Nutritional supplements

Question
With all the products that are out there today it's difficult to decide which is right for me. I've been doing weight training and have started a diet that reduces but doesn't cut out saturated fats and has a great emphasis on protein. I would like to add nutritional supplements that would help develope muscle mass, lose weight as well as provide the necessary vitamins for a male. What should I look into?

Answer
Hello Fred,
Great question. However, more important than any supplement is the answer to the following questions.

1. how much sleep do you get per night?
2. how much water do you drink a day?
3. do you allow for periods of "active recovery" ie. a week off from time to time with a drop in intensity and frequency of training
4. you mention you're consuming protein, what about carbs? as in complex ones, these are just as important if not more important in building muscle. While protein is the building blocks, carbs are the source of fuel for muscular contraction. If you don't have enough glycogen (carbs stored in the muscle) and you ask the muscle to contract it will produce it's own glucose for contraction, by taking 3 amino acids and converting those to glucose, it does this by breaking down muscle tissue.
5. how often do you eat? Optimally, you want to get to a complete meal every 3-3.5 hrs.

I'm going to provide a few articles for you to read over that should be of some help. If you have any questions feel free to email me [email protected] . I'd also be interested in your answers to the questions above.

http://philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/supportive_eating.htm
http://philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/micronutrition.htm
http://philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/update_03_28_04.htm
http://philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/fat_burners.htm

To Your Success!
Mark Shields  

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