Supplements im taking

MetalMX · 10-06-2007, 02:07 PM

These are the current supplements im taking, Also im eating a lower carb higher protein & Fat diet while im cutting at the moment. Having a Decent carb rich meal pre-workout only.

what does everybody think? too many supplements? too much or not enough of some or others etc.

Which do people think are more useful then others as i cannot afford everything in the long run to use on a permanent basis?

Should i add creatine again? ive took a month off or more of using SizeOn by gaspari nutrition

Fish Oil - 6g a day or 1-2 TBSP Flax Oil for EFA's

Glutamine - 10g a day (5g morning, 5g night) - Workout days 15g (pre & postworkout) and before bed.

BCAA Powder - 5grams before workouts, 5 grams after workouts

Iron - 325mg tablet a day (i have low iron levels)

5 HTP - one tablet a day, it also has some other things included such as B6 this helps my mood, energy, sleep and with appetite control all which im having trouble with

Melatonin - three 3mg tablets before bed (i cant stay asleep i wake up at least 2-3 times and get hungry! this seems to be helping)

Milk Thistle - I have liver problems which run in my family (inflammed liver, leaking enzymes etc) this should be helping

Animal Pak Mega MultiVitamin - A pack of 11 tablets before workouts

Shock Therapy - Pre-workout NO supplement which i use pre-workout.

Any help is much appreciated :)

**Thomas_Rivera** · 10-06-2007, 04:44 PM

I think a few people will say to drop the NO and just use argenine. I think the animal pak vitamins are probably overkill, really expensive for whats just a suped up multivitamin.

**Freak** · 10-06-2007, 05:13 PM

Agree with what Thomas said. Is the iron prescribed? Just asking because you can die from iron toxicity fairly easy. Yes take creatine mono. There is no scientific basis for glutamine's effectiveness.

**Thomas_Rivera** · 10-06-2007, 07:38 PM

And I agree with the rest of what Freak said.

What does your diet look like? And how much fat are we talking about here? Are you trying to get on ketosis? Whats your macro nutrient breakdown for protein, carbs and fat?

MetalMX · 10-07-2007, 02:25 AM

No the iron isnt prescribed. I take one 325mg tablet of ferrous sulfate and my body has a hard time absorbing iron as well so... its no harm in terms of toxicity.

Yer i could drop the NO and just get arginine. Creatine i will use again because ive just finished cycling off it.

I don't count calories or macro's. My diet is basically 6-7 meals, morning & pre workout are my carb meals. The rest are comprised of protein & Fat. Also im not planning on going on a ketosis diet as i am taking T4 & Clen and they work better with some carbs from my experience.

MetalMX · 10-07-2007, 02:28 AM

Glutamine although not scientifically proven has worked for me i was roughly 108-110 kilos 3 weeks ago. Then i got sick could barely eat anything for 2 weeks i went down to 104 or 103kgs and i didnt lose any muscle while taking 10grams (5morning & 5 in the night) it has really helped in my experience.

**Freak** · 10-07-2007, 03:25 AM

How do you know that your body has a hard time absorbing iron?

**JakeVendetta** · 10-07-2007, 09:48 PM

I agree with the others, on droping the no product. Might want to consider taking your bcaa's half before your wo and the other 5 during, then whey immediately after your w/o. what kind of keto diet are you doin [cyclic, low carb(if so how many g/day)]. Might want to add CLA(around 10gs/day), up the fish oil (aim for 3gs combined epa/dha per day) the amount will depend on the amount of epa/dha in the fish oil your taking, and if you have the cash throw in some sesamin. Not sure about how many cals your taking in if under or at maintenance, if its under might want some form of cortisol control (lean xtreme, xlean, 7-keto), to help aid with the stress your adding to your body.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-07-2007, 09:55 PM

If your truely cutting, might want to lay of the creatine if its mono, to avoid bloat. Also i would reccomend that you move your carbs to pwo and your ppwo meal, their more important at these times to restore glycogen in your muscles, and to aid growth. Drop the iron, if your eating right you shouldnt need supplemental iron. Drop the flax oil, not as important as the other faty acids i mentioned, especially for cutting.

**Freak** · 10-07-2007, 10:28 PM

Keep creatine mono during cut!

http://www.bodybuildingdungeon.com/f...ight=hydration

**JakeVendetta** · 10-07-2007, 10:51 PM

"A further complication of the uptake problem is "creatine bloat." Because creatine monohydrate needs insulin to get into muscle cells, if there isn't enough insulin available when the creatine is trying to get into muscle cells, it will just sit outside them. The creatine will pull water out of muscle cells and blood vessels, resulting in a bloating effect that can blur your muscularity." Got that from an online article somewhere not sure of the source. So according to this if he were to just add creatine to his current diet/supplement regimen, then the insulin spike would more then likly be depleted by the end of his workout.
I'm just thinking that if you do generally get bloat from it, if your going for the shreded look avoid it, but if you dont normally get bloated go for it. Creatine is a great staple, sorry for questioning its legitimacy.

MetalMX · 10-10-2007, 08:02 AM

I don't have any creatine at the moment but i plan on taking it even while on a cut because its guna keep my strength up, keep me volumised etc. The bloating isnt a problem and i personally dont mind it from the benefits im getting. I'll start taking the SizeOn capsules

Glutamine im not sure if i should take anymore, though a good product i want to be taking only whats necessary for me and not a million supplements which will leave me broke.

In regards to moving my carbs postworkout i have experiemented and have found that preworkout carbs are the best for me, when i do have them postworkout they only seem to be holding back my fat loss & muscle building efforts for some reason this is my personal opinion.

My entire family has low iron!!! ive also had a blood test done and i ALWAYS have low iron.

Ive started taking ZMA to help increase my test production (which is also low at 13 with the range being 12-38) it also might help me sleep better

Melatonin im taking but not sure if its helping me STAY asleep is the problem im having i wake up 3 times a night and i get hungry so i have to eat something this has been happening for the past year!!! Ive also heard 5HTP helps regulate sleep patterns and stop cravings.

Should i take Melatonin or 5HTP to help me stay asleep?

Im also taking Alpha Lipoic Acid before lunch and dinner and its awesome and
keeping cravings away.

ARGHHHH!!!! so many supplements i dont wana take all of em i need help!
Should i take Melatonin or 5HTP to help me STAY asleep?
What are your opinions on me taking ALA?

Thanks for the help so far guys, doctors these days are no help if anything their MAKING YOU MORE SICK its lucky we have forums like these and knowledgable people who can offer assistance :)

JDawg · 10-11-2007, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalMX

Glutamine although not scientifically proven has worked for me i was roughly 108-110 kilos 3 weeks ago. Then i got sick could barely eat anything for 2 weeks i went down to 104 or 103kgs and i didnt lose any muscle while taking 10grams (5morning & 5 in the night) it has really helped in my experience.

Yeah glutamine is great for keeping you muscle between training sessions and during off periods. It's worked for me too

**Freak** · 10-11-2007, 06:38 PM

**Freak** · 10-11-2007, 06:39 PM

Casein and fat before bed should help.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-13-2007, 08:24 PM

If you're family has low iron have they tried uping the amount of red meat their eating and leafy green vegetables. Do what you wish with the carbs, but i personally think if you had a whole food meal as your preworkout meal then you'd be better off then any carb supplementation. I just read your original post and it seems thats what your doing anyways, so i see no problem with what your doing except you'd help aid recovery and growth with taking them pwo as well. Yeah theres so many benefits from creatine, unless you have a real problem with/if any bloat, theres no point in droping it. I say word to the cassein and efas before bed. Doing a carb cut off always helps me lean out not sure if tht works for everyone though. GOOD LUCK! and i wish you the best;-)

Pumperh · 10-13-2007, 08:34 PM

Dude protein - Carbs - Creatin are the working supplements find a good produkt cheap ! im using Bodylab 3kg for only 150kr 7krons i 1euro

MetalMX · 10-14-2007, 03:55 AM

Yer i most likely dont eat enough red meat. Mostly focus on the Tuna, Chicken Breast & Cottage Cheese. Preworkout I havce Oatmeal with chicken or add protein powder to the oatmeal and maybe a teaspoon of flaxseed oil in that. Take 5g Glutamine & 5g BCAA's, Then do 60-70min of weight training, then again take 5g Glutamine & 5g BCAA's, Then do 30-40 minutes of cardio, with varying intensities. Then an hour later i have a protein bar with about 20g protein & 20g of carbs which i have just added to my diet instead of just protein as you said.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-14-2007, 05:13 AM

i would discard the protein bar for pwo, sorry to seem as if im being hypocritical. The protein found in most protein bars isnt exactly optimal for pwo. Just get some protein whey and some carbs (can be found on most nutrition sites, id reccomend waxy maize startch, you get great pumps with it and is less impacting on the waist line. or even some strait up dextrose. nutraplanet.com and trueprotein.com both have good deals on some strait up carbs)

**JakeVendetta** · 10-14-2007, 05:14 AM

i would imagine geting whey and carbs would be more cost effective then the bars as well if thats one of your concerns.

MetalMX · 10-14-2007, 07:17 AM

Ive just been using the bars for convenience. A protein shake and muesli bar is my usual option, and in regards to waxy maize carbs well the only product i see is vitargo but it has way too much carbs than i'd want to use. Also as im in australia i doubt they sell this carbohydrate seperatly? im not sure

**JakeVendetta** · 10-14-2007, 07:33 AM

they do at both places i mentioned, nutra i believe ships international for relatively cheap. check under bulk powders, its not like ordinary carbs try it out is all i can say you can seriously tell the diffrence between this and other carb sources. You can also sip on it with your bcaa's during your workout to prevent catabolism, and get that great pump. If this doesnt suit you, nesquik is always a good option ;-). i was doing that for a while they sold it at a discount store i live by so i could get it cheap.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-14-2007, 07:34 AM

but in all honesty if what your doing is working why change it up, right?

IronWarrior-07 · 10-14-2007, 08:19 AM

Supplements are not hard to understand really, its not rocket science. They are called supplements exactly they are to be used to supplement your diet. They don't make or brake you.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-14-2007, 08:18 PM

Their not hard to use properly, understanding is completely diffrent that would take some biochemistry and physiology just to understand it, let alone know the each and every pathway for each and every supplement. Yes supplements are used to complement your food food>supplements everyone knows that he wasnt asking to understand how or why they work he was just asking for our opinions on what works best cost/effectiveness.

IronWarrior-07 · 10-15-2007, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakeVendetta

Their not hard to use properly, understanding is completely diffrent that would take some biochemistry and physiology just to understand it, let alone know the each and every pathway for each and every supplement. Yes supplements are used to complement your food food>supplements everyone knows that he wasnt asking to understand how or why they work he was just asking for our opinions on what works best cost/effectiveness.

Then if your Mr. Know-It-All give him your opinion then since I've gave mine.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-15-2007, 01:03 AM

WHAT! woah that was not the way i meant to come off, i just meant i'm sick of seeing you people (not sure what i mean by you people) geting all pist off and saying "search" or "dont use supplements", when someone asks a honest question, your opinion matters it just seems you could of directly answered his question, instead of saying "its not rocket science", maybe he is over analyzing it so what?? We should all be here to help each other not say "GOT SEARCH?", or to not even answer his initial question at all.
Ok sorry for going off i feel better now.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-15-2007, 01:12 AM

and i did give my opinion, btw.

IronWarrior-07 · 10-15-2007, 03:02 AM

ok so who cares man, he got his answer already.

**JakeVendetta** · 10-15-2007, 03:54 AM

you know your right... your post wasnt even bad. i just took out my frustration of people belittling other members, on you. My post wasnt meant to seem like i was trying to be a know it all i was showing you how it feels to make someone feel like everything they say is being scrutinized.