Questions / Advice regarding Protein Supps

With my recent weight loss and the start of school I will finally have access to a way above average gym. I want to make the most of it and while I can find plenty of sound, un-biased information about workout routines, it seems more difficult to get sound opinions on protein / crientine supplements...

My diet has nearly no protein in it as I am doing the meal replacement bars. they have approx 32g protein a bar and I eat 3 a day. on the days in between I eat salads with a small meat portion at best...

How much protein do I need to develop muscle but not gain weight? or if one inevitably leads to the other, so be it...

What supps do you guys recommend for protein? what supps do you recommend for recovery?


Thanks for your input in advance fellas...

[IMG]
protein by Robulous78, on Flickr[/IMG]

Found this on a website -opinions? should I be aiming for 300g of protein or 500g?

[icehog3]

If your goal is to put back on all the weight you lost, 500 grams of protein should do it in no time? I don't know where that calculator came from, but that is insane.

I am about 230 pounds, I lift 6 days a week, play hockey 4 nights a week, have an active job, and I don't take in anywhere near 500 grams of protein a day. My waist would go from 33 to 43 in a couple months. Maybe close to 300 to maintain, but like I said, I burn a lot of calories.

Your goals, both short term and long term need to be clear before anyone can advise you. Each person's metabolsim is also different, so there is no magic equation. It's best to use high quality protein supplements (I use Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey), a good amount of the stuff out there is complete junk.

My advice would be to get a gopod quality protein supplement if you are using it as a meal replacement, and to find out what works for you through experimentation with different caloric intakes and carb/fat/protein ratios. I find I have the most energy keeping my carbs around 20-30% tops, more carbs slow me down....and the vast majority are quality carbs (whole grains, brown rice, fruit), etc. I could just go on and on here, but there is no guarantee that what works for me will work for you...we have different metabolisms, different energy expenditures, different goals....I found what works best for me by long term experimentation and research. Good luck to you, just have some patience, as there is no perfect answer.

I appreciate the words of encouragement Tom.

My goal is to loose fat more or less, I don't so much care if it is replaced with muscle as I want to basically look thinner when its all said and done...

with the bars my caloric intake has been around 1400 cals daily with coffee rounded into the total.

my salads probably top out at 1600 calories but I don't really scrutinize myself over them as I figure, fvck I've already come so far...

I alternate between these 2 days pretty much week in and week out, its nothing more than sustenance to me at this point, which is a good thing I guess? This typically allows me to shed 9lbs -ish about every 2 weeks...

I want to loose inches around my stomach, get rid of the college beer belly... I know most of you will scream cardio here and I hear you, I will obviously be doing some time on the treadmills... But I figure with a full weight room at my disposal, I might as well make the most of it while I can...

More or less I am looking for supps that aid in recovery, so I am not so sore and spent after working out...

[mosesbotbol]

How about instead of a protein supplement you go with eating a small portion of legumes or add chia seeds to a fruit smoothie? You'll benefit from the fiber that the meal replacement don't have and it's natural.

A glass of low fat milk or small yogurt after a workout will benefit you. I'd try to stay away from the artificial replacements as much as possible right now. You don't need it.

Make sure you allocate 20 minutes or so for post work stretching, you'll continue to burn calories as stretching is quite energy robbing and you'll feel better after you leave the gym.

[icehog3]

Immediately after lifting weights you'll want to take in at least 20 grams of a high quality Whey protein (again, I recommend ON Gold Standard), supplemented by at least 5 grams on BCAAs. The window for getting a fast absorbing protein into your system is short. There are other recovery supplements you can add, but this is essential to start with.

BCAA's? care to educate a noob?

Got it... Branched Chain Amino Acids...

Thanks again for the info... Ill get on getting my hands on these ASAP.

Do brands make a huge difference? is it bad to bargain shop for supps or can you get the good stuff without paying an arm and a leg...?

[icehog3]

Brands make a huge difference in every type of supplement.

In some cases, it's just "what works best for you"....it's that way for some of us here, one pre-workout mix works great for one but not for another....trial and error might be necessary, unless you find a good one right off the hop.

With protein, BCAAs and other supps, the quality of ingredients varies immensely from brand to brand. A good whey protein will have whey isolates as the first ingredient, whereas most have whey concentrates....not nearly as "friendly" for absorbtion. Better than half (I'd say 90%) of protein supplements out there are junk. You can get some good recommendations from guys here, like I said, I use Optimum Nutrition for protein (Gold Standard), and Optimum Nutrition BCAAs as well as Scivation Xtend (which has some other ingredients for post workout recovery as well.)

Best prices I have found are at FitRX.com. Sign up for their newsletter, they have numerous sales and free shipping offers every month.

Thanks Tom...

Since I am a beginner, and a cheap a$$ to boot , Here's what caught my eye...

OPT NUTR BCAA

OPT NUTR PROTEIN

Now the Protein says it has 5g BCAAs, does that matter? is there such thing as "too much" with BCAAs? I can't think that it would but doesn't hurt to ask...

if you approve of both of these I think I'll be purchasing them shortly...

[icehog3]

Both good choices, Rob, the whey has isolates as the main ingredient, and no, the 5 grams of BCAAs is a bonus and will not hurt.

I prefer the ON powdered BCAAs, and you get a lot more servings (better overall value), but I am spending a good buck on supps so I try to pick whatever stretches my dollars best.

Gracias Admiral....

What flavors of their powder do you recommend?

Also, what is casein protein and where does it fall in place / how important is it?

[icehog3]

Casein is another protein derived from milk, of a lower quality than whey. Some good quality products use it as a third or fourth source, many lower quality ones use it as the primary protein source.

My favorite ON flavor is Rocky Road, mixed in water it tastes like a milkshake. I've had the Vanilla Shake, Double Chocolate, they're good, Cake Batter wasn't a fave, and I just ordered Chocolate Peanut Butter but haven't gotten it yet.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I've had the Vanilla Shake, Double Chocolate, they're good, Cake Batter wasn't a fave, and I just ordered Chocolate Peanut Butter but haven't gotten it yet.

Cake Batter sounds like an attempt to name the original MetRX formula.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Cake Batter sounds like an attempt to name the original MetRX formula.

Interesting and valid observation, Moses.

Order Placed, Gym membership purchased, guess all that is left is to actually do it...

[equetefue]

You go Rob!

Got a question regarding High Intensity Training (HIT) and treadmills...


For the last 2 days I have done 2 miles on the treadmill in what I believe to be a HIT regimen, I go at speed 4 for 90 seconds then speed 6.7 for 45 seconds and repeat till I hit my 2 miles...

This definitely elevates my heart rate, which is the theory between HIT as I understand it, my question is am I going fast enough / differing my rest and speed sets enough to get the benefits that HIT claims? or would my time be better spent running a steady pace?