It seems like almost a rite of fitness passage to spend too much money at GNC on an overpriced product that under-performs. When I decided to get back into lifting a while ago I, like most people new to the supplement world, figured GNC would be the place to go for all my supplementation needs. My first purchase at GNC consisted of their Mega-Men multi and a 2 lb. tub of their 100% Whey. Before I found SR.com and decided to switch to ON’s Gold Standard, I had purchased and finished four or five tubs of GNC’s brand of whey.

TASTE: 6/10
I’m going to preface this by saying that I only tried GNC’s 100% Whey in water ONCE. It was the strawberry flavor and it absolutely made me gag. I couldn’t believe people actually mixed protein powder in water! For a long time I strictly mixed this product in milk, usually with fruit and yogurt, and consumed it as a breakfast shake. I’ve finished entire tubs of the Strawberry, Vanilla, and Unflavored versions of this product. It wasn’t until I started with ON’s Whey that I realized I needed to stick to chocolate and chocolate-esque flavored powders, and that so long as I used a shaker cup and the right ratio of water to powder, the shakes were often quite enjoyable. I laugh a bit at myself now as I look back on how I used to consume whey protein.

Alright, back to the product at hand. I found the strawberry flavor to be the best of the three I tried and generally enjoyed it so long as I mixed it in milk with other ingredients. The vanilla and unflavored powders were a struggle to get through and I often had to switch up powders every couple of days to keep myself from getting sick of a flavor. Again, I wish I had purchased the chocolate so that I would have a better comparative baseline, but even with mixing these flavors with milk and berries, they were still pretty awful.

MIXABILITY: N/A
I never actually mixed this product in a shaker bottle. Like I said, I tried the strawberry one time in water and I simply put it in a glass and mixed it with a spoon. It dissolved fairly well, but there was still some clumping and an unpleasant gritty texture. After that I strictly mixed the powder in the blender, which obviously worked well. That being the case, I don’t feel I can offer a fair rating in this category.

EFFECTIVENESS: 7/10
In my opinion, whey protein is more of a passive supplement. Results and physical changes are the results of hard work, a proper diet, and efficient training. Your body needs protein to continue to grow and develop, but can your cells really tell the difference between different brands of whey protein? So long as you’re consuming the product at pivotal points in the day (morning, post-workout), it’s going to be absorbed into your system and utilized by your body. Of course, some products are going to be of a bit higher quality than others and will contain other ingredient bonuses (BCAA’s, glutamine, etc.), but more on that in a moment.

When I was taking this product I was very new to lifting and exercise in general. I did not really understand much about supplementation and did not utilize this product to its fullest potential. Normally I would take 1-2 scoops in the morning as part of a breakfast shake. On occasion I would also have an afternoon shake, but again I would use milk and berries and other ingredients. I feel as though this product did help provide my body with needed protein intake, but that I didn’t yet have the fitness base or knowledge whereby I would see drastic results.

I will point out however, that I had horrendous problems with bloating and gas while on this product. That’s not necessarily a knock against GNC’s 100% Whey as I had even worse problems with ON’s Whey, but if I had to guess I’d say that GNC’s blend of whey is of a lower quality than most other 100% Whey and whey isolate powders on the market. You also do not get all the additional nutrient benefits that are included in similar products. For example, MyoFusion gives you 25% of your daily value of vitamins A, C, D, and E in a single scoop. GNC’s 100% Whey gives you no extra vitamins, EAA’s, or anything of that nature.

VALUE: 2/10
The retail price of this product is $32.99 for a 2 lb. tub. This is, of course, outrageously overpriced. I usually made my purchases during Gold Card week, which knocks the price down to roughly $26.50. Even at $26.50, with 32 servings per tub, this equates to a per-scoop of cost of .82c. The same sized tub of either ON’s 100% Whey or Gaspari’s MyoFusion will cost you only $19.99 on BB.com. With ON your per-serving cost (31 per tub) comes out to be .64c, while MyoFusion (25 per tub) will run you .80c. Keep in mind that MyoFusion is primarily whey isolate, meaning it is of higher quality (more pure) and has a higher biological value with less fat and lactose per serving. And yet despite the lower price points, both ON and Gaspari’s whey powders offer additional benefits in the form of EAA’s and vitamins that GNC’s whey does not.

The final nail in the coffin is the fact that a scoop of GNC’s 100% Whey yields only 21g of protein, while a scoop of ON’s Gold Standard nets you 24g and a scoop of MyoFusion hits you with 25g of protein. Need I say more?

OVERALL: 4/10
GNC’s 100% Whey Protein is a sucker’s buy. There are so many other more affordable, higher quality whey powders available that I am not sure why ANYONE would consume this as their daily whey protein. In short, save your money and look elsewhere, this product has nothing to offer you.

This is my first product review so please go easy on me. I have never been a big protein shake person.I have a hard time finding protein powders that I can stand to drink without feeling like I am going to gag. GNC's 100% Whey Protein did not give me that feeling. I could tolerate both of the flavors that I tried and did not dread the thought of needing a shake after my workout.

TASTE: 7/10
I used two 1 pound bags to try different flavors. I tried the Strawberry and the Strawberry/Banana. I didn't feel like I was having to choke it down like some other brands. I have definitely had worse tasting Protein Powders but not my favorite by far.

MIXABILITY: 6/10
If you are mixing with a Shaker bottle or spoon the mixability is not great. Hard to remove clumps using water or milk. I use a blender to mix my protein shakes and it mixed very well that way. Not everyone has the time or availability to use a blender so I rated it a 6 for that reason.

EFFECTIVENESS: 7/10
Rating a Protein powder on effectiveness isn't easy. If you drink protein shakes but don't work hard in the gym then you won't see results. It's not a magic supplement but it will definitely assist recovery if used properly and consistently.

VALUE: 6/10
GNC items are usually overpriced if you aren't buying with the gold card. Fortunately here on base you can use your gold card 7 days a week so the discount always applies. You can pick better value proteins online in my opinion but if you are in need of a protein powder immediately while yours is being shipped this is a decent option.

OVERALL: 6/10
GNC’s 100% Whey Protein is a decent buy and will do what you need it to do. If you are in a bind and need to pick up something fast just grab a 1lb bag while you wait for your regular protein powder to arrive.

gnc definately did it right with this whey. besides the strawberry, all flavors are delicious and you get about 70+ servings in the large container. Like everything else prices are high and have skyrocketed at gnc in the last year, but certain times of the month you can find this pretty reasonable for the 5lb. Banana is delicious, and the 100% whey actually has more aminos per scoop than the WASTEbolic 60 i mean wheybolic 60 lol... find a good pre workout, 5lb of 100% whey, creatine, fish oil, and some extra aminos. thats all you need! remember these are only supplements, you gotta EAT!!!

I take this protein for 2 months and i dont see changes its taste good but not rally, if you want more muscles or more more more more body buy another type of protein, this is bad very very very very bad

i have finished the big tub of berry flavor of this. The berry flavor was actually pretty nice. I thought id hate it by the end of me using it but i still actually enjoy the taste. When i was on it it had helped with recovery during my more intense workouts. Toke out alot of soreness. I saw alittle more improvement on my strength than if i wasn't on anything. I don't think i will be using this agian because it is somewhat expensive when its not on sale like it was when i bought it.

This is a great overall protein that is very reasonably priced. All the flavors are good, not great, but definitely not terrible. I recommend this for just about anyone. It is fine for athletes, although serious body builders may want more additives and protein. I especially recommend it for people first trying protein, women and older teens.

This was the first protein i have taken and i did not relly enjoy this product. I recomand that if you are looking for a protein get AMP Amplified Wheyabolic protein from GNC. I took this for 2 months and I saw little results. The only thing good i can say about this product is that it helped me with a little Muscle Gain i guess. It is expensive i thought and there are better proteins out there that would work better. Also, another good thing about it is the taste and mixablity. i give the taste and mixablity an 8. I took it before i worked out and after. Also, if you are a beginner its ok to start off with. But, in my oppinion i did not like this product and saw little results.

Expensive but good. Decent results, mixes well, decent taste, but not the best Whey Protein on the market today. And the price is pretty steep as are all GNC products. I found this Whey to help with recovery and some mild gains but there are definitely better proteins for better money out there.

I purchased this protein because I had a good experience with Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 and this was on sale as a twin pack of 2lb tubs for 30 bucks, plus they had the buy one get one 50% off sale going, so that was four 2 lb tubs for 60 bucks, sounded like a good deal to me. I was pretty disappointed when I got to the end of the four tubs as I felt it really didn't do that much for me. It's pretty much your plain jane, nothing to special about it protein. I took two scoops in the morning with breakfast, and two scoops after my workout.

Recovery was marginal, still felt pretty sore in the morning after taking this. Didn't really notice much benefit as far strength or size gains, although I didn't lose any weight either while on this. Mixability and taste were ok, I had the chocolate flavor, and it tasted just fine to me. It's primary protein source is whey protein concentrate, so it's not really a quality product either.

Nothing to write home about, but considering what I paid for it, it wasn't horrible or anything. I wouldn't buy it at it's regular price, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anybody, unless they were just looking for a generic value protein.

To those who have been following my reviews, I'll make this simple off rip: this stuff is so-so.

I bought this stuff on a budget about 6 months ago (chocolate carmel 3lb), no really expecting all that much. I used two heaping scoops post workout and it lasted about 2 to two and a half weeks.I paid about 15 bucks for the jug, and if you ask me its a rip off to get 2 weeks for 15 bucks. You can get some good stuff some place else for the same price for a month supply.

Results: pretty much nil. After using two scoops for two weeks straight 6 days a week, i was more hungry and sore than if i didnt use a supplement. I was more hungry, got bloated, and it made me fart like a maniac!

As far as taste goes, the chocolate carmel wasnt too bad. I thought it was going to taste like swamp ass, but it really didnt. It was pretty surprising how good it tasted, not very frothy, either. It took a little longer than i like to shake the stuff up, and it left a NASTY smell in the cup afterwards.

The other supplements i took with this was the GNC creatine monohydrate, and a solid diet full of good fresh fruits and veggies with lots of chicken and turkey, hardly any pork (if any), and hardly any red meat.

To close it up, you can find better stuff out there, like Gold Standard from ON, or even Pro Complex for around the same price per serving. Recommended for people on a budget, ie a short check or soemthin.