Supplements vs Foods!

[bass]

I've been doing cardio and lifting everyday, i also been on a good diet, but eating every 2-3 hours is getting to me even though it is in small portions, its amazing but now i don't look forward to eating...

my questions is, while i am doing cardio and lifting, can i just live on supplements, and eat when i am in the mood? here is what i am doing now.

BTW, i am 49, 5'9" and weigh 224

1. about 8:00 am I take my energy shake then do 1 hour cardio in the on an empty stomach (according to the machine i burn 600 cal)

2. wait 30 minutes or so then eat my cereal with soy milk and one tablespoon flax seeds, and start my CLAA dose for the day (4 gelcaps a day)

3. two hours or so later i eat one can of white tuna and little salad or greens

4. two hours or so later i snack on some nuts (cashews and almonds), approximately 10 peices each.

5. two hours or so later i eat some more greens

6. two hours or so later i start lifting, then right after that i do 15 minute cardio then take protein shake.

7. before i go to bed i take one more protein shake and one tablespoon crushed flax seeds

at this point i feel like i am going to explode! this is why i am asking if i can just live on supplements until i loose all the fat. Please i am looking for experienced member for advise.

Thanks in advance.

[Dog-Slime]

I eat more food than that in just one of my 6-7 meals... No you can't live on supps but im not sure if you can live on that diet either.... How the hell is that too much food for you?

[bass]

before i started my diet and lifting i ate almost nothing all day until i came home from work, then i ate like a pig, then every hour or so I munched on unhealthy but good tasting stuff until it was time to go to bed, this is why i weighed 230. not sure if my supplements are effecting the way i feel about eating, but i don't look forward to eating. i can if i want to but i have to force myself.

[LexusIS09]

I avoid protein shake supplements all together. I find my body responds much better to natural proteins. PWO I just have chicken breast and brown rice, with a sweet potato waiting in my car. Anyways, protein shakes give you savage gas. There's no point, you only absorb about a 1/5th of the # of G of protein you actually drink...

[Reed]

I'm assuming your goal is to cut body fat?

Your diet is not good whatsoever for your goals

You only have one source of protein from food the whole day

No protein in your first meal just carbs and fat, thats pretty much the whole day, fats and carbs. They are not bad for you is just you need to building blocks for your body in order to gain muscle. All your meals should be complete with a protein source, carb, and fats. Everything should be included each meal.

If you can get a accurate measurement of your body fat then head down to the diet section you and others can design a diet based around you and your goals.

And no to answer your question you should not live on supplements. Just look at the word "supplement" what does that mean, it means an addition to your diet.

[dedic8ed1]

I've been doing cardio and lifting everyday, i also been on a good diet, but eating every 2-3 hours is getting to me even though it is in small portions, its amazing but now i don't look forward to eating...

my questions is, while i am doing cardio and lifting, can i just live on supplements, and eat when i am in the mood? here is what i am doing now.

BTW, i am 49, 5'9" and weigh 224

1. about 8:00 am I take my energy shake then do 1 hour cardio in the on an empty stomach (according to the machine i burn 600 cal)

2. wait 30 minutes or so then eat my cereal with soy milk and one tablespoon flax seeds, and start my CLAA dose for the day (4 gelcaps a day)

3. two hours or so later i eat one can of white tuna and little salad or greens

4. two hours or so later i snack on some nuts (cashews and almonds), approximately 10 peices each.

5. two hours or so later i eat some more greens

6. two hours or so later i start lifting, then right after that i do 15 minute cardio then take protein shake.

7. before i go to bed i take one more protein shake and one tablespoon crushed flax seeds

at this point i feel like i am going to explode! this is why i am asking if i can just live on supplements until i loose all the fat. Please i am looking for experienced member for advise.

Thanks in advance.

I'm not even gonna break your balls even in the slightest.There's no supplement for WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION.Drop the supps and spend every dime you can on WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION.Your 49 yo so 1g protein per lb body weight will be fine and .5g carbs will be suffecient and .25g fat per lb is all
you need to base your diet on.All the aminos and nutrients you need are more then plentiful in WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION.I take no supps drugs or protein shakes it's all a waste of money I don't care what athletes endorse them or any one on the boards say.And my condition speaks for itself not to be so self serving but I'm tired of all this supplement craze it's all BS.

[Reed]

Love that post dedic8ed I agree 100 w/ you

This offseason I never had any supplements pretty much the whole time except fish oil which is diet related so it really doesn't count.

I grew from 210-243 at my heaviest this offseason w/ of course the help of anabolics BUT I focused on food the whole time. Never even bought whey protein. I'd just have egg whites PWO for my protein source.


Diet is so extremely important it can not be pushed enough. If you get it right you'll learn that food is a drug and can do incredible things in a short amount of time.

Foods >>>>>>>>>supplements no comparison

[dedic8ed1]

Love that post dedic8ed I agree 100 w/ you

This offseason I never had any supplements pretty much the whole time except fish oil which is diet related so it really doesn't count.

I grew from 210-243 at my heaviest this offseason w/ of course the help of anabolics BUT I focused on food the whole time. Never even bought whey protein. I'd just have egg whites PWO for my protein source.


Diet is so extremely important it can not be pushed enough. If you get it right you'll learn that food is a drug and can do incredible things in a short amount of time.

Foods >>>>>>>>>supplements no comparison

Dig it!!!A drug shit bro I spend more on protein every week then i ever did on bullshit habits from the past...Well almost

[bass]

wow, this is an awakening! its really very confusing. in one place you read that you need supplements to add muscle but here it seems that everyone is saying to stay away from them.

I started lifting early this year but no dieting or cutting, 3 weeks ago I started my diet and cutting, one thing i know for sure, I lost 6 pounds in the last 3 weeks and gain muscles. but if i can get the necessary protein from foods then heck that’s what i want to do, saves me money too! I am thinking of doing cycles later after o loose the fat.

my goal is to loose fat but also bulk up a little. I think I have good genes, my body responds well to whatever I do (can’t avoid pain though)

thanks for the advice guys but I’ll have to hear from more…

[Reed]

wow, this is an awakening! its really very confusing. in one place you read that you need supplements to add muscle but here it seems that everyone is saying to stay away from them.

I started lifting early this week but no dieting or cutting, 3 weeks ago I started my diet and cutting, one thing i know for sure, I lost 6 pounds in the last 3 weeks and gain muscles. but if i can get the necessary protein from foods then heck that’s what i want to do, saves me money too! I am thinking of doing cycles later after o loose the fat.

my goal is to loose fat but also bulk up a little. I think I have good genes, my body responds well to whatever I do (can’t avoid pain though)

thanks for the advice guys but I’ll have to hear from more…

Where are you reading that you need supplements to add muscle? Is it one of those forums where you have a bunch of 21-30 yr old guys that have been at this for years and years and are still a buck eighty and a bunch of supp reps pushing their product

People that gain on cycle or on some type of supplements can gain up to 10+ lbs but most of that is water weight and once off they lose it. There is a difference b/w water weight and lean body mass. Its nice when you're growing cause you'll have big bloated arms that appear big but once down to under 10% body fat you see where they really lay. Seen ALOT of bodybuilders get up into the 240 area and have to come down all the way to 170-180 in order not to get laughed off stage

The fact on the matter is that their diet was not on track to gain LEAN BODY MASS.

Supplements are there to help along if you can put the right formula together with them.

The diet needs serious work if you really are serious and dedicated to meet your goals. What else are you looking for, someone to tell you that go ahead and just replace food w/ supps to make it "easier" and feel better about doing it like such.

If you really want to make changes fix the diet. It is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself, I could not even explain how powerful a diet is. Otherwise good luck and get ready for years of short changing yourself, struggling, and never achieving those goals.

Reed

[bass]

not sure how you got the idea that I want to shortchange my self, or not serious about my goals! I am very serious and this is why I am simply asking the question, and I will appreciate an honest answer but a lecture, no thanks I don't need it. I never try something without asking many questions first, I simply wanted to know why I feel full/bloated at the end of the day just from eating what I have listed in my first post, and if the supplements can be enough to help with my goal (obviously now I know its not), don't get me wrong I love big juicy stake, hamburgers, etc...it isn’t that I don’t like to eat, I just can’t eat more than what I have listed…

to answer your question “Where are you reading that you need supplements to add muscle?”, I read it here and everywhere else on the net…

[eatrainrest]

this question gets recycled over and over.. supplements are just that.. they SUPPLEMENT an already great diet..

[bass]

sorry i made a mistake in my previous post saying i started lifting early this week, i meant early this year...

[Reed]

It was not meant to be a lecture. If it seems that way well sorry most people learn from lectures anyways.

Please link me to the area here where you are reading that supplements are needed to grow muscle.

I can tell you in my own experience that diet is a huge key, I hopped on a new diet last monday and in one week my body has made a transformation. People were thinking as though it looked like I had done 4-6 weeks of progress in 1 week and I didn't change up anything but my diet.

Just continue to learn and realize there is not enough to learn in this. If you want you can post your diet in the diet forum, post your goals along with current stats, age, height, weight, body fat, current training routine, and other activities you do so those burned kcals can get calculated in right.

People are all about helping you in there.

[bass]

It was not meant to be a lecture. If it seems that way well sorry most people learn from lectures anyways.

Please link me to the area here where you are reading that supplements are needed to grow muscle.

I can tell you in my own experience that diet is a huge key, I hopped on a new diet last monday and in one week my body has made a transformation. People were thinking as though it looked like I had done 4-6 weeks of progress in 1 week and I didn't change up anything but my diet.

Just continue to learn and realize there is not enough to learn in this. If you want you can post your diet in the diet forum, post your goals along with current stats, age, height, weight, body fat, current training routine, and other activities you do so those burned kcals can get calculated in right.

People are all about helping you in there.

This is why i am here, my questions may seem stupid because i admit i am an armature and want to do things the right way. And thanks for the clarification.

As for the places where I read that you need protein to help your muscles grow, I can't find them all, but I am sure I read many. but here are few samples,

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles

and there are many more of the same…

[BigMatt]

I'm not even gonna break your balls even in the slightest.There's no supplement for WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION.Drop the supps and spend every dime you can on WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION.Your 49 yo so 1g protein per lb body weight will be fine and .5g carbs will be suffecient and .25g fat per lb is all
you need to base your diet on.All the aminos and nutrients you need are more then plentiful in WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION.I take no supps drugs or protein shakes it's all a waste of money I don't care what athletes endorse them or any one on the boards say.And my condition speaks for itself not to be so self serving but I'm tired of all this supplement craze it's all BS.

What the **** your shredded man. Shit Good job

[Andro9]

this question gets recycled over and over.. supplements are just that.. they SUPPLEMENT an already great diet..

that was all that needed to be said

[Reed]

This is why i am here, my questions may seem stupid because i admit i am an armature and want to do things the right way. And thanks for the clarification.

As for the places where I read that you need protein to help your muscles grow, I can't find them all, but I am sure I read many. but here are few samples,

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...n+grow+muscles

and there are many more of the same…

Are you thinking protein only comes from supplements? I know you are smarter than that. At least I hope so

I was asking about where is it we are seeing on here about needing supplements like BCAAs, creatine, glutamine, NO, whey protein shakes etc.

Honestly thats no matter now cause the fact is you do not need supplements for muscle. You need the right combination of cals/protein/carbs/fats for YOU.


The first two threads discuss the amount of protein one can digest and utilize without being wasted. The third is about some 19yr old kid trying to get big and the fourth is about whey shakes. Remember not all threads here or every where are 100% accurate so it can be difficult to judge the information from the source.

You'll still see steroid boards that have deca/dbol cycles as approved ones. That is a old school cycle like Arnold days and now a days everyone is agrees that TEST should be the base of all cycles and stacks.

I am here to help you. If you want to travel down to the diet section and we can help tweak it for you. I can tell you from my contest diet (its why I probably seem irritable, from depletion) that I started if you get it right it is almost like a drug like I stated previously.

[bass]

Thanks for the help, i did include healthy foods to my diet as suggested. so far i am doing better than i expected, lost good 8 pounds in the last three weeks or so, and didn't loose muscle, but hopefully with this new diet i can gain muscles and loose fat at the same time. thanks again.

[Swifto]

this question gets recycled over and over.. supplements are just that.. they SUPPLEMENT an already great diet..

Completely agree, but that doesnt mean they dont have their benifits.

[eatrainrest]

Completely agree, but that doesnt mean they dont have their benifits.

of course, i use supplements, whey/casein, EFA's, creatine, waxy maize. but some people are just relying to heavily on supplements and think its an OK substitute for food...