Not sure which forum to post this in. Could use a hand re: meal replacement page

[glorth2]

Hi all. Sorry if this has been discussed. I'm a cyclist, road and mountain, mostly year-round and I ski when I can. Anyway, I'm also a big beer fan but, while I'm not an alcoholic or over the top, I do drink more beer than I should. Now I'm very self-aware and introspective so I examine all this. I may adult ADD or generalized anxiety disorder. I am seeing a therapist, have tried an ADD med which did nothing and take Xanax when I feel panic attacks. K, while I don't think the amount of beer I drink is dangerous it is expensive as I like the good stuff. I've been primal for a few years now and love it but I'm just not giving up my good beer. I have started to wonder however if I'm using it, partially, as calorie replacement. Case in point, I did a 32 mile road ride yesterday and ticked of a quick 10 miler this morning. I may not ride for the rest of the week BTW. So after my ride I made myself a cheeseburger omelet, 2 eggs, some grass-fed beef, and some cheddar cheese. It was fantastic. Anyway, after my shower I realized I was starving. I had a peach and some dark chocolate but the fact remains that I am considering this.

This in mind, I am considering a meal replacement, whey powder, whatever. I haven't used these in a while. My obvious 1st choice is Mark's Primal Fuel but it's pretty pricey and I'm pretty poor. So I went to 2 other sources I trust I was hoping you could help me decide what to do. Here is the primal fuel which I'm sure you've seen before:
Primal Fuel - Primal Blueprint

Here is Dr. Mercola's. Some of you may have heard of him:
Mercola Pure Protein Powder | Pure Whey Protein

I also use some gel from Hammer Nutrition for my rides. Here's their stuff:
Hammer Whey - Whey Protein Isolate | Hammer Nutrition

I am also thinking about Mark's Primal Calm so if any of you have used it I would appreciate some feedback:
Primal Calm - Primal Blueprint

Like I said, I would love to get the Primal Fuel and may wind up doing that but I would appreciate your thoughts on the other 2. I've looked at them pretty closely but am not sure which one would be best and most cost effective. I am considering using whole, grass fed or maybe raw, grass fed milk to mix with instead of water. Your thoughts on this are appreciated too. I know this is a lot. Thanks.

[jsa23]

My thoughts are that if you're mostly looking for a protein supplement, all of the above are substantially overpriced. Whey Isolates with very little additional junk can be had for half(or less) the price of most of what you've linked to.

There are a number of high-quality brands that can be had for <$10/lb, particularly if you shop online. One popular brand that is well-liked by many is Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard whey - but there are plenty of other brands that are reasonably priced and do what you're looking for.

[donjon]

You don't need more protien, your hungry because you need carbs. You ate an essentially zero carb ~600 cal meal after a pretty intense bike ride that probably burned a significant amount of glycogen and calories. Add some tubers/rice to the PWO meals and that should help a lot.

[glorth2]

You don't need more protien, your hungry because you need carbs. You ate an essentially zero carb ~600 cal meal after a pretty intense bike ride that probably burned a significant amount of glycogen and calories. Add some tubers/rice to the PWO meals and that should help a lot.

So (and sorry if this is stupid), avoiding carbs as I am will not help to lower my weight or eliminate belly fat?

[donjon]

So (and sorry if this is stupid), avoiding carbs as I am will not help to lower my weight or eliminate belly fat?

Not with your training load imo, if anything avoiding carbs would be counter productive. If you eliminate the endurance stuff that might be a different story but you still probably wanna include 100-150g carbs daily.

What your doing right now is a good way to hit a wall and possibly get injured(no pun intended lol).

[glorth2]

Thanks. I thought the idea was to make the body run off of fat stores. I guess that's not when you're doing endurance type stuff. I love me some yams. Are bananas a decent source or is there too much sugar there?

[donjon]

bananas are fine