1% milk is the cheapest protein source available

Gizmo j

Senior member
Nov 9, 2013
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I just bought 1% gallon milk at food 4 less for $2.79 that has 176 grams of protein.

They also sold a 60 pack of eggs for $9.99 that's 6 grams of protein each totalling 360 grams and the 1% milk has it beat for protein per/$
 
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Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
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I just bought 1% gallon milk at food 4 less for $2.79 that has 176 grams of protein.

They also sold a 60 pack of eggs for $9.99 that's 6 grams of protein each totalling 360 grams and the 1% milk has it beat for protein per/$
Mmmm...estrogen. Yum!

Ooooh. Man boobs. Um...

[edit]

Apparently not a legit concern.
 
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Jun 18, 2000
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Our grocery has had a gallon for $1.99 since last year. The price of milk has dropped a lot. Easily the best per dollar if your stomach can take it.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
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Best bang for buck is usually protein powder.
Is there a reason to consume protein that way instead of buying a bunch of Arby's roast beef or something? If I need protein for some reason, I may as well enjoy it.
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
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Is there a reason to consume protein that way instead of buying a bunch of Arby's roast beef or something? If I need protein for some reason, I may as well enjoy it.

I do protein powder because it's very convenient, without the added calories, carbs, and fat.

I've been drinking almond milk of late. The downside is it's more expensive than milk, and the protein content sucks. But, it's much easier on my stomach than milk.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
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Is there a reason to consume protein that way instead of buying a bunch of Arby's roast beef or something? If I need protein for some reason, I may as well enjoy it.

You don't like shakes? I got Ghost Cereal Milk protein and it's really good. Tastes exactly like the left over milk from a bowl of Cap'N Crunch. I'm not a huge sweets person, but some of the protein powders make for a delicious, quick breakfast
 

pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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Is there a reason to consume protein that way instead of buying a bunch of Arby's roast beef or something? If I need protein for some reason, I may as well enjoy it.
Mostly because it is low calorie and easy. 25g of protein for about 125 calories and 1.5 grams of fat is hard to beat. Hard to get that level of protein with other foods.
 

deadlyapp

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2004
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Aren't most cheap protein powders made from whey which is the same thing as milk?
Actually whey is a byproduct of cheese production - but generally yes you're correct - whey is just the skimmed protein from milk product that has very little fat or carbohydrate content (unlike pure milk)
 

balloonshark

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2008
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Actually whey is a byproduct of cheese production - but generally yes you're correct - whey is just the skimmed protein from milk product that has very little fat or carbohydrate content (unlike pure milk)
Thanks. I guess that makes sense that it's used for protein powder then.
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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I'm not always looking for cheap. I'm not a huge milk drinker, but in working on increasing my protein intake...I buy blueberries and mix them into some lowfat cottage cheese. I believe that to be better for you than buying yogurt which usually has a bunch of sugar in it.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
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I just bought 1% gallon milk at food 4 less for $2.79 that has 176 grams of protein.

They also sold a 60 pack of eggs for $9.99 that's 6 grams of protein each totalling 360 grams and the 1% milk has it beat for protein per/$
I buy non-fat dry milk powder, which AFAIK is 0% fat and AFAIK just as good a source of protein and cheaper than 1% gallons from where ever.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
37,402
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I'm not always looking for cheap. I'm not a huge milk drinker, but in working on increasing my protein intake...I buy blueberries and mix them into some lowfat cottage cheese. I believe that to be better for you than buying yogurt which usually has a bunch of sugar in it.
I never buy yogurt anymore. What I do is use my nonfat milk powder and kefir starter to make kefir a quart at a time. When my quart gets low I pour about 2 oz. into a sterilized quart bottle, add about 3.2 oz. NFDM powder, add tap water, shake, put in my ~85 degree oven (the pilot light keeps it about that). After a day, I have a new full quart bottle of kefir. I add anything I want to that, which can be a ripe banana, blueberries, etc.

If I like (and I've sometimes done this), is do the above using plain yogurt and keep yogurt culture going in the same manner.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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1% milk is water that is lying about being milk.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Just about all Costco supplied for the USA chart. They had notfat dry milk at Costco, but they don't sell it anymore. I get mine at Walmart. Less than $15 for a 64oz box that makes 20 quarts. Pinto beans is not a complete protein source.

Are you planning on eating according to your macros?
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
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Milk might be cheap, but I can't drink it anymore. The phlem I get from dairy is unbearable. I do Almond milk. It's more expensive, and the protein sucks but I do get enough anyway. You don't need as much protein as the YTbers, and media tells you. 0.5-0.8 grams for most people is good enough.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Milk might be cheap, but I can't drink it anymore. The phlem I get from dairy is unbearable. I do Almond milk. It's more expensive, and the protein sucks but I do get enough anyway. You don't need as much protein as the YTbers, and media tells you. 0.5-0.8 grams for most people is good enough.

I like this article:

https://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

Specifically:
There is normally no advantage to consuming more than 0.82g/lb (1.8g/kg) of protein per day to preserve or build muscle for natural trainees. This already includes a mark-up, since most research finds no more benefits after 0.64g/lb.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
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Milk might be cheap, but I can't drink it anymore. The phlem I get from dairy is unbearable. I do Almond milk. It's more expensive, and the protein sucks but I do get enough anyway. You don't need as much protein as the YTbers, and media tells you. 0.5-0.8 grams for most people is good enough.
you could just eat the almonds and drink some water. 1 ounce of almonds has 6 grams of protein. 1 cup of almond milk has 1 gram of protein (less than 3 ounces of almonds in a gallon of milk). 1 cup of cow milk has 8 grams of protein.

if you have a hipo blender you can make your own almond milk and save on the markup + ridiculous environmental cost of shipping almond milk around.
 
Sep 29, 2004
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Milk might be cheap, but I can't drink it anymore. The phlem I get from dairy is unbearable. I do Almond milk. It's more expensive, and the protein sucks but I do get enough anyway. You don't need as much protein as the YTbers, and media tells you. 0.5-0.8 grams for most people is good enough.

Even when I was lifitng weights more I was shooting for 0.5+ grams per pound of body weight. And it worked well. I thin on a good day I was getting 120 grams on my 200 pound frame. On bad days 80. It probably averaged right around 105 or 110.

More is probably better but I think most people do't realize that taking in 1 gram per pound is for elite level athletes and not useful for many others.
 

CalebRockeT

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2003
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Even when I was lifitng weights more I was shooting for 0.5+ grams per pound of body weight. And it worked well. I thin on a good day I was getting 120 grams on my 200 pound frame. On bad days 80. It probably averaged right around 105 or 110.

More is probably better but I think most people do't realize that taking in 1 gram per pound is for elite level athletes and not useful for many others.

It obviously depends a lot on the type and volume of training one is doing, as well as their goals, but I was always under the impression that people who are taking in 1g/lb are wanting to ensure they're maximizing hypertrophy or preserving muscle mass, depending on if they're gaining, maintaining or cutting. If they're putting in several hours of hard training a week, it seems reasonable that they wouldn't want to risk hindering their gains by under consuming protein; especially when there's no documented downside to eating a lot of protein (assuming their diet is otherwise balanced). If they're focusing on performance, under consuming protein could hurt their rate of recovery and slow overall progress or day-to-day levels of performance. It's just one less thing to worry about if they're undoubtedly eating enough to maximize protein synthesis and recovery.

So, I suppose we're probably pretty close to the same line of thinking. Progress can be made on significantly less protein intake than 1g/lb but for anyone who wants to reap the maximum benefit from their training, they're probably going to lean towards consuming closer to 1g/lb (if not total lbs, lbs of lean mass or somewhere in between). From what I've read, the difference often times isn't huge, but it's significant enough that it should be acknowledged. Ultimately, the training will be the primary driver of change. Changes in nutrition will augment those results.

IMO, do whatever is necessary to keep yourself in a mindset to train consistently. If worrying about tracking and hitting macros stresses you out and will lead to burn out, don't do it. Focus on the training. Personally, I grew up with an all or nothing mindset and I've always struggled with flipping between extremes. I'd be better off over the long term if I had worried less about maximizing results and instead focused on training consistently, even if my training and diet were sub-optimal. Finding the right balance in life can be a challenge.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
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question:
i got 115 grams of protein yesterday without even trying. total calories estimate was 1,420. are you guys discussing additional protein on top of that or what?