Protein powder is a suplement,supplements are mean`t to supplement a whole food diet,not the other way around so do not take in 5 shakes with two meals,take in 5 meals with two shakes if you must use powder for any reason.
I used to have a shake with dextrose right after training for many years,changed it to chicken and rice......no fucking difference whatsover in mass,strength,or size.
A lot of companies buy their protein from the same one big manufacturer and simply put on their own labels so most of the shit is the same stuff even though you pay a shitload more for some brands as opposed to others,still the exact same protein powder.....notice I said most of the brands not all of them.
Always mix powder with water,nothing else.....this is what sometimes causes digestive issues.
Personaly,I know for a fact that eating whole food has more benefits than powder but I still use it twice a day........I train early so my appetite sucks at 6-7 AM so I use a shake,same thing post-workout,but they are not necessary at all.
Protein is not all the same............lots of factors, such as protein efficiency ratio,bioavailability,amino acid content,complete or incomplete,length of digestion time,etc. etc.
As far as bloating and/or holding water goes,who gives a fuck unless you are training for a contest.
Bottome line,powders are great for convienience,but whole food is far far better.
Regarding the so called "30 minute window of opportunity"...........Arnold and those guys just ate whenever they were hungry,making sure to get in 5-6 meals per day, but they were not immediately following a workout or spaced out at 3 hour intervals.
After they trained,they`d eat solid food......steak,eggs,cottage cheese,etc.,but if more than 30 minutes passed they didn`t turn into a fucking pumpkin!!
