Diet, Nutrition and SupplementationPost here for supplement reviews or nutritional advice. If you're trying to get "ripped abz" THIS is where you should be.
Hey everyone. I am new to the forums. Just purchased NROL and I'm finally starting to be serious about lifting.
Before now, I had been lifting off-and-on in a very leisurely way. During that time, I have been using Cytosport products (Cytogainer and Evopro) and seen decent gains considering my lack of training.
Just wanted to ask for your thoughts regarding these products. Anything else I should look into?
ON (optimum nutrition) and true protein are the only 2 i've ever really used on a continual basis. I think TP tastes the best, but ON isn't bad at all. You can get a 5lb container of ON for about 35 bucks i think? and TP goes for 5 bucks a pound or so for concentrate+shipping+premium flavors. So, it's a little more, but has a wider variety of flavors.
I really liked muscle milk from cytosport, but for some reason it would irritate my stomach sometimes. It may/probably was the MCTs in it.
__________________ True Protein 5% off discount code: ZHS099 www.trueprotein.com
If you are looking for a protein powder for use as part of a meal or snack and not worried about the fat content....then musclemilk is probably my absolute favorite.
I haven't found a flavor that I disliked yet. Mixing a scoop or two in with milk or cottage cheese is an easy way to get some cals in too.
I also don't mean to give business to biotest, but they're Metobolic Drive(not complete) protein blends are great as well. Strawberry, vanilla, milk chocolate, and banana cream are all fantastic imo, just not the orange flavor.
Thanks for the info. Just got more cytosport to try. But next time I think I'll give trueprotein a try.
Any recommendations for flavors? How about a carbohydrate source from trueprotein? I have a mean metabolism and need plenty of calories.
you can't go wrong w/ just a whey concentrate. It's cheap and tastes decent. This goes for any protein company. I would always buy concentrates if money was a factor, b/c you're really not going to see much of a difference, except in the taste.
If you want something a little more expensive, i'd go with Team Skip (casein, isolate, egg) or I really like the taste of whey protein isolate cold filtered. Team Skip is thicker b/c of the casein. I think Isolate tastes better though.
But like i said, you can't go wrong with the cheap stuff, and that's what i'd recommend. Just make sure you get the premium flavorings and not the free stuff. The premiums taste very very good. I really like the dutch fudge, strawberry and cream, orange cream, and the banana bash and chocolate banana flavor. Not a big fan of the fruit punch.
As for carbs, i drink wazy maize, but i don't think it's for everyone. It's a starch, so it has that starch texture to it. The good thing is that i don't get bloated from it like other sugars. They also sell custom carb mixes as well.
If you want a cheap carb source PWO, milk is always good.
__________________ True Protein 5% off discount code: ZHS099 www.trueprotein.com
Thanks, Alco. I'll definitely look into the concentrate, isolate, and teamskip.
The waxy maize starch sounds fine, but how does it compare to the maltodextrin?
it's SUPPOSED to have something to do w/ molecular weight and being released differently than sugar, blah blah.
Honestly, i think a carb is a carb for PWO. The only noticeable thing i would say is the lack of bloating, and sugar crash. Also, waxy is naturally unflavored. It's pretty dense, and i wouldn't have a hard time drinking 3-4 scoops PWO, where taking that much sugar would leave me w/ a major crash, and bloat.
Malto isn't as sweet as dextrose. If you're going to go w/ the route of waxy, i'd get the premium lemonade or limeade. IMO, those are the 2 best flavors for it. Fruit punch is kinda gross.
Like i said though, a carb is a carb. You could do just as well eating oats PWO, or some chocolate milk.
__________________ True Protein 5% off discount code: ZHS099 www.trueprotein.com
Thanks, Alco. I'll definitely look into the concentrate, isolate, and teamskip.
The waxy maize starch sounds fine, but how does it compare to the maltodextrin?
Why would you consider WMS or maltodextrin in the 1st place? Do you have multiple endurance events in the same day? I can see some applications of the postW refined carb thing for convenience purposes, but it's a definite compromise in the quality of our diet. I find it humorous that no one's willing to compromise one bit on their protein sources, yet with carbs, they're willing to consume half of it as empty calories.
Anyway...
People tend to believe all of the marketing BS without knowing the facts. WMS is actually more insulinemic & glycemic than your standard glucose polymer solution. Earlier research showed no difference in glycemia and insulinemia between WMS & the glucose polymer, but there are at least a couple major things to consider: a total of 300g was consumed in 30-minute intervals over a 6-hr period. The significance here is that this dosing scheme may have caused a highly efficient delivery of glucose to the intestine. Since this happened alongside a faster glucose uptake by the muscles, major increases in blood glucose were neutralized.
Now stick with me here. In the latest WMS study, a more realistic 100g was used, and better blood sampling methodology was used as well. Guess what? As a result of its quicker gastric emptying, WMS caused a 17.3% higher peak insulin level and a 10.9% higher blood glucose peak. Given this, any glucose intolerance or insulin sensitivity issues will definitely be amplfied with WMS. This "no crash with WMS" claim is made by the manufacturer, but trust me, I've heard a whole range of anecdotes on this issue, and I've heard more than my share of WMS crash stories as well. As for the "no bloating" claim, that's more manufacturer hype, based on the idea that if you're an endurance athlete consuming MASSIVE amounts of carbs in order to carb-load before an ultradistance event, funnelling WMS down your pie hole will be less bloating than a few bowls of pasta. This might be true, but it's not a relevant scenario to most of the fitness population. The PERCEIVED bloat difference between 2-3 tbsp of WMS versus (insert refined carb here) is stictly due to the power of suggestion from marketing. Oh, what the bro's believe...
Why would you consider WMS or maltodextrin in the 1st place? Do you have multiple endurance events in the same day? I can see some applications of the postW refined carb thing for convenience purposes, but it's a definite compromise in the quality of our diet. I find it humorous that no one's willing to compromise one bit on their protein sources, yet with carbs, they're willing to consume half of it as empty calories.
Anyway...
People tend to believe all of the marketing BS without knowing the facts. WMS is actually more insulinemic & glycemic than your standard glucose polymer solution. Earlier research showed no difference in glycemia and insulinemia between WMS & the glucose polymer, but there are at least a couple major things to consider: a total of 300g was consumed in 30-minute intervals over a 6-hr period. The significance here is that this dosing scheme may have caused a highly efficient delivery of glucose to the intestine. Since this happened alongside a faster glucose uptake by the muscles, major increases in blood glucose were neutralized.
Now stick with me here. In the latest WMS study, a more realistic 100g was used, and better blood sampling methodology was used as well. Guess what? As a result of its quicker gastric emptying, WMS caused a 17.3% higher peak insulin level and a 10.9% higher blood glucose peak. Given this, any glucose intolerance or insulin sensitivity issues will definitely be amplfied with WMS. This "no crash with WMS" claim is made by the manufacturer, but trust me, I've heard a whole range of anecdotes on this issue, and I've heard more than my share of WMS crash stories as well. As for the "no bloating" claim, that's more manufacturer hype, based on the idea that if you're an endurance athlete consuming MASSIVE amounts of carbs in order to carb-load before an ultradistance event, funnelling WMS down your pie hole will be less bloating than a few bowls of pasta. This might be true, but it's not a relevant scenario to most of the fitness population. The PERCEIVED bloat difference between 2-3 tbsp of WMS versus (insert refined carb here) is stictly due to the power of suggestion from marketing. Oh, what the bro's believe...
i'm not a "bro" or the manufacturer but i stand by what i say. I think any carb source can be used. I like WMS better than detrose, but also like chocolate milk PWO as well. I used to take a lot of dextrose PWO, and now just do 2 scoops of waxy. I think this is like 100g? not sure.
I do it for convenience b/c i'm always going to work or school PWO, and don't have the time to make a big bowl of oats and eat them.
I don't want to come off like i'm pushing any product, or TPs products. Like i said, i used ON protein for years, but i like TPs flavor variations instead of the standard chocolate, vanilla, etc.
__________________ True Protein 5% off discount code: ZHS099 www.trueprotein.com
That was gold Alan, thanks. Gonna go have me some Alta Dena chocolate milk now...
__________________
Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
You know when you just can't stand to hear catch phrases and bro-isms any more? At work, I hear a few phrases thrown around daily: "Dude, I totally benched 2 plates today!" and:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Aragon
WMS is actually more insulinemic & glycemic than your standard glucose polymer solution.
and
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Aragon
As a result of its quicker gastric emptying, WMS caused a 17.3% higher peak insulin level and a 10.9% higher blood glucose peak.
If you are looking for a protein powder for use as part of a meal or snack and not worried about the fat content....then musclemilk is probably my absolute favorite.
I haven't found a flavor that I disliked yet. Mixing a scoop or two in with milk or cottage cheese is an easy way to get some cals in too.
I'm with you. It's expensive, but sometimes I'll grab one of those pre-packaged muscle milks at the gym. That thing taste better than any dessert I can imagine. Or, maybe it's been too long since I've eaten dessert lol...
__________________
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
Why would you consider WMS or maltodextrin in the 1st place?
So, if I fix a whey or casein shake, I can add carbs to help boost my daily intake. Right now I weigh around 145lbs and I'm trying to get at least 3000kcal/day. I have a busy schedule and work 12-13 hour shifts, so the ability to supplement carbs sounds good to me. However, I would prefer to get everything from whole foods.
Do you have recommendations for quick/easy calorically-dense foods? Should I just mix some oats in with my shakes?
How about kcal intake? Is 3000 a good goal to shoot for? I am trying to put on lean weight, btw. Would like to get up to at least 160lbs.
Is supplementing with maltodextrin/dextrose/WMS a good solution for increasing caloric intake? If not, what should I be doing?
Thanks for all the info everyone. This forum has been very helpful, thusfar.
Do you have recommendations for quick/easy calorically-dense foods? Should I just mix some oats in with my shakes?
On a busy schedule like that I found foods like home made trail mix or just nuts are good to get more calories. Plus, having a pack of nuts will let you snack on them during the long day instead of trying get down all your cals at a fixed number of sittings.
__________________
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
So what is considered the best carb source for a PWO shake/meal? For years ive been using malto and whey for my PWO meal, more out of habit than anything else, plus thats what Berardi recommended back in the day.
Chocolate Milk and whey? some other kind of carb? oats?
So, if I fix a whey or casein shake, I can add carbs to help boost my daily intake. Right now I weigh around 145lbs and I'm trying to get at least 3000kcal/day. I have a busy schedule and work 12-13 hour shifts, so the ability to supplement carbs sounds good to me. However, I would prefer to get everything from whole foods.
Do you have recommendations for quick/easy calorically-dense foods? Should I just mix some oats in with my shakes?
How about kcal intake? Is 3000 a good goal to shoot for? I am trying to put on lean weight, btw. Would like to get up to at least 160lbs.
Is supplementing with maltodextrin/dextrose/WMS a good solution for increasing caloric intake? If not, what should I be doing?
Thanks for all the info everyone. This forum has been very helpful, thusfar.
Need carbs? There's this great stuff called pizza, pasta, rice, bread, cereal, potatoes, beans, peas, corn, shall I keep going?
Also, you can't rush muscle growth, but you sure can rush fat growth. I'd shoot for roughly 400-800 calories above your current maintenance intake. A whole lot more than that could get you in the squishy zone. Be patient, train hard, train smart, get enough rest, don't read too much
Cytosport? Others?
Linear Mode
