Supplementation

[LakeVegasQB11]

Greetings all. I am currently doing a somewhat modified Fit4Life program. Upper body three times a week and lower body 2 days a week. I currently only take a protein shake after working out both for the protein as well as a meal replacement. I am currently at 250lbs and want to drop a bit of fat. My question is, are there any other supplements I should look into? Pre-workout? Fat burner type products? I feel like I am lifting fairly hard each session and have seen some changes in my body, but as everyone else I would like to do what i can to speed the process along.

Thanks.

[Bando]

If you're hitting it pretty hard I would recommend fish oil, Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM, Arganine and Glutamine. All natural stuff that aids joints/tendons/recovery. I would personally skip the fat burners. I have mixed feelings about pre-workouts but if a snazzy black bottle with silver and purple lighting bolts gets you more into your workout, why not?

[ElrondHubbard]

Double on the fish oil, but that, like any other supplements that might help, will be equally useful whether you're lifting or not. What is your overall diet like? I'm going to sound like your grandmother here: are you eating enough greens? Leafy vegetables, with their bulky fiber and huge amounts of vitamins and minerals and phytonutrients, are really your best bet for keeping maximally nourished while making it easier to lose weight.

Proper diet beats pills and powders every time.

[RK42]

I have mixed feelings about pre-workouts but if a snazzy black bottle with silver and purple lighting bolts gets you more into your workout, why not?

I tried a couple of samples, just to find out what all the buzz was about. I noticed absolutely no effect from them. Well, one of them made my face and ears itch for a while, which was rather unpleasant. So my conclusion was: waste of money, at least for me. Try it for yourself if you want, OP, but I would recommend buying a sample size, or score a free sample from a vendor rep in the Supplements forum.

If you just want a stimulant, drink a strong cup of coffee, or pop a caffeine pill (which are dirt cheap) before your workout.

The only performance supplement I would recommend considering at some point is creatine. It doesn't do anything dramatic, but it helps.

Protein powder is useful if you have problems meeting your protein target otherwise.

Other than that, just general health supplements. Definitely recommend fish oil. A good multi-vitamin if you think it's needed (I'm not totally convinced, but take it anyway...). Joint supplements if needed.

[kimm4]

You need to create a calorie deficit though your diet for fat loss. Stay consistent with your lifting program and have some patience because there is no speeding up the process.

Don't go wasting your money on a bunch of supps because they don't do anything special or get you there faster.

[Garage Rat]

Kimm4 has the best advise^^^^above.
Eat real food.
Shakes/protein drinks are fine but real food is better and will rev up your metabolism digesting it.
Keep a diet/food journal and find out how many calories and macro grams you are consuming on a daily basis.
When you find and average,add the calories over seven days to a total then divide that by seven will give you an average daily intake.
Then cut 200 calories from that total.
Now you have a calorie depict .
This is like training.
It will require an effort to weigh, find numbers and record them in your journal.
If your to lazy to do it your goal isn't that important to you.
Also start doing some HIIT(High intensity interval training) cardio.
Basically do something say like exercise bike 30 seconds hard,30 seconds easy for 15 to 30 minutes straight.
You can use this with any cardio exercise.
This will help get rid of the fat better than any "fat burner"pill.
At least three days a week minimum.
Good luck.

[ironwill2008]

Greetings all. I am currently doing a somewhat modified Fit4Life program. Upper body three times a week and lower body 2 days a week. I currently only take a protein shake after working out both for the protein as well as a meal replacement. I am currently at 250lbs and want to drop a bit of fat. My question is, are there any other supplements I should look into? Pre-workout? Fat burner type products? I feel like I am lifting fairly hard each session and have seen some changes in my body, but as everyone else I would like to do what i can to speed the process along.

Thanks.

You should get your regular-food nutrition plan squared-away and working before considering the addition of any supplement. Most are a waste of $$$, but probably tops on that list would be fat "burners." If any of that stuff worked at all, this country wouldn't be in it's current obesity epidemic.

[EjnarKolinkar]

There is nothing really right or wrong with a scoop of whey, but it's not going to fix a poor diet.

Invest a little planning to see that your real food measures up in general.