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Looking for a protein powder to help you lose weight or burn fat, put on muscle or put on more bulk? You’ve come to the right place! Here’s my list of what type of protein powder is best for weight loss, muscle building and more!

If you’re looking for ways to choose the healthiest protein powder based on ingredients lists, nutrition facts and more, check out my post on 5 Tips on How to Choose the Best and Healthiest Protein Powder.

For more Protein Powder 101 and other tips on shopping for a healthy protein powder, check out my national TV segment on CTV’s Your Morning Live!

Whole Foods vs. Protein Powder

Of course, choosing whole foods that are rich in protein is the ideal way to get some protein into your day. Protein powder is more of a convenience option for those times when you’re on the go, traveling, or otherwise don’t have access to protein-rich foods. If you want to learn more about whole foods that are high in protein that you can add to your protein shake, I have the post for you!

What Type of Protein Powder Is Best?

Here are the most popular types of protein powder on the market and a list of:

The protein source
How quickly they’re absorbed by the body
What they do best (if they’re helpful for muscle building, weight loss, as a meal replacement and more)
Any other information you need to know
My favorite brands (if you don’t want to search around and do all the leg-work yourself).

Note that if you purchase any of these, I may get a small percentage to help me keep bringing you the latest Nutrition News!

Whey Protein

Protein from milk.
Well absorbed and easily used by the body, so it’s best for building muscle.
Absorbed quickly so best time to use it is after a workout.
My favorite is this chocolate grass-fed Kaizen Naturals Whey Isolate or this unflavored grass-fed whey protein from Pure Label Nutrition.

Casein Protein

The main protein in milk.
It’s released more slowly than whey protein.
Casein can help you feel full so it’s beneficial for weight loss.
You can add it to your breakfast smoothies to make them more satiating or have it before bed to build muscle overnight.
I like this one from John’s Killer Protein. It’s organic and a mix of 80% casein with 20% whey.

Egg White Protein

Helpful if you have a dairy allergy or if you’re on a paleo diet
Medium speed of absorption (between whey and casein)
Not as well absorbed as the milk-derived proteins, but still a decent option for a post-workout shake or a breakfast smoothie addition
Good egg-based protein powders can be hard to find at your local health food store. I even had trouble finding this at several of my local bodybuilding supplement stores and I live in a big city! I’m into this Healthy ‘n Fit 100% Egg Protein because it has a short and clean ingredient list. Plus it’s Vanilla Ice Cream flavor!

Plant-Based Protein Powders:

Soy Protein

A complete plant-based protein.

Soy helps lower cholesterol and offers bone health benefits.

If you want to avoid GMOs, choose organic as its not genetically modified.

If you have had a hormone-sensitive cancer, limit soy to 2 servings a day.
Here’s an organic soy protein isolate from Natural Nutra in vanilla flavor.

Pea Protein

Comes from yellow split peas.

Good for people with allergies, easy to digest.

Not a complete protein: for that reason, often see it paired with rice protein in protein powders so you get all of the essential amino acids you need (the classic beans and rice combo eaten in many parts of the world).
One of my favorite plant-based protein powders incorporates pea protein and others and is raw/sprouted. Check out Sunwarrior Raw Organic Plant-Based Protein in vanilla.

Hemp Protein

Also not a complete protein.

Get the added benefit of omega-3 fatty acids which lower inflammation.

Lower in protein than the others, so hemp protein is best combined with pea protein to make a complete protein.
I’m a fan of this Pure Food Plant Protein Powder with Probiotics in Raw Cacao flavor. It contains a mix of hemp protein along with pea protein and brown rice protein.