Newbie Supp Questions

diamondpete · 01-27-2005, 01:55 AM

Oh NO! I have made it over to this section to with some irritating newbie questions!!

Background
WT: 160
HT: 5'7"
Age: 39 (40 soon- too damn soon!)
HGM Phase 2
Goal: increase muscle decrease fat

My main dietary problem, as I see it, is consistancy in eating (in terms of regular hours, and balanced meals. I eat 2-3 times/day- I know horrid. But to some extent that is the reality of my life/work style and to some extent laziness.

In either case, I would like to start to shift that a bit. Until now the only dietary steps I have taken were to eliminate sugar and cut down on late night carbs (rice and bread). In combo with HGM phase 1, I dropped about 6 lbs and gained some muscle.

I would like to try and get into a 4-5 meal day, but my work schedule makes it quit difficult. So I am interested in using a meal substitue or supplement to help me maintain the protien levels. (Incidently, as horrid as my eating seems, I have blood work done every year and everything is straight As, including chlorestoral.)

So, my thought ran to a whey type supp, low cal high protien- what do you think/recommend- if you agree, what brand do you suggest and what tastes half way (pardon the pun) decent.

I have done some googling but Ithere is so much contrdictory info out there it is hard to decide what to believe.

Thanks for your input.

Peter

RipStone · 01-27-2005, 08:20 AM

If you wanna start eating 5+ meals a day, IMO you are going to have to start packing meals with you to take to your job. I don't think supplements are really the answer here. You should start cooking your food in bulk(chicken breasts, veggies, rice) and putting them in tupperware and taking them to work. Real food is much better than supps.

Having said that if you wanna make one of your meals a meal replacement shake, you can still do that(of course [img]smile.gif[/img] My reccommendation is to buy whey(Optimum Nutrition vanilla and chololate are good and so are all the Dymatize flavors). Put a scoop of whey in a shaker cup along with some ground oats and then add milk or water when you are ready to drink it. Instant meal. If they oats don't sound good to you then just have the whey and have a fruit on the side.

Hope this helps.

OldGuy · 01-27-2005, 08:48 AM

I agree with Ripstone in that you have to start taking meals with you and eating every 2-3 hours.

If your looking for a meal replacement try Muscle Milk.

diamondpete · 01-27-2005, 09:02 AM

"taking meals"

I was pretty sure that this was going to be the suggestion, which I know is the best course of action, it just is not very practical. On Monday, I get up at 7;00 have to be oyt the door with two kids by 8;30, I get home at 11:35 pm, have a light bite and work out from midnight til about 1;30am, sleep- up at 7;00, tuesday home at 11;30 pm, wed out the door at 6;30 am back at 7;30 (evening work out from 10:pm til 11:30 pm, thurs morn same as Mon, Tue, back at 10:15 pm, Fri morning same, get home at 9:30, work out 11;pm til 12;30, weekends, full-on with kids/wife.

So, I do not realisticall think I am going to be making time to make lunches, which is why the shake approach.

I hope once I really feel I need to focus on diet I will be able to get myself to become the tupperware man, but I am very much of a gradulist- I think that if I get too intensive I might start to slip- I'd rather miss a meal than a work out because I am too sleepy.

But thank you for the advice (and I klnow you are right) but for now, I will look into Optimum Nutrition (whey in a shaker cup sounds good) and muscle milk. Thanks guys

peter

OldGuy · 01-27-2005, 09:16 AM

Plutes, check out this article by John Berardi. Read about the Sunday ritual. You may have to do something like this. I understand about the kids (I have 3 myself) so you need to find the time to fit your diet plan in.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do...itan?id=515037

RipStone · 01-27-2005, 11:57 AM

The Sunday ritual article is great. Making your meals in advnace for the week might sound tedious, but it is reall a good idea and the 1-2 hours preparing your food for the week on Sunday is well worth it

diamondpete · 01-28-2005, 10:28 AM

Old guy,

thanks

Iwill check it out

Peter

CtA318 · 01-28-2005, 10:57 AM

Hey man its great that your trying to eat healthier and all that. The other members are right in that the supplements are not the way to go. If you really want to make something quick I suggest making your own shake with good fats and lots of protein in it. They have several great recipes for shakes that act exactly right MRP and in most cases are a lot healthier for you in the book Gourmet Nutrition by Dr. Berardi and our very own Dr. Williams (Johnka). Its a great book!!

Trust me I have taken that supplement root before. All it does is waste your money and drive you insane because eventually you will get bored of the flavors and taste of the supplements. Real food is so much better.

I make almost all my food in bulk. It does suck the night your doing it but missing meals becomes almost non existent and this way the rest of the week is free so you can concentrate on the important stuff. Your family and GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP!!!! Sleep plays a key role inrecovery, fat loss, and muscle gain. Sounds like your sleep isnt that good. Hope that helps.

diamondpete · 01-29-2005, 08:47 PM

Supps suck, point well taken. They would not be my first choice, but I have a hard enough time getting in workouts. Last week: Monday midnight til 1:30 AM, Wed 10:00- 11:30 PM, Fri 9;30-11;00pm I am just trying to change things one step at a time and I cannot (or will not) change my mon-fri work schedule. It is hard and hectic, I commute to a small company town with crap in the way of food choices. (I do eat a good breakfast an dinner) Japanese companies are very different from western companies. I am in an open office with clients coming in and out, so I cannot just whip out a meal every 3 hours. There is a very different work culture than from the west (particularly different from the US)

SO the supp/ route (which I hope is a temp fix) is the path of least ressistance and the for now the most likely way that I will improve my nutrition/cal balance in the short term. I do believe that if I get too "intense" about something before I am ready to, I will not follow thru. I definitely would not have been willing/able to work out three times a week when I started, but now I am. I think if it were a three time workout, I might have dropped it after a few weeks.

Sounds lame, but my normal schedule is a 60 hour week with an additional 12 hours commute. If I am busy I get up to about 80 hours a week. BUT I do not work on weekends, that I save for my family. (I work about 4 weekends a year).

I am not moaning about how tough my life is, but just trying to get some nutrition "help" within that context. I know you are right is saying screw the supps and eat right, but it is not that realistic or it would take a MAJOR effort that I doubt I would follow up on (because of my demanding schedule/laziness) (actually the right word might be priority)so I want something to carry me over until I can get in the situation where I actually will stay up until 2am on sunday night making a weeks worth of tuna.

I do appreciate the suggestions and I know I should use real food. Sleep would be nice, but "no can do" (I get about 6 hours a night and it is enough - probably not enough for fast muscle growth but...).

I think that I should have phrased my question better: I know I should eat but as things stand I won't and suggestions?

Thank you rip OG and CT.

OG, BTW, I read the article and I "do not have the ingrained set of day to day food and activity related actions, and
[am not] ready for the tough times...[i] "get busy". Eating well becomes inconvenient."

I know this, and I need to get out this mind set, but it won't happen this month. But hopefully over sometime I will get there mentally- the supps are a temp fix. (I hope)

Again thankl you guys for the real concern and good advice

Peter

obsolete29 · 02-01-2005, 04:05 PM

My suggestion is to get a new job.

Haha, just kidding of course.

diamondpete · 02-01-2005, 07:57 PM

Now that is the best idea I have heard!

Actually, that is the problem, it is a good job, so I can't quit. I tried once and ended up getting a raise. The B*****ds! The one thing is that it gives me the wekends!

I just hope to survive a few more years :-O

Cheers

Peter