Supplements

LivinLarge

Long time reader and admirer of the forum – first time poster. Some very knowledgeable folks on here so pondering what kind of consensus exists out there for supplements.

Some background…………. I was very active and involved in many sports in my teenage years. A long time ago now but since then I’ve mostly done shag all and my weight gradually inclined to its heaviest of about 17st 7lbs about 2 years ago. So I was certainly carrying a bit of weight but it wasn’t necessarily too much out of proportion as I am over 6ft4”.

At that point, I decided to take some action and have been going to gym reasonably regularly and gradually got it down to about 16st 7lb. In doing this, I’ve been doing a bit on the weight machines, a bit of cardio (treadmill, stroller, rower), a bit of free-weights and a small bit of HIT on and off. In that time, I’d pretty much been eating and drinking what I want and enjoying life whilst keeping active.

About a month ago, I decided I wanted to shift a little bit more body fat – in particular around the mid region. So for the first time in my life, I’ve been watching what I eat. Not necessarily eating really health or anything but more so cutting my portion sizes significantly and not eating as much crap. In the last month I’ve lost another stone and am now on about 15st 7lb.

I am probably happy now with my overall weight profile and feel it is in proportion with my height and size. I’m not necessarily that toned and could tone up a hell of a lot more but don’t want to really continue on my existing plan towards losing more weight. What I really want is to maintain the same weight but lower my body fat and replace with muscle mass. I should also note that I have a weighing scales that measures my body fat. I wouldn’t think it’s that accurate but its gives a good ball park. Only thing is that it hasn’t significantly reduced over the last month. Maybe 25% max to 22.5% min with plenty of suspected measurement error fluctuations in between.

So how do I go about retaining my same weight but reducing my body fat %. I think I know the answer…………. Hard work. More intense cardio, heavier weights and eat much more leaner protein foods.

Question is would there be any supplements that would aid this process? I see plenty of lads in the gym taking protein shakes etc. I’ve never bothered with any of these in the past but am considering it now.
Would it help or is there any particular type or brand you would recommend?

I also see some Body Fat accelerators like Hypertone? Are these a scam or do they work and does anyone have any experience?
Are there any other supplements/shakes/pills or drinks that I could consider or should I stay away from the whole lot?

(Sorry about the extensive and probably unnecessary background story)

Alf Veedersane

You don't need any supplements and the answer isn't necessarily based on eating more protein.

You need to get make sure your diet is in check and make sure your training is right.

Also, fat burners are nonsense.

Zillah

Good job on your progress so far!

Protein supplements are useful if you struggle to get enough protein into your diet - that's it. I take 'em because I'm vegetarian and it means I don't have to be quite as strict about making sure there is a protein source in every meal. If I was eating burgers and steak I don't think I'd bother. Protein supplements are just food - some extra protein - and anyone who says otherwise, especially someone who is trying to sell it to you, is just trying to make a sale.

Creatine is a supplement that is safe and legal that gives most people a small strength increase. A lot of people pass on this anyway, and it's not necessary.

Pretty much everything else is nonsense. Especially anything that claims to cause fat loss. Don't waste a penny on them. Discipline and hard work are, regrettably, the only effective approach.


As for toning up: if you work really hard at the weights and eat well you could see a small shift in terms of muscle gained and fat lost - this is called recompositioning. However, it's quite inefficient. You kind of need to decide which you want to do first: lift heavy and eat a little extra to gain muscle (bulk), or lift heavy (to keep the muscle you have) and eat a little less than you need to lose fat (cut).

You can, kind of, do both at the same time, but it's a much slower process and once you've gained a decent amount of muscle it becomes near impossible. I'd suggest you look at yourself in the mirror and decide whether you'd prefer to drop bodyfat or gain some muscle first and focus on that for three months, see where you are. Personally I hate having bodyfat of any kind so I'd cut, and also it is my understanding that excess bodyfat can (for hormonal reasons) inhibit muscle development (though someone else will have to fill in the details, it's not something I'm very familiar with).

LincolnHawk

Maintaining weight and reducing body fat are mutually exclusive...well not 100% but in general.
I.e. It's incredibly difficult to lose a pound of fat and simultaneously put in a pound of muscle.

AllForIt

LivinLarge wrote: »

What I really want is to maintain the same weight but lower my body fat and replace with muscle mass.

So how do I go about retaining my same weight but reducing my body fat %. I think I know the answer…………. Hard work. More intense cardio, heavier weights and eat much more leaner protein foods.

I really don't get where your coming from. Why is your weight so important to you and why do you want to maintain it.

If you do lower your body fat percentage and at the same time increase muscle mass, your overall weight will go down. Thus why do you care what you overall weight is?

Question is would there be any supplements that would aid this process? I see plenty of lads in the gym taking protein shakes etc. I’ve never bothered with any of these in the past but am considering it now.
Would it help or is there any particular type or brand you would recommend?

No. Supplements are just that. They are not drugs that magnify your efforts in the gym.

I also see some Body Fat accelerators like Hypertone? Are these a scam or do they work and does anyone have any experience?
Are there any other supplements/shakes/pills or drinks that I could consider or should I stay away from the whole lot?

No. Stay away from the whole lot, it's all a scam. At least your intelligent enough to ask the question.

LivinLarge

Thanks all for your input. So Okay, first point loud and clear. Body Fat Accelerators are nonsense and don't work.

On the point;
"I really don't get where your coming from. Why is your weight so important to you and why do you want to maintain it"

I don't really care about my actual weight number on the scales. I am more concerned about my appearance and want to maintain a similar frame. I am quite tall so If I lose more weight I will look start to look a bit lanky. You can visibly see that I have lost weight but dont want to narrow my frame any more. Its a personal opinion but I dont actually care about the stone & lbs. I'm just using that as an indicator.

If I lower my body fat percentage and at the same time increase muscle mass, will my weight really go down? I always thought muscle was more dense than fat?

There seems to be a consensus forming that I should also stay away from the protein shakes but people obviously see some gains or benefits judging from the vast number of people who take them in the gym? Surely they are not all vegetarian?....... I'm wondering if I'd see any advantage in them if I were to continue with my current training plan and diet?

Todd Gack

LivinLarge wrote: »

There seems to be a consensus forming that I should also stay away from the protein shakes but people obviously see some gains or benefits judging from the vast number of people who take them in the gym? Surely they are not all vegetarian?....... I'm wondering if I'd see any advantage in them if I were to continue with my current training plan and diet?

If you get enough protein in your regular diet anyway then they're not necessary. A lot of people take them because....marketing, it isn't the case of the more the merrier, there's no additional benefit to ingesting as much as possible. I'd suggest downloading myfitnesspal and tracking your intake to see if your average daily protein intake is sufficient. If you're vegetarian then it may be lower than your average meat eater. Whey protein, the most common type, is a cheese by product so not vegan but suitable for some vegetarians. There are plant based protein products available also e.g. pea, soya.