Recommendation for Maximizing my Workout?

[lyghtnin]

I'm 42, 5'9 ~210lbs Male. I quit smoking about 2 years ago. My only exercise in the last 20 years is I've been playing ice hockey on Sunday's for about 5-6yrs now.
I've hit the age where I'm noticing that tire around the waist and my main goal is to be healthy and lose the fat and get in better shape.
I travel for work weekly and don't have the luxury of going to the pantry and packing my lunch and eating 6 times a day etc...so I have to do my best to eat healthy on the road while working out on a regular basis so here is what I've started to do.
Last Monday (16Apr12) I started the Insanity workout mostly because I can to it right in my hotel room with the video's on my laptop first thing in the morning. My current schedule looks like this:
- Up at 630a
- 1 scoop of Gaspari Superpump Max with 8oz water.
- Wait 30-40 mins
- Do Insanity workout

Post-workout - 1 scoop of Cytosport 100% Whey Protein (6lb bag from Costco) 8oz water
Head into work, Eat an apple or something simple like fruit with some carbs.

Eat lunch - recently I've just tried to eat with minimal calories but somewhat healthy - Chipotle Barbacos Bowl, brown rice, black beans, very little cheese, lettuce and a dash of hot sauce, Subway Turkey & Ham, lettuce onions, banana peppers, splash of honey mustard etc...It's extremely difficult to eat out but I'm scouring the internet for choices in the area where ever I'm working. Any idea's here would be a tremendous help!

Eat another apple/fruit

Leave work - Eat something similar to what I had for lunch around 6-8, I'm trying to stay under the 2000 calorie limit but I'm not writing everything down I'm just checking out the calorie content before I eat it and know if it would put me over the limit and if so I choose something else etc...

10p I take a Multi Vitamin, Melatonin

11-12 Bedtime I take 1 scoop of Cytosport 100% Whey Protein (6lb bag from Costco) 8oz water

After 1.5 weeks of the workout and research on the web I've found that maybe I should be doing the Cytosport pre-workout and lunch and maybe Casein at bedtime. Right now I just want to get the best bang for my buck and by that I mean as long as I'm working out I'd like to maximize my progress. I do not want to take 19 different products 7 times a day, I want to keep it simple and not jepordize my health by stacking caffeine etc...

Can someone recommend an little better schedule, better usage of the supplements, simpler way to maximize my progress? Please remember that I travel (airports/flying) so some restrictions may apply

Thanks for taking the time for reading and commenting!

Steven

[astigos]

Learn more about nutrition. You have to count calories. There's no way around it. I think you're following a 2000 calorie intake because that's what you've been told by the FDA is the recommended daily allowance but that's the intake for a sedentary "average" human. You're not average. You require an intake designed for someone who is exercising and tailored to your height, age and weight.

Read the stickies in this forum and the nutrition forum.

[lyghtnin]

Learn more about nutrition. You have to count calories. There's no way around it. I think you're following a 2000 calorie intake because that's what you've been told by the FDA is the recommended daily allowance but that's the intake for a sedentary "average" human. You're not average. You require an intake designed for someone who is exercising and tailored to your height, age and weight.

Read the stickies in this forum and the nutrition forum.

The question isn't around the caloric intake, its more around a better usage of my time/supplements to get a better/faster result WHILE I decrease my calories and do Insanity. I've already checked my calories per day and its suppose to be around 1800-2300 depending on whether I want to maintain or cut so I said 2000 as an average since that's not really what I'm asking about.
Appreciate you taking the time to reply though! Feel free to post any additional info that you feel would be helpful.

Steven

[astigos]

Your time is better spent worrying about calorie intake and cooking and eating cleaner foods so that you don't feel hungry all the time. Diet is at least 95% of the battle on a cut. Personally I believe it's more like 99%, but that's splitting hairs.

Don't worry about supplements beyond those scientifically proven to be effective: multivitamin, omega 3 (fish oil) and creatine (if you so choose). Whey isn't really a supplement per se. It's really just liquid food.

Just lift weights, eat at a deficit and get enough protein and you're golden. Don't worry about the small stuff.

The vital few >> the trivial many

[bdrusse]

Your time is better spent worrying about calorie intake and cooking and eating cleaner foods so that you don't feel hungry all the time. Diet is at least 95% of the battle on a cut. Personally I believe it's more like 99%, but that's splitting hairs.

Don't worry about supplements beyond those scientifically proven to be effective: multivitamin, omega 3 (fish oil) and creatine (if you so choose). Whey isn't really a supplement per se. It's really just liquid food.

Just lift weights, eat at a deficit and get enough protein and you're golden. Don't worry about the small stuff.

The vital few >> the trivial many

Agreed. Calorie in vs calorie out is king. Supps are overstated. Insanity will MELT that fat off as long as cals are in check. Enjoy!

[lyghtnin]

Agreed. Calorie in vs calorie out is king. Supps are overstated. Insanity will MELT that fat off as long as cals are in check. Enjoy!

I agree that the calories are a majority of the battle. The main purpose of asking this is I want to make sure I'm getting maximum results and if I need to supplement or eat something specific right after the workout or before bed to accelerate this then I was hoping someone who is doing a similar routine would chime in. Most on here have the luxury of being at home and can go to a local gym where I don't.

I also thought using the Creatine would be a negative when trying to cut?

Do you see a benefit to using Casein vs. Whey before bed?

What about using Whey and Superpump first thing in the morning then 2hrs later, after my workout another Whey with an apple or simple carbs?

Would anything like this accelerate or increase my results?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply!

Steven

[Daywalker75]

I found that when I quit smoking 4 years ago, cardio really helped me increase my lung capacity, when I started getting into HIIT, it really helped me with my weight training....ive always lifted weights, but when i started to take it seriously after quitting smoking, the cardio i was doing after my training sessions really helped me, especially on the big lifts.

[lyghtnin]

bump

[cuckfonformity]

You don't need to eat 6 times a day. You'd be fuller if you didn't.

As far as your eating out issue, you could easily work in a double quarter pounder into your diet if the majority of your fats are lower in other foods to compensate. Just skip the fries and calorie dense condiments.

[astigos]

I agree that the calories are a majority of the battle. The main purpose of asking this is I want to make sure I'm getting maximum results and if I need to supplement or eat something specific right after the workout or before bed to accelerate this then I was hoping someone who is doing a similar routine would chime in. Most on here have the luxury of being at home and can go to a local gym where I don't.

I also thought using the Creatine would be a negative when trying to cut?

Do you see a benefit to using Casein vs. Whey before bed?

What about using Whey and Superpump first thing in the morning then 2hrs later, after my workout another Whey with an apple or simple carbs?

Would anything like this accelerate or increase my results?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply!

Steven

Don't worry about the fabled "best" or "optimal" or "perfect" methods. Just do the basics and let the pieces fall in place. Are there certain shortcuts like you're looking for? Sure they exist, but they'd probably require a team of nutritionists and doctors monitoring your body 24/7 to optimize it the way you want.

I feel for your situation. I imagine it's hard when you personal goals may conflict with your career. We all make sacrifices to keep up with this lifestyle. We just do the best we can with the hand we're dealt. As long as you're eating your deficit, you'll lose weight. Lifting weight is just to ensure that we're going to look good when we finish losing weight. Remember that eating clean foods is NOT required to lose weight. You can lose weight whilst eating McDonalds, for example, since you're in hotels constantly.

Creatine is fine on a cut. You'll have more energy to do your heavy lifts but you'll definitely gain water weight. When you cycle off the creatine that water weight will disappear. Definitely not a necessary supplement though, especially since it sounds like you're not lifting weights.

Don't even think about casein vs whey. It's a complete waste of time. Just get your daily protein intake by any means convenient to you. Nutrient timing does not matter.

If I understand your whey and superpump routine it's: Whey + Superpump 30 mins before insanity, then 2 hours after workout you drink a whey and eat an apple? If that makes you happy then do it. There's no wrong way to eat if you're getting your macros in a 24 hour period. I use whey as a way to break my fast as well and it works pretty well for me.


On a side note, if you have the hectic lifestyle like you are implying, then I'd HIGHLY recommend researching Intermittent Fasting at leangains.com. It makes life so much easier since you only have to worry about food once or twice a day. Best thing I've ever done with my cut and it's something I'm going to take with me for the rest of my life even if I'm not bodybuilding.

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top...-debunked.html

[nlite2000]

You're wasting time worrying about stuff that doesn't matter and doesn't deliver (meal timing, supplement timing??? FFFS)