Current Supplements, am I wasting money

[Biorock]

Hi, right now im on a few over the counter supplements and was wondering if there is anything im taking that i dont need to take, and anything im missing for what im doing.

Right now I train 6 days a week for MMA. Currently 2-0 as a super heavy weight, lost over 100 pounds in the last year, and in the process of losing about 60 more pounds to be around 240. This is a loose number, its more of a desired body fat percentage. For my training I lift 4 days a week in the mornings, run 5 days a week in the morning, and then train 6 days a week boxing, wrestling, jits, thai all at night. Sundays I do nothing.

Here is what im taking with how much im taking

L - Citruilline 1000mgs 3 times a day
L - Arginine 1000mg 3 times a day <--- Wondering if I take enough of this
Alpha Lioic Acid 600mg 2 times a day
Super Cissus 2 times a day (1600mg )
CO Q-10 120mg 3 times a day
CHromium Picolinate 800mcg 2 times a day
African Mango with green tea 1200mg 2 times a day ( 1st time i take 2 tablets, 2400mg
Coral Calcium 1500mg 2 times a day
Fish Oil 2 times a day
Niacin Flush free 1000mg Once a day
Folic Acid 800mg Once a day
Magnesium 250mg Twice a day
Zinc 50mg Once a day
Royal Jelly 500mg 3 times a day


Im taking alot of stuff, and wondering if im missing anything, or wasting my time with anything else. I feel good most of the time energy wise, and recovery wise. I eat around 250-300g of protein a day if thats needed info, and drink a ton of water, around 1 and half to 2 gallons a day. My goals are to cut body fat, add, maintain muscle, and train hard.

Thanks for any input

[jp_2011]

Shit, thats alot of exercise haha. Could be at risk of overtraining with all that though. As for the supplements, id say post your diet in the nutrition section first and see if there are any changes that could be made to tie in with your training and goals. A good diet is alot more effective than supplements.

[Ashop]

If your current routine seems to be working for you then I would continue to roll with it.
You are taking alot of supplements,,,I probably dont take even near half of that.

[Times Roman]

Hi, right now im on a few over the counter supplements and was wondering if there is anything im taking that i dont need to take, and anything im missing for what im doing.

Right now I train 6 days a week for MMA. Currently 2-0 as a super heavy weight, lost over 100 pounds in the last year, and in the process of losing about 60 more pounds to be around 240. This is a loose number, its more of a desired body fat percentage. For my training I lift 4 days a week in the mornings, run 5 days a week in the morning, and then train 6 days a week boxing, wrestling, jits, thai all at night. Sundays I do nothing.

Here is what im taking with how much im taking

L - Citruilline 1000mgs 3 times a day
L - Arginine 1000mg 3 times a day <--- Wondering if I take enough of this
Alpha Lioic Acid 600mg 2 times a day
Super Cissus 2 times a day (1600mg )
CO Q-10 120mg 3 times a day
CHromium Picolinate 800mcg 2 times a day
African Mango with green tea 1200mg 2 times a day ( 1st time i take 2 tablets, 2400mg
Coral Calcium 1500mg 2 times a day
Fish Oil 2 times a day
Niacin Flush free 1000mg Once a day
Folic Acid 800mg Once a day
Magnesium 250mg Twice a day
Zinc 50mg Once a day
Royal Jelly 500mg 3 times a day


Im taking alot of stuff, and wondering if im missing anything, or wasting my time with anything else. I feel good most of the time energy wise, and recovery wise. I eat around 250-300g of protein a day if thats needed info, and drink a ton of water, around 1 and half to 2 gallons a day. My goals are to cut body fat, add, maintain muscle, and train hard.

Thanks for any input

Welcome to the board mate!

I've slowly been cutting back on the supps i take over the years. The word "need" is open to interpretation. there is a tendency to go overboard with the supps, and the multi-billion supp industry thanks you! not only that, since not FDA regulated, you must understand there is almost always a descrpency between what is on the label of your supp bottle, and what you actually put in your body.

So let me spin this around and ask you this....

for each supp you take,tell me why you think you need it, and tell me how effective you think your supp is in obtaining that goal.

Do that, and then let's talk

---Roman

[JohnnyVegas]

I take a multi-vitamen and use protein powder. Sometimes I remember to take my extra D complex in the hopes that I get a little energy boost. I tried creatine a couple of months ago, but didn't see or feel anything.

That's it. I think most of the supplements are rubbish.

[eiff]

One thing I'll say it is you'll probably not spending as much as the guy who takes 3 scoops of 'super max pump drol'. As least you know what you're taking. It does seem like people tend to scale back as they progress. Arginine has some seriously strong evidence against it IMO.

[EASTCOASTKID]

Plus I think if you cut back on some of those your liver will THANK YOU!!!....

p.s. I take multi vit, zinc, mag, red rice yeast, green tea, and my pre and post shakes.....thats it...

[Biorock]

L - Citruilline 1000mgs 3 times a day
L - Arginine 1000mg 3 times a day <--- Wondering if I take enough of this
Alpha Lioic Acid 600mg 2 times a day

Those 3 i take to help recovery. Also it seems to make me sweat more, but without the ammonia "sp on that" smell. ALso I feel i recover from hard training faster, and able to train hard again the next day without that sluggish feeling. Not saying it doesnt all catch up with me, but it seems to help. Also i notice more veins popping out in my arms and shoulders, does that help any idk, but its cool to see while your lifting.

Super Cissus 2 times a day (1600mg )

I take for joints, my hands and elbow wore swore from all the boxing, and it helps alot in those minor pains, and stiffness.

CO Q-10 120mg 3 times a day
CHromium Picolinate 800mcg 2 times a day
African Mango with green tea 1200mg 2 times a day ( 1st time i take 2 tablets, 2400mg

These 3 i was told help in weightloss combined with the cissus, so far ive lost some bf, but havent been on it long enough to tell if its that, or all the exercise i do

Coral Calcium 1500mg 2 times a day
Fish Oil 2 times a day

These 2 my mum told me to take to be abit healthier, wierd, hy, its my mum and there cheap so i use em, lol. The calcium stops that cracking noise u some times here your ankles, well in mine anyways. I dont drink any milk, and my calcium from my diet is low.

Niacin Flush free 1000mg Once a day
Folic Acid 800mg Once a day
Magnesium 250mg Twice a day
Zinc 50mg Once a day

These are basic vitamins that lack in food. I dont know if i notice anything from these

Royal Jelly 500mg 3 times a day

Got this for free and dont even know what it does, was told it makes you feel better, only used it for a month, and dont notice anything

[Times Roman]

L - Citruilline 1000mgs 3 times a day
L - Arginine 1000mg 3 times a day <--- Wondering if I take enough of this
Alpha Lioic Acid 600mg 2 times a day

Those 3 i take to help recovery. Also it seems to make me sweat more, but without the ammonia "sp on that" smell. ALso I feel i recover from hard training faster, and able to train hard again the next day without that sluggish feeling. Not saying it doesnt all catch up with me, but it seems to help. Also i notice more veins popping out in my arms and shoulders, does that help any idk, but its cool to see while your lifting.

Super Cissus 2 times a day (1600mg )

I take for joints, my hands and elbow wore swore from all the boxing, and it helps alot in those minor pains, and stiffness.

CO Q-10 120mg 3 times a day
CHromium Picolinate 800mcg 2 times a day
African Mango with green tea 1200mg 2 times a day ( 1st time i take 2 tablets, 2400mg

These 3 i was told help in weightloss combined with the cissus, so far ive lost some bf, but havent been on it long enough to tell if its that, or all the exercise i do

Coral Calcium 1500mg 2 times a day
Fish Oil 2 times a day

These 2 my mum told me to take to be abit healthier, wierd, hy, its my mum and there cheap so i use em, lol. The calcium stops that cracking noise u some times here your ankles, well in mine anyways. I dont drink any milk, and my calcium from my diet is low.

Niacin Flush free 1000mg Once a day
Folic Acid 800mg Once a day
Magnesium 250mg Twice a day
Zinc 50mg Once a day

These are basic vitamins that lack in food. I dont know if i notice anything from these

Royal Jelly 500mg 3 times a day

Got this for free and dont even know what it does, was told it makes you feel better, only used it for a month, and dont notice anything

I think you mean alpha lipoic acid. primarily for weight loss and increase energy. aka "ALA". Tried it once. Never bothered again. It's contraversial. Benefits are marginal at best (to me).
arginine - not enough/wrong times for the GH response to kick in. Sufficient if you want the vascular dialation for improved blood flow.
L - Citruilline - haven't taken it personally. possible benefit for arthritas. - good source is watermellon rhinds.
Super Cissus - many claim it is effective. I take other things, much less expensive, for joint health
CO Q-10 120mg - limited data. good if deficiency in body. contraversial for anything else
CHromium Picolinate - see COQ10
African Mango with green tea - very contraversial - some are saying scam
Coral Calcium - VERY expensive way to supplement calcium. alternative= go to costco and get huge jar of tums for $4
fish oil - "a keeper"
Niacin Flush free 1000mg Once a day
Folic Acid 800mg Once a day
Magnesium 250mg Twice a day
Zinc 50mg Once a day
(a good multi with minerals would do the trick, and in better proportions than you take here, for less $$)
Royal Jelly - helps with a very narrow range of symptoms. I say No need for most taking it.

Mate,
here's what i take, then you can consider or not....
Protein powder
BCAA
Arginine (when i have it)
Casein
Multi vitamin
Fish oil
Creatine
resveratrol
MSM

There are many out there, including myself in the earlier years, that thought more supps was better. the beneficiary to that philosophy is the supp industry. Your body really doesn't "need" much of anything besides clean whole food. But there are a few things that genuinely do help.

Good luck!
---Roman

[Biorock]

Thanks for your imput. Im going to research up the supps you listed. Im going to get a good multi, are they all the same, or does one stand out ? Also with the creatine, im in the process of losing weight and i know it will add water weight to me, but will it help in losing bf in the long run.

[Biorock]

Thanks for your imput. Im going to research up the supps you listed. Im going to get a good multi, are they all the same, or does one stand out ? Also with the creatine, im in the process of losing weight and i know it will add water weight to me, but will it help in losing bf in the long run.

[JohnnyVegas]

I wish more guys (not talking specifically about you) would cut down on all the supplements and use the money for food. Maybe the "chicken council" or whatever trade group they have needs to endorse some big-name bodybuilders and do ads in the magazines. Supplements can make a small contribution to a physique, but chicken is the damn cornerstone.

[Times Roman]

I wish more guys (not talking specifically about you) would cut down on all the supplements and use the money for food. Maybe the "chicken council" or whatever trade group they have needs to endorse some big-name bodybuilders and do ads in the magazines. Supplements can make a small contribution to a physique, but chicken is the damn cornerstone.

yes. food is the most important. but there are little things you can do to make some minor improvemnts, especially if you cant eat all 6 meals the right way, which is why the protein powder and raw oats in the shakker cup.....

[Times Roman]

Thanks for your imput. Im going to research up the supps you listed. Im going to get a good multi, are they all the same, or does one stand out ? Also with the creatine, im in the process of losing weight and i know it will add water weight to me, but will it help in losing bf in the long run.

NO! they are NOT all the same!

since not FDA regulated, there are huge differences between what's on the label, and what's in the pill. the cheaper ones are the worst offenders, even Costco's Kirkland brand multi only rates 1/2 star out of possible 5.

Just flipping through the book, I'll list some of the better ones, and their rating out of 5 starts possible...

CanPrev Immuno Multi - 4
Douglas Laboratories added protection III - 4
(all the doublas lab multi's are rated 4 or better)
Doctors Nutrition Ultra Nutrient - 4
Dr. Cranton's PrimeNutrients - 4
Food Science of Vermont Superior Multi Age - 4
Gary Nulls super am/pm formula - 4
Healthwise Vital Greens - 4.5
Healthwise Vital Nutrients - 5
Life Extension Foundation Life Extension Mix - 5
New Roots Multi max immune - 4.5
NSI synergy 3000 - 4.5
NSI mens - 4.5
NSI womens - 4.5

So i'm a little over half way through the alphabet, and out of over 1600 multis that were labatory analyzed, this is everything (up to N) that is 4 or over.

Here are some losers that you may have heard of:

One a day, Mens - 0.5
Puritans pride multi day plus minerals - 0.0
Rite Aid Central Vite - 0.0
Shaklee Advanced formula - 1.0
Centrum - 0.0
Curves complete - 1.5
Longs Wellness High Potency Multi vitamin & mineral - 0.0
Nature Made Essential Daily - 0.0
Nature Made Essential Mega - 1.0
Safeway Select Multivitamin and mineral - 0.0


So, as you can see, the common multi's are basically bull shit

just my 02

[Biorock]

Timesroman thanks alot for all the info. I had the one a day mens for abit lol. As for the food i eat, im eating roughly 3 large chicken breast a day, 1 cup of oats, 1 to 1-2 cups of wheat spaghetti, and raw spinarch with everything. Also have about 2-3 shakes a day, i do 2 scoops of powder, 1 scoop of wheat grass and water for my shakes. So i do eat alot of chicken, its all i eat honestly and all that is over the course of the day. After reading the forums here i know i need to work on my diet big time,and the timing of my meals.

[JohnnyVegas]

yes. food is the most important. but there are little things you can do to make some minor improvemnts, especially if you cant eat all 6 meals the right way, which is why the protein powder and raw oats in the shakker cup.....

Totally agree. I know there are some legit supplements. I just feel bad for the guys that read the magazines and buy all the expensive silly stuff.