Whey protein?

[Neil09]

My goal: to lose a little weight (really not fat, just a little extra belly), gain muscle mass.

My situation: offshore for 14, then home for 7. I do have access to some weights(dumbbells and weight bench) while offshore.

Ive never taken protein, but picked up some whey protein before coming out. Im planning on drinking it when getting off and just eating a small meal (just meat and vegetables instead of rice/potatoes). Anyone use it to lose weight? Any suggestions?

 

[Sugarbug]

Gaining mass and losing weight is contradictory. If you're not really fat and are looking for size, you need to be eating a clean diet at a calorie surplus. Protein supplements are their to help you hit your macro requirement while staying within the correct caloric intake.

The problem with going for size (bulking) is that you invariably also gain a bit of fat along with the muscle. This is why body builders are constantly bulking and cutting (calorie deficit).

Look at your goals and see what your priority is. If you want to get lean first, go with a calorie deficit while lifting weights and doing cardio. If you want to go for muscle size, go for a calorie surplus (clean), lift a lot, and do little to no cardio. You need to find out what your macros are. Ie what percentage of your calories come from fats, carbs, and protein.

Iirc, I was getting my best results at 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fats. This was years ago when all I did was workout and go to school. My buddy also had great success with a high fat diet while he was cutting. There are many ways to skin this cat. You just need to pick a goal and achieve it.

I've been fat and lazy and am currently at 6'3 and 242 pounds. Right now I'm being lazy and not counting my macros, just working out and eating clean. My goal is cutting body fat. I lift primarily and do cardio just to increase the calorie deficit.

For cutting, you want a protein powder with low calories and high protein content. I really like optimum nutrition's gold standard 100% whey. It's 24g of protein and 120 calories per serving.

For bulking there are a myriad of options as well. You'll note that the calorie content is much higher per gram of protein.

As most people just want to lose fat and gain some definition, I'd recommend cutting first. Set a body fat goal, get to it, and see what you want to do from there.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that cutting = lots of cardio. You'll lose a lot of muscle mass if you're not eating protein and using those muscles (lifting).

Best of luck.

 

[BigNick73]

Ill second everything Sugarbug said and I'm fairly new to this just started dropping weight back in May and use the protein to avoid muscle loss. It's better to get you're protein from food but sometimes that's not a option and that's where the supplements come in.

I get whey isolate (114 cals for 27.3g protein) from truenutrition.com some of the regular stuff you find at wal mart and the like aggravates my lactose intolerance. Understandable since whey is dairy based. It's fairly cheap but order in bulk so shipping isn't killer.

As far as gaining or losing you have to figure out your BMR and watch the calorie intake and adjust as needed for what you're trying to do. I'd suggest the loseit and myfitnesspal apps. They both work well but I like loseit better but it's personal preference.

 

[Sugarbug]

Bodybuilding.com is the store I usually go through. Although lately I've found the ten pound bags of protein on amazon at the same price as bb.com, but with free 2-day shipping (prime member). Definitely buy in bulk.

ETA there is also a forum at bodybuilding.com with a tin of info, workout regimens, etc. use the search function as 99.99999% of all questions you could think of will be answered for you. There are several guys on there that will help you figure out your macros as well.

 

[Dixie_Amazon]

Myfitnesspal.com is a great place to track you macros.

 

[AustinBR]

Take a look at menshealth.com - one of the best sites on the interwebs in my opinion. As for whey protein...it is awesome! Going make some right now actually!!

 

[dwr461]

I weighed 266 and had a 46 inch waist in Feb. I weigh 214 and have a 38 inch waist now. I started going to the gym and following the diabetic diet as I was Dx'ed with pre-diabetes. I work out 150 minutes per week. I started drinking the protein shake things in April or June. No dramatic difference in muscle mass increase or recovery time. However, I do eat less b/c the higher protein diet seems to curb hunger better. I assume it was b/c my muscles need protein to rebuild.

The key to loosing weight is not a big science in my experience. Put less calories in you than go out and you will loose weight. Increasing muscle mass will cause your body to burn more calories. People make this much more complex than they need to unless you're a professional athlete.



Dave

 

[olivs260]

Just remember- whey protein is a supplement. Use it like you would use a multivitamin. You still need to get protein from other sources. Suga posted a lot of good info, as did the rest of you guys. There's no big secret to it- you take in fewer calories than you burn to lose weight, and you take in more than your burn to gain it. You can go as far as you want to with clean eating (and I recommend taking it very far), but how big/small you get depends on your caloric intake. Most people I see starting at the gym lose weight first. You'll still build some good muscle mass, but most people want to look better, and the easiest way to do that is to get cut.

 

[AustinBR]

Just remember- whey protein is a supplement. Use it like you would use a multivitamin. You still need to get protein from other sources. Suga posted a lot of good info, as did the rest of you guys. There's no big secret to it- you take in fewer calories than you burn to lose weight, and you take in more than your burn to gain it. You can go as far as you want to with clean eating (and I recommend taking it very far), but how big/small you get depends on your caloric intake. Most people I see starting at the gym lose weight first. You'll still build some good muscle mass, but most people want to look better, and the easiest way to do that is to get cut.

Agree 110%. In addition to whey, I recommend casein protein too. It takes longer to digest and is good for before sleep fuel.

 

[Sugarbug]

Agree 110%. In addition to whey, I recommend casein protein too. It takes longer to digest and is good for before sleep fuel.

Agreed. Whey right after a workout. Casein in the evening.

 

[BigNick73]

Finally off shift and not on my phone. Here's a really good read on protein.

http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/the-protein-bible-part-1-introduction

 

[olivs260]

Please whatever you do, don't be like the guy at my gym that shows up 3-4 days a week and only ever works out arms. Literally, bi's and tri's, and leaves. Every single time. Yes, we've tried telling him there are other muscles. No, he won't listen.

 

[Neil09]

Thanks for the replies guys. All there is to workout with is a old bench, and a rack of dumbells. I get my leg workout up and down 3 flights of stairs all day lol.

 

[flamatrix99]

I Crossfit 3, 4 or 5 times a week. Afterwood I take sfh Recovery Protein to help my muscles recover and minimize soreness. So far I have lost 75 pounds so something is working.

http://www.sfh.com/products/whey_protein/2lb_bags/recovery_-_2lb_bag

 

[BigNick73]

Thanks for the replies guys. All there is to workout with is a old bench, and a rack of dumbells. I get my leg workout up and down 3 flights of stairs all day lol.

There's plenty you can do with a bench and dumbbells. To add to it you might look up "you are your own gym" and if you're familiar with reddit there's a sub there called bodyweightfitness that's full of stuff that doesn't require the extra weight. If the ceiling in the gym is exposed buy a set of gymnastic rings to hang from it they add some extra difficulty and really help with form on pushups, dips and the like and are good for pull/chin ups. You can get a good set of wood ones from MDUSA (what I use) for $60 or so or powder coated metal ones from rouge fitness for a little more.

 

[Sully]

For cheap protien i go to Sams and grab muscletech protien. Not the best prob, has some fillers but i can't complain. Otherwise for my supplements I use allstarhealth.com.

I usually consume a quest protein bar before workout and a protein shake post workout. As stated casein is my nightime shake right before bed.

 

[AustinBR]

Take a look at menshealth.com - one of the best sites on the interwebs in my opinion. As for whey protein...it is awesome! Going make some right now actually!!

Every day almost men's health posts articles on workouts that can be done with no weights or just free weights. I do not workout on any machines. Free weights and a pull-up bar work quite well for me.

 

[rasputin]

Every day almost men's health posts articles on workouts that can be done with no weights or just free weights. I do not workout on any machines. Free weights and a pull-up bar work quite well for me.

+1... The 95% of my workouts are free weights. Almost all of that are dumbells. I workout 5-6 days a week. I use a lat machine for one exercise on back day, and cables for two triceps exercises.

As most have said, understanding nutrition and proper eating are the most crucial elements. More so than the amount of reps/exercises.

Always document anything you shove down your throat. You'll never be able to stick to a diet without detailed notes. If you can't find the macro-nutirent breakdown for a given item, put it down.

 

[clem131]

i know what its like to be offshore. food is most of the time is less than healthy. 75% of the time is fried and 25% its a butter and salt bomb. good news is being a hand i have plenty of time to sweat it out in my frc's. and living quarters are a little tight with almost always someone sleeping near by so weights and jumping around isn't practical half of the time. and its not like you can throw on jogging shorts and run around the rig. so what i do is drink plenty of water and try to stay way from the never ending snack pile. cutting back alittle at meals will go along way.