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Proper usage of Whey Protein

753 views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  BIGGY 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I need some help. I'm currently trying to lose weight (I've lost twenty pounds, and have 30 more to go) but I also want to bulk up a bit. I've heard many things about protein usage, from I should use it daily to lose weight AND gain mass, and I've heard to get to my target weight first and then start to use it. I'd like to continue losing about 2 pounds average per week, but would also like to gain muscle at the same time (and I know more muscle = more calories burned). Also, I know I take it right after working out, but when else should I take it if I still want to lose weight?

Thanks

DJ
 
#3 ·
jkrueger said:
is your specific goal here to loose weight or to loose fat?
Both. I weigh 229 right now and I want to get down to 200, maybe a bit more (including gained muscle mass) I don't want to be 230 with low body fat and high muscle mass (at least right now). My main goal is to gain muscle and lose weight.
 
#5 ·
shadrach said:
It's difficult to do both at the same time. What things are you doing to lower your weight?
I've started eating healthy, and I do cardio 5 times a week, and usually go for around 45 minutes and burn over 700 calories every time. I have a breakfast replacement shake in the morning, usually a salad in the afternoon, and a regular dinner, mixed inbetween with health bars and fruit. I do weights probably 2-3 times a week (which burns 240 calories per 1/2 hour I've read). Oh yeah, and I drink a buttload of water.
 
#6 ·
whitedawg said:
I've started eating healthy, and I do cardio 5 times a week, and usually go for around 45 minutes and burn over 700 calories every time. I have a breakfast replacement shake in the morning, usually a salad in the afternoon, and a regular dinner, mixed inbetween with health bars and fruit. I do weights probably 2-3 times a week (which burns 240 calories per 1/2 hour I've read). Oh yeah, and I drink a buttload of water.
You do realize that more muscle = more weight? I think you should focus on loosing body fat because that's what it seems you are after. Weight is a # that can be affected by quite a few different factors but % body fat is a very solid # that you can judge the degree of success you have attained by working out & eating healthy. I don’t remember the exact % but if you are in between 10% - 15% for a guy than you are quite healthy. Obviously runners have less than 10% but they are in a different ball park than you if you are just starting out. If you belong to a gym than you should be able to ask one of the personal trainers if they have the device that measures body fat so that you can get an idea of where you are at and what you need to do in order to attain your goal (lower % body fat), not lower weight.
 
#7 ·
Yea, what K2 said in terms of the weight loss. Get a body composition test. While not totally accurate they have the electrical ones at many health clubs.

There's good news and bad news for what you're trying to do. When you first start it's VERY easy to lose fat and gain muscle. Why? Because your body is basically reacting to shock and not adapted or adjusted to what you're doing. A lot of cardio with a lot of lifting will yield results pretty fast as you might have seen with your weight loss. Well that's the good news. The bad news is that the honeymoon ends. After a while your body adjusts and everything slows down. You basically plateau.

Straight ion exchange whey is pretty light in terms of calories when you're taking it in pure form (not like in some supplement with 100 other things in there). There are many theories on when to take it. Some that I've heard and looked into only a limited amount are:

Before workout: Helps preserve muscle from being burned for fuel since the protein is more available, the body may use it a bit more than burning off your muscle.

After workout: Initial recovery, aka 'power hour', when the metabolism is up, immune system is down, and body will process input more efficiently.

Between meals: Meal replacement...beats a Snickers.

Before bed: The body repairs itself at night while you sleep. It's also when your HGH (human growth hormone) levels are at their highest levels. So take a small protein serving before bed is another idea.
 
#8 · (Edited)
On the days with both cardio and lifting, which do you do first? You should be starting with weights, then cardio second. If you lift hard enough you should use a good portion or even deplete the glycogen fuel stored in muscle, so when you move on to cardio your metabolism is ready to switch gears and start pulling more energy from fatty acid stores.
 
#9 ·
shadrach said:
On the days with both cardio and lifting, which do you do first? You should be starting with weights, then cardio second. If you lift hard enough you should use a good portion or even deplete the glycogen fuel stored in muscle, so when you move on to cardio your metabolism is ready to switch gears and start pulling more energy from fatty acid stores.
holy hell, you've over analyzed this. If you want to maximize your workout you should do cardio first. The cardio will have less of an impact on your weight workout than doing weights first will have on your cardio workout. If you don't notice this when working out you're not doing it hard enough.
 
#10 ·
I don't know about that; I started years back in the order you said and it was horrible for me. After switching (due to learning about my metabolism) it made all the difference. I dropped body weight easier and made much bigger gains in weight training. Every PT I knew agreed, and that order is a baseline for the Hardgainer approach.
 
#12 · (Edited)
shadrach said:
On the days with both cardio and lifting, which do you do first? You should be starting with weights, then cardio second. If you lift hard enough you should use a good portion or even deplete the glycogen fuel stored in muscle, so when you move on to cardio your metabolism is ready to switch gears and start pulling more energy from fatty acid stores.
I always do weights first, which is what I've been told by most people I ask and most magazines I read. It seems to work for me.

Yes, I know that more muscles = more weight, however it IS possible to lose weight and increase muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn per day too. I think it was like every pound of muscle you have burns like 35 calories a day or something close to that, so even if I increase by 5 pounds of muscle mass, I would be burning an extra 175 calories a day just by that (that's without even the cardio that I do). I know it would be slower, but I'm losing 2 pounds per week which is the maximum recommeded amount, so if I still do that AND train weights it will work.

The main thing I'm questioning is if I should just wait til I'm at my target weight before I start taking protein. I have another 30 pounds to lose but also want to keep concentrated on muscle mass too (not get huge, just get built).

Also, I've seen some scales that measure body fat % for like $30 that says it's very accurate. Is it something I should purchase to keep track?
 
#13 ·
Vcook said:
you're weight workouts are more impacted by cardio than your cardio workouts are by weight work? amazing, proof positive that everyone is different.
This is correct, with a 'it depends' in there. Sometimes the weights you do will impact your cardio form. If you do a lot of back, your running may be impacted by it since it's a key part that holds you up as you do cardio.

The real suggestion is to do whichever you want to focus on. If you're a cross country runner, then you're supplementing weights at the end of a running workout each time. If you're into lifting, then do weights first followed by cardio. So the answer is...whatever is right for you.
 
#14 ·
whitedawg said:
Also, I've seen some scales that measure body fat % for like $30 that says it's very accurate. Is it something I should purchase to keep track?
The body fat tests where an electrical impulse is sent through you to measure fat can be accurate or can be off by a lot. They can be impacted by the amount of water you have in your system. The more water you are retaining, the lower the body fat is going to show. Try it. Don't drink water all day then go get the test...you'll show a few percent higher body fat.
 
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