Currently I have started a fat loss exercise/nutrition plan. My question is what supplements should I use? What are the ones I should definitely take, and dosages? All im trying to do is burn the fat, and im a student, so i just scrape by week to week with money, but I plan to use my extra money for some supplements. Any advice?
Protein is essential, for sure. But you can get that from chicken/tuna/eggs/milk/etc. Protein powder nowadays is getting expensive. As long as you have a solid diet, you shouldn’t need anything else. But if I was on a budget, this is probably what I would spend it on:
Protein whey powder (40-50 bucks/month)
- a scoop and a half PWO, about 30g of protein
bulk (costco) fish oil (300 softgels @ 10-15 per month)
- 5 pills (with a meal) 3x a day should be good
loose leaf green tea in bulk ($15/month?)
- 2 to 3 cups a day, hot brewed, non of that iced crap
Biotest creatine sold here ($13 will probably last you 3 months)
- 5g a day PWO, just mix it in your protein shake
Protein powder or fish oil…no need to waste any money that you don’t have.
Supplements aren’t needed, they aren’t worth the money, especially if your poor.
I would just buy more milk or peanut butter, theres nothing magical about whey or bcaa’s etc. Just eat like a normal person with a balanced diet, a normal person who is bigger “or smaller depending on goals” and you will be set.
The articles here about diet/fat loss will do you way more good than supps. Get you eating in order for your goals make some good progress and then thingk about"supplementing" you plan.
Here’s a good place to start: (also read Berardi’s articles)
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1615551
cueball
[quote]Uber N3wb wrote:
Supplements aren’t needed, they aren’t worth the money, especially if your poor.
I would just buy more milk or peanut butter, theres nothing magical about whey or bcaa’s etc. Just eat like a normal person with a balanced diet, a normal person who is bigger “or smaller depending on goals” and you will be set.[/quote]
They’re not magical, but high doses of BCAA are pretty damn close in my experience.
That’s not to say that the OP should use them if he can’t afford. Everyone has to decide for themselves what they can afford, and what they are willing to do without.
Flameout, Grow! Premium Quality Whey, Creatine. You can get these very reasonably here at T-Nation and they are the basics to a good muscle building supplement plan. These and eating a nutritious diet will get you started the right way.
D
What kind of meal plan do you have? Uber is right, especially if you are budget restricted. I noticed that all you are concerned about is losing weight. If this is true, then don’t be concerned about supplements. Hit the cardio and stop eating.
Well don’t stop eating, but definitely hit the cardio. There aren’t too many “bulky” runners.
I used to be on a $60/wk budget for food/gas/entertainment and if I was going to spend my extra money on anything it was extra protein in the form of chicken breasts since they were cheap. If your that financially strapped make sure you are getting enough good food to start. I would add fish oil since you should get enough protein in your normal diet to not require shakes. Creatine is also pretty cheap($12 here) and at 5g PWO will last you months.
PeterD
fish oil is the only thing I can think of that you should really take. Unless fish is cheap in your area.
eat clean, workout a lot.
supp with that, dog…
: )
I’d go with SURGE and perhaps Flameout just because PWO is so ridiculously important…I mean that’s the one meal you can’t afford to screw up.
But yeah, just eat whole foods the rest of the time. There’s no real advantage to protein powders, other than convenience.
HOT-ROX is the only true fat-loss specific supp but you really don’t need it to lose weight. It’s not like it’s going to make or break your efforts is what I’m saying.
stick to lean ground beef or steaks, chicken breasts, cans of tuna (man I used to put away tuna in college) and just take a serving or two of Flameout per day and get the rest of our fats from mixed nuts, natural peanut butter, maybe some extra virgin olive oil.
Carbs just stick with veggies only if you’re trying to lose weight. If it’s not a green veggie in the produce aisle don’t put it in your basket! Once you lean out some you can start adding fruit and legumes back in…maybe some rice and taters, all very cheap and easy to prepare
college…man I don’t miss being broke…
btw here’s what I used as an MRP back in college:
Two slices of unbromated stone ground whole wheat bread, heavily toasted
can of tuna in water drained
Natural peanut butter spread evenly on both slices of bread
Two kosher dill sandwich stacker slices
Sprinkle Morton’s Nature’s Season’s over the whole mess.
I got pretty shredded on summer having like 4 of those a day
man, can you imagine how bad my breath smelled though?? 
If your a student, put together a diet that you can keep for a while. Make sure you have enough of the essentials (cals/protein/fat)
Going to school should make things pretty systematic. Keep on a good schedule (eating) for a while and if your numbers are good; you’ll make gains.
Supplements are good if you can afford them, and if you can’t…don’t stress it. I’d rather have a few extra bucks in my pocket then come fish oil. (not in my pocket…but you get where I’m going)
peanuts, eggs, tuna, spinach, apples, oranges, milk
I would suggest, at no ofense to chiquita, that you stay away from tuna for the most part. The mercury content in tuna is high. The larger a fish is, the more mercury it contains. Tuna is a big fish.
Having said that, canned wild salmon is MUCH better for you in many ways. It’s a small fish so mercury isn’t a big concern. It’s got a much better fat profile as well. If you think it’s just too expensive, it’s not.
I’ve mentioned this brand here several times. Demming’s Wild Alaskan Salmon (blue can), 14oz for under 2 dollars and tastes great. 1 can contains 84g of protein. That’s 2 42g protein meals at $1 a piece.
cueball
Thanks to all for the advise. Got more or less what I wanted. Out of curiosity, If I had around $50 a month for a supplement’s (dont include whey or fish oil) what is best to go for? (for fat loss, whether that is to burn more or get more muscle)
Cheers
[quote]Duffers386 wrote:
Thanks to all for the advise. Got more or less what I wanted. Out of curiosity, If I had around $50 a month for a supplement’s (dont include whey or fish oil) what is best to go for? (for fat loss, whether that is to burn more or get more muscle)
Cheers[/quote]
If you have a good diet and you want a little help with fat loss, I hear HOT-ROX is the way to go. If you want to build lean muscle, use that $50 to buy lean food.
[quote]Duffers386 wrote:
All im trying to do is burn the fat…[/quote]
You do NOT need supplements to just burn fat and be healthy. Just eat healthy and exercise more.
[quote]supabeast wrote:
Duffers386 wrote:
All im trying to do is burn the fat…
You do NOT need supplements to just burn fat and be healthy. Just eat healthy and exercise more.
[/quote]
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