I need to cut out a few of these supplements to save money. Which ones?

[mileena202]

I get all of my supplements individually, and mix them each day. It's time to re-order some, and I need to save money. What can I either cut out totally, or reduce? I am unable to get pumps, by the way, so they don't matter.

Here is my list:

Supplements Taken Per Day:

Whey Protein Isolate (90% protein) - 19.5 g protein
Casein Protein- 25 g protein
Creatine Monohydrate - 5 g
Beta Alanine - 6 g
Betaine Anhydrous - 3 g
L-Theanine - 200 mg
L-Tyrosine - 1.5 g
L-Taurine - 3 g
L-Citrulline DL-Malate - 8 g
L-Carnitine L-Tartrate - 2 g
Beet Root Powder - 500 mg
Pomegranate Extract - 500 mg
Agmatine Sulfate - 1.125 g
HMB - 2.25 g
Fenugreek (powder) - 3 g
Dandelion Root Extract - 1.25 g
Caffeine - 400 mg
Green Tea Extract (50% EGCG) - 1 g

Vitamin C - 3 g (plus added additionally in tablet: Hesperidin, Rubin, lemon peel drop/pulp)
Vitamin D3 - 6,000 IU
Omega fish oil - combined EPA/DHA 2400 mg
CoQ10 - 300 mg
CMZ (Trader Joe's) (Calcium 1 g/Magnesium 500 mg/Zinc 15 mg)
Multi-Vitamin


I've already cut out:

L-Glutamine
BCAA's
CLA
Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
Ashwagandha Extract
Flax Seed Oil
dark chocolate (72% or more cacao)
AAKG - when my large supply runs out (now I take 2.5 g -- is this enough?)
GMS - when my large supply runs out (now I take 3 g -- is this enough?)

Thanks!

[SuffolkPunch]

Whey Protein Isolate (90% protein) - 19.5 g protein
Creatine Monohydrate - 5 g
Green Tea Extract (50% EGCG) - 1 g

Vitamin D3 - 6,000 IU
Omega fish oil - combined EPA/DHA 2400 mg

Holy ....


OK I've fixed it for you.

I'm assuming you eat plenty of wholefoods, fruit and veg here. Maybe also keep the calcium unless you get plenty of dairy foods.

[faipdeooiad]

Mother of god - do you have time to go to work or any appetite to eat any actual food?

As per SuffolkPunch, get rid of most of that list. I’d go further and bin off the green tea extract too.

[DougyF7]

I'd keep just whey, multivitamin, and dark chocolate (super supplement). The rest can come from the foods you eat.

[mileena202]

I'd keep just whey, multivitamin, and dark chocolate (super supplement). The rest can come from the foods you eat.

Awesome! I like the dark chocolate. I stopped only because I read most of these have added sugars, despite the antioxidants they have. I avoid added sugars at all costs, because they limit the amount of real food I can eat. I always wondered if the added sugars outweighed the benefits of the antioxidants.

[mileena202]

Holy ....


OK I've fixed it for you.

I'm assuming you eat plenty of wholefoods, fruit and veg here. Maybe also keep the calcium unless you get plenty of dairy foods.

Mother of god - do you have time to go to work or any appetite to eat any actual food?

As per SuffolkPunch, get rid of most of that list. I’d go further and bin off the green tea extract too.

Ok, thank you both. I am a little obsessive about these, lol. I do appreciate your suggestions. And yes @SuffolkPunch, I eat plenty of whole foods: meat, dairy, vegetables (especially cruciferous), and fruits.

A few questions I have:

1. I like the casein protein at bedtime only because it is slower digesting, and the body supposedly needs a longer digesting protein while sleeping, when muscles hypertrophy. Also, the Canadian body builder Jeff Nippard advocates you mix whey with casein to help increase the effects. He cites medical journal article in his YouTube videos. What's wrong with taking casein, in addition to whey?

2. And the L-theanine counteracts most of the negative effects of caffeine and GTE. I need the caffeine to feel energized during my workouts. I tried cycling off them, and it ruins my workouts. @faipdeooiad, What is wrong with GTE?

3. Why do I see so many gym goers take pre- and post-workouts that have many of these ingredients? I know when I first started taking these, my reps and weights I could do radically increased, sometimes up to 300%.

4. What's wrong with taking a testosterone booster, like fenugreek or zinc? I need all the help I can get. I am fighting like heck for gains, and am only progressing very slowly. I think I have maxed out.

Again, I do appreciate your help, but just am wondering.

[faipdeooiad]

Ok, thank you both. I am a little obsessive about these, lol. I do appreciate your suggestions. And yes @SuffolkPunch, I eat plenty of whole foods: meat, dairy, vegetables (especially cruciferous), and fruits.

A few questions I have:

1. I like the casein protein at bedtime only because it is slower digesting, and the body supposedly needs a longer digesting protein while sleeping, when muscles hypertrophy. Also, the Canadian body builder Jeff Nippard advocates you mix whey with casein to help increase the effects. He cites medical journal article in his YouTube videos. What's wrong with taking casein, in addition to whey?

2. And the L-theanine counteracts most of the negative effects of caffeine and GTE. I need the caffeine to feel energized during my workouts. I tried cycling off them, and it ruins my workouts. @faipdeooiad, What is wrong with GTE?

3. Why do I see so many gym goers take pre- and post-workouts that have many of these ingredients? I know when I first started taking these, my reps and weights I could do radically increased, sometimes up to 300%.

4. What's wrong with taking a testosterone booster, like fenugreek or zinc? I need all the help I can get. I am fighting like heck for gains, and am only progressing very slowly. I think I have maxed out.

Again, I do appreciate your help, but just am wondering.

1 - nothing wrong with it if that’s your personal preference and whilst mixing whey & casein may have some benefits, realistically for the likes of you and me they’re trivial at best and will have no real world impact over consuming a whey protein product exclusively instead of mixing with a whey.

2. Again, as above, there’s nothing inherently wrong with L-theanine or caffeine but it was more an exclamation as the sheer number of pills & powders you’re putting into your body when you can get the same/similar benefits without it all.

3. Marketing. There are and have been a number of pre-workouts on the market over the years that got straight to the point - caffeine, b vits, maybe something like taurine or BA and some flavouring. You then get one’s where they’ll throw the kitchen sink into them (see the new Kaged pre which has a ridiculous 35g scoop size because it has so much in it). The end product is the same with or without all the added extra fluff.

4. OTC testosterone boosters are a waste of cash. If you’re plateauing, it’s time to up your calories and/or switch your training up. Fenugreek isn’t going to turn you into a freak beast, making all kinds a gains. An extra 2-300 calories (which you can tailor up or down depending on results) will have a greater effect on your muscle building ability.

[mileena202]

1 - nothing wrong with it if that’s your personal preference and whilst mixing whey & casein may have some benefits, realistically for the likes of you and me they’re trivial at best and will have no real world impact over consuming a whey protein product exclusively instead of mixing with a whey.

2. Again, as above, there’s nothing inherently wrong with L-theanine or caffeine but it was more an exclamation as the sheer number of pills & powders you’re putting into your body when you can get the same/similar benefits without it all.

3. Marketing. There are and have been a number of pre-workouts on the market over the years that got straight to the point - caffeine, b vits, maybe something like taurine or BA and some flavouring. You then get one’s where they’ll throw the kitchen sink into them (see the new Kaged pre which has a ridiculous 35g scoop size because it has so much in it). The end product is the same with or without all the added extra fluff.

4. OTC testosterone boosters are a waste of cash. If you’re plateauing, it’s time to up your calories and/or switch your training up. Fenugreek isn’t going to turn you into a freak beast, making all kinds a gains. An extra 2-300 calories (which you can tailor up or down depending on results) will have a greater effect on your muscle building ability.

Ok, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. You make me realize most of these supplements are "tweaks", and will not make a big difference realistically, as you said. I think I have mistakenly tended to go the "kitchen sink" route. I am going to scale back. Fenugreek and CMZ (calcium magnesium zinc) are out the window for me when my supply runs out. Things like agmatine sulfate and HMB too, and casein protein. And dandelion. I am probably not going to whittle it down all at once, but little by little.

[eatyourspinach]

I'd argue from a cost/benefit perspective betaine and taurine would be better than GTE

[smokinal]

Not taking the shortcut here but I agree with everything above.
It's easier to list what to keep than to list what to cut.

And I hear ya op; I'm a supp junkie too. But deep down I know my diet and training are 98% of my physique; supps are 2%

[mileena202]

I'd argue from a cost/benefit perspective betaine and taurine would be better than GTE

Ok, thank you @eatyourspinach. You have always given sound advice. I think I will continue the beataine anhydrous and taurine, along with the LCLT you mentioned in a previous post.

Not taking the shortcut here but I agree with everything above.
It's easier to list what to keep than to list what to cut.

And I hear ya op; I'm a supp junkie too. But deep down I know my diet and training are 98% of my physique; supps are 2%

Ok, I appreciate this @smokinal. I do love my supps, haha, but cutting a few probably won't hurt, especially at my age. [I wish I had muscles like you do in your pic, btw!]

[Brankov88]

omg Caffeine - 400 mg my head would explode!!! Just stick to creatine, whey protein and bcaa. From time to time pre-workout and multivitamins.

[b_andersson]

If you want to save money only keep the two below.

Whey Protein Isolate (90% protein) - 19.5 g
Creatine Monohydrate - 5 g


1. There are no study shown that casein at night will increase musclesmass. More important is to meet your total protein throughout the day.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calpro.htm

2. Theanine might help with the jitters but if you feel you can only perform with caffeine you might consider to cut down on it anyways. GTE is not very potent so its a better option to just drink green tea.

3. As someone else mentioned marketing.

4. Testosterone booster wont help you.
https://examine.com/nutrition/increa...one-naturally/

The money you save can go to high quality food products instead. That will give you more gains than those supplements will.

Ok, thank you both. I am a little obsessive about these, lol. I do appreciate your suggestions. And yes @SuffolkPunch, I eat plenty of whole foods: meat, dairy, vegetables (especially cruciferous), and fruits.

A few questions I have:

1. I like the casein protein at bedtime only because it is slower digesting, and the body supposedly needs a longer digesting protein while sleeping, when muscles hypertrophy. Also, the Canadian body builder Jeff Nippard advocates you mix whey with casein to help increase the effects. He cites medical journal article in his YouTube videos. What's wrong with taking casein, in addition to whey?

2. And the L-theanine counteracts most of the negative effects of caffeine and GTE. I need the caffeine to feel energized during my workouts. I tried cycling off them, and it ruins my workouts. @faipdeooiad, What is wrong with GTE?

3. Why do I see so many gym goers take pre- and post-workouts that have many of these ingredients? I know when I first started taking these, my reps and weights I could do radically increased, sometimes up to 300%.

4. What's wrong with taking a testosterone booster, like fenugreek or zinc? I need all the help I can get. I am fighting like heck for gains, and am only progressing very slowly. I think I have maxed out.

Again, I do appreciate your help, but just am wondering.