Using protein to help loose weight

[Toka]

Hello hello MP Peeps, apologies if this isnt precisely the right forum but it seems the best place for a 'I want to take X so that I can do Y to achieve Z' question.

After a year of depression (I won...) I decided to celebrate by trying to undo the poor state that I had let my body get into. From January to now Ive lost 20 kgs (20.2 actually...), dropped my resting heart rate down to ~45 bpm and made a good start on achieving what I want to in terms of body fat and cv fitness / endurance. (Im 5'11 and 74.something KGs)

Ive given myself a year to get back to some sort of shape so I have 6 more months and I think supplements can help me train a bit smarter / loose weight etc.

Whilst medical discussion is a no-no on this forum (Im new, I just read the rules...) I should give a list of my injuries. Flat feet, achillies tendinitis, shin splints dislocated shoulder, poorly rotor cuffs (all current injuries). Also had my appendix rupture earlier this year. So Ive had plenty of time away from the gym

Because of all of that crap Im pretty limited to gym based cv and cycling. Kind of fine by me, Im not looking to develop significantly bigger upper body muscles but Im sure we would all like a bit more definition.

So Im in the gym 5 or 6 days a week, dong 60 - 90 mins of exercise each time, looking to keep my heart rate 160 - 175 (I enjoy pushing hard like other people enjoy big weights, 'pootling' to burn fat bores me).

In terms of diet I eat more or less what I like, I certainly drink quite a bit (not on my own in the dark..) but I have changed when I eat. I will have a bit of toast for breakfast, protein + blended frozen fruit + skimmed milk for 11am lunch, my main meal of the day at 2pm, hit the gym at ~7pm and try to avoid eating afterwards. Its a lot harder to stick to this on rest days

I was thinking, would it be worth (in terms of recovery) to have an evening shake with some milk protein + frozen fruit + stuff after the gym and before bed, or just do that when Im feeling really hungry?

Which type of protein would you use during the day. Id guess the whey protein to help get all those lovely amino acids on board?

Should I be adding some form of Glutamine to my daytime shake to help the legs recover, or should I add it to an evening shake? Are there any other recovery type aminos that people would recommend?

I sometimes resort to caffine pre-workout, especially when the legs are a bit empty or Im tired. As these drinks are basically just caffine and taurine would it be an idea to add some to squash for the days when Im flagging, or should I just get better taste in music?

Any help or pointers, or indeed even random advice is most welcome. You can even make fun of my current injury list if you like, everyone else is

[Wotan]

A reasonable start to dealing with your injuries would be this thread mate.

http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/supplem...glutamine.html

Once your up to scratch again losing weight will be a doddle - well easier at any rate!

[Toka]

very informative thread thanks mucho for the link

luckily it also fits in with my current grazing habits, yay!

[beN123]

If that is what you eat as well as going to the gym that much then i would suggest upping your calories. Your body will hold onto anything you eat as fat due to lack of food which will make it very hard to lose the fat you want.

[Toka]

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If that is what you eat as well as going to the gym that much then i would suggest upping your calories. Your body will hold onto anything you eat as fat due to lack of food which will make it very hard to lose the fat you want.

Yep, to date Ive been happy with my rate of fat loss (kind of hard to quantify with the inevitable muscle gains) I dont bother to weigh myself much as I feel it is a red herring but my waist size is decreasing linearly and my monthly weights have mirrored this.

If I was underfed I would be expecting extended periods of fatigue and difficulty with concentrating on specific tasks (especially at work). As I have not experienced this I can only assume that my diet plus fat reserves are enough to stop my body going into some starvation mode.

(Im estimating 4 - 7k calories per week burnt through exercise)

However, would I be further along if I had / planned to eat a bit more. Now that, sir, is a very fine question.