Avoiding the sugar when not actually doing the work is a good idea.
I battled this during college when I worked at a lumber yard, and my father battled the same from his 20's to his 50's when working as a forester and putting in lots of miles on a daily basis. We both have always tried to lift weights and maintain or build muscle too. During the active part of the day, additional calories from bulk bag granola and nuts works pretty well and provides a handy energy source that's calorie-dense. For morning and night additions to "round out" the calorie replenishment, shakes have always been easiest and effective. Milk and nut butter, with various flavorings like cocoa powder, stevia, even instant coffee, tend to work well in conjunction with protein powder for more of a satiating fat/protein meal, as opposed to the carbs from the work period.
This has become my mainstay protein powder in recent years, due to the very limited amount of ingredients and bulk size. No flavorings, hence the usual addition of stevia, cocoa, or coffee, etc......
Unflavored 10lb Whey Isolate If you select "Natural Unflavored" you can see the nutrition facts and ingredients. Even though I work an office job these days, I still have at least two "clean" protein shakes a day, in addition to 3 real meals.
