Whey Isolate. Plant-based. Casein Powder. Pea Protein. The list carries on just as long as the confusion for those that are new to the supplement world. When I first ventured on this journey, my field trips to Vitamin Shoppe were similar to kids roaming in a candy store: an epic adventure.

I literally picked up every type of protein powder I saw influencers advertise on YouTube and grabbed any other product that caught my attention. Let’s just say my bill was cringeworthy but I was too excited to even notice.

At that time I followed my own routine but noticed I wasn’t eating enough protein, or at least using the right one.

My muscle gains were not increasing as much as they should. Perplexed and intrigued, I decided to look at my routine and complete a full-blown analysis of my various protein powders and figure out what essentially was going wrong.

• Choosing the wrong powder. With literally so many protein powders on the market, it can be confusing to decide which one is the best for you. I have personally tried over 15 different brands that range from beef-based to pea protein. It took a while but I realized that every powder is not made equal. Since my focus was mostly muscle gain, I knew I needed to focus on a whey isolate that provided at least 26 grams of protein.
• You focus on flavor first. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a yummy strawberry swirl or cookies and cream but in all honesty, just stick to the basics. Why? Blending your protein with fresh fruits, peanut butter, and a few chia seeds is much healthier plus it’s always best to know what you are consuming.
• You are not eating enough protein. Generally, you should consume 0.7 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That includes liquid protein and solid proteins from meals you consume daily. There are tons of calculation tools online to help you find your number.

Sometimes it takes a process of elimination to discover the true root cause of your protein powder problems, but with a little investigation and perseverance, you, too, can find one that works for your needs.