My protein - lean muscle guide to diet/supplements ADVISE

[Bateman]

Hi

I have been training for a while and now feel its time to take it seriously and was looking to buy some supplements.

I saw on the sitw that there is set supplementsdiets/exercies for your goals. I'm looking for lean muscle and was wondering do I really need to get all the stuff that is advised? Is there thinGs they've missed or things that you think are pointless.

I am 5,10 and weigh between 15 - 17 stone. I am big built and muscular but have a fat belly.
The plan is to lose fat and add more muscle and then definiton in 2 years.
All advise appreciated.

Tom

(i have listed below the advise from the store site)

SUPPLEMENTS

Breakfast

* Super Omega 3
* Alpha Men
* Mega Green Tea Extract
* HMB

Mid morning

* 1 serving of Total Milk and Whey

Mid-afternoon snack

* 1 Protein Flapjack
* A handful of a variety of Natural Nuts
* HMB

Pre workout

* 1 serving of Pulse

Post workout

* 1 serving of Recovery XS

Evening meal

* Super Omega 3
* Alpha Men
* HMB

Evening Snack

* 1 serving of Total Protein
* 50g Ultra Fine Oats

DIET
Breakfast

* 2-3 slices of whole grain toast with 3 scrambled egg whites using MP Max Just Whites
* A handful of dried fruit
* 1 glass of fruit juice

Mid-morning snack

* Portion of fruit

Lunch

* A chicken breast or turkey steak
* 100g sweet potato
* Mixed leaf salad with olive oil dressing

Mid-afternoon snack

* 1 chicken, tuna, turkey or ham sandwich with whole grain bread

Evening meal

* Lean minced meat or turkey mince
* 100g (uncooked weight) whole grain pasta
* Tomato based sauce

Evening snack

* 150-200g low fat yoghurt
* Portion of fruit

[Gareth83]

I'd just stick to whey, fish oils and creatine

[SpiderDan]

That plan sounds expensive. Why do you think you need all of that now?

[Asauka]

In all honesty the suggested diet and supplement plan on the site is overkill, most of the supplements can be met through easy diet. I would take Gareth's suggestion and even suggest myself that you could even just eat fish and not need the fish oil supplements.

[Bateman]

Hi gareth
When should I be taking the protein, creatine and fish oils and have u any reccommendations?

[Bateman]

SpiderDan they are sellign a bundle for £100 for the lot. I', just going by what they suggest on the website. I've never taken supplements before so dont really know what to take and when so was just gonna follow their guide. I want to get to my ideal body size and have set my target for two years but want to look ok next summer.

[Bateman]

Thanks Asauka.
Any suggestions when and which I should take.

[ATZ]

Quote

SpiderDan they are sellign a bundle for £100 for the lot. I', just going by what they suggest on the website. I've never taken supplements before so dont really know what to take and when so was just gonna follow their guide. I want to get to my ideal body size and have set my target for two years but want to look ok next summer.

Have you ever considered that this is a SUPPLEMENT website with a vested interest in ensuring you think you need to buy all those supplements in order to meet your goals?

Seriously, if you don't know WHY your taking what your taking then what is the point? Stick to the basics and do some reading.

So, We have:

Whey - A cheap and bioavailable protein source, should be used to augment the protein intake of your diet (you should be aiming for 1g of protein per lb of BW total per day). If you are going to use it, best times would be breakfast and around workout (either pre, during, or post - doesn't really matter). What you have to realise is that Whey protein is just another protein source, no magic, like eating a chicken breast, and you don't even necesarily need it if your diet is good. It is conveinient though.

Creatine - Probably THE most researched supplement out there. Proven to assist you in the weight room, will help you grind out more reps or shift more weight. Again, it's not magic though and is often confused for something than will magically grow muscle on you, it's not unfortunately. Me personally, I use the creapure MP sell, 5g pre and post workout, although the main thing is just to take the damn thing consistently to ensure muscle saturation. Don't listen to these idiots about loading phases, or needing to take it with simple carbs, and it doesn't need to be cycled either, that is completely up to you.

Fish Oils - Again, been studied to death and the benefits of Omega 3 in the diet are numerous. Just google OMega 3 + any disease. You want to aim for around 3g of combined EPA/DHA (the active constituents of Omega 3), which if using standard strength fish oil caps is around 10 caps per day. Again, it doesn't matter when you take it, just make sure you do. I'd recommend you start with 10 caps per day for 6weeks or so to right any imbalances, then drop to 5caps per day indefinately. You could always use the Omega 3 oil MP sell too.

Those are your basic supplements, and probably the most proven and cost effective. Everything else is fringe or situation specific. This is also assuming your training is in place too.

[SpiderDan]

what ATZ said x 50

Besides

How will you know whats useful and what works if you take a bunch of different things all at once?

Like training, start with the basics for an extended period of time then add things as necessary and assess their usefulness. Dont take things for the sake of it.

[James]

I sometimes wonder if I were rich and were to buy ALL the supplements possible against a complete wholefoods, supplement-less diet, which would be the best...

As above, wholefood is king thanks to the added minerals and nutrients that supplements do not have, as long as you are hitting your daily calorie and protein target, and training hard, you will progress given time. Creatine, multi tablet, whey and fish oil, nothing more nothing less when starting.