Weight loss, increasing fitness and supplementation

[Artista]

I am 6ft and weigh 180 lbs. This includes though some recent weight gained through lack of exercise and my appetite going crazy due to stress. In other words am starting to get the out of shape gut and associated fatty deposits. (Nothing to major yet)

Cleaning up the diet, no deserts, white rice, flour,etc and going to try and stick with lean fish and chicken and veggies. (plus protein bars, high fiber oatmeal in am, bannana, greek yogert, etc)

I am thinking of doing the higher protein thing and have small "meals/snacks" in the area of 6 times a day. (to boost metabolism)

My testosterone is low and plan to start the testosterone soon. (Never got around to it.)

How best can I boost my metabolism to increase the effectiveness of diet and working out?

Looking at these suppliments:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forskolin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Keto-DHEA

Going to add the following to boost health:

Multivitamin
Vit d3
Alpha lipoic acid
co-q-10
Astragalus
fish oil caps

Thinking of adding:

Alpha Ketoglutaric Acid
N-Acetylcysteine
Carnosine

I need something to help with mild pain and soreness in joints and in general anti-inflamatory.

Tried glucosamine/chondroitin tabs but they didnt help.

Planning on a combo of cardo and lifting weights as tolerated. Push myself but not to the point of injury. Do weights three times a week, cardo four times a week.

I want to get cut and in shape, then gain some muscle weight.

What can I use to decrease the mild pain and soreness in joints and general soreness, PLUS decrease recovery time? (natural method, not ibuprofen, etc) (SAM-E?, DMSO?)

Should I give up caffeine? (Already gave up alcohol)

Is the soreness I feel normal for a out of shape middle aged dude?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Really, the only things that optimize health and recovery in the general, fitness-minded population (i.e. not pathological population) are essentially fish oil, whey protein, glucosamine (you won't notice anything, but it does delay potential degeneration), and creatine monohydrate (if you're trying to increase your lifts). Vitamin D is a good thing to take for the general population, as most people don't get enough sun exposure. It helps reduce risk of cancers, metabolic dysfunction, and a lot more.

The other supps you mentioned (that you are currently and thinking of taking) don't have a great basis in research. For example, alpha-KGA only has research basis in pathologic populations and ammonia toxicity (the main reason people supplement it) is not a risk for normal individuals (even if you take in an excess of protein). All the individual protein/amino acid specific supps are overrated. If you get enough overall protein in your diet from whole protein sources, then you're gonna do great.

The best things you can do to minimize fatigue and soreness are going to be 1) eat well, 2) eat enough, 3) sleep well, 4) sleep enough, 5) don't push beyond your means, 6) stay mobile. The first four are relatively self explanatory - don't eat a bunch of sugar, soda, fried junk, packaged stuff, vegetable oil, etc. On top of that, make sure you go to bed and get up at reasonable hours. Most people require 7-9h of sleep (it decreases as you get older) and that has a huge effect on how the body recovers. The fifth is important to prevent acute injury. You've got to learn where that boundary between just right and too hard are on the intensity scale. Lastly, the sixth one is insanely important. I think that might be where your excess aches and pains come from. Granted, if you're challenging your body, it'll be sore, but things like your joints should not ache. A lot of the time, that's a hint that some tissue is causing a mobility restriction which loads either the joint, muscle, ligaments, bone, etc too much. The way to address this is to stretch regularly and foam roll.

 

[Artista]

Thanks for replying. I understand it is not medical advice. A lot of what I try to do with supplementation is anti-aging and the delay of any disease whether or not I (or anyone) have/has a genetic disposition to get it.

I am a believer in complementary medicine, a blend of holistic, western and eastern medicine.

It is amazing the study of the process of aging and the practice of trying to slow that process down. I wish more people on this forum was into this.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thanks for replying. I understand it is not medical advice. A lot of what I try to do with supplementation is anti-aging and the delay of any disease whether or not I (or anyone) have/has a genetic disposition to get it.

I am a believer in complementary medicine, a blend of holistic, western and eastern medicine.

It is amazing the study of the process of aging and the practice of trying to slow that process down. I wish more people on this forum was into this.

Well, exercise in general is clearly going to improve lifespan, as is avoiding things that cause pathology.

There is some research that shows overall caloric restriction prolongs the lifespan significantly by reducing overall oxidative stress. You may also want to look into intermittent fasting, as many suppose that has significant health benefits as well. I think these are better supported options that supplements. The reason I suggest to stay away from supplements that aren't high quality and don't have a good research backing is because they're not regulated. I've read too many articles showing independent lab processing of supplements that show they contain unacceptably high levels of things like heavy metals and degraded compounds (which are sometimes toxic).

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Thanks for replying. I understand it is not medical advice. A lot of what I try to do with supplementation is anti-aging and the delay of any disease whether or not I (or anyone) have/has a genetic disposition to get it.

I am a believer in complementary medicine, a blend of holistic, western and eastern medicine.

It is amazing the study of the process of aging and the practice of trying to slow that process down. I wish more people on this forum was into this.

You mean wishful thinking? We've got a lot of that here. Just not the type you want, sorry.

 

[Artista]

You mean wishful thinking? We've got a lot of that here. Just not the type you want, sorry.

There certainly is a lot of that but in the area of aging we can slow it down and hold off pathology/disease to a degree.

Fastig or calorie restriction is one way of extending life. it has been shown to activate a certain gene. Resveratrol or a compound in it may also activate the same gene. There are numerous study's that indicate we do have a certain amount of control over our physical destiny. Exercise, eating healthy, detoxing, the correct non-toxic supplements, etc are choices that can help.

We have all or most people have seen someone that has lived a "hard life" including smoking, drug use/abuse, major stressors and/or trauma, bad eating, over weight, etc. The person who you think is 60 years old yet are 40 years old.

We can accelerate aging/pathology/disease in our body's or we can do things to slow it down.

A interesting magazine is Life Extension Magazine.

 

[darkxshade]

3g of combined epa/dha from fish oil
1000 iu Vit D
GNC Megamen multivitamin(2 pills)

That's pretty much my daily supplementation... I used to take glucosamine which came with my multi (Orange Triad) but decided to drop it to save money. Switched to the GNC since it's the cheapest with a lot of positive reviews.