Pre workout (I workout too early to have a real food meal): Fat-free, no-sugar yoghurt + Whey + water
Post workout: Skim milk powder (easier to transport than milk) + whey +/- oats + water
Pre-workout you do not just want whey in isolation - you always want carbohydrates pre-workout, especially if you workout early in the morning. These carbs will act to spare muscle amino acids from being used as fuel for your workouts. The whey will also cause a large insulin spike on it's own... Which means you will get a draining of energy from the blood - which means your workouts will also be sub-par and you will feel crappy.
If you are having it less than 40 min before a workout you want something that is relatively rapidly absorbed - which is why liquids/shakes are better (which is why I have yoghurt). If you can though, you are better off with real food (eg: oats + egg whites) about 1-1.5 hrs prior to your exercise.
If your workouts are going to be long and intense you would also benefit from some fruits (the fructose will help to maintain your blood glucose during longer exercise bouts) and some fats as well (as, after 90 mins of intense exercise, most individuals will have used up their glycogen stores and the fats will help fuel the remainder of their workouts).
Post-workout you also want carbohydrates, so whey alone is not going to be offering the best recovery. There is arguements over which carbs are better - high GI, moderate GI or low GI... Personally, I am a low to moderate GI kinda person... Or at least a nutritionally dense carb person. So I don't agree with malto/dex mixes. Skim milk, thinly rolled oats, high glucose fruits (like banana's, grapes or grape juice), and foods PACKED with nutritional benefits (such as blueberries - for their anti-oxidant powers) are, in my opinion, all good choices for post-workout carbs.
If you are doing a lot of cardio, the fruits and proper electrolyte solutions also become more significant - as does the speed of glycogen replenishment (and, as such the total GI of the meal becomes more significant)...
If you are having it last thing at night I would not have whey full-stop. A good caesin protein powder is a much better option. Or, real food (cottage cheese). The whey is absorbed too rapidly and results in a significant insulin spike on it's own (the amino acids present in the whey trigger insulin) so you are wasting your whey. If you add skim milk the gastric emptying is not delayed to a significant extent, and the majority of the whey will remain in the liquid phase of your stomach contents (meaning it is not trapped in the stomach like the caesin in the milk) and as such it will still be digested pretty rapidly. Adding a liquid fat will also not have much of an effect - as the fat will seperate out in the stomach and you will still not get a huge delay in whey uptake.
So if you HAVE to have whey last thing at night then you would be better off mixing it with whole milk. The fat IN the milk (which is different to fat added to milk) will then have a much more significant effect on gastric emptying and you will get a slower release of the milk and, to a degree, the whey.
Personally though, I would not have milk or whey last thing at night.
I also think milk/dairy (skim of course) can be included in a weight loss plan (dairy is actually POSITIVELY linked with reduced weight, reduced FAT MASS, retension of LEAN BODY MASS and overall better BODY COMPOSITION!!). The only time I would feel it would be ESSENTIAL to take out is in the last few weeks of a competition cut - as it can make some people look 'puffy'.
If you are bulking/adding lean mass - dairy is EXCELLENT!! Just think of what milk is actually designed for! GROWTH... I would always use it (unless lactose intolerant).
