expert advice.

[amrbassiouny]

well, i went around my uni (HKU) looking for sports nutrition experts asking about nutrition and all...and i got some good help. read the emails. this should be very informative.

********
Dear Amr
thank you for the email, it is very helpful in understanding your
goals. As I mentioned I am not a clinical nutritionist, rather an
exercise physiologist. I will give you my best opinion, but am also
forwarding this to one of our staff who is a clinical nutritionist,
Liza Wong.


You mention you are quite tall, thin and do not currently have a great
deal of muscle mass. You are right in mentioning genetics - muscle mass
is very much related to genetics, but it is also very highly correlated
with development and as a male who is only 17y, your muscular potential
is not yet fully developed. Most males reach full development of muscle
mass in their early 20s.

The good news is no matter where you start in terms of muscle mass, you
are equally capable of building strength as a person who is much
bulkier. Of course you may never be as bulky - that is very much your
genetic endowment.
The bad news is that large gains in mass will not be fast. Nutrition is
beneficial, particularly adequate protein intake if your goal is to
build muscle. However, this is very much the 'natural' approach, and
your body will develop within its pre-set capabilities. The less
natural approach is protein supplmentation, which has been found to be
effective, but I am not in favour of this sort of regime because the
side-effects can be quite profound. Some proteins are quite toxic in
excess, and there have been well documented long term problems in heavy
protein supplement users. The problem you have is that the body
building culture is all about the quick-fix and supplements. The
extreme of this is steriod use. Don't do it!! Steroids cause serious
organ damage and in the worse scenario liver failure.

I can only say that any weight training programme designed to build
strength will build muscle. The magnitude will most likely be less than
for an individual who is taking supplements, but the long term health
benefits of the natural approach far outweight the risks that excess
supplementation carries.


I hope in the interim this is of help, and I will ask Liza to comment on
the sort of diet you might consider.

Regards,
*******

ok, so Liza emailed me later on that evening...she sent one email with a list of stuff i should do...this included....

7. In terms of supplements I do not encourage this - ONLY if you cannot achieve your dietary goals with normal food. e.g. energy bars are ok for a post exercise snack but should not replace a meal. You will be able to achieve your protein goal through a regular diet.

and then after i asked for some more advice on supplements she replied...

*******
It is not necessary for you to waste your money on any protein supplement.
You can get all the protein you need for milk. In fact there is no valid
data that supports supplements as more effective than natural sources: so
stick to you milk. Blend with a banana and wheatgerm for the perfect post
workout re-fueler.

Get a good quality tuna (one that is in spring water) or trying boiling
eggs and eating the egg white.

Good luck
Regards
Liza
***********

what do you think?

[Twin Peak]

<sarcasm begins>

Yeah, brilliant advice.

<sarcasm ends>

[bigunit66]

Buy some protein bro, and stop talking with this so called "expert."

[musclemidget]

wow, im surprised that she didnt warn you about the heart mumur youre sure to develop if you take creatine or about the certainty of kindey failure youll face if you eat more than 75g of protein a day.

[louie]

The first paragraph about genetics had some good facts. A lot of their protein info was way off. They're right about steroids though, they are the least safe route to go in terms of gaining mass.

[dcor]

Originally posted by amrbassiouny
well, i went around my uni (HKU) looking for sports nutrition experts asking about nutrition and all...and i got some good help. read the emails. this should be very informative.

********


You mention you are quite tall, thin and do not currently have a great
deal of muscle mass. You are right in mentioning genetics - muscle mass
is very much related to genetics, but it is also very highly correlated
with development and as a male who is only 17y, your muscular potential
is not yet fully developed. Most males reach full development of muscle in their early twenties.

I'd like to hear others' opinions, but I don't believe this part is exactly true. I think it's something this person said because it seems to make sense. After all, most guys do continue to build muscle naturally for years after high school. I think it has more to do with the fact that they simply haven't built up much muscle mass yet, and that it can takes years to do so unless you're lifting weights.

I'm one of those very few people who started lifting weights at 12 1/2 (I had help from an accomplished bodybuilder), and by high school I had a very developed physique along with my best friend (whose dad was the accomplished lifter). My friend did even better than I did, and most on here would probably kill to have a body like he had when he was only 15/16.

If more boys were encouraged to start lifting in middle school or whatever and ate right, I think bodies would look fully developed at a much earlier age. I also know that it had a 'very' positive effect on me psychologically; I had adult women in their mid twenties expressing interest in me when I was tenth grade, probably thinking I was older. (That sort of thing makes you feel good about yourself when you're in high school). It made me mature earlier mentally, too, and made me outgoing and gave me a positive attitude. I think that feeling good about yourself in this respect in high school is important. I'm in my second year of law school now, but something makes me think that had I never started lifting weights at an early age my whole life would be different right now and I probably would never have graduated at the top of my class in high school or even gone to college, let alone law school and beyond.