any recommendations? please help =)

[Calabresa]

Hi everyone, yes im a dreaded newbie. lol I love this site its extremely helpful and finally i feel like im not alone
Never took any supplements besides green tea extract and a multi vitamin,
i would like to know what you would recommend for me.
I am not trying to gain or lose weight. im trying to maintain. and build muscle and strength, but not bulky!
i dont know **** about the supplements or what i would need in order to obtain my ideal body. Im thinking protein shakes? what are the best kinds and when do i drink them. also would tonalin help me?

i recently lost ALOT of weight just doing cardio and diet. so my body is kind of in transitional shock/weak stage.
any help is greatly appreciated thanks!!

xoxo Calabresa

[RB12]

well in all reality, there are a couple things to consider. First, there is diet. There are basically 3 types of diets you can have (1) cutting (loosing fat), (2) maintenance (staying the same weight/fat/muscle) and (3) bulking (gaining muscle). Strength gaining is basically independent of that. An old mantra is train for mass at the dinner table, train for strength in the gym. Now, this is all very over simplified, but is generally the case.

You say you want to build muscle and strength, but not get bulky. Please note, as long as you are eating clean and a little above maintenance you will not get bulky. Don't be worried about "putting on too much muscle". Most people around here desperately try to pack on lean mass and can tell you how hard it really is.

Here are some general diet suggestions:
Cutting (loosing fat) requires a caloric deficit, bulking (adding muscle) requires a caloric excess. Pick one and stick with it. Once you have a goal set, consider the following:
- 6+ meals per day, focus on whole foods (chicken, fish, beef, oats, veggies, fruits, nuts, natural pb, milk, etc.)
- first thing in the mornign and pre and post workout have a shake with a scoop of whey+cup of oats+water or milk
- Use these calculators to calculate maintenance:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa64.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/idssports3.htm
- Then go to fitday.com and input your diet. Shoot for a 40%/40%/20% macro breakdown for carbs/protein/fat for a bulk and 35/45/20 for a cut
- Start by tweaking your cals to be about 500 over maintenance and increase from there in increments of 100 or so until you break weight gain plateau for a bulk or Start at about 10% under mantenance and decrease by 100 for a cut until you start to loose

As for strength, that will primarily be based on the time in the gym. Creatine is a good supplement for getting started out to help boost strnegth, though. You can get some basic creatine monohydrate (Prolab is a good brand), or if you want something one step up that also avoids the worry of bloat or water retention often affiliated with monohydrate, consider MAN Orotine, just a different kind of creatine, still flavorless and can be mixed with any shake

[eldawg]

^^ Good advice.

You don't need to worry too much about supplements if you are making good progress. With respect to protein shakes, use them for convinience. I prefer using both whey protein isolates and a casein/whey mix.

I would continue using the green tea extract and multi-vitamin.

[Calabresa]

thank you so much for your suggestions!
I am going to try the creatine (MAN Orotine) to help with my strength, and will get some whey and oats. im not sure if i should continue to drink my skim milk or if its alright to drink whole milk. i will continue with the green tea as it is a great energy boost.
I was confused on all the different types of supplements and unsure which ones would benefit me.
so again thank you so mucH for clearing it up!

[RB12]

Originally Posted by Calabresa

thank you so much for your suggestions!
I am going to try the creatine (MAN Orotine) to help with my strength, and will get some whey and oats. im not sure if i should continue to drink my skim milk or if its alright to drink whole milk. i will continue with the green tea as it is a great energy boost.
I was confused on all the different types of supplements and unsure which ones would benefit me.
so again thank you so mucH for clearing it up!

both whole and skim and everything in between is fine. the decision should be based on how the rest of your diet looks. if you can afford the extra fat in your diet, then whole is fine, if not, go with skim

[deeds]

I would definately get some fish oil capsules, essential in any healthy diet!

[Calabresa]

deeds good idea! will pick some up asap!