Supplement advice wanted

I checked the stickies, but still have a few questions.

Currently, I eat a healthy diet most of the time, 6 small meals a day. When I snack, it's usually fruits or nuts.

As far as supplements, I currently take a cheap Walmart Protein Powder (whey, 1 scoop) with skim milk and oatmeal each morning, and a multivitamin each evening (centrum performance).

I have taken creatine in the past (EAS Phosphagen HP), but don't currently.

I'm healthy, 46 years old, 16% body fat, and starting the SS program.

My goal: Look better at the beach. I'm not trying to be a powerlifter, just a healthy, well built guy. Although I'm not poor, I really can't afford to dump a large sum of money into supplements. I also want to stay away from anything that could be dangerous like steroids and wild supplements like Ripped Fuel. I guess I'm saying I want to err on the safe side.

Any advice of what you think I should do would be appreciated.
Thanx

I'm like you, I don't want to spend a bunch of money on supplements that are just not needed. So, instead of spending a bunch on several different supplements, I spend a little extra to get a quality protien supplement. I just use Nitrean protien blend and that's it...my 2 cents

16% body fat is your problem. Post your entire diet and we can critique it. If you don't know, start tracking every single thing you eat in fitday.com and you might be able to find the problem yourself.

Chances are, I'm going to say that protein and healthy/natural fats are too low and carbs are too high

You doin okay with that cheap protein? It'd blow me up with gas... i have to stick to the whey protein isolate

Is there really that much of a difference between Nitrean and the typical walmart bran whey proetein? I mean its roughly 25g of protein in each serving, so whats the difference?

Yes there is a huge difference. Nitrean is not a whey protein. It is a blend of whey,egg,casein. So it has a completely different amino acid profile and protein makeup. Plus taste and mixability is much much better.

Originally Posted by Off Road

I'm like you, I don't want to spend a bunch of money on supplements that are just not needed. So, instead of spending a bunch on several different supplements, I spend a little extra to get a quality protien supplement. I just use Nitrean protien blend and that's it...my 2 cents

Exactly.

I use Nitrean (Protein), Creatine 500, and Fish Oil.

The creatine is for strength (optional) and the fish oil is for general cardiovascular & joint health. You can purchase a 2-3 month supply of all three for under $75.

Originally Posted by Berto

16% body fat is your problem. Post your entire diet and we can critique it. If you don't know, start tracking every single thing you eat in fitday.com and you might be able to find the problem yourself.

Chances are, I'm going to say that protein and healthy/natural fats are too low and carbs are too high

You doin okay with that cheap protein? It'd blow me up with gas... i have to stick to the whey protein isolate

Good point about diet / bodyfat.

By improving body composition (bodyfat %) you can effectively increase energy levels and hormone production. This will help to support your recovery and training.

If you would like there are some very knowledgeable folks here with regard to nutrition and we would be happy to critique your current diet plan. FitDay is a good tool for tracking what you are eating if you like to be precise and see things on paper.

Originally Posted by cj95

Is there really that much of a difference between Nitrean and the typical walmart bran whey proetein? I mean its roughly 25g of protein in each serving, so whats the difference?

Here is your answer:

Originally Posted by Unreal

Yes there is a huge difference. Nitrean is not a whey protein. It is a blend of whey,egg,casein. So it has a completely different amino acid profile and protein makeup. Plus taste and mixability is much much better.

Along with this the type of protein is also very important. Protein isolates are made up of 90-94% protein whereas protein concentrate is made up of 70-85% protein. This means that a 30 serving jug of whey concentrate is likely around 550 grams of protein and a 30 serving jug of whey isolate is 650+ grams of protein (close to a 20% difference). This also makes the protein much easier to digest, with blends being even easier on the stomach in most cases.

Nitrean has 5 grams of BCAA's in each scoop and was selected by Men's Health Magazine as the #1 Protein Shake in 2008 and 2009.

Well, in one post I asked for an exercise to hit my pecs and ended up with a whole new routine. Now, I ask for a supplement, and I can see I'm going to get a whole new diet. You guys make me see that there is a big picture and that you can't just do this and that. Great. Ok, here is my diet, rip away

I eat 6 meals a day, and snacks in between. Portion sizes are small, as I get full very fast. When I go to a restaurant, I always take at least 1/2 home.

Breakfast: plain oatmeal with dried fruit and a little honey. 12 oz skim milk, one scoop protein powder. I have this almost 365 days a year.

When the Walmart stuff runs out, I will get the good stuff. Walmart also sells EAS protein powder that I don't like because you pretty much need a blender to get the stuff to mix, but if you guys say it's better, I could switch. That or hunt down some of the products mentioned here. The walmart stuff does not seem to bother my digestion as some mentioned here.

10am Usually a sandwich on wheat. Processed lunch meat, fat free like turkey, cheese, mustard. A glass of 100% fruit juice.

1pm Rice/pasta (about 4 oz) and fish or chicken. fruit juice or powdered koolaid (I know, koolaid bad, just being honest).

4pm Same as 10am or 1pm. Many times tuna with fat free mayo and pepper rings.

7pm Whatever the wife has for dinner. I keep portion sizes down. I get a salad about 3 times a week, she cooks lots of beans, salmon, porkchops, and chicken.

10pm same as 4pm

Note: I keep water with me and drink all day long. I probably down at least 1 gallon a day. I don't eat any fried food, no soda, nothing with high fructose corn syrup. I don't often eat fast food, and when I do, it's grilled chicken or a salad and water. I eat steak about 1 time a week. I must admit that I snack alot, but it's almost always fruits (often dried) and nuts. I buy and eat a lot of the different dried fruits in the packages like raisins and cherries. Nuts, usually, flavored almonds (spicy/cinnamon, etc.) Sometimes things like fat free Ritz crackers or similar. I don't eat very much candy at all, and when I do it's something like licorice or candy corn (my favorite). I don't have a cheat day, this is 7 days a week. I only get vegetables about 1 time a day, I will fix that.

Originally Posted by dave1234

I checked the stickies, but still have a few questions.

Currently, I eat a healthy diet most of the time, 6 small meals a day. When I snack, it's usually fruits or nuts.

As far as supplements, I currently take a cheap Walmart Protein Powder (whey, 1 scoop) with skim milk and oatmeal each morning, and a multivitamin each evening (centrum performance).

I have taken creatine in the past (EAS Phosphagen HP), but don't currently.

I'm healthy, 46 years old, 16% body fat, and starting the SS program.

My goal: Look better at the beach. I'm not trying to be a powerlifter, just a healthy, well built guy. Although I'm not poor, I really can't afford to dump a large sum of money into supplements. I also want to stay away from anything that could be dangerous like steroids and wild supplements like Ripped Fuel. I guess I'm saying I want to err on the safe side.

Any advice of what you think I should do would be appreciated.
Thanx

I'd start taking the protein again, can only help. Beyond that a good fish oil will likely benefit you..

Originally Posted by dave1234

When the Walmart stuff runs out, I will get the good stuff. Walmart also sells EAS protein powder that I don't like because you pretty much need a blender to get the stuff to mix, but if you guys say it's better, I could switch. That or hunt down some of the products mentioned here. The walmart stuff does not seem to bother my digestion as some mentioned here.

If it's working for you then stick with it. There's no need to buy something more expensive if the Walmart brand is doing the job.

Nothing wrong with sticking to the basics. But like a lot of people have hit on. Look at the quality of the proteins. I could be wrong and maybe your walmart carries something else, but I bet that your protein has more whey concentrates and less quality proteins to it.