Weight and Resistance Training Boost weight loss, and look great!

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Old 08-06-2008, 02:12 PM   #1  
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Question Which Protein????

I already posted it somewhere else and they told me to repost here so maybe I could get more responses:
I am doing really good with my exercising. I am going at the gym at least 6 days/week for almost 2h each time. I’ve seen some muscle growing but I still thinking it is taking me too long to get them the way I want them to be. I think I am not eating the necessary amount of protein, so I decided to get some supplements. So I went at the store last night and got lost looking for it. Maybe a shake would be the best kind for me. But which one? when to take it? before or after working out, or even at some other time???
Are they healthy? I need help with it and don’t have anyone to ask. It would be great if you guys could give me some ideas...
Thanks!!!

Last edited by belezura; 08-06-2008 at 02:12 PM.
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Old 08-06-2008, 02:37 PM   #2  
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I've heard that a standard protein powder shake within an hour (before or after) of working out will help. I've also read that people drink a protein shake before bed on days that they work out. Here's my favorite protein shake recipe.

Strawberry protein shake: Makes about 2 cups, approximately 220 calories.

1 cup 1% milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use EAS)
4 frozen strawberries
2 packets sugar substitute

Blender and serve! It tastes just like a strawberry shake! I've also made this with milk, ice, cocoa powder (I don't like the chocolate flavored EAS) and sugar substitute, but that gets my chocolate cravings going so I avoid it.

The protein powder is usually by the energy bars/protein bars in the pharmacy section.

Hope this helps!

Last edited by Sciana; 08-06-2008 at 02:40 PM.
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Old 08-06-2008, 03:22 PM   #3  
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Ok, a few things:

The first is that even if you are eating a lot of protein and working out faithfully and hard, muscle takes a while to build. A long while. People tend to say things like "oh you didn't lose weight this week because you built muscle" ... 90% of the time it's not so. You simply cannot build muscle that fast. You haven't said how long you've been doing this, but it will take several months to see visible results for most people.

Also if you're overweight at all, then it's going to take longer to see the changes in your muscle. You might be building strength but that padding of fat (no matter how thin a padding) will hide the "cut" look that you'd get if you weighed less.

Next you say that you're going to the gym a lot ... but what are you doing AT the gym? Weight lifting? Cardio? Circuit machines? Body resistance? Building visble muscle takes specific types of exercise (and you may already know this so if I'm being too basic, just skip over this part! ) and just going to the gym alone is only a small part of it. If you could give more detail about your plan, that would help a lot in being able to figure out why you're not seeing the results you want.

Finally .. the protein question. You say you "may" not be eating enough. The question is how much are you getting? Until you know what you're getting, then you won't really know if you're getting enough or not. I'd say the first step is to start tracking your protein intake to see how much you're getting now. Most people get enough protein to build muscle. The USDA guideline is 1 gram of protein to every 1 kilogram of body weight. In pounds that would be about .45 grams of protein for every pound of body weight.

That said, those people who are really working to get a specific look will eat more protein. A lot of weightlifters and bodybuilders eat 1:1 protein to bodyweight. In general consuming protein w/in an hour of a weight lifting workout will boost muscle healing and increase strength gains.

How you get that protein is really a lot of personal choice. When I decided to start really raising my protein intake, I started using protein powder. I already get between 80-90 grams of protein from my diet, but I'm really aiming for around 120-130 grams per day. So I add a scoop of EAS vanilla protein powder to my morning yogurt, and generally make a post-workout protein drink with orange juice and another scoop of powder right after the gym (the orange juice combined with the vanilla powder tastes like an Orange Julius to me! ).

One thing i would recommend is avoiding the protein bars. They're usually (IMO) too high calorie and carb and too processed for my taste. I'd rather take a basic scoop of powder and add it to fresh juice or make a smoothie.

Hope that helps some!

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Old 08-06-2008, 05:40 PM   #4  
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Exclamation Fitday

Answering Photochic I am working out for 5 months, where I do 50 min cardio e 45/50 min lift weight (Legs/arms/abs) I rotate the days. Cardio every day.
About my diet... I went to fitday and OMG. I don’t know if it was better for me to know that info or not...
According to there I am eating only today 3556 calories, where 63%-fat, 25% protein and 12% carb (which is good because I want to be n low carb diet, that’s my intention anyway).
And according to that I will eat 244 g of fat, 220 g of protein and 146 of carbs...
Isn’t it too much for someone who want to lose weight??? Is that website correct???
But has been working for me....
Well, my question is should I still have the protein shake?
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Old 08-06-2008, 06:31 PM   #5  
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Isn't FitDay a fantastic tool. I found it very enlightening in the beginning too. With regard to macronutrient ratios, I've had a lot of success with 20% fat, 40% carb and 40% protein. For the most part the foods I eat are built around the Body for Life style of eating.

Be careful about cutting your carb intake too low. Carbs are important. Think of the carbs as a vehicle in which to carry the protein you consume to your muscles. Generally I taper the carbs off from my evening meal. If I'm up late and need a late night snack I will only have a protein source, 1/2 c of ff cottage cheese warmed in the microwave with splenda and cinnamon, before bed.

Should you still have the protein shake? Well, they are convenient but it is a personal choice. Usually I use the protein powder with my morning oatmeal preworkout. Post workout is usually lunch time anyway so I'm having a four egg white omlette on a slice of ww toast by then. If I am crazy hungry between meals I will have a scoop mixed in with water or 8oz of milk to tide me over. It kind of keeps me from having a free for all in the pantry.

Good luck with your lifting. Oh and one more thing. I have found that the rewards from lifting were felt on the inside long before they were apparent or visible to anyone else. I could feel so much stronger and I probably was than I appeared to be to others. As Photochick pointed out before your muscles are really visible you will need to lean out a little. In my case five pounds makes the difference in which I may have definition in my shoulders, bi's and tri's.
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Old 08-06-2008, 06:34 PM   #6  
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At your weight that sounds like an awful lot of calories and way too much fat as well. IMO, of course.

I know that my maintenance cals (I'm 165 lbs) are supposed to be around 1900-2200, depending on how hard I workout. I currently eat around 1500 to lose weight, and I work out 4-5 days a week cardio and weights.

I try to keep my ratios to 40% carbs, 35% protein, 25% fat.

Given what you're eating I don't think you need a protein shake - you're getting nearly double your bodyweight in grams of protein which is a lot.

I suspect in order to lose more body fat to show the muscles you're building, you'll want to cut back on the calories a bit.

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Old 08-06-2008, 07:33 PM   #7  
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I also agree with Photochick. You don't need anymore protein.....I would try to cut back on calories a bit....I would try to eat no more than 2k calories a day. However, if what you're doing is working, then why fix it if it ain't broken? I commend you for working out so hard! Way to go!
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Old 08-06-2008, 09:01 PM   #8  
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If she is losing weight at that caloric intake, why should she cut down on calories? Her metabolism is revving and she is getting plenty of nutrients to fuel 12 hours worth of exercise per week. Why risk dousing a flame that is burning at full blast?!? If a plateau is reached, then a reduction of calories will be in order and what a luxury to be able to cut calories from such a level.

As to the original questions, I agree with the others who said you are getting more than enough protein at 1.5 grams per lb of bodyweight.

As to macronutrients, while I personally do best on about a 40-30-30 split, there are many ways to skin a cat. Fat and carbs both get bad raps from different groups. I like to think of them as the energy nutrients with protein being the building nutrient. As long as you are getting 60-75% of your calories from the "energy" nutrients and are not running a caloric surplus, you should be in good shape. Of course, you want the carbs and fats to be of the "good" variety, avoiding trans fats, keeping saturates to about 1/3 of total fat intake and avoiding processed carbs and trying to keep the higher GI carbs to breakfast and around workouts. Again, if what you are doing works for you, stay with it.

If you want to try to add muscle faster, perhaps tone down the cardio a bit. The interference principle is often given too much recognition by some, but it does have some basis in research. Perhaps cut length, frequency, or intensity a bit at a time and monitor progress. Of course, you will probably need to adjust the calories down a bit to account for the lesser burn and to keep your current deficit.

Last edited by Depalma; 08-06-2008 at 09:09 PM. Reason: I spell like a 3rd grader
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Old 08-06-2008, 09:28 PM   #9  
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Quote:
If she is losing weight at that caloric intake, why should she cut down on calories? Her metabolism is revving and she is getting plenty of nutrients to fuel 12 hours worth of exercise per week. Why risk dousing a flame that is burning at full blast?!? If a plateau is reached, then a reduction of calories will be in order and what a luxury to be able to cut calories from such a level.
In her first post she said: I still thinking it is taking me too long to get them the way I want them to be.

To me that indicates that there's not enough weight loss going on to see the changes that are happening to her muscles. I could be wrong .. .. it's hard to tell from a posting on a message board when you don't have full info.

Of course if the OP is continuing to lose weight then there's no need to change anything. But it's possible that she's not seeing the results she wants because of her high calorie/high fat intake.

Dunno. Hard to say w/out more info.

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Old 08-06-2008, 10:06 PM   #10  
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Actually, you do have a point about "seeing" the results. Even if she is losing weight (and based on her post, she is) and gaining muscle, appearances might be deceiving and your right that it could be because of the macros. You make some excellent points.

If she doesn't do periodic carb refeedings and has been sticking to those macros long-term, she is carb depeleted and her muscles will look "flat" because they are not filled with glycogen and all the water that comes with it.

Perhaps, flip the macros for a 36-48 hour period and eat high carb/low fat and refill the glycogen. That will cause a substantial weight gain but it will be a deceiving weight gain as it will be all water. However, it should help her muscles "pop." If this results in the look that she wants, then her main diet is great for her base diet, but she just needs to institute a short refeed period every week or two.

Last edited by Depalma; 08-06-2008 at 10:08 PM.
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Old 08-07-2008, 05:39 PM   #11  
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Exclamation FAT diet

I still can’t believe I eat that much of calories/day and most of it is fat...
I looked over to see where all the fat is coming from. Some are coming from nuts (I eat around 35 pistachios/day and some almonds (10-15). But most come from meat. I was getting heavy on it because I thought I needed protein... but gives me a lot of fat too...
I’ll cut my meat at dinner so I can give rid of some fat (in and out)
Actually I think the answer is that I eat a lot (just health stuff though). Lots of veggies and fruit...
It is because I follow a low carb diet and it says that you can eat (the good stuff) till you are full. So, I do it!!!
I couldn’t do good in a little food. I feel like eating all the time...

Last edited by belezura; 08-07-2008 at 05:43 PM.
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Old 08-07-2008, 07:37 PM   #12  
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That amount of calories is staggering. Are you sure the amounts are correct? I have this problem sometimes with Fitday, I have to correct the servings because their serving is far bigger then what I would eat.

For example: Kashi cereal, it always puts in one liter, whereas the most I eat in a sitting is half a cup. Change it and I immediately went from like 600 calories to 80.
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