Tuesday 18 January 2011

WeightLossGuru's Sport Supplement guide. Part 1 - Protein

Supplements have been available for a very long time, but many people that are new to exercise and working out often ignore them. This is largely down to confusion, with so many supplements to choose from its hard and daunting for a beginner to choose what supplements are good for them, and also good for their wallet.

First things first, I want to tell you that you definitely do not NEED supplements, their main purpose is to "supplement" your existing diet. If you have a poor diet then you may as well stop reading this post already. This is because if you want to see results then you need to focus on sorting out your diet with a high protein content and start eating around 4-5 meals per day. This will help stoke up your metabolism and ensure that your body is burning fat even when your not in the gym.


1. Protein supplements.
Protein is the building blocks of muscle. Without it you cannot build OR maintain any muscle. This is why it is essential that when you are following any workouts offered on this site or any other that you have a large intake of protein per day. I would recommend 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight that you are carrying.
Lets say you weigh 200lbs this means that every day you should be taking in 200 - 300 grams of protein a day. 
As you can probably tell that is a large amount of protein to consume in one day. That is where protein supplements come in.
Remember when I said before that supplements really do only "supplement" your diet, this is what I meant. 
Say you only take in 150 grams of protein in one day, you still need to consume another 50 - 100 grams. A protein powder or bar can contain anywhere up to 40g or protein and they are extremely quick and easy to prepare and consume.

There are many different types of protein that could confuse you and I'm going to break them down extremely simply to allow you to get a better understanding of what each is and my favorite product from section. Ill even recommend you a store to buy them for the cheapest price. 

Whey Protein - The original, the best and probably the cheapest option.
Whey is the choice of most people looking to increase their protein intake as it is cheap and usually tastes good too. However the main reason you should be taking whey protein is because it can be absorbed easily and quickly in to your body, making it ideal for consumption straight after a hard workout.
My favourite whey protein is BSN Syntha 6

Designer Protein - These are best kept away from, they are expensive over hyped versions of protein, usually containing a "proprietary blend of protein" that promises huge gains in muscle and ridiculous fat loss stories, however they also contain huge amounts of sugar, flavorings and colorings. An example of this type of protein is MuscleTech CellTech Hardcore.
Please stay away from these types of protein as they are bad for you and a waste of money.

Soy Protein - The same as Whey but absorbed slower. It is the ideal choice for vegetarians or people who are lactose intolerant. It is released into the body at a medium rate making it ideal for use as a meal replacement. My personal favorite Soy Protein is OPTIMUM NUTRITION 100% -SOY PROTEIN
Its great value and also tastes great.

Casein Protein - Another great source of protein, Casein is released very slowly compared to whey protein so is perfect to use at bed time. Its slow release means that your body will be being fed protein enabling it to recover and build muscle, even when you are sleeping !
For Casein Protein I again stick with Optimum Nutrition Supplements as they are by far my favorite, simply because of the high protein content and great taste.Get Your Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein Here

Pea Protein - Not worth the purchase in my opinion, it usually has a low protein content and I haven't found one that is moderately drinkable, Pea Protein tastes vile!

14 comments:

  1. Nice solid review of proteins, good info for the people starting out.

    Casein is def overlooked but I found it very helpful for my gains pre bedtime.

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  2. cheers bro :) Is there anything in particular supplement/weight loss wise youd like to see ?

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  3. Very solid starter guide. Following! Hope to see you on my page.
    tehhappyplace.blogspot.com

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  4. Not a big fan of supplements, but still a very informative blog. You should check out mine for a more natural way of getting the nutrients you need, http://startahealthylife-healthylife.blogspot.com/

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  5. Very informative blog. Keep it up!

    Mine :)
    http://the-viral-network.blogspot.com/

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  6. Cheers guys. what else do you recommend for my blog ?

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  7. Good read :)
    Following!
    I'd suggest do a diet component with meal examples as well

    Follow me!
    http://simplykidleo.blogspot.com/

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  8. nice one mate


    http://allaboutneobux.blogspot.com/

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  9. Myofusion hands down the best tasting protein!

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  10. will be following
    http://nickk-bigpoppa.blogspot.com

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  11. nice blog man, check out my similar blog at:
    http://bsfast.blogspot.com/
    Following so follow back.

    ReplyDelete