Lossing Weight & Gaining Muscle... Help!

[Hustlin]

Were Do I Start? Let's See, I Used To Work In A Warehouse Unloading Trucks' With An Average of 660 Boxes Per Truck Weighing An Average of 75 Pounds Each. So I Would Basically Sweat For 5 Hours Non-Stop While Unloading The Trucks. That Was My Daily Workout. Since Quitting That Job, I Have Gained About 35/40 Pounds & Can't Get Rid Of It!!! (I Look Chunky/Fat) My Current Workout Is Basically Running On the Treadmill For An Hour Every Other Day & Bench Pressing 70 Pounds For Another Hour. (I Am Clueless When It Comes To What Vitamins' & Proteins To Take) So After Being Told By A Friend To Purchase Supplements, I Decided To Go To GNC & Do So. (YES, I Noticed Many Of You Don't Think Purchasing Products At GNC Is A Smart Idea) Well After Talking To The Customer Rep. The Following
Products Were Purchased...

01) Hydroxycut Hardcore (120 Capsules)
02) Amplified Creatine 189 (120 Capsules)
03) Mega Men Sports (30 Vitapaks)
04) Whey Protein Complex (5LB)

Do You Guys Think Any of These Products Will Help Me Get Any Results With My Current Workout? (Explained Above) I Also Noticed Many of You Eat Small Amounts Of Food, Several Times A Day. I Only Eat 3 Times A Day, Sometimes Only Twice Depending On My Work Schedule. I Only Eat Pre-Packed Vegetables With Grilled Beef or Chicken. In Order For This To Work, What Do You Guys Recommend I Eat? Any Suggestions On How To "TAKE" These Products I Purchased. The Guy Said Take Them As A Dietary Supplement. (No Clue What That Means) So For The Last 2 Weeks I've Been Taking Them With My Lunch. The Only Result I've Seen Is My Calf Muscle Getting Bigger As Well As My Chess. I Would Really Apreciate Any Help or Suggestions.

 

[starwerx]

Hi H,

I was in a similar situation to you... I used to be a college gymnast and in great shape, but since graduating, my work schedule hasn't been conducive to the kind of workouts I was previously used to getting. I got pretty chubby over the past few years and tried a few things to fix the problem... Here are some thoughts I have for you:

In the past, I have tried Hydroxycut and other thermogenics (xenadrine, etc.) and have found that they make me jittery and send me to the bathroom a lot. The hydroxycut directions are pretty precise... take your dosage (which i think you work up to the max of 3 pills/dose) twice a day, at least 30 mins before eating your first meal of the day, and then 6-8 hours after that. I gotta say... I didn't like the feeling I got from Hydroxycut Hardcore... it gave me bad diarrhea and I would sweat even in air conditioned rooms when I took even 2 pills per dose. That's the only thing you purchased that gave me pause... just because I didn't have the best experience.

Creatine will help you with building muscle and strength if you keep your workouts going. Creatine is a dietary supplement (just means you take it in addition to your regular diet) that worked really well for me in college. Take them as recommended on the bottle... 2 a day is what I took (but it depends on the brand... just read the bottle), with plenty of water, between meals... and I think that's the normal dose of the GNC amplified creatine. Creatine doesn't do anything crazy if you aren't working the muscles you want to build... so you might want to add a bit more than just benching and running... pull ups, push ups, some dumbbells maybe... mix it up.

You should really mix up your workouts anyway, if you want to lose more weight. Your body learns... it learns what you do, and makes changes so it can do repetitive actions more easily. Your body will get more efficient over time at doing the same exercise, if you do it over and over... meaning the exercise will burn less calories and build less muscle over time. A more effective fat-burning and muscle-building workout will not allow your body to gain that efficiency because it will be less repetitive... in essence, you keep your body guessing and don't allow it to get lazy.

When it comes to Whey Protein, think of it as a meal replacement... especially if you are not working out enough to burn the calories you are currently consuming and then move on to your body-fat, you don't want to take in additional calories... you want to take in less. You brought up the concept of many smaller meals, instead of fewer big ones. For me, Whey Protein shakes are a great way to get a fast easy meal in, even with my busy schedule. So when trying to lose fat and build muscle, I'll do something like Egg whites for breakfast, Shake for mid morning snack, veggie sushi for lunch, Shake for mid afternoon snack, and a dinner of rice or potatoes and a protein (I'm vegetarian, so I have less protein options than you... you could do a chicken or tuna for a low-fat, high protein meal option). I also try to keep my daily consumption down below 2000 calories when I am trying to drop weight. 1500-1800 is usually what I shoot for. To lose weight and build muscle, you want a low fat (but not NO fat) and high protein diet... You can do carbs too... Vegetables, Rice, Oatmeal and Potatoes are great, healthy sources of complex carbs. Simple carbs (like fruits, sugary foods) are not so good on a weight-loss diet because they are so easily absorbed and burned by your body... your body goes for those first and doesn't turn to the stored fat as quickly and readily. Also, pay attention to how you're preparing your food. Avoid frying and using butter and unhealthy oils to cook your food when trying to lose weight. Grilling, roasting and boiling are healthier alternatives. Healthy oils are okay in moderation (like flax-seed oil)

I recently posted my review of my experiences with Mitotropin that I purchased 2 months ago. You can read that by searching for "gaspari mitotropin" in the Supplements forum.
I had great success with that program... it has a super strict diet, but the results for me were great. 23 lbs in 30 days.

Good luck... let me know what other questions you have.
Aloha

 

[Hustlin]

Hey, I Really Apreciate That You Took The Time To Reply To My Post. You Defenetly Cleared Several Things Out. So Whey Protein Should Be Taken As A Meal "Replacement"? I'l Defenetly Start Taking Them Between Meals. Usually I Eat A Fruit, But You Also Brought Up The Point That They Are Easily Absorbed and Burned Instead of My Stored Body Fat. Your Suggested Meals Are Similar To Many On This Forum (Realized After Reading Other Posts'). I Noticed Hydroxycut H. Makes Me Really Jittery Too, Not A Good Feeling. Once Again Thanks For The Help...