Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrobuilder, Chocolate Shake, 40 Servings

I'm a small chick working for a worldwide delivery and freight company working up to 12 hours each day doing extremely heavy labour positions. I handle 4000 plus parcels daily each averaging 40-50 pounds. I'm only 98 pounds with not much muscle and always felt stuff over 40 pounds were heavy. I have 2 conveyor belts I need to lift parcels up to that are about 5 feet above the ground and me being only 5'8", I have trouble lifting anything over 30pounds above my shoulders. After working the long shifts, I was beat and never had energy even during the weekends when I rested. Then I found this product.1 week and a half after drinking 3 tablespoons per day after I get off work, I was able to lift 50 pounds with ease and put on 3 pounds of muscle. Lifting stuff at 40 pounds to the top 2 belts above shoulder level was becoming a bit easier.1 month after drinking 3 tablespoons per day after I get off work religiously, I could lift up to 110 pounds at waist level. Gained 10 pounds of muscle. My current limit for lifting stuff above my shoulder level is 65 pounds depending on how big the parcel is when my company limited the weight to 75 pounds to those top two belts. Most of the men at my job could only lift how much I lift now and its amazing how they've come to respect me being a woman and working to their same standards if not more. During the weekends, I could even go swim laps for 3 hours and finally enjoy spending time with the family with much energy left. Power to weight ratio definitely is improved after usage. This type of power output coming from a gal weighing 111 pounds now. Not to brag but Im amazed that I can accomplished the same stuff as a 6'6" dude who weighs 240 pounds at my job.As for taste: i might have some funky taste buds but I LOVE nutrient drinks like Ensure,etc. Not many people like them but if you can tolerate something like Ensure, you can definitely tolerate this powder. Dont like nutrient drinks and vomit on the slightest taste of it? Then this might not be for you. But honestly, the chocolate flavour is the best flavour Ive tasted compared to Body Fortress, Syntha 6 (whatever its called), and NuSkin's protein powders.

I bought this product because I read it worked well without causing problems for those of use with lactose intolerance. I have been using ON Gold Standard Whey for years. Now, I am in the pharmaceutical field and I don't believe there are any actual studies attesting the effectiveness of whey protein in a head-to-head study. However, it is true that you need protein to build muscle and drinking it is a quick way to get a pre- or post-workout infusion. I almost didn't purchase this whey because of the comments I read about the taste. Let me be one of may reviewers to say they are unfounded. And again, I was using Gold Standard for years. I mix this with 1/2 banana (personal preference), and almond milk. It's delicious with no aftertaste. Considering the amount of aminos and the creatine, this is a very complete mixture. Lastly, for those who have complained about the cost vs the Gold Standard, hydro builder has 30 grams of protein vs their 24 grams. If you want to compare, use 20% less of a scoop for the same amount of protein, and you'll get at least 10 more scoops.

I have used several different protein supplements and I think this may be the best overall. The nutrition and composition (in addition to reviews about product safety) outperforms Syntha-6 by quite a bit. Compared with GNC Isolate 28, this product tastes much better and is better suited overall for post-workout recovery. Finally, a comparison directly with its counterpart, Hydro Whey, I would give the edge to the Hydro Builder. It fills me up more, has a better overall protein and recovery complex, and I have noticed more gains. In addition, I think its chocolate version tastes better than the hydro whey version. That said, both hydro whey and hydro builder taste pretty good compared with other products on the market. While the hydrobuilder is rather expensive, I feel that the quality and finer refined hydrolized) proteins absorb better, allowing you to use less of the product for adequate gains compared with less refined products where you have to really load the poorly absorbing protein to get the same benefits. Because of this I don't see it as quite so expensive afterall.

EASE OF USE: I use this almost exclusively as my post workout protein powder. It blends well, tastes well, goes with milk or water and can be stirred with a simple spoon or butter-knife if you don't have a blender bottle (tm) handy.QUALITY: Optimum Nutrition is at the pinnacle of sports supplements and you can trust their brand for healthy sourcing. They had very little if any supplier issues (China) that plagued other firms. ON's says Made in the USA, but that can mean "mostly assembled here from offshore parts, etc. or sub-vendors, and still be a legal thing for them to print. I still use them, but just throwing it out there.CONTENT: At 30 Grams Protein (variety of types) and only 180 calories (variety of sources, including quinoa) it's hard to beat.CONS: I wish it had Vitamin D (something men can lack, esp if you drink coffee / caffeine) and some B Vitamins as well. Contains Sucralose, Xanthan gum, etc. A sweetener free product option would be nice.HUGE CON: The cholesterol is 80 mg (27% of your daily intake). For reference, peanuts and almonds have 0 cholesterol. It would be nice to farm this out or lower the impact. This is why I docked them from 5 stars to 4 stars.Consumer Reports rated this one of the cleanest. It has the least carcinogens, trace elements, rare earth metals, mercury etc. These most likely come from the manuf. process. Until supplement products are materialized in a vacuum or created in a Star Trek Replicator, this is just part of every day life, and ON does better than most minimizing the bad stuff.