Gold Standard 100% Whey Naturally Flavored Protein Powder, Vanilla, 1.9 Pound (Packaging May Vary)

I feel a rush of good feeling in my blood and face roughly 40 minutes after having this post workout. Very good feeling. I'm not sure if it's this or the organic cacao that I add to it that intensifies the experience. The whey absorbs pretty well in my body and goes in my bloodstream. I'd say my results with this whey protein has been better than my previous whey which was NOW foods whey protein isolate. That one tasted a bit like garbage and made everything taste a little bad. Not very bad, but just enough to make it slightly gross. With this, there's no gross taste or aftertaste or anything that you can recognize as alien in a chocolate milk drink. It taste just like chocolate milk. I'd say a downside is that it is not very potent in taste. By that I mean you'd either have to pour less liquid or use two scoops. If you're using one of those typical 28 oz Blender bottles and you put one scoop of this in it and fill it to the top, it will taste very watery and bland, especially if you use water. After some experiments, I find the best taste is achieved when I use two scoops and fill the whole thing with milk. Like I said above, I also put a bit of organic raw cocoa in there that really highlights the chocolaty tastes and gives it more flavor and character. Pure cocoa is also apparently a super-food. Other than taste, it also seems to be more effective in building muscle than my previous whey product. I don't know if it's placebo or not, but I notice my muscles recover better and I make better strength gains as compared to NOW foods. It also goes without saying, if you plan on buying unflavored whey, you probably aren't fooling yourself. There is a good chance you'll add the additional sugar and carbs in one form or another to add flavor, unless you want to endure a torture post-workout experience. So I think it makes more sense to go with something that's already flavored. One thing I really like about this is the fact that there are no random weird chemicals. You're getting whey, cocoa, 3g sugar, stevia, flavor, emulsifier, and some thickeners. That's it. I really hate having to find any other chemical found in common protein products with flashy labels like potassium chloride, magnesium phosphate, potassium citrate, and especially happy that there are no synthetic, cancerous sugar-substitutes like maltodextrin and acesulfame potassium. All in all, I'm satisfied with my experience and I predict more likely than not, you will be too. Optimum Nutrition is a well trusted brand. This product in particular has been tested by labdoor.com and has a good rating in purity and projected efficacy. I recommend it to anyone who wants to use it as a post-weight-training boost.

This is my first time buying protein. I've been working out for about three weeks now, trying to lose fat and gain muscle. I did a lot of research before I decided on this product, because I saw how expensive protein powders were. There's so many claims that every manufacturer make about how their product is superior to their competitors. I decided that I wouldn't base my decision on the flashy claims written on bottles, bright colors, or even on customer reviews. I did my own research online about what a GOOD protein powder should have. Here's why I love my Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard Natural Whey, Vanilla, 5 Pound: 1.) LOW CALORIE and LOW FAT - For me, this was probably the most important factor being someone who is try to shed fat. There are only 130 calories, 1g of fat, and 0.5g of saturated fat per scoop ( 1 scoop = 32g). This is by far the leanest protein I found. 2.) HIGH PROTEIN per scoop - If I was going to shell out over 50 bucks on a supplement, it better be worth my money. This powder packs 24g of protein per scoop. Another plus as Optimum Nutrition has made a high protein, and low calorie/fat product. You can't beat a powder which is 75% of pure protein by weight. 3.) ALL NATURAL ingredients - According to my research, the biggest dangers of protein powders were that they were chock full of artificial flavors and sweeteners which can cause harm if taken over a long period of time. This is why I opted for Optimum Nutrition's natural form of protein. This product only has natural flavorings, and natural cane juice for sweetness. Some reviews say that this powder lists stevia or Rebaudiana-A in the ingredients. This is FALSE. At least for me it is. My bottle lists evaporated cane juice as the only sweetener. No stevia in mine. I'm glad Optimum Nutrition did this, because there is still a lot of research that should be done on stevia before we can truly call it safe. 4.) Simple and versatile vanilla flavor - I must say that this product tastes fine. Its not a dessert/milkshake, and its not a treat. Its a protein powder SUPPLEMENT, and I'm satisfied with the way it tastes. I was worried about buying this because a few reviews said how this was "undrinkable" or had a "artificial sweetener aftertaste". I honestly don't have any such problem with this protein. Its very much drinkable. Even if you do somehow hate the flavor, just dilute the powder in a greater amount of liquid before you drink it. I love how this vanilla flavor is very versatile in that I am able to add it to anything and it fits. So far, I've put it in berry smoothies, oatmeal, and my morning cereal. I'm sure I won't get bored trying to find the different ways I can add this protein into my meals. 5.) A,GOOD PROTEIN BLEND with all the AMINO ACIDS I need - Through research, I found that there are so many types of protein, and the best type of protein is whey isolate or whey peptides, but these types of powder can get very expensive. I wasn't ready to spend that much money on a powder. This product lists a protein blend of whey isolates, whey concentrate, and whey peptides in each serving. Many other manufacturers only use the cheap whey concentrate in the products. I like how this is a high quality blend which keeps the cost low. ON has also put in all the essential amino acids, and BCAA's I need to help my body's muscles recover quickly after a workout. Overall, I happy I made this choice. ON has made a product which is nutritious, low calorie, high quality, and all natural. What more can I ask for in a decently priced protein powder? Get this now, and I promise you won't regret it.

One of my favorite protein brands - though it really depends on the flavor: Vanilla ice cream and chocolate are amazing. Strawberry + banana is also good, but for some reason, it didn’t blend well - I kept getting these annoying clumps (and I use both a shaker and a blender). The plain vanilla one is somehow more expensive, but honestly, the flavor just doesn’t hit. Even when I mixed it with milk, it lacked richness. I think that’s because I’ve spoiled myself with all the sweet flavors, so I won’t knock off points for that. But the Cinnabon one? Absolutely disgusting for me. The smell alone made me gag - thankfully, I only bought a small tub of it. What this brand really needs is a sample box with different flavors. I know you can order some samples on their website, but not all of them are available - and the ones I actually want to try only come in big containers, so I don’t want to risk it.

Great tasting protein powder , smooth can mix it with anything, no weird aftertaste, good on the stomach if you’re someone that has issue with previous powder before , great value for the money .

I've been using this protein powder for about 3-4 years now. I've only used two other protein powders. Body Fortresses chocolate and peanut butter. (Tastes like Resses Cup.) They sell them for cheap at my local Walmart. $18 for a 2lb. As opposed to this one which has a 2lb for $31 right now. The other one was an ON protein powder as well. I used to buy the double rich chocolate flavor for that one. And it would come in the red and black case. They also had some flavors that this one doesn't have. That I've never got to try. Like the coffee and mocha cappuccino. The reason why I stopped using those other protein was because I was starting to get tired of the taste. And I started to dread taking protein shakes because of it. I used the black and red ON for about 3 years. And the Body Fortress for maybe a year and a half around the same time. The taste was just way too over powering. Especially the B.F. Which doesn't surprise me since it's so cheap. B.F has other flavors too, and 30g of protein per serving instead of ON's 24g. But their scoop is considerably bigger. And I'm honestly fine with paying almost double the price for this products quality. This one was definitely my favorite of the 3. And I plan to continue drinking it for the years to come. I believe I've only ever gotten the vanilla flavor for this one. But am so satisfied with the taste. That I don't really feel the need to switch. I'll only ever mix it with water as a last result. Like when I'm out of whole milk, or almond milk. I like how it tastes with whole milk the most. Plus, whole milk adds more protein. In my opinion, I think it tastes the worst with water. Whenever I drink it, I'll just mix it in one of my coffee mugs. And it dissolves real easily. Which is another thing I like about this powder. The taste isn't strong, but you can still taste the vanilla quite well. But sometimes, I put just a little bit of my vanilla coffee creamer to give it a boost of taste. Overall, I'm very satisfied with this protein. And never got sick of the taste so far. When I was working 11-13 hour shifts at my last job. Which was at a warehouse. I would drink 2 a day, 5 times a week. Along with some coffee during break or on my lunch. Literally, whenever I didn't the coffee and protein. I'd feel so tired and sluggish at work. As if I only had an hours sleep. I highly recommend this product and brand. I use to, and still have my other supplements. All of which, are from this Brand, ON. My creatine, BCAA, HMB, and ZMAs. I use to take all that when I worked out like every day a few years ago.j But I don't anymore. Now I'll just stick to trying to get most of my protein from real food. Like eggs, tuna, peanut butter, chicken, tilapia, ham, almonds, and cottage cheese. I've always heard it's better to get most of your protein from actual food. Even so, I'm still taking 1-2 of these protein shakes before and after I workout. :) And I suppose this is a good alternative if you don't have immediate access to a protein based food. Or you're a vegan.

Excellent taste and i can trust the quality from Optimum Nutrition to not have contaminants. Been using their products for over 2 decades now. I prefer the vanilla over the chocolate flavors.

This was my first time trying protein powder, and it's amazing! I've only been using it for about three weeks, and I feel like I've seen an improvement in my body already (from getting my full protein in for the day, along with meeting my macros). I would not be able to meet my protein goals without it, so I'm very thankful that it tastes good. I like to have it in a shake with milk and/or yogurt, banana, peanut butter, oats, and a bit of maple syrup. It's already sweetened with stevia, but I have a sweet tooth so I like to add a bit more sweet to my shake. Also, I love that it's naturally sweetened and flavored... It doesn't have all the chemicals and fake sweeteners that the brand's other flavors do. I will say that the flavor is pretty strong if you don't add enough ingredients to your shake, but I don't really taste it too much the way I make the shake....maybe a slight vanilla flavor which I love. I did try it with just peaches, milk and honey once, and the flavor was too strong for me...not a bad flavor, but just very strong. I've also tried it in protein pancakes, and they were actually really good! I was skeptical that they would taste too strong like the powder, but they were delicious. So, all that to say, I highly recommend this if you are looking to maximize your muscle gains and improve your nutrition!

I have purchased vanilla flavor multiple times. It had been great, but when I received new sized container (they started making smaller containers with the same amount of powder), the flavor was also different. It tastes like more artificial and medicinal. I would like them to revert the flavor formula.