all of it.


For my pre-workout meal, I usually use one of my "main" meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner).  I feel that this works out well as it supplies all the necessary nutrition that the pre-workout camp advocates.  It has carbs so that you have the energy to workout, it has proteins (one study seems to show better absorption of protein taken before a workout), and some fats.  Then depending on how heavy the meal was, I usually wait anywhere between 1 to 2 hours to digest.  


For my post-workout meal, I usually use whey protein in 2% milk with a fruit (usually a banana) or cereal.  Supposedly, after a workout, a lot of your blood is in your muscles and not in your digestive tract which slows down digestion.  So whey protein is good because the body is able to easily digest it quickly.  The milk is a nice plus because the protein from milk is mainly caesin (a slower digesting protein) so it gives me a nice mix.  I know some thinks that the milk should be skim milk, but honestly, I would rather have water...  Plus, I don't think that the fat from 2% milk would slow down my digestion of whey protein significantly.  I then take in the carbs to switch myself from a catabolic state to an anabolic one.