Ok I got my coffee in hand so I can type a bit.
I remember being a teen and walking in the supp shop and being like a kid in a candy store. 'Oooh, look at the stuff behind the glass doors, that must be really good.'
Nope. Most of it is overpriced BS. Especially when you are a kid with limited income. Trust me save your money; wish I had. Take a girl out, put it in a college fund, or buy an iPod or a digital food scale (see below).
If you want to build something, whether it is muscle or a house, you need materials and labour (energy). For muscle it is protein and calories. Your body will limit growth to what is available at that time. Google 'law of conservation of energy' or ask your science teacher about it - some fundamental physics that is very applicable to bodyweight management.
so here's what you do:
- Goto a site like Invalid Link Removed fill out the fields to get your daily maintenance calories. If your goal is to gain muscle/strength add 20% to this, if you want to lose fat subtract 20% (this amount is about 500 calories). This is your target.
- Goto a site like fitday.com or the USDA nutrient database (need to use your own spreadsheet for USDA) and make up a diet of 6-8 meals at your target calories. Protein should be 30-40%, carbs and fats should be at least 20% each (you choose). 33% for P, C, and F is a good start.
- Use a digital food scale and measuring cups to follow your plan.
On a 'western' diet is it really easy to be off by 500 calories per day. This is why you have to measure. If you dont get your extra 500 on a day, you have lost that day's potential growth. Yeah you get another one tomorrow but you are now a day behind and bodybuilding/strength training is a marathon not a sprint.
Lastly, this board has been up for 8 years and there is a lot of cumulative knowledge here. Search is your friend :fing02: