For those of you that have trouble downing a protein shake I have something for you to try... Usually I throw a banana, milk, ice, and a scoop of whey protein in a blender and it works but it's really heavy and makes me fill a bit sick and bloated afterwards... Try this, a packet of maple and brown sugar oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey protein, milk. Microwave for a minute and you can't even taste the difference hardly... not to mention it adds an extra 12 or so grams of protein to your oatmeal

Since the protein in oatmeal isn't a complete protein source, you can't count it toward muscle building/maint.

It might be good as a meal replacement, but the soluable and insoluable fiber in the oats would slow down digestion.

If you're getting bloated, you may be lactose intolerant. Can you drink milk alone without bloating?

Yeah... I can put down glass after glass of milk with no problem, but when I down a shake consisting of one scoop of whey protein, 5 ice cubes, 8 oz milk, and a banana I feel extremely overfull for a short period of time and then I'm hungry like 2 hours later.

There is hardly any protein in oatmeal... maybe 2-3 grams... but isn't the 12 grams of whey protein supposed to be pretty balanced? And then there's a good 10 or so grams of protein in the milk. I'm not saying that the oatmeal is a good protein source, I'm just saying the oatmeal is good to take away the taste of the whey protein (the good protein), for me at least.

Because it's liquid. There's almost no effort or time to break it down into something usuable by the body.

Yes, whey is supposed to be a complete protein source.

Are you using unflavored whey? I've never had natural whey, so I can't comment on the taste.

But in short, it's good as a MR, but as PWO, the fiber would interfere with the absorbtion into the blood.

wouldn't be a terrible pre-workout meal.

How much milk are you using? it sounds more like you're making instant oatmeal (full of sugar btw) with a little whey and milk in it. I doubt there's enough milk to bring it up to 20g of protein in this meal, which is a minimum protein intake per meal for a male in my book.

I think you need to try new protein powder. both Optimium Nutrition and At Large Nutrition make powders that don't just not taste bad...they actually taste GOOD!

I think the issue here is the blender. a blender adds a lot of air to whatever you throw in there. this is why it seems like only a few items makes such a large shake. its probably the air building up in your stomach and making you feel bloated.

I suggest a just a shaker for making shakes, its easier to clean up and doesnt give you that bloated feeling. You wont be able to add a banana to it, but if you are using it to reach macro requirements, just eat it after you chug your shake.

You can find these shakers at any health food store for a couple bucks.

Yeah, instant oatmeal... and I use about 6 ounces of milk which has about 6 grams of protein... combine that with the 4g from the oatmeal (checked it earlier) and the 12 grams from the whey protein and it makes about 22 grams of protein total. The whey protein I have is vanilla flavored... I think its some costco brand costed like 15 bucks for 6 pounds of it... might not be the best quality.

No, it's 18g of complete protein. The four from the oatmeal don't count, remember? Oats are missing some EAAs. You might want to throw a tbsp of NAT PB in there to complete the protein from the oats, but then it's definately not a PWO shake because it will have too much fat.

If you're looking for a PWO shake, and the milk with whey is causing you problems, then water and 1 1/2 scps whey, mixed with 72g of dex/malt.

and when cynic says 'complete protein' that means a protein that came from an animal, and has all the necessary amino acids we need.

plant proteins, including soy, are incomplete. that's why we aren't counting oatmeal protein.

If you find you can't gag down the taste of your protein shake, I would recommend Nitrean from www.atlargenutrition.com (they don't sell it in stores that i'm aware of).

it tastes good, and it mixes up really nicely...non-clumpy. I can't stand clumpy shakes.