NFB: Bleh!!

[Nightrage]

Alright, so recently, i joined a gym and i've gotten really into working out. I just want the strength, not the size. I've started cramming down all the protein i can get my hands on. I've been eating spoonfulls of peanut butter, yogurt, tortellini soup, all kinds of good stuff anduntil now, it's been pleasant. Recently i bought some chocolate flavored whey protein. It's from Isopure and i was told that it tastes just like chocolate milk (someone off a body building message board recommended it). I just blended it up, took a sip and nearly lost my lunch. It's like drinking a chalk thick shake with some chocolate mixed in. Ugh. Who else here is into weight lifting? Right now i'm still pretty puny. My arms are about 14 1/2 inches but i don't really want to get bigger. As i said, i'm just looking for strength so i'm avoiding calories and stuff that's supposed to help you bulk up (i don't know if i could even if i wanted to). I've read that some body builders consume 6,000 calories a day I'm about 6' and 170- 175lbs and i seem to stay at this weight. Even though sometimes i'll eat 1,500 calories worth of food only moments before i hop in bed, my metabolism just burns everything off. Anyone have advice? Stories? Any other kind of input?

BTW- if anyone's interested in my workout schedule or would like to comment on it, here's a thread that i posted on bodybuilding.com which no one responded to lol- http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=525081

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

That chalky chocolate protein stuff is good vittles compared to the junk i used to use including the raw egg & broccoli shake, the 20 non-coated dessicated liver pills per day, and one gulp of cherry flavored liquid protein and amino acids which was made from brains & glands. Yuk x 10^6

[wolfdogs]

gnc's MRS..its complete. has vitamins, creatine, all kinds of good stuff in it including protien and it tastes good.

Ensure High protien meal suppliment... thats right..its not just for old folks.. i use that to blend all my herbs and stuff in and drink it in the a.m.

[ONLNTM5]

If you don't want to bulk up, then you are way over doing it. Sometimes less is best. Stay away from sugar, and carbs at night. The jogging is good, but you probably don't need 2 miles-maybe just 1, but before your work out. You could save a lot of money by not buying all of that stuff that you have been buying and ingesting, because most of that stuff is for people who are trying to bulk up big time. Really and truly, that stuff can actually give you the opposite result. Your body can actually expend more effort trying to process all of that stuff, and not even build muscle at all. You can really overload your liver if you are not careful. Also try working with lighter weights and more reps. It will make you stronger and less pumped and bulky. You can really damage your body with too much weight, which happens to a lot of people. You may want to also consider just working out every other day, to give your body a day in between to recover.
You would be very surprised at the degree of strength and musculature you can achieve from eating raw peanuts, and other raw nuts. They have a very large degree of raw protein which includes L-Arginine. L-Arginine helps to substantially increase blood flow to your muscles. In addition, try about 250 mg of Zinc in the morning either before or after eating, and either after lunch, or evening meal. Make sure that you have food on your stomach with the Zinc though, because it can make you nauseated. Whats your age? If you are still young, then you should still have a good supply of normal growth hormone, but if not, there are some good growth hormone supplements out there that do help in producing good lean muscle. Naturally, non-fried foods are essential, as well as vegetables, especially salad. I have no opinion on salad dressings though. I guess no salad dressing would be best. Finally, without good digestion, nothing is going happen. Make sure you take fiber if necessary, or eat enough fibrous foods. Without proper digestion, then your body won’t properly absorb the nutrients from your food.

BTW, stay away from steroids, unless you like the idea of your ba!!s becoming atrophied long before you die of brain cancer.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Gotta stay ahead of the women somehow - not easy though...

[Nightrage]

Wow, thanks a lot guys! ONLNTM5- I'm naturally a big eater. I take after my dad. He's 49 and still makes his biceps dance, gets younger women thanks to his physique and still has defined muscles, despite the fact that he smokes enough wacky tobacky to put Cheech and Chong to shame, sleeps all day and never lifts a finger to do work of any kind (aside from the three hours he drives each day for "work" ). I eat all day and never gain an ounce. When people tell me that my metabolism will slow down eventually, i usually laugh at them lol. Maybe when i'm 80. If my pops can do it with no effort, i can as a health nut. I have very low body fat to begin with. Even without excersize and a poor diet, i still used to have some definiteion to my muscle.. By poor diet, i don't mean chips and soda and candy. Sometimes i'll come home from work at 10 at night and eat for the first time that day. I rarely get hungry so i'll forget to eat so a lot of the time i don't get the nutrients i need. Just recently, i've been eating protein rich foods because even if i'm not trying to get 20" biceps, my muscles still need protein. I completely understand what you're saying though. I've been told that peanuts have a lot of oils in them that aren't good. Believe it or not, i've always been that weird guy that loves his veggies lol. I'm good in that department. I'm 19 btw. I'm also thinking i eat too much calcium. Today, i ate two cups of yogurt, that protein shake, a calcium pill and a centrum vitamin. I've always been told by doctors that my calcium levels are very low so i'm trying to keep up with that. I'd be lying if i said i wouldn't like a little extra bulk to me, only a little though. I hope to join martial arts soon with my brother, and i'd rather be the 170lb guy that gets underestimated due to his size rather than the 230lb guy that everyone expects to be strong. Not just for martial arts though. Less weight in my car, less weight on my knees which are bad to begin with. I'd probably be able to jump higher at my weight than if i were to weigh more. Also, when you're big, everyone wants to see how strong you are/ make use of your strength. That's the only thing my friend Rich hates about being his size (6'4'', 290lbs and bench presses around 400lbs). Everyone needs him for favors, the football coaches in his high school were always begging him to join the team, people's kids are always asking him to pick them up and all kinds of other annoying things. I'd be lying if i said i don't want to gain some size. Only a little though I'd like to limit myself to 190lbs for my maximum weight. My muscles are growing the way that i want them to but i do want my legs to bulk up and be huge. I have chicken legs, it's terrible lol. I want a well built set of stompers so i usually work my legs out like heck. I do at least 5 or 6 sets of leg pressing, leg extensions, heel raises and leg curls. I don't like doing squats because i always lose my balance, not to mention i have terrible form. I don't want to be at the mercy of a barbell if my knees give out either.

If anything in this post seems like a rant or if i started babbling at some point, forgive me. I had to skip around all over the place editing things, and as a result i lost my train of thought at times. Thanks again guys

[Nightrage]

Gotta stay ahead of the women somehow - not easy though...

LMAO!!!! *shudder* nooooo, she never used steroids lol

[ONLNTM5]

I can tell you that a big part of your problem is the Centrum, or any multi-vitamins for that matter. The average person, especially your age, just can ‘t process all of that through their liver, and you just do not need it. All that it does, is put a huge strain on your liver, and then hardly any of it is absorbed in to your body. I have read story after story, of how people that were on Centrum vitamins, developed eye floaters, and believe me you don’t want that. Stay off of the extra calcium too, unless your doctor tells you a specific amount to take every day. You would be better off drinking about a pint of milk 2-3 times a day, which contains natural calcium, vitamin D, and protein, which is easily absorbed. You can just about live on milk alone, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Eating once per day is definitely not enough to keep you healthy, let alone build muscle. You need to eat about 5 small meals a day, with a good balance between natural protein and vegetables and some fruit, but remember that fruit contains a lot of carbs, so not too much fruit.
Actually, too much of anything is bad, no matter what it is.

One thing about those protein shakes or any of that store bought protein, you can actually destroy muscle by taking that if you are not working out enough. I have seen so many people over the years that have spent tons of money on protein, and vitamins, and this and that, etc, etc., only to make themselves sickly, and their body worse. Then they go out and buy more stuff, and take that, and then wonder why they can’t get any results.

I would recommend that you stop taking the Centrum immediately. The whole health food industry has the whole world convinced that they need vitamin and protein supplements, but believe me you don't. Try replacing the protein powder, with baked, boiled and broiled fish, chicken, and boiled and broiled vegetables. Carrots are excellent for your health, when just slightly boiled. They are actually better for you slightly boiled than raw, because the nutrients are “locked” when raw. BTW, the peanut oils that you mentioned, as far as I know from what I have read, are not bad for you at all, and definitely stay with the yogurt, because it is excellent for keeping your digestion on track.

[raroZ28]

Nightrage, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECCOMEND THIS SHAKE!!!

I have taken a lot. MESO-Tech, their other "Tech" protein shake, that tasted like chalk. I have taken the supplement blends, etc... Designers is decent, but they're all crap compared to this.

http://www24.netrition.com/cytosport...milk_page.html

Muscle milk. This stuff is so good my friend. I think you would really like it compared to everything else that is out there. When I first got it I was drinking 3 shakes a day, I just couldn't help it. It's got some creatine in it, a lotta protein, some calories (Not too much), etc...

Just mix 2 scoops with 14 oz of skim or 2%, throw in a couple cups of ice to thicken it up, and drink. It is so good, and makes taking protein supplements easy. It's good w/out ice, and it doesn't get a thick consistency. It stays very much in liquid form. I would really like you to try this and let me know what you think. When I first tasted it, I thought it was too good to be true, so I searched around, and it's made by cytosport, who is very reputable, and a lotta people are using it. This stuff rocks man, try it out. It's like 30 bucks at GNC right now, on sale.

[Nightrage]

Hmm, i've heard many, many bad things about creatine.

[thenuge876]

The problem with creatine really is that people dont know the long term effects of it really since there havent been many studies. So im not sure what is a rumor and what isnt. If you want to bulk up the solution is definately diet adn excersise. My sister is a personal trainer adn always has new info for me lol. Meet with someone at the gym adn they will be able to give you a routine as well as tips on what/ how much to eat adn then youll be set. But be patient it may take a little while before you start to notice results, but then one day youll look at an old picture be like....woah.

[Jeanius]

Hmm, i've heard many, many bad things about creatine.

Creatine is only rumored to be bad because people dont use it correctly, such as using the right amount and drinking a minimum of 120oz of water a day

[raroZ28]

Hmm, i've heard many, many bad things about creatine.

Your body produces it's own creatine. MM increases output.

[Joe 1320]

Speaking from 30 years experience in bodybuilding and fitness, the only way you are going to get though it is to change your habits. Suppliments are fine for the masses, but the only real way to do it is with natural foods and a strict adherance to nutrients over time. If you aren't literally eating all day, you're not doing it right. It may be an inconvenience, but it's the only way that your body is going to respond the way you want. The suppliments should be used in a pinch and not as the basis for growth or maintainance.

[RyanB58]

I use some cheap whey protein i get from Wally World. I sould assume whey is whey, and the only reason one would cost differently is b/c of the brand name syndrome. Anyway, I buy the strawberry flavor and here is how i make it:

3 scoops strawberry whey
1 cup whole milk
1 cup Orange Juice
1 cup yogurt ( I like Prarie Farms Strwberry/Banana, but any will do)
1/2 a Banana

Put it in a blender and mix it up good. I love the way it tastes, and i take it every day for my lunch. It really fills me up. I am a lean and thin guy myself but I find myself to be stronger than the guys I lift with who weigh 40 lbs more than me. Not saying it is contributed to this shake, but these guys eat like crap and are not very active.