Muscle Milk Light

Posted By elissa on May 31, 2009 | 6 comments

Muscle Milk Light is Cytosport’s answer to those who like the taste of Muscle Milk, but don’t want the extra calories.  Like the original formula, Muscle Milk Light is based on EvoPro, Cytosport’s proprietary casein-whey protein blend.  While Muscle Milk Light doesn’t come in quite as many flavors as regular Muscle Milk, it’s still a pretty impressive array: Banana Creme, Chocolate Caramel Swirl, Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Mint, Cookies N Creme, Creme Brulee, Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Strawberry Banana, Strawberry Milkshake and Vanilla Creme.

Manufacturer’s Description: “A great way to get all the great taste and performance of Muscle Milk® with half the fat and significantly less calories! Muscle Milk Light delivers the same nutrition-rich, flavor-packed indulgence of Muscle Milk, but with 50% less fat and 35% fewer calories.* So why make a light version? Because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all body. The athlete training for football season needs more sustained energy than the athlete training for beach season.”

*comparison based on per serving of original Muscle Milk powder to Muscle Milk Light powder.

Product Label:

Comments: I purchased two 1.65 lb. containers of Muscle Milk Light powder from  Bodybuilding.com: Chocolate Peanut Butter (above) and Cookies N Creme.  Each container cost $24.89, which works out to $1.67 per serving… a relatively decent price for a meal replacement-type product.  Bodybuilding.com has a running “buy 2 get one free” offer, which would have made it even cheaper… however, according to the customer service rep I spoke to, all three have to be the same flavor.  So I ended up with only two, since I wanted to sample a couple different ones (bummer!).

(It’s a shame Cytosport doesn’t take a page out of Optimum Nutrition’s book, and make a variety pack featuring all the different flavors of Muscle Milk/Muscle Milk Light.  They’d really be doing their customers a favor.)

At any rate, I can’t say I was unhappy with the choices I made: the Chocolate Peanut Butter was more dark than milk chocolatey (which I liked); and the Cookies N Creme was appropriately Oreo-like.  I enjoyed both, although taste-wise, I think Muscle Milk Light ranks a bit below regular Muscle Milk.  The difference is that it contains more gums/thickeners to replace the mouthfeel of the missing fat.  Mixed in water, this gives it a somewhat thicker texture than the original, although this was less pronounced in milk, or blended with ice cubes to make a faux “milkshake”.

Judged on its own merits, however, Muscle Milk Light is pretty tasty as well as nutritious: it contains a solid amount (25g) of high quality protein per serving, as well as decent amounts of the standard vitamins and minerals.  The high potassium content (420 – 620mg) was a pleasant surprise: Americans don’t consume enough of this important mineral.  I would have preferred a higher fiber content, though: original Muscle Milk contains 5g/serving, while the Light version contains only 1g.

This isn’t a fatal flaw, however. Overall, Muscle Milk Light is a solid product that works well as either a general purpose protein supplement or a reduced calorie meal replacement.  It’s tasty, filling and comes in a tempting range of flavors, so it’s worth checking out:  it shouldn’t be hard to find one (or more) you’ll love.

[usrlist “Taste:4.5” “Quality:4.5” “Efficacy:5.0” “Value:3.5″ avg=”true”]