It's been said many times by members of this board: Food is the most anabolic substance on earth.

Many of us, and I'm guilty of this as well, have used PHs in the past as a crutch. We yo-yo up and down with our weight as we go on and off cycle. Perhaps during that time we could have been investing that money and time into our food intake and getting the same results, albeit perhaps slower, but in a more sustainable fashion.

On the topic of weight gainers, I've always been leery. A lot of them are slammed so full of sugar and are calories just for the sake of calories. But the major problem I have is that all calories are not created equally.

There's only one gainer I've ever turned to, and when I've used it, it has produced both measurable and sustainable results.

I'm talking about Ultimate Nutrition's ISO-Mass gainer.

No, I'm not a rep. No I'm not a paid spokesperson. I can barely afford the stuff because it's quite expensive. But the cost to benefit ratio on this stuff is incredible.

In a 10-pound container, you get 30 servings (3 scoops each). That's a much better deal than most of the gainers out there that are lucky to give you 11 days worth per container. It isn't sickeningly thick, and the chocolate milk flavor tastes like a melted Hershey's bar.

Made with two cups of milk, it's over 900 calories. I use whole milk, so I'm pushing close to 1,000 calories per shake.

I just bought two containers for $110 (I got a discount) and I'm drinking two shakes a day. That might sound pricey for one product, but when you consider what's in it and how many supplements in one that you get, it really is a helluva deal.

Let's look at the label:

Your proteins are covered

Iso Mass 72g †
Whey Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Isolate, Egg Protein Isolate, Micellar Alpha And Beta Caseins And Caseinates, Lactoferrin

Time-delivered carbo mass

Carbo Mass 60g †
5 DE Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Oat Fiber

7 types of creatine (7g total)

Creatine Monohydrate, Tricreatine Malate, Kre-Alkalyn®, Creatine Orotate, Creatine Alpha Ketoglutarate, Creatine Ethyl Ester, Creatine Pyruvate

6.5 grams of fatty acids (omega 3s, medium chain triglycerides and even CLA)

Enzyme Modified Sunflower Oil Powder, Medium Chain Triglyceride Powder, Borage Oil Powder (Seed), Flax Seed Oil Powder, Conjugated Linoleic Acid Powder (CLA), Canola Oil And Omega 3

3.22 grams of various vitamins:

Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol, D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Folate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cyanocobalamin, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Iodide, Potassium Chloride, Ferrous Fumarate, Magnesium Oxide, Copper Gluconate, Zinc Oxide, Chromium Nicotinate

Four kinds of glutamine (2.2 g total)

Glutapure® Glutamine, Glutamine Alpha Ketoglutarate, Glutamine Ethyl Ester, N-Acetyl L-Glutamine

N.O. Precursors

Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate, Arginine Ethyl Ester Di-HCL, Citrulline Ethyl Ester Malate, L-Norvaline

BCAAs

L-Valine, L-Valine Ethyl Ester, L-Leucine, L-Leucine Ethyl Ester, L-Isoleucine, L-Isoleucine Ethyl Ester
CP (Creatine Precursor) Mass 500mg †

Betaine, Glycocyamine

Digestive enzymes

Protease, Lactase

I'm drinking one shake for breakfast and my other post workout. I'm eating lunch and dinner as I normally do and some kind of long-acting protein before bed. I started a week and a half ago and I'm up 4.5 pounds and training four days a week.

For me, this is so much easier than preparing a shit ton of food and trying to eat every couple hours. It's a way for me to cram in about 2,000 extra calories in the right ratio and balance and make anabolic gains without a PH.

In fact, I wish I had back some of the money I've spent on PHs and have invested it in some of this stuff.

Oddly enough, the best deal going on this stuff, anywhere on the net, is GNC. That's the only product I've ever seen that is worth buying from them. It was BOGO 50% off last time I checked.

If you're looking for some quality extra calories to bulk up or you want to enhance PCT to hold onto gains, this stuff is well worth the money.

WARNING: Stay away from the vanilla and strawberry. The chocolate is safe. I've heard cookies n' creme is OK as well.