Muscle Gain / Fat Loss Supplement Reccomendations?

[Cyraxx]

Lately getting in shape has peaked my interest, especially around the winter break I have done lots of reading shortly after losing ~40 lbs over the fall semester. But one of my friends in particular has an absolute LOT of supplements and such in his room, a wide variety of all things. I too, am looking at filling my fridge and pantry with a wide variety of foods / drinks that are important to muscle gain / fat loss.

So im just wondering, what do you guys recommend for...

-Whey Protein?
-Casein Protein?
-Any other supplements pertaining to protein (drinks, shakes, bars)?
-Vitamins?
-Fish Oil?
-Snacks?
-Anything else?

 

[purbeast0]

well which are you going to try and do ... gain or lose weight?

either way its good to take whey, vitamins, and fish oil.

 

[Cyraxx]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
well which are you going to try and do ... gain or lose weight?

either way its good to take whey, vitamins, and fish oil.

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time. I'm not thrilled about bulking up and getting huge at the moment, I'm sure that comes later when I have a more open caloric intake when the majority of the fat is lost.

Currently im just taking ON Whey after workouts and whenever I need more protein for the day.

 

[KoolDrew]

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

Not true, really. Keep up the protein intake to maximize building muscle. Weight training will build muscle and burn fat. Doing cardio will also accelerate fat loss, but will dampen lean mass gains. Nothing will matter if you don't eat correctly, though.

So weight training + cardio = fat loss + lean gain.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Cyraxx

Originally posted by: purbeast0
well which are you going to try and do ... gain or lose weight?

either way its good to take whey, vitamins, and fish oil.

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time. I'm not thrilled about bulking up and getting huge at the moment, I'm sure that comes later when I have a more open caloric intake when the majority of the fat is lost.

Currently im just taking ON Whey after workouts and whenever I need more protein for the day.

so you still haven't answered my question ... do you want to gain weight or lose weight?

lose fat = lose weight = calorie deficit is needed.

gain muscle = gain weight = calorie surplus is needed.

trying to do both at the same time is a waste of time, and trying so for 2 months would give you far less results than trying to gain for 1 month then lose for 1 month.

EDIT:

and i've been there, done that. i tried to gain muscle/lose fat for like 2 years. my strength gains were so slow. then i learned that i was trying to do 2 things that were pretty much physically impossible.

 

[Cyraxx]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

Again, not trying to bulk up at the moment, lifting every other day im sure will make my muscles stronger while at the same time of losing fat.

Originally posted by: Safeway
Not true, really. Keep up the protein intake to maximize building muscle. Weight training will build muscle and burn fat. Doing cardio will also accelerate fat loss, but will dampen lean mass gains. Nothing will matter if you don't eat correctly, though.

So weight training + cardio = fat loss + lean gain.

Yup

 

[Cyraxx]

Originally posted by: Cyraxx

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

Again, not trying to bulk up at the moment, lifting every other day im sure will make my muscles stronger while at the same time of losing fat.

Originally posted by: Safeway
Not true, really. Keep up the protein intake to maximize building muscle. Weight training will build muscle and burn fat. Doing cardio will also accelerate fat loss, but will dampen lean mass gains. Nothing will matter if you don't eat correctly, though.

So weight training + cardio = fat loss + lean gain.

Yup

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Cyraxx

Originally posted by: purbeast0
well which are you going to try and do ... gain or lose weight?

either way its good to take whey, vitamins, and fish oil.

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time. I'm not thrilled about bulking up and getting huge at the moment, I'm sure that comes later when I have a more open caloric intake when the majority of the fat is lost.

Currently im just taking ON Whey after workouts and whenever I need more protein for the day.

so you still haven't answered my question ... do you want to gain weight or lose weight?

lose fat = lose weight = calorie deficit is needed.

gain muscle = gain weight = calorie surplus is needed.

trying to do both at the same time is a waste of time, and trying so for 2 months would give you far less results than trying to gain for 1 month then lose for 1 month.

Okay specific answer if necessary would be weight loss #1 priority.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Cyraxx

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

Again, not trying to bulk up at the moment, lifting every other day im sure will make my muscles stronger while at the same time of losing fat.

that is not true. actually if you are trying to lose fat you will probably lose some strength or simply stay where you are, unless you are just beginning to workout, which it doesn't sound like that is the case.

your muscles may appear bigger since you will see the definition more if you have less fat.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

Not true, really. Keep up the protein intake to maximize building muscle. Weight training will build muscle and burn fat. Doing cardio will also accelerate fat loss, but will dampen lean mass gains. Nothing will matter if you don't eat correctly, though.

So weight training + cardio = fat loss + lean gain.

Do you happen to think muscle just comes out of nowhere? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but it doesn't. It takes an excess in energy (calories) to create tissue that's not already there.

Now, let me ask you this... how do you lose weight? Yup, you guessed it, eating less than you expend.

Interesting how both muscle gain and fat loss have requirement that are completely opposite from each other (which makes sense since gaining vs losing just happens to be opposites as well), but you seem to think both can be done at the time... When you can eat over maintenance and less than maintenance at the same time, give me a call. 😉

 

[KoolDrew]

Again, not trying to bulk up at the moment, lifting every other day im sure will make my muscles stronger while at the same time of losing fat.

Unless you're a rather fat individual to begin with and are just getting into lifting, it's not going to happen. Gaining muscle and losing fat are complete opposites and have opposite requirements.

At the beginning any strength gains will be mostly neurological related anyway.

 

[Cyraxx]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Again, not trying to bulk up at the moment, lifting every other day im sure will make my muscles stronger while at the same time of losing fat.

Unless you're a rather fat individual to begin with and are just getting into lifting, it's not going to happen. Gaining muscle and losing fat are complete opposites and have opposite requirements.

At the beginning any strength gains will be mostly neurological related anyway.

Ding - I'm rather fat (260lbs), and have just recently started getting serious (beginning of December)

 

[KoolDrew]

How tall are you? Current routine? What does your current diet look like?

Supplements are great, but they are just that... supplements. If your training and diet aren't under control, supplements will do nothing for you.

 

[Cyraxx]

5' 9", current routine is
M / TH - Upper Body (everything I can)
T / F - Lower Body

I try to get in a lot of compound exercises, but dont feel comfortable with stuff like squats and deadlifts at the moment, so I try to bench press (inc close grip) and dumbell shoulder press often. Other than that I always do a few sets on Fly, Rear Delt, Chest Press, and others. After that I tend to do about 30+ minutes of whatever cardio I feel like (often times that can be basketball or racquetball with friends).

Diet is hard to maintain in a college dorm room I have to admit, but everyday I grab a handful of nuts in the morning to start my metabolism and inbetween my 8:00 and 12:30 classes I have my workout followed by protein. Later after classes I tend to get a sandwich (chick parmijian or ham/cheese) on wheat from the dinning hall with tea/water. Inbetween I grab a piece of fruit sometimes, depending if I have any. From there, dinner always seems to be a tossup.

 

[KoolDrew]

A upper/lower body split is perfectly fine. Just make sure to concentrate on squats, deads, bench, OH Press, Rows, and Chins/PullDowns. Then other stuff can be added after that. Doing cardio after the workout is perfect too, to burn off fatty acids mobilized during lifting. Just make sure to plan out a decent routine and stick to it. Don't just go into the gym with the idea "Oh, todays upper body day, let's just do a few sets of every upper body movement I can think of." Concentrate on getting stronger on the lifts I just mentioned and you will see results. If you're not comfortable with deadlifts and squats just yet, just start really light and concentrate on getting proper form. Never sacrifice form for more weight. If you don't mind going out and buyng a book, I'd highly suggest Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Nothing will help you more on form than that book. If you don't plan on buying the book at least check out the topic I posted here a while ago with the Squat Rx videos. They will help out your squat form a lot.

Also, have you been losing weight steadily recently or no?

 

[Cyraxx]

pretty steady. Over the fall break, I think I lost most of my weight in a more unhealthy manor, other than walking to class (which is DECENT exercise, but it definetly wasnt a workout, and definetly wasn't lifting to maintain muscle). Maybe I was starving myself, I'm still not sure, I kept telling myself to not eat if I wasn't hungry and to drink lots of water. When I saw the weight I was losing and noticed the results, that was when I started reading and decided to do it right.

So - at the start of the fall semester I was 300 lbs at the end I was roughly 267. I started the December break and realized protein was important and I needed to buy some, as well as buying a gym membership to 24 hour fitness for the month. Blindly, I started with Muscle Milk. I gotta admit, it was good haha. Continued to read - switched to ON 100% whey, and now about a week into the Spring semester I am roughly 258 after the break. I slacked off a little at the beggining of the semester and maintained weight for the first week, but am now in the full swing of things.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Cyraxx

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Lose fat - gain muscle at the same time.

Unless you're doing some sort of UD2.0 style diet, it's not gonna happen. Even with such a diet, you're better off concentrating on one or the other.

Again, not trying to bulk up at the moment, lifting every other day im sure will make my muscles stronger while at the same time of losing fat.

that is not true. actually if you are trying to lose fat you will probably lose some strength or simply stay where you are, unless you are just beginning to workout, which it doesn't sound like that is the case.

your muscles may appear bigger since you will see the definition more if you have less fat.

You won't become any bigger (i.e. no muscle mass gains) but you will definitely become stronger. I've been in a caloric deficit for 3 months now and I've been hitting PRs left and right. Most strength gains are in fact neurological adaptations. Adding muscle will help once you peak at your current muscle level (i.e. when your body has learned to recruit the maximum amount of muscle fibers available, then you have to increase the amount of muscle tissue in order to continue gaining strength).

 

[cbrunny]

necro