Help a noob out . . .

battousaiken

battousaiken

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My weight loss log is here: http://anabolicminds.com/forum/weight-loss/79127-battousaikens-weight-loss.html



Stats:

5'8
200 lbs (lost 15-20lbs just taking Hydroxycut Hardcore and shooting hoops)
26 years old
male
Smoker (I know I have to quit)

____________________
Routine:

Basketball Drills by myself (1 hour Mondays and Wednesdays)

Basketball (3-on-3, half court, for 2 hours on Saturdays)

_____________________
Other activities: None (Law School, married, 2 kids)

____________________
Goals:

I used to play organized basketball for many years, before I got plantar fasciitis, which sidelined me for almost 5 years. I recently started playing again. I want to weigh 155 lbs and regain my vertical leap of 32 inches. It is currently down to 23 inches. I am not interested in being cut, or buff, only athletic.


_____________________
Needs:

I need help finding the right combination of supplements that will help me lose fat, gain energy, and will give me a performance boost so I can play for extended periods of time.



Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
T-AD

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Welcome, man! Thanks for coming out to play here. Hope we can be of some help to ya! :)

Well, it sounds as if you're looking for something to keep you going and lose some flubber, eh? In general, and without naming products in particular for you, I would say to do a bit of searching into both stimulants and fat burners.

Are you working out other than shooting hoops? If you did hit the gym, doing jump squats is an excellent way of improving your leap. Basically, it is a squat that is explosive on the push upward to the point where you leave the ground. You're jumping with XXX pounds sitting across your shoulders. If you're not in the gym, perhaps wearing a backpack or having something secure on you to increase your weight while doing some jumping exercises would be a way to help. Of course, losing weight will help you out, too.

As for supplements, there's a world out there. I'll step back into my Anabolic Xtreme rep shoes and recommend Stimulant X for ya. It's an energy boost, for sure, but will also help to burn some fat off. There are a bunch of things out there that do lots of different stuff. Without giving you a laudry list, I will say this: Most of the stuff you see advertised on TV as being a "wonder" pill are more like "crap" pills. Hydroxycut may work for some, but IMO, there are tons of things out there that will work just as good or better, cost less, and have good science behind them - not good marketing.

Go to NutraPlanet.com and look at the selection for Weight Loss. That'll get ya going! And if you have questions, we're here for ya!!

Best of luck man. And quit smoking!!! I'm in that same boat with ya, but KNOW that I HAVE TO GIVE IT UP!!!! :whip:
 
Cellardude

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hey man. Looks like someone has a bit different goals than the others around here!

Hmnn I can recommend some general supplements to help you play ball and get back into shape.

Here's what I would recommend

Protien
Broken Chained Amino Acids (X-tend)
Leviathan Reloaded

I remember looking into something about vertical leap before on a website. Im not exactly sure how to help you out with that. Maybe some calf raises or strapping some weights to your legs to get them a bit stronger?

Anyway BCAA and protien as well as leviathan will help you shed off some weight while retaining muscle. Be sure to spread out your meals into 6 smaller portions to help speed up your metabolism. I think once you find yourself at an appropriate weight you can get rid of the leviathan which I think should not be taken for more than 8 weeks. BCAA Protien should be kept in there. Also something like beta alanine and citrulline malate will help with your endurance in ball. It should be good for your needs.
 
battousaiken

battousaiken

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Welcome, man! Thanks for coming out to play here. Hope we can be of some help to ya! :)

Well, it sounds as if you're looking for something to keep you going and lose some flubber, eh? In general, and without naming products in particular for you, I would say to do a bit of searching into both stimulants and fat burners.

Are you working out other than shooting hoops? If you did hit the gym, doing jump squats is an excellent way of improving your leap. Basically, it is a squat that is explosive on the push upward to the point where you leave the ground. You're jumping with XXX pounds sitting across your shoulders. If you're not in the gym, perhaps wearing a backpack or having something secure on you to increase your weight while doing some jumping exercises would be a way to help. Of course, losing weight will help you out, too.

As for supplements, there's a world out there. I'll step back into my Anabolic Xtreme rep shoes and recommend Stimulant X for ya. It's an energy boost, for sure, but will also help to burn some fat off. There are a bunch of things out there that do lots of different stuff. Without giving you a laudry list, I will say this: Most of the stuff you see advertised on TV as being a "wonder" pill are more like "crap" pills. Hydroxycut may work for some, but IMO, there are tons of things out there that will work just as good or better, cost less, and have good science behind them - not good marketing.

Go to NutraPlanet.com and look at the selection for Weight Loss. That'll get ya going! And if you have questions, we're here for ya!!

Best of luck man. And quit smoking!!! I'm in that same boat with ya, but KNOW that I HAVE TO GIVE IT UP!!!! :whip:
Thanks for the help. Sadly, I don't go to the gym and I have never been interested. In my natural basketball weight, I was somewhat cut, but my style of play depends much more on agility, speed, and athleticism, all of which you lose to some extent the more you hit the weights.

At the same time, you lose agility, speed and athleticism even more simply by becoming overweight. That's why I am confident that losing the weight will bring back all I lost.

The problem is I can't lose the weight fast enough, because I don't have the stamina to play for more than 4 hours a week. I feel like I'm playing with a 45lb back-pack in my belly.

This is why I need the supplements, to give me more endurance/stamina, so I can accelerate the weight loss, so that I can in turn, gat into game shape faster. There is a semi-pro league I'm interested in staring in April, so that's what I'm shotting for.
 
battousaiken

battousaiken

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hey man. Looks like someone has a bit different goals than the others around here!

Hmnn I can recommend some general supplements to help you play ball and get back into shape.

Here's what I would recommend

Protien
Broken Chained Amino Acids (X-tend)
Leviathan Reloaded

I remember looking into something about vertical leap before on a website. Im not exactly sure how to help you out with that. Maybe some calf raises or strapping some weights to your legs to get them a bit stronger?

Anyway BCAA and protien as well as leviathan will help you shed off some weight while retaining muscle. Be sure to spread out your meals into 6 smaller portions to help speed up your metabolism. I think once you find yourself at an appropriate weight you can get rid of the leviathan which I think should not be taken for more than 8 weeks. BCAA Protien should be kept in there. Also something like beta alanine and citrulline malate will help with your endurance in ball. It should be good for your needs.
Yes, my problem with finding supplements is that they always cater to people who lift, so whenever I read info on them, it's all about the Pumps and whatnot. I ask in here because I think maybe there's gotta be someone who takes the Supps for athletic sports rather than lifts.

As for 6 meals a day, that's impossible for me. Between Law School, the wife, the kids, and basketball, I barely have time to eat, so I can only eat twice a day (big portions), three times if I'm lucky.
 
Cellardude

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Yes, my problem with finding supplements is that they always cater to people who lift, so whenever I read info on them, it's all about the Pumps and whatnot. I ask in here because I think maybe there's gotta be someone who takes the Supps for athletic sports rather than lifts.

As for 6 meals a day, that's impossible for me. Between Law School, the wife, the kids, and basketball, I barely have time to eat, so I can only eat twice a day (big portions), three times if I'm lucky.
6 meals a day will really help you lose some good weight. (fat)

for what you have said I am confident the things Ive recommended would suit you. Theres no "pump" or what not. Beta alanine and citrulline malate both help with endurance. Citrulline malate helps the buildup of lactic acids. In my opinion thats pretty important. You might want to do some cardio. BCAA will also help you in the long run. The combo of protien and BCAA will help you hold onto muscle while getting rid of fat. Trust me straight out cutting by the means of not eatting or eatting next to nothing will do nothing but cut your strength and endurance. Your agility will also be affected.

Also by getting 6 meals in i doubt it would be THAT hard. something like a protien shake + a hand full of almonds would be considered 1 meal. You need to protect the muscle you have while trying to lose fat. Im pretty sure this stack would help you out plenty.
 
battousaiken

battousaiken

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6 meals a day will really help you lose some good weight. (fat)

for what you have said I am confident the things Ive recommended would suit you. Theres no "pump" or what not. Beta alanine and citrulline malate both help with endurance. Citrulline malate helps the buildup of lactic acids. In my opinion thats pretty important. You might want to do some cardio. BCAA will also help you in the long run. The combo of protien and BCAA will help you hold onto muscle while getting rid of fat. Trust me straight out cutting by the means of not eatting or eatting next to nothing will do nothing but cut your strength and endurance. Your agility will also be affected.

Also by getting 6 meals in i doubt it would be THAT hard. something like a protien shake + a hand full of almonds would be considered 1 meal. You need to protect the muscle you have while trying to lose fat. Im pretty sure this stack would help you out plenty.
Nice, you've been great help. Without sounding inconsiderate, would you mind posting what a normal 6-meal day is like, for someone with my goals? Also, is basketball not cardio? I thought it was an explosive yet cardio-like excercise.

Oh, one more thing. I need my beer in the weekends (at least once a week). Do any of these pills react badly with alcohol? Should I not take them the day I drink? Should I eat less calories that day?
 
EasyEJL

EasyEJL

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Thanks for the help. Sadly, I don't go to the gym and I have never been interested. In my natural basketball weight, I was somewhat cut, but my style of play depends much more on agility, speed, and athleticism, all of which you lose to some extent the more you hit the weights.

At the same time, you lose agility, speed and athleticism even more simply by becoming overweight. That's why I am confident that losing the weight will bring back all I lost.

The problem is I can't lose the weight fast enough, because I don't have the stamina to play for more than 4 hours a week. I feel like I'm playing with a 45lb back-pack in my belly.

This is why I need the supplements, to give me more endurance/stamina, so I can accelerate the weight loss, so that I can in turn, gat into game shape faster. There is a semi-pro league I'm interested in staring in April, so that's what I'm shotting for.
if you aren't loosing weight while playing hard for 4 hours a week, you probably are still eating too much, or making unhealthy choices in what you do eat. Adding stims and supplements won't magically make the weight come off. If you don't change the intake habits too once you've lost the weight, stop the supplements, and go back to playing just for fun you are way more likely to start packing it back on again too. With less than 5 hours a week in the gym i was burning off 1.5-2 lbs a week without supplements. Was 45 min a day 6 days a week.

There are also plenty of gym workouts and exercises that will help with speed and agility. Its just not the most common stuff. A lot of kettlebell and full body explosive speed work will help in basketball as well. Pro players don't just play basketball the whole time for their workouts :) Just running sprints in cycles will help, like with the Tabata method.

http://www.leanandhungryfitness.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.20047
 
battousaiken

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if you aren't loosing weight while playing hard for 4 hours a week, you probably are still eating too much, or making unhealthy choices in what you do eat. Adding stims and supplements won't magically make the weight come off. If you don't change the intake habits too once you've lost the weight, stop the supplements, and go back to playing just for fun you are way more likely to start packing it back on again too. With less than 5 hours a week in the gym i was burning off 1.5-2 lbs a week without supplements. Was 45 min a day 6 days a week.

There are also plenty of gym workouts and exercises that will help with speed and agility. Its just not the most common stuff. A lot of kettlebell and full body explosive speed work will help in basketball as well. Pro players don't just play basketball the whole time for their workouts :) Just running sprints in cycles will help, like with the Tabata method.

http://www.leanandhungryfitness.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.20047
No, like I said, I have been losing weight with basketball and Hydroxycut Hardcore (15 lbs total). The problem is that I want to play more than 4 hours a week. I'd like to play about 6-8 hours. But my current weight limits my stamina, which in turn doesn't allow me to play as much as I want.
 
EasyEJL

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ah I sorta missed that it was recent and current :) You're married with kids and a student and have 8 hours a week to spare? I hate you already :D Its definitely better to keep a slow steady loss. 1.5-2 lbs a week is really maximum safe range. so at 8lbs a month, you've got time to reach your goal. For raw endurance help, Drive is a good option, another possibility is Cordygen5 from millenium sports. Drive's help in endurance comes from cordygen, but it has other ingredients that will help with energy and power. I think avoiding stim based products would be a good idea. In a hard basketball game you are already raising heart rate high, and being a good bit overweight right now theres no sense in adding extra strain. Do you notice any joint pain or soreness slowing down recovery?
 
Cellardude

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No, like I said, I have been losing weight with basketball and Hydroxycut Hardcore (15 lbs total). The problem is that I want to play more than 4 hours a week. I'd like to play about 6-8 hours. But my current weight limits my stamina, which in turn doesn't allow me to play as much as I want.
cardio and diet will help with your stamina. Try something like HITT cardio sessions which involve high speed cardio for a short period of time and then dropping the speed. Repeat. back and forth. It kinda resembles basketball. Sometimes your not really "active" while at some points in the game your running back and forth. It should be put to good use in helping both diet and ball playing.
 
battousaiken

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ah I sorta missed that it was recent and current :) You're married with kids and a student and have 8 hours a week to spare? I hate you already :D Its definitely better to keep a slow steady loss. 1.5-2 lbs a week is really maximum safe range. so at 8lbs a month, you've got time to reach your goal. For raw endurance help, Drive is a good option, another possibility is Cordygen5 from millenium sports. Drive's help in endurance comes from cordygen, but it has other ingredients that will help with energy and power. I think avoiding stim based products would be a good idea. In a hard basketball game you are already raising heart rate high, and being a good bit overweight right now theres no sense in adding extra strain. Do you notice any joint pain or soreness slowing down recovery?
8 hours a week I have, but yeah, I have to sacrifice some studying and some bonding with my boys. I don't feel joint pain after I play, other than the plantar fascia, which will never heal 100%. The problem is that after I've played for 2 hours, my body shots down. My legs won't jump, my arms are heavy, and if I keep pushing it I get cramps.
 
EasyEJL

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Man, we all are brain dead eh? we're still asking the wrong questions :) ok if your 4 hours a week is in 2 days, thats part of the problem too. you need to find a way to get in at least 45 minutes of some kind of medium to high level activities in at least 2 more days a week. One problem with what you are doing is that you are probably leaving fat burning after about the first 30-60 minutes playing, and the rest of the time you are eating muscle too. If you can, doing 45 minutes on a stationary bike 2x a week, or treadmill or sprints like the Tabata method ( the link above has some information, but you can search) will help a LOT.

Playing hard bball past 2 hours isn't just asking for endurance, its like running a marathon. You expect to loose muscle during it, which in turn lowers your metabolism which in turn makes it harder to loose the fat...
 
Cellardude

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Man, we all are brain dead eh? we're still asking the wrong questions :) ok if your 4 hours a week is in 2 days, thats part of the problem too. you need to find a way to get in at least 45 minutes of some kind of medium to high level activities in at least 2 more days a week. One problem with what you are doing is that you are probably leaving fat burning after about the first 30-60 minutes playing, and the rest of the time you are eating muscle too. If you can, doing 45 minutes on a stationary bike 2x a week, or treadmill or sprints like the Tabata method ( the link above has some information, but you can search) will help a LOT.

Playing hard bball past 2 hours isn't just asking for endurance, its like running a marathon. You expect to loose muscle during it, which in turn lowers your metabolism which in turn makes it harder to loose the fat...

which is what the BCAA is for. I think it would be great for ball playing. Beats regular water any day.
 
EasyEJL

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yeah, but i'm still betting that over 2 hours, the bcaas will no longer help. They are fine to buffer for that first while, but you've have to be taking a lot in to make a difference over that time span. figure 400 - 700 calories an hour burned playing.
 
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Not to mention that eating only 2 big meals a day is pretty much equal to the Sumo diet!!! Even if it's picking up a jug of cheapy protein shakes and using them 2x/ED and reducing the amount you eat at the other meals, it will help out. The more often the body is fed, the more your metabolism will raise to accommodate digestion. Metabolism is a weight loss key ingredient! If dude man can't get supplements in right, and can't get exercise in every day, then this is the one thing that really needs to change.

I'll repeat myself - Supplements are supplemental. There are no wonder drugs that will do what the label claims if you are just sitting around not doing anything about it all day long! (well, except for sleep stuff ;) ) You've GOT TO GET MOVIN!!!
 
battousaiken

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Thanks for the help everyone.


Update:

It was recommended to me by you guys to get:

Protein
BCAA's
Leviathan Reloaded

I bought protein shake powder (100% Whey Gold Standard) and protein bars (Met-RX Protein Plus).

I also noticed that the sport multivitamins I was taking contain 150mg of BCAA blend (L-Valine, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine), so I'm not sure if I should get more, or if that's enough.

I haven't bought Leviathan Reloaded because I recently opened my last bottle of Hydroxycut Hardcore, so I'll finish it before getting the LR.


A few days before I started posting here, I actually went back up to 205 lbs, from 200 lbs. I was drinking too much beer and going out too much.

This past Friday I bought the protein and began eating 5 times a day (I truly can't do 6 times a day), but I noticed that from that day until yesterday, I had gained 1.6 lbs (I was up to 206.6 lbs). I have been keeping a log on fitday.com and realized that by eating 5 times a day I end up being more hungry all the time and eating more total calories, although at the same time I have more energy to play basketball.

This morning I woke up and weighed myself (I always do so at the same time every 3 days) and I was down to 204.6 lbs, meaning 0.4 lbs lighter than Friday, the day I started, but 2 lbs lighter than yesterday!!!

Question: Did I initially gain a little weight because my body was getting used to the new regimen, and now the weight loss will keep coming, or am I doing something wrong and my weight will just keep fluctuating without major improvements?

My caloric intake has been about 2,700 calories a day, in a 30% fat, 44% carbs, 26% protein ratio, while burning an average of 3,400 calories a day.


Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
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Nice first steps, man. I'm very glad that you took our advice to heart! Here's some more:

Up the protein!! Carbs are a bit high IMO, too. Need the protein to build the muscle to burn the fat. No, not build beefcake, but the base layers of muscles. Your body needs the protein if you're active. It also needs the carbs, so pay close attention to those, too.

Carb good, but Carb bad!! Beer is NOT a good source of carbs if you're trying to slim down!!! No, it just simply isn't. Nuh-uh. Nope. No way... Gonna really have to cut back on it if you want to see a difference. Also, use my general rule of thumb if you're serious about diet - if it's white, it ain't right. That means no potatoes (unless sweet or yam), no rice (except brown), no white bread (whole grain, baby), no bagels (no matter what color). Such items digest too quickly and become sugars (essentially guys, not getting into science just now...).

Weigh yourself consistently, but not all the time!!! Your weight fluctuates throughout the day, the week, etc.. Weigh yourself in the morning. Eat breakfast. Weigh again. Go poop. Weigh again. See what I'm getting at? Too often will give you skewed results! My protocol is Sunday mornings, post 'voids', before breakfast, nude (don't picture that) on a digital scale on bare floor (not carpet!). Do it every week like that and you'll see more truth to the figures. And make sure to follow the same protocol, no matter what it may be, each time! It's like wearing jeans and boots one day, then wearing shorts and sandles the other....heavier clothing, derrrrrr!!!!

Alright man, hope that helped a bit! Lay off the fags, to be British tonight.... Gotta quit smokin!! :D

Best of luck to ya, bro. Excellent that you made that first step. RUN WITH IT!!!!!
 
battousaiken

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Nice first steps, man. I'm very glad that you took our advice to heart! Here's some more:

Up the protein!! Carbs are a bit high IMO, too. Need the protein to build the muscle to burn the fat. No, not build beefcake, but the base layers of muscles. Your body needs the protein if you're active. It also needs the carbs, so pay close attention to those, too.

Carb good, but Carb bad!! Beer is NOT a good source of carbs if you're trying to slim down!!! No, it just simply isn't. Nuh-uh. Nope. No way... Gonna really have to cut back on it if you want to see a difference. Also, use my general rule of thumb if you're serious about diet - if it's white, it ain't right. That means no potatoes (unless sweet or yam), no rice (except brown), no white bread (whole grain, baby), no bagels (no matter what color). Such items digest too quickly and become sugars (essentially guys, not getting into science just now...).

Weigh yourself consistently, but not all the time!!! Your weight fluctuates throughout the day, the week, etc.. Weigh yourself in the morning. Eat breakfast. Weigh again. Go poop. Weigh again. See what I'm getting at? Too often will give you skewed results! My protocol is Sunday mornings, post 'voids', before breakfast, nude (don't picture that) on a digital scale on bare floor (not carpet!). Do it every week like that and you'll see more truth to the figures. And make sure to follow the same protocol, no matter what it may be, each time! It's like wearing jeans and boots one day, then wearing shorts and sandles the other....heavier clothing, derrrrrr!!!!

Alright man, hope that helped a bit! Lay off the fags, to be British tonight.... Gotta quit smokin!! :D

Best of luck to ya, bro. Excellent that you made that first step. RUN WITH IT!!!!!

Thanks. About the BCAA, is 150mg (in my multivitamins) enough? Also, what do you think of 30% fat, 35% carbs, 35% protein. Is that better?

By the way, I started a log here, with pics:
http://anabolicminds.com/forum/weight-loss/79127-battousaikens-weight-loss.html
if you're interested.
 

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