Picking the right protein powder

When trying to achieve muscle gains you should take every little bit of help you can get. One of those things would be protein powders.

Newbie
I knew nothing about protein powders before my journey to be fit. There were so many different kinds that it just confused me. You have your Whey, Soy, Isolate, Concentrate,and Casein. I wasn't even sure that I needed that much protein (still in old diet mode) It was a little weird for me when I heard that I needed 1g per pound of body weight.So I went to the big box store and got what was cheapest.


Research
Then I asked my cousin for advice. He was on the weight lifting journey also and had more experience than me. He was able to give me some good pointers that were very informative. I figured I had better also take the time to research what a protein even is and why it was I needed so much. It's always nice to have someone to go to for things like that and if you have that someone, take advantage.


Do you or don't you
Now I had to share that I found an article on WebMD that said you shouldn't need a protein shake if you eat a healthy diet. I personally don't eat a very healthy diet (often enough) and that way I know I'm not getting enough protein so I will choose to add a protein shake to my days. 


Hey, that's good Whey
So I found this article that was very informative on protein. It states that when looking for a powder you need to chek the ingredients list and if the first one is whey isolate then it is high quality and can be broken down easy. The higher that percentage the better. They say go for over 80%.To calculate the percentage of protein per serving, divide the number of grams of protein in a serving by the serving size and then multiply by 100. http://blog.proteinco.ca/protein-percentage-calculator/


When and Why
If you are looking for a protein for after a workout and that also has the amino acids for recovery, then you should check and see if it contains Isolate. Looking for a night-time protein to help with recovery overnight then make sure it has Casein in it. Anytime throughout the day than your protein should be concentrate. 


You want muscle not fat
Also, when picking a protein powder you want to look at the amount of carbs and fat that they contain. The percentage should be lower than 6% on both. You can get your healthy fats in your diet you don't want it in your protein powder.

The takeaway for me was, first, figure out if you need to be using a protein powder and then figure out how much you need. Then make sure to read your labels and not just go with what is cheapest.


*Do you use a protein powder? What type works for you?