Just got my vanilla dream ISOTEAN from the boys over at iForce nutrition. 27 scoops of whey isolate for me to try and review over the next few weeks. Special thanks to VaughnTrue for hooking me up with this opportunity. The plan for the next few weeks is as follows (with a final review to be posted at the bottom of this First post once I've finished up):
Current goals: cutting until august 3rd when i run in the nj warrior dash (going for the 3 peat against my college buddies, and hopefully improving on my 76th overall finish from last yr) after the cut (if I have some powder left) ill be taking a week off from hardcore dieting and lifting to recover.
Diet: bb style with 6-8 meals spaced every 3 hrs through the day. Ultra low carb (<30g/day) for 6 days with a carb up on the 7th.
Exercise: am cardio upon waking everyday, lifting every other day in the afternoon/evening (after work). Currently following kris gethin's dtp for the last few weeks for the endurance and hit style. On non lifting days I do a second cardio session in the afternoon.
Lift day Shake plan: I usually have a shake upon waking, before my am cardio (about 20min before). A second shake pre workout (about 30-45min before). And finally a post workout shake that I mix with casein 50/50 (roughly 30g protein total)
That'll add up to 2.5 scoops per day, for a total of 75g of protein.
Cardio only days ill have a pre cardio shake am and pm for 2 scoops and 60g of protein.
Looking forward to starting this tomorrow and seeing how things go. Ill comment on taste, mix, recovery, and anything else that stands out.
Final review:
Mix: 8/10 some clumps/sticking did occur from time to time even with higher water amounts. You can let it sit for a min and shake again and that's usually enough to do the trick but is a bit of a pain. Mixed great in crepes though! I tried out various amounts f water and found that I enjoyed the consistency of 10-12oz the best (think milk) but usually watered it down more just to enjoy it for longer.
Taste: 10/10 this was by far the most impressive part of isotean. I'm a vanilla fanatic and this was an instant favorite of mine. I tried a variety of water amounts and all of them were delicious (even up to 30oz was still incredibly flavorful). I also used this to flavor up some crepes one night and these were fantastic as well.
Recovery: 8/10 I did feel that this was a solid aid during my cut and into my carb depletion stage. Obviously I wouldn't expect this to completely prevent doms or anything but it was definitely a noticeable addition. I did feel that the longer I used this the better it got so that also impacted the rating.
Misc: zero bloat, burps, or gas from this, even with tons of water. This tells me that it was readily absorbed into my system as a good isolate should.
Overall: 9.5/10 the only reason I wouldn't give this a 10/10 is due to the minimal mixing issues and somewhat inconsistent recovery ability. The profile of isotean (carbs/fat/protein) makes it well worth a look for anyone looking for a well rounded isolate. The fact that each scoop has 27g of protein is a huge plus since thats 3-5g higher then most others. I would especially recommend this to those on a cut as the lack of carbs/fat and abundance of protein make it a solid addition without sacrificing unnecessary calories. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed every sip of the vanilla dream isotean and would very highly recommend this to anyone looking for an isolate protein to add to their stack. In short I would absolutely buy this myself in the future and plan to pick up a tub the next time I need protein.
Current goals: cutting until august 3rd when i run in the nj warrior dash (going for the 3 peat against my college buddies, and hopefully improving on my 76th overall finish from last yr) after the cut (if I have some powder left) ill be taking a week off from hardcore dieting and lifting to recover.
Diet: bb style with 6-8 meals spaced every 3 hrs through the day. Ultra low carb (<30g/day) for 6 days with a carb up on the 7th.
Exercise: am cardio upon waking everyday, lifting every other day in the afternoon/evening (after work). Currently following kris gethin's dtp for the last few weeks for the endurance and hit style. On non lifting days I do a second cardio session in the afternoon.
Lift day Shake plan: I usually have a shake upon waking, before my am cardio (about 20min before). A second shake pre workout (about 30-45min before). And finally a post workout shake that I mix with casein 50/50 (roughly 30g protein total)
That'll add up to 2.5 scoops per day, for a total of 75g of protein.
Cardio only days ill have a pre cardio shake am and pm for 2 scoops and 60g of protein.
Looking forward to starting this tomorrow and seeing how things go. Ill comment on taste, mix, recovery, and anything else that stands out.
Final review:
Mix: 8/10 some clumps/sticking did occur from time to time even with higher water amounts. You can let it sit for a min and shake again and that's usually enough to do the trick but is a bit of a pain. Mixed great in crepes though! I tried out various amounts f water and found that I enjoyed the consistency of 10-12oz the best (think milk) but usually watered it down more just to enjoy it for longer.
Taste: 10/10 this was by far the most impressive part of isotean. I'm a vanilla fanatic and this was an instant favorite of mine. I tried a variety of water amounts and all of them were delicious (even up to 30oz was still incredibly flavorful). I also used this to flavor up some crepes one night and these were fantastic as well.
Recovery: 8/10 I did feel that this was a solid aid during my cut and into my carb depletion stage. Obviously I wouldn't expect this to completely prevent doms or anything but it was definitely a noticeable addition. I did feel that the longer I used this the better it got so that also impacted the rating.
Misc: zero bloat, burps, or gas from this, even with tons of water. This tells me that it was readily absorbed into my system as a good isolate should.
Overall: 9.5/10 the only reason I wouldn't give this a 10/10 is due to the minimal mixing issues and somewhat inconsistent recovery ability. The profile of isotean (carbs/fat/protein) makes it well worth a look for anyone looking for a well rounded isolate. The fact that each scoop has 27g of protein is a huge plus since thats 3-5g higher then most others. I would especially recommend this to those on a cut as the lack of carbs/fat and abundance of protein make it a solid addition without sacrificing unnecessary calories. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed every sip of the vanilla dream isotean and would very highly recommend this to anyone looking for an isolate protein to add to their stack. In short I would absolutely buy this myself in the future and plan to pick up a tub the next time I need protein.