After having gastric distress (gas, bloating, and diarrhea) for months I eventually realized it would peak on and after weight-lifting days. Wondering if it might be the whey protein, I added lactase pills. No help. Then I decided to just cut out whey. But what to replace it with? I reviewed the amino-acid profiles and decided that egg and
rice proteins would make a good combination. I was also going egg protein powder with whey. But I anticipated that I'd experience more DOMS (delayed-onset muscular soreness) since based on all I've read, whey is simply the best protein.
No gastric problems since stopping whey! And to my surprise, after several awesome lifting days over the last week where I even broke a few personal records, I have no DOMS while using only the egg and rice proteins. Moreover, I usually have a lot of DOMS after lifts comparable to this week's level of intensity. I've never done steroids, so that's not a factor here. I've also had that great feeling of muscular fullness you get the day after an awesome workout concurrent with looking bigger, so it's not like nothing is happening.
So based on my experience, and contrary to my expectations, indicators of muscular development are
better for me with egg and rice proteins. Now, this might not be a fair test of whey since I was having so much diarrhea on whey that process may have carried the protein out of me with a lot of water my muscles needed for development. So what I'm reporting may have more to say about alleviating anti-anabolic effects of a dairy allergy than about whey per se. However, even if that's the case, I can certainly say egg and rice protein work very well with intense weightlifting!
