Hey Edwin, i just joined too and trying to navigate my way around to see how this all works. Sheding fat and supplements, i have a little experience in both of these.
I am almost 45 and 18 months into my complete body overhaul. I started with walking each morning, just short at first but increased by 10 mins or so each 3-4 days within a month i was walking like 60-70 mins each morning on an empty stomach. I educated myself in the wonderful science of calories and used calorieking.com to track my intake.Weight began to tumble!! i started at 245lbs and in 4 months had lost 55lbs.
The diet consisted of lower carbs/fat and high protein.
Then i hit a period of very slow weight loss so i joined a local gym and started on a resistance training program with cardio on treadmill, bikes ect.
I should have incorperated weight training from the start as muscle mass also helps in fat burning (i now know). The body fat began to move again and i was soon down to 170lbs. In total i lost almost 70lbs, i have gained 10lbs since then and guess what it aint body fat!!! i have manage to increase my lean body mass while still trimming off the fat.
These days i weight train 4 days a week and most mornings i go for 30 min cycle out on the hills here where i live, its great cardio and gets me ready for my working day.
Supplements, wow there is just soooo many out there and its easy to get confused as to what you need, its a case of get to trying a few different products and see what works for you. The $$$$ can add up quick to when the pantry gets taken over by the supps so keep its simple at first. I take a protien shake 3 times a day its a whey protein isolate, 1st in morning, 1x post workout, 1 x night time, i aslo take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate with gatorade, pre and post workout, i take multi vitamins, omega3 fish oil caps, and because i am a mature guy i take a testosterone booster made from a herbal concoction. Thats about it for regular supps but from time to time i do try different brands and products.
I would say just get the protien supp to add to the diet to start with just watch the carb intake and mix with water instead of milk, its not as nice but if you want to shed fat the carbs are important to keep at a controlled amount. Just watch the carbs/fat but up the protein, the average to build lean muscle mass seems to be 1.5 - 2 grams per lb of lean body weight, i am currently at 180 lbs which means i aim for 270 - 360 grams of protien a day, from that i take 3 shakes = 90gms, 3 x eggs= 30 gms, 1 x tin tuna= 20 gms, lean chicken, beef , kangaroo, (yes aussie here) for dinner= 60gms. i also make my own protien bars that pack in another 60gms per serve, then there is my yoghurts = 20gms, for a total of 280 gms of protien per day.
It seems a lot but its working for me, i keep cabs to aprox 200gms and fat at 60 gms and can keep it going.
I hope this is helpful info, its been a process of learning, from internet, magazine articles, but mainly just listening to and looking at my own body and making little tweaks in the diet and exercise to get the results.
Take it from me it aint easy but its sure as hell worth it!!
Rick.
