Good Morning Everyone- I have a quick question. What would be the difference between Ultra Size and say ordering a mix from a protein company of milk protein isolate, whey, and egg protein. I know the hydrolyzed beef plasma is in the Ultra Size, but, at the end of the day, could you quantify how much better the Ultra Size would be over something you came up with yourself. Just so you know, I love Beverly stuff, love Ultra Size, and am only asking because I am on a tight budget and the money I would save if I used a home made Ultra Size would be used for more Beverly stuff, so, this isn't in any way a knock, I am really, really wondering how much "worse" off I would be doing some sort of home made Ultra Size. Thanks in advance.

For all practical purposes you are not going to be too much worse off. I myself am extremely poor right now so I'm going Labrada ProV60 and/or Optimum Pro-Complex with oats and olive oil to=Ultra Size. Yeah the Beverly stuff is better quality and does not typically cause any bloating or other bad bodily functions. However if money is tight and you are not pre-contest you gotta do what you gotta do. Oh by the way go with the Protein Customizer instead of Protein Factory.
Jimmy

This is an interesting discussion. Many of us do have limited budgets and as Jim says you gotta do what you gotta do to make ends meet. While I appreciate the viewpoint that the best choice is US or MP, the simple fact is that they are expensive - great quality, but the cost ads up. If you could get a mix that would get you to 90 or 95% of the quality and benefits at a significantly reduced price it could be a reasonable compromise. I agree that pre-contest you need to just go with the best and stick with straight BI products, but for the other 8 or 9 months of the year perhaps an alternative could be acceptable.

Has anyone had good results and a positive experience using one of these make your own mix proteins?

I know that this is a BI Board on a BI site, but hopefully Roger and Sandy won't take this discussion the wrong way - it is a budget issue, not an issue of preference or what would be the best.

VA MadDog

Thanks guys for the input. And VA, I was even reluctant to start the thread because it is the beverly board, and I in no way want it to be taken the wrong way. Like I said though, at least for me, the money saved would be used to buy other beverly products. For instance, the creatine select is extremely reasonable, so, I would be interested in taking the money I saved from using home made US and do a three month cycle of Creatine Select/Synergy. Or, do a 12 weeks of a LeanOut/Muscle Lean stack and take Muscle Mass bcaa's while I train. Now I am just dreaming.....anyways, I second what VA said, please don't misconstrue my original question in anyway, if I didn't think Beverly products were clearly the best, I wouldn't be reading this board at 5:23AM on a Saturday!!

Christopher,
Are you going to try and formulate something from the Protein Factory? If so, be prepared for something that won't taste anything like US or be nearly as "usable". I tried formulating my own version of MP once, and threw away the whole batch. I think they use very high quality ingredients, I just couldn't stand the taste. I tell people the most important aspect to a protein supplement is the taste, because if they don't like to drink it, chances are they won't use it on a regular basis. When using a protein drink as a replacement for 2 or 3 meals per day, day after day, it's very important that you really enjoy the taste!
The thing with Beverly proteins that make them so great is not just their quality, but they are enjoyable to drink. Once I started using MP & US, I can't use anything else. I've tried ProComplex and a few other high-end proteins but always ended up giving them away or tossing them in the garbage. Yes Beverly is expensive, but you get what you pay for. MP can be purchased off a few large Internet nurition sites for about $32, and US for about $28. Compared to many of the higher grade proteins, that taste like ****, MP & US are just a bit more costly. Another thing, if you carefully study the labels of MP and US and compare them to many of the other praised proteins, it seems apparent more thought and research has gone into the Beverly formulations.
Under a tight budget, do what you have to do. I always tell people that Beverly is the best but if they want to use **** whey concentrate brand X, it's better than eating a BigMac (provided they can stand the nasty taste and upset stomach from whey concentrate).

Schwantz- Thanks for the input. I was going to use protein customizer. You know, I went over every last detail, including adding flavoring, and shipping, and that made the difference much smaller. Plus, where I order my beverly stuff is the cheapest out there, and, I don't pay for shipping. And, most importantly, I know the quality is the highest. I think what I am going to do for now is replace one of my Ultra Sizes with a whole food meal replacement, and then take that money and apply to something else. I just feel like Mass and Ultra 40's are non-negotiables, and Ultra Size might be too. Thanks again for the feedback.

I've been a long time Beverly user, and will continue to do so. For me, qualirty is issue number 1. And I agree, Beverly hass about the best tasting protein powders out there. To me, all protein powders(Beverly and others) are too "flavorful and sweet.
So what I do to cut down on the sweetness(and save a few pennies) is add Unflavored Micellar Casein(and more Egg sometimes)from Protein Customizer to the Ultra Size in about a 1 to 3 ratio.

This is an issue I've come up against too, but as has already been said, nohting is more expensive than a protein powder you end up throwing out because you can't stomach it. Beverly proteins taste like food to me, the other stuff tastes like something else altogether. The bottom line is your budget of course, but I think replacing one of your Ultra Size shakes with a whole food meal, and keeping the US in the rest of your diet plan is the way to go.

I have to add my .02 scents. Get a bad mix that you can't even stand the smell!! Try some of the 100% Egg blends out there. YIKES!

The one thing you must watch for in using cheaper blends of protein during contest diets are the final 8 weeks. DO NOT USE them.

One other thing you may consider is which products to keep in your diet and which you can do with out. I will always keep the shakes.

Do a cost analysis. Figure your total budget on food minus supplements. Then add your supplements and average meals. You will find if you use shakes only as meal replacements, your monthly bills will be nearly the same when combined, or do I really eat that much?

email me for some other Bev details.

Frank