[BlueSky]

I have found that the post-workout protein shake definitely works. It enabled me to increase muscle mass, which is something I have had great difficulty with in the past. But the workout needs to contain lots of resistance exercise, and the more intense it is, the better.

I have never tried additional protein shakes in the morning and evening, simply because I get enough protein from my food. So, yes, I would do the post-workout protein shake and leave it at that.

On the cholesterol issue, a problem with dehydrated whey protein is that it probably contains some oxidised cholesterol. This is inflammatory and may increase your cholesterol numbers, but it I haven't noticed any difference in mine. You could get around this by using Soy protein, as it doesn't contain any cholesterol - it is plant based. But the problem is that the phyto-estrogen in it makes building muscle more difficult. Body builders won't touch the stuff.

I wouldn't worry about the cholesterol, but you can test it out on yourself. Start your exercise program, do it for 3 months and test your cholesterol. Then start using the protein shake and continue exercising for another three months, before you test again. You will then be able to see whether a protein shake increases your numbers.