Chocolate Milk - The perfect post workout drink?

I don't know if anyone has heard this or not. However, chocolate milk is supposedly one of the best, if not the best thing to drink after a hard training session. It has the perfect protein to carb ratio. I currently pay 75 bucks a month for my Whey Protein powder that I use (Optimal Nutrition 100%) and even more money on a simple carb supplement called Dextrose. I would much rather pay far less money to drink chocolate milk. Especially considering the fact that it actually tastes good!

The nutritional facts depend largely on the brand that you get. I live in Northern California so Safeway is the major chain of grocery stores around where I live. Their brand of milk is Lucerne.  A 24OZ serving of Lucerne's 1% Chocolate Milk has 33 grams of protein, 75 grams of carbs, and 510 calories. These numbers are all perfect. Now the carbs are all sugar. However, you are supposed to get 50-75 grams of simple carbs after weight training and other forms of intense exercise.

I was really skeptical about this, but there are a lot of links to back it up and more than a few studies have been done on this.

Here are a handful of articles I found on Google. There are a lot more.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/24/hea lth/webmd/main1342839.shtml

http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/524370

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/health y-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-work out/

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/01/n ew.study.finds.lowfat.chocolate.milk.effectiv e.post.exercise.recovery.aid.soccer.players

First and foremost stop paying for your supplement because it's "glucose" =P

Though I'm sure you know it =) Surprisingly some think it's something new XD

Since you found the nutritional value for chocolate milk to be perfect then you should go ahead and drink it =). Milk was also one of the drinks advised to consume after working out, so was banana. And it seems to me that if you combine both since one has the protein and fat the other the sugar you have a near perfect, balanced post-workout meal.

I suppose chocolate makes things easier and cheaper. So I'd say switch to chocolate milk for a month and see if it's working for you.

I've heard that too. Supposedly it has the carb, fat, protein ratio that you're supposed to look for. But I just don't think it has enough protein. At least not unless you drink a ton of it. However, I drink chocolate milk all the time (and try to convince myself I'm actually eating a brownie...not very effective). After a workout I mix ovaltine and whey protein powder with my milk, although, vyperman, I seem to remember that YOU were the one who told me I should mix my whey powder with water!  I think you said that the fat slows down the absorption of the protein or something like that. I know I should use water, but its just too yucky tasting so I use skim milk instead.

BTW, go with the Ovaltine powder. Its way better than the syrup. Twice the chocolatey goodness with half the calories and way more vitamins and stuff.

Edit: It seems the brand of milk used in the study has plenty of protein. I suspect that they're using whole milk. I can't bring myself to drink whole milk, it has so many calories.

Yeah usually I would say use water with Whey Protein. It is weird because there is tons of literature out there on the net that says fat is the last thing you want in a post workout meal because it slows digestion. However, all of these studies say that chocolate milk is great to drink post workout, so I am going to to do a bit of experimenting.

Yesterday was the first day that I tried it, but I made a huge mistake. I bought a bunch of smaller pint size containers because there was a 10 for 10 dollar deal. On the back, I saw that it said 170 calories, 11 grams protein, 25 grams sugar. I didn't see that it said "serving size 2 per container". I thought that the numbers covered the whole container. So I drank three pints worth of chocolate milk..LOL Afterwards I freaked because in actuality I took in 1020 calories and 150 grams of sugar. You are supposed to get simple carbs after weightlifting, but definitely not that many.

Luckily I was able to still keep my calories around what I wanted for the day.

Actually, you're probably better of using the full-fat version; in one study out in April using full-fat milk in the post-workout drink resulted in 2.8 times more protein resynthesis than using skim milk - yes, that's 280% better results.

 Normally such studies tend to result in advantages that only really matter to optimization nerds like me (5-8%, statistically significant but unimportant to anyone who isn't a competitive athlete) - so that's a biggie.

 'course, to isolate the effect so it was study-able they cut out pre-workout nutrition so it's debatable whether you'll see such dramatic effects if you're already used to taking pre/post-workout nutrition seriously. In another study from the same group they found that while post-workout nutrition boosted protein resynthesis by 100%, applying the same amount of protein/carbs pre-workout boosted post-exercise protein resynthesis by 340% or thereabouts.

I seriously doubt that the effect of this would be cumulative, but it suggests that the optimal strategy would be to use a whey/carb drink pre-workout and a whey/casein blend based on full-fat milk post-workout, though that's counter to the guidelines I picked up from Alan Aragon.

 And it's debatable how large a role this plays over the long term, there's a doctoral thesis from Finland I read this spring that suggested that the end result in terms of body composition between groups that were supplementing pre/post-workout and groups that weren't was the same as long as energy balance was slightly positive and overall protein intake was adequate, it's just that the supplementation group reached that end point in 1 month where the non-supplement group got there in 3.

 It's hard to reach the recommended protein intake (0.25g/lbs TBW) with just milk though, considering that milk only has 3.3g protein per 100g - I'd have to chug 1.4 litres or roughly 3 pints of chocolate milk. If I'm going to be chugging something I wouldn't pick milk as my first choice ;)

I just want to point out that chocolate-milk SUCKS as a post-workout drink, regardless of it's fat content. 

Strawberry milk is where it's all at. :)

Original Post by melkor:

Actually, you're probably better of using the full-fat version; in one study out in April using full-fat milk in the post-workout drink resulted in 2.8 times more protein resynthesis than using skim milk - yes, that's 280% better results.

really? i have always bought the 2%. thanks melkor. i may have to alternate that with my whey. i need the whey to hit my protein since i dont eat much meat but whole-fat chocolate milk sounds amazing... i've deprived myself too long.

I use it as a recovery drink. It tastes 200% better then all the specialized recovery drinks out there, and has the carb/protein ratio everyone raves about. In general I am kind of skeptical about long term effect of it or any recovery drink, but it helps me bring calories up and did I mention it tastes good? :) I buy the Horizon brand I think it is also sold in Safeway. It tastes the best, and doesn't have HFCS like some other brands.

UD

I read on here somewhere that someone else recommended chocolate milk as a recovery drink. I drink it after my workouts because I'm not quite ready to shell out $$ for a protein supplement when I think I'm getting enough protein through the foods I eat. I drink 1% milk. I really don't know how adding a protein supplement will further benefit my body. I seem to have a ton of energy and I have no problems keeping up with my full-time job, 2 kids, working out 3-5 times a week, housework, etc.

Original Post by tryatri:

I just want to point out that chocolate-milk SUCKS as a post-workout drink, regardless of it's fat content. 

Strawberry milk is where it's all at. :)

 uh-uh! *snaps fingers in your face* Chocoloate milk beats strawberry milk every time, so there!

Strawberry milk = gross
Chocolate milk = yummy deliciousness

I would think the sugar in the chocolate milk mix would not be such a good choice. The type of chocolate that is good for you is dark chocolate, not milk chocolate which is what most chocolate milk drink mixes are made out of. My post workout meal is whole grain cereal and organic milk. Have been doing that for years. Then read this http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietN utrition/14202

http://ihealthbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/21/wo rkout-recovery-supplement-cereal-milk/

I actually agree with you littleshelly even if numerous sources can be cited saying drink up that choc milk.

I train to walk marathons.  It is my understanding that the best recovery drinks have a 4 to 1 ration of carbs to protein.  If you look at the label of a product like Endurox (powder formulated specifically for recovery) you will find this ratio is met.  I think most recovery products have this ratio.

Reduced Fat Nesquick has a 4 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein, which is why you may have heard that it is a good recovery drink.

I have tried it in the past and found that it really doesn't help me recover as well as my Endurox.  After walking 10, 20, almost 30 miles, the Endurox just packs more of a punch for me.  I just think that there are additional ingredients in a recovery product that make it work better.

Also the calories 100 calories for 2 tbs. I would rather eat that 100 calories  I think the studies done are more about the milk being good for you than the chocolate syrup. And the ingredients in the chocolate syrup are things I try to avoid.

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Cocoa (Adds a Negligible Amount of Fat)2% or Less of: Potassium Sorbate (a Preservative)Salt, Mono- and Diglycerides (Adds a Negligible Amount of Fat)Polysorbate 60 (an Emulsifier)Xanthan Gum, and Vanillin (an Artificial Flavoring)

Original Post by littleshellys:

I would think the sugar in the chocolate milk mix would not be such a good choice. The type of chocolate that is good for you is dark chocolate, not milk chocolate which is what most chocolate milk drink mixes are made out of. My post workout meal is whole grain cereal and organic milk. Have been doing that for years. Then read this http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietN utrition/14202

http://ihealthbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/21/wo rkout-recovery-supplement-cereal-milk/

 

The whole point of a recovery drink is to get in sugar and protein, which chocolate milk has. The point of the article is that getting your carb/protein after the exercise from other sources is as good as over priced recovery drinks. They did their experiment with cereal and regular milk, there are others that did it with low fat chocolate milk.

UD

Original Post by umneydurak:

Original Post by littleshellys:

I would think the sugar in the chocolate milk mix would not be such a good choice. The type of chocolate that is good for you is dark chocolate, not milk chocolate which is what most chocolate milk drink mixes are made out of. My post workout meal is whole grain cereal and organic milk. Have been doing that for years. Then read this http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietN utrition/14202

http://ihealthbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/21/wo rkout-recovery-supplement-cereal-milk/

 

The whole point of a recovery drink is to get in sugar and protein, which chocolate milk has. The point of the article is that getting your carb/protein after the exercise from other sources is as good as over priced recovery drinks. They did their experiment with cereal and regular milk, there are others that did it with low fat chocolate milk.

UD

 When I think of sugars that are recommended after a workout I think of natural sugar not High Fructose Corn Syrup, Xanthan Gum and other additives. Not saying don't do it. Just not right for me. I try to eat clean.

Not all Chocolate milk has that. For example Horizon brand I recommended does not have those additives.

UD

Local organic dairy puts out an orange creme flavored milk with similar nutrition info to chocolate milk.  It tastes like a dreamcicle, but a little goes a looooong way.  If you're ever coming through southern WV, look for it.  I usually find it at Kroger.

Original Post by littleshellys:

Also the calories 100 calories for 2 tbs. I would rather eat that 100 calories  I think the studies done are more about the milk being good for you than the chocolate syrup. And the ingredients in the chocolate syrup are things I try to avoid.

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Cocoa (Adds a Negligible Amount of Fat)2% or Less of: Potassium Sorbate (a Preservative)Salt, Mono- and Diglycerides (Adds a Negligible Amount of Fat)Polysorbate 60 (an Emulsifier)Xanthan Gum, and Vanillin (an Artificial Flavoring)

 That is why I don't use chocolate syrup. I use powdered chocolate milk mix. Chocolate syrup is just all sugar and no nutrients.

mmmmm...xanthan gum...