Agree! IMO, it makes sense to avoid artificial sweeteners, especially those sugar alcohols.
Unlike regular sugars, these sweeteners pass through the digestive system without being absorbed in the gut and create food source for nasty bacteria in those places of the gut where such bacteria has no business to be.
I would look for protein powders without any sweeteners. Fairlife is great!
This is the unflavored, unsweetened whey protein powder I bought in the past:
For the most part, I just rely on real milk (or dairy products) and meats, nuts etc for protein. Not as much protein as powders, but I am still far ahead of many older folks who are not paying attention to their food/fitness.
I do sometimes have a protein bar or protein powder in my coffee. Iām not opposed to doing more of that if I find good reason to exceed my current protein intake of about 60g/day @ 120lbs. (I take a multivitamin even though my food generally covers RDA on vitamins. Also calcium/D supplement. So the concept of using non-food sources is acceptable.)
I know I donāt get enough protein., so am happy to get it and collagen peptides added wherever I can. I FINALLY used up a whey protein powder container and bought the collagen peptide one. Iāll find a picture and add it. Its really hard to find the unflavored, which is what I prefer.
** here it is Purely Inspired, Collagen Peptides, Unflavored, 1 lb (454 g) (iherb.com)
Now thatās the kind of product I like. One ingredient. 
Yay thatās the Orgain I use-- glad it doesnāt have the bad stuff.
Bunsen thanks for the explanation re: artificial sweeteners. Frightening but good to know!
Is Fairlife better than reg milk? I have been buying organic, pasture-raised 1% or 2% (thought that was good?) + organic almond milk for smoothie. Wondering if maybe should skip the almond milkā¦?
Fairlife has more protein and less sugar than your typical milk.
After starting to pay attention to sugar (after high-ish A1C readings), I was surprised about milkās high sugar content (12g per cup).
Articles like this one made me less concerned.
I do sometimes drink almond milk (especially if we are running low on the real stuff, which is all hubby wants). Nice that it has lower calories. But almond milk has far less protein (1g vs 8g) and less calcium (unless fortified).
I have both oat and dairy milk in the fridge. I use both interchangeably.
I also rely on foods for protein. The cronometer website/app I referenced earlier can assist with this, showing where your protein (and other nutrients) are coming from over a particular period, which makes it easy to see your common sources of protein and whether you are getting enough. It also divides down in to specific amino acids, showing whether target for ~11 amino acids is met and most common sources of each amino acid.
It also includes totals for things like different types of natural sugar and added sugar, so no surprises in what has and doesnāt have sugar. Dairy products were also my largest source of sugar, followed by fruit. For added sugar, the list was quite different.
For example, over the past week, my average protein intake was roughly 1g/lb body weight. My largest protein sources over the past week were as follows.
1 . Chicken ā 18% (~daily)
2. Cereal + Milk ā 16% (daily)
3 Sandwiches ā 12% (~5 small meals)
4. Pizza/Pasta ā 11% (~4 small meals)
5. Fish ā 11% (~5 small meals)
6. Beans ā 8% (daily)
7. Oatmeal ā 5%
8. Vegetable Sides ā 4%
9. Rice ā 4%
10. Peanuts ā 3%
11. Ice Cream ā 3%
12. Turkey ā 2%
On the additive front - wondered if any vegetarians do an amino acid supplement and what you use? Keep hearing thatās good for muscle buildingā¦
Amino acids are the basic building blocks of protein.
In terms of additives, besides the obvious of eggs, I use teff, plus chia and hemp seeds daily.
Thanks! I can see there are some nice combos of foods that can give vegetarians the complete amino acids.
Iāve been following some female body builders in Insta lately and I guess I saw a few amino acid supplements. So was thinking thatās something to consider!
Whole Foods do seem preferable!
This. Almost always. TBH, I would not recommend following a bodybuilderās diet (or all exercises for that matter). But this is not an absolute. There are millions of bodybuilder diets out there.
First, the bodybuilder diet is almost always about appearance, not performance or athletic ability, and they do enjoy their supplements and additives.
Second, as whole, the diet of clean eating is great. But bodybuilders go through phases of eating and dieting (calorie restriction), which I think most of us here should be eating a or one consistent year round diet.
Third, some not all bodybuilder diets often avoid beans and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, because of slow digestion or for the risk of upsetting your stomach and hurting your workouts.
Fourth, bodybuilding diets often prefer coconut oil or avocado oil over olive oil. Why? In terms of bodybuilding, the goals of the training style are likely to favor coconut oil because of the almighty MCTs. Olive oil is heart healthy, which is pretty important to us older folks.
Not all bodybuilders nor their diets are created equal. Iām sure theyāre are both good and not so good ones out there.
ETA: Iām not a health professional, but just someone who has spent a life in (and around) the gym with various āgym constituencies and/or movement methodologies.ā
Thanks, I appreciate that delineation between body building (focused on aesthetics) and more power-type lifting.
However, for someone coming from a life-long orientation (as many women have) of being slender as the singular physical goal - a move toward strength, muscle-building, functional longevity has been a huge shift for me!
And for better or worse, following ladies on Instagram who are into body building (with the attendant discussion on need to consume sufficient protein) has really motivated me to get off the life-long āthin at all costsā merry-go-round.
Is there a more optimal dietary approach that doesnāt involve cuts/builds? I am sure there is! But Iām not at that level yet 
.
Just seeing short daily videos from women (with demanding careers!) who are in the gym at 5 am every day has been SO motivating. 
. It has also helped me redefine my vision of what Iām seeking, physically. And I feel so much stronger after 6 months of progressive overload weights, much more protein, etc.
I hear you though - if one were to follow the dietary prescriptions of some professional bodybuilders to the letter - I imagine there might be concerns!
Just fyi here are some ladies I follow
Iām personally not a fan of that ultra lean and freakishly massive physique, male or female, but if these celebrities or influencers (not exactly sure what is the proper term) help you get movitated and working out, then thatās wonderful.
As for diets, usually a bodybuilderās āoff seasonā diet is typically a clean and healthy one. But theyāre also trying to bulk up. One would have to make sure theyāre not eating too much protein, because then the body canāt handle it.
And unless youāre going to be a bodybuilder, then their āin-seasonā workouts should not be emulated. For one thing, bodybuilders often do sodium loading, water cuts, carb loading, etc. Iāll just Iām not a big fan of that for sure.
Agree - I guess I havenāt dived that deep into the finer points (carb loading etc.).
What I am generally seeing is clean eating and a focus on adequate protein/calories (mainly from natural sources but also smoothies and some powders & supplements).
Just the emphasis on sufficient protein and eating enough to fuel your workouts has been such a switch for me (after an entire adulthood of low fat, lower calorie, mainly vegetarian).
So Iāve counted these broad shifts as wins!
Once I learn more sophisticated details, Iāll be sure to assess carefully! Thanks! 
I certainly wouldnāt recommending basing diet on imitating Instagram bodybuilders. Assuming you are not at a highly trained, low body fat level, building/cutting cycles probably are not needed. Even if you are, it is often possible to make substantial improvements without building/cutting cycles. For example, many years ago when I was more focused on training and nutrition, I gained 30lb of lean body mass while continually maintaining <5% body fat as reported by calipers (actual total was likely higher). I gained mass very slowly over a period measured in years, with a slight caloric surplus, rather than cycling between building and cutting.
The general bulk/cut approach relates to building muscle working most efficiently with caloric surplus, while losing fat working most efficiently with caloric deficit. Itās difficult for trained persons to do both at the same time, so instead some choose to have cycles where they focus on one of the two. However, untrained persons are a different story and regularly do both gain substantial muscle and lose substantial fat simultaneously, soon after starting training.
If you are largely untrained or just doing basic nutrition + training for aesthetic and health benefits, nothing especially complex is likely required. Consume adequate protein each day ā not a huge amount and not necessarily using protein supplements ā adequate. Also consume other adequate nutrition, including things like adequate carbs and water, particularly near workouts; adequate EFAs; etc. Choose an appropriate caloric balance for your goals, which will vary depending on your specific goals. For example, do you want to gain lean body, lose fat, generally look better, generally be more fit/healty, functional goals for specific task (for example, being able to do long hike to bottom of Grand Canyon and back up before trip on ā¦), better performance in a sport or athletic activity, ā¦? Both the optimal caloric balance and optimal training will vary depending on these goals, and probably wonāt be the the same as the linked persons on Instagram.
Iām glad we took the body building tangent - interesting discussion, even though itās not something that has been on my radar. I do agree that anything that gets you to think about improving your health and fitness (not just slenderness) is helpful. And then a sanity check about the new things you learn.
BREAKFASTS: When I was concerned about borderline A1C (pre-diabetes), one of the recommendations was to increase fiber. So approx every other day for breakfast I have Fiber1 cereal (2/3c has 18g fiber; zero sugar in cereal but some in the 2/3c milk and 1/2 banana). Based on this discussion, I realized it does give a reasonable start on protein with 9g. Of course I could add some nuts and seeds too 
Yep - doing that ^^. Not following cutting/bulking phases - just got into the heavier weights six months ago. Insta fitness folks are mainly for inspiration, some form advice, and getting me off my life-long focus on 'slender as #1 health goal." lol Thanks for the input!
@Colorado_mom - that cereal really checks all the boxes (fiber, protein, etc.) - thatās great!
