Supplement help

[mdw0926]

I currently take whey protein and have seen some results in the gym and on my body-in one semester I went from 135 lb max to 165 lb. However, I still have flab and a small amount of fat over my abs and my chest that I can not get rid of. I exercise 2 hours a day and workout 4-5 times a week, and run about 5-10 miles a week. Yet, i still cant get rid of this fat. My pecs and abs have gotten bigger, but they are hidden under this layer of nasty fat. I am 6'1 and 160 lbs so by no means large but I want to look good for the summer and show everyone how hard i have been working. What supplements would you suggest that would help me keep increasing weight and strength but get rid of this fat? Ive always been told to stay away from creatine, so I am looking for somethin relatively safe, but if u think creatine is good choice i guess i can try it. i have heard things about celltech, but i dont know what i should get. Thanks a lot

[Lee J B]

Well the last thing you need for slimmingis creatine.... if you ever do get any though, take my word for it and don't opt for cell-tech. How old are you mate ? What's your training routine look like, two hours is too long mate - you will need to cut that down to an hour to avoid burning any muscle, which is why your seeing this happen to you, you will lose weight, but not that layer of fat.

[mdw0926]

I am 18 and I only workout for an hour a day and then usually play basketball for an hour or run, some days both. I workout biceps, back, and shoulders twice a week, chest and tris twice a week, and then legs once a week, and i throw abs in about 2-3 times a week. Is running bad for me, i thought it would help me cut that fat. Sometimes, I workout for an hour, play basketball for an hour, and then run a couple miles, Im just tryin to burn all the calories and fat I eat. My diet has gotten better, I try to eat protein rich foods and stay away from fats. I eat a lot of grilled chicken, should I try to cut out carbs?

[mdw0926]

Is there any kind of supplement you would recommend? I have only a couple months left untill summer. Its just a small layer of fat that looks so unattractive, so i think I can do it, just need some direction.

[Lee J B]

Well I can almost garuntee unless your eating a truck load full of food that your burning a lot of muscle there, what you really need to do is do some high intensity training about 2 times a week, and then do a three day weightlifting split....Say, Chest / tri's , Back / Bi's Shoulders / Legs / Abs .... and workout with weights for an hour. You don't need to cut out carbs, stay clear of fatty foods, such as fast food and stay clear of sugary carbs too. Running is generally ok for fat burning, but High Intensity training will get your metabolism where it needs to be, I will edit this post with what you need to eat when I wake up tommorrow....meanwhile, do a search on this site for HIIT.

[injusinjus]

i would suggest a diet instead of a supplement...itll burn that layer right off and if u stick with the diet youll keep it off untill summer...im no expert on diets so you can search for one or myabe people can help you on this thread

creatine will most likely put water weight on and if thats what u want(more weight and muscle and no more fat) i bet that will work...just make sure u drink lots of water while your on it and read the creatine sticky at the top of the page

[mdw0926]

Hey thanks a lot for the advice. Actually, I have been eating a truckload of food lately. I wanted to get bigger because I am really scrawny, but I also wanted to get cut. I didnt know what to do, whether to increase calories or decrease, so ive tried increasing my intake. Here is a typical day of eating:

Breakfast: A bowl of cereal or Oatmeal
Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, Baked Lays
Snack: PB sandwich or just PB
Dinner(usually at an all u can eat): Some kind of meat (always look for least fat and the most protein): roast beef, grilled chicken or roast turkey, vegetables, bread, salad, mix of choc milk and skim, and if im still hungry a bowl of cereal
And then I drink a protein shake before I workout and try to eat nothing after and consume no fats before I go to bed

Obviously this varies, but I usually get around 3000-35000 calories a day and around 120g of protein

[mdw0926]

I never eat fast food or hamburgers or pizza or candy. I havent eaten fast food or pizza in over 4 months. The one problem with my diet, is that I drink beer on weekends. This maybe I can cut down on, but while my friends are feasting on late night pizza and junk food, I sit there and eat nothing.

[xxeddiexx]

hmm.. i wonder where that 'layer of fat' is coming from

[Lee J B]

Well I did some maths, you would do well to eat around 1800cals a day in a 40/40/20 ... always advise this for trying to bulk and cut at the same time. You would be getting around 180g protein & carbs, along with 40g Un(Sat) Fats. As for the late night stuff with your mates, you either need to figure where your priorities are... or you need to make them aware of what your doing - if they are mates they will understand....my friends laughed at me at first, but I don't see them laughing anymore .

[mdw0926]

thanks, so you think I should cut down on the calories-to somewhere around 1800 and just forget about using any kind of supplement. And Ill cut down on the alcohol intake

[mdw0926]

Also, how can I get around 180g of protein. I struggle now to get over 120 g with taking whey protein. I try to get the most I can and am always looking for the foods with the highest protein, its just hard to get that much in college. Can you suggest any foods, especially for breakfast cause I know a bowl of oatmeal is not getting me nearly enough.

[gdawg0987]

eggs are great for breakfast if you can get them. You might not want to make a sudden jump from the 3000 to 1800 calories though, that could really stall your metabolism. You might want to decrease by about 500 for a couple of weeks and work your way down to 1800.

[Lee J B]

Always keep in mind that 1800cals means nothing on it's own, it's how it's split... you could eat 1800cals and gain weight pretty easily.... you have to split it 40/40/20 . Egg's are great, have some in the morning....some days in collage I take a couple shaker cups with egg whites in water, the shaker cups SUCK at mixing whey but they are actually pretty damn good at making egg whites drinkable.

[mdw0926]

Ok, so eat eggs-never scrambled but egg whites shaken up with whey protein for breakfast. Is it ok to take whey protein twice a day- in the morning and either before or after my workout? Shoudl I try to get most of my carbs in the morning? By 40/40/20 you mean to break down my calories so that 40% come from carbs and protein and 20% come from fat correct? How can I go about calculating this? For a snack-is Peanut butter and banana good? Sorry for so many questions. And once again-u dont think i should take any supplements? Thanks a lot for all your help