Suppliments + Fast Food

[TPD Cadet]

For the past few months I have been running daily (1.5 miles one day, 1 mile the next, repeat) and working out every other day(Soon to be every day).

I still eat out at fast food restaurants.

I have been looking into multivitamins and supplements for this summer when I really start working out a lot. I will be in "A" school so I will be seperated from any fast foods.

What kinds of supplements should I take to build muscle mass and tone?(I am a total noob to this supplement stuff.

Thanks
-Ben

[travel_light]

eat right! supplements are just that supplements. eat as clean as you can, eat lean meats, and allot of green veggies. eat breads that are whole wheat and read the ingredients because it might say wheat buts its not. also brown rice, whole wheat pastas.. etc....

you should take a multi vitamin and a protein shake or two a day is fine to get in enough protein. go to bodybuilding.com i've been a member for years, theres allot of good info on there that will help you out. such as how many calories you need, your carb/protein/fat ratio and a bunch of other things.

supplements will vary depending on your goals.. good luck..

and what "A" school are you going too.. I assume your in the Navy, I'll be getting out in two and a half weeks after doing 8 long years..

[TPD Cadet]

Im in the Coast Guard, it will be MK A school.

Thanks for the information, that is an excellent site!

[GPOC]

start working out NOW not this summer and cut the fast food out completely

[Ermantroudt]

"What kinds of supplements should I take to build muscle mass and tone?"

Supplements and vitamins do not build muscle, hard work and heavy lifting do.

Protein and vitamin supplements enable people who are putting in the work in the gym to recover faster.

Creatine enables the muscle to produce a bit more power.

Unless you are trying to gain weight, fast food is not really your friend.

Erm

[Voirdire]

Stay far far away from fast food. If you drink soda, eliminate that from your diet as well.

[CragCrawler]

Stay far far away from fast food. If you drink soda, eliminate that from your diet as well.

I love a good double bacon cheeseburger every now and then but what is said is right. As for me I don't believe in a diet that makes you cut out EVERYTHING. Why do you think so many people fail at diets? Everything in moderation at first and slowly cut it out. Eventually you will feel sick when you eat crap.

One of the hardest things for me is soda. I don't drink alcohol and never have. So when I get home from a hard day I sure enjoy a nice cold Pepsi or two. I once had a guy tell me about how he got really drunk one weekend and completely passed out and woke up in someone else's house. the next day I was drinking a Pepsi in front of him and he had the nerve to tell me that I should quit drinking soda because it is bad for my health.

Anyway, I would seriously look into training for a half marathon or even a marathon. It is good motivation and you will learn a lot about health and your body. Then when you take your physical test for a department the 1.5 mile is a piece of cake!

Good Luck and stay safe.

[TPD Cadet]

Supplements and vitamins do not build muscle, hard work and heavy lifting do.

You mean I actually have to work out? I have to put work, time, and effort into building muscle? Well screw that!

Thanks for the other info though.

[Ermantroudt]

[QUOTE=TPD Cadet;883591]You mean I actually have to work out? I have to put work, time, and effort into building muscle? Well screw that!

You did say: "What kinds of supplements should I take to build muscle mass and tone?"

Thus, it would appear you thought supplements would build muscle mass...

[s10ryan]

ive pretty much eliminated pop, aside from this holiday weekend.
but ive been drinking alot of iced tea lately...its that any better?

[GGw/edge]

Despite a lot of effort and research on my part I have not found that supplements + fast food actually work. Supplements are not regulated and independent labs have tested some that don’t even have what they are claiming to be show up as an ingredient. I know it is hard to get off fast food especially if you have been on it awhile and work shift work. But if you are trying to work out it is essential to get a healthy diet (eating the foods that contain essential vitamins, minerals etc) or else you can really damage yourself. Muscles and arteries can be severely damaged by heavy workouts and a poor diet. Don’t be fooled by "supplements" Research the foods you need.

[TPD Cadet]

[QUOTE=Ermantroudt;885294]

You mean I actually have to work out? I have to put work, time, and effort into building muscle? Well screw that!

You did say: "What kinds of supplements should I take to build muscle mass and tone?"

Thus, it would appear you thought supplements would build muscle mass...

It is just that it is common sense you can not take some magic pill and "BAM" turn into the hulk.

[itnstalln]

ive pretty much eliminated pop, aside from this holiday weekend.
but ive been drinking alot of iced tea lately...its that any better?

They say "pop" in WV?

IMHO iced tea can be good. It depends on how it's made. If you take a tea bag and brew it, you've got a good alternative to plain water. If you buy a mix or premade stuff, try to avoid the Sweetened iced teas as they will be laced with simple sugars, which is the pitfall of soft drinks. There are premade teas that are sugar free and there are new teas that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners called diet teas.

I'm sure you know this but tea contains caffeine. Don't know if you care or not but some people do.

[NDubs55]

I'm acutally surprised ProWriter hasn't weighed in on this. He has a lot of helpful hints on what to do and good advice on working out. Here's my .02 on the whoel thing. Drinking Iced Tea compared to pop or soda or whatever is not really making that drastic of a change to your body. You are taking out the carbonation which is a good thing, but the sugar can remain the same and may be even higher in some brands of Iced Tea. Brewing your own tea is a great way to go, because you control the amount of sugar in the batch. Caffeine, although treated as "bad", helps boost metabolism, energy levels and awarness. Sugar, in access amounts is bad for weight loss and drags the body down and gives you that "crashed" feeling. And don't be fooled, artifical sweetners aren't good for you either. Aspartame is not processed well by the body and can build up in the stomach or intestines and cause pain, bloating and make it hard on your digestive system. In some cases, artifical sweetners have also been known to make you hungary and crave sweets and food. It sucks, but sometimes the best thing to do is just go for the water kick, brew your own tea or find some natural juices to drink. I have actually switched to drinking water and if i need something with some taste I have gone for Pedialite or juice made for infants. They tend to be more natural and have very few artifical flavors and sweetners in them. And as far as fast food goes, you can't lie to yourself and say you will swear it off completely. I don't know one person that has ever been able to do that, myself included. The best way to approach that is to believe "everything in moderation". The body can handle a cheeseburger and fries here and there, but not on a daily consumption level. Moderation in how many times you eat out is optimal and surprisingly easy if you work hard and have your "cheat" day. It's what you eat when not going out and how hard you are working or working out that determines your body's potential. Supplements are not the key either but are a good way to subside hunger, give your body nutrients and keep you away from the candy consumption. But, supplements are not the answer, that's why they are called supplements. They supplement your daily living and eating habits. Hardwork, vitamins and watching your sugar intake levels really does make a huge difference when it comes to being in shape. You need your complex carbs and sugars in order to maintain a "normal" level of self. I once went 72 hours without carbs and I felt so out of it, I was lucky to remember my name. It's up to you and how your body reacts. But, remember, everything in moderation and, hopefully, you will find a style of living that suits you. That's my .02 on the whole deal.

[ProWriter]

Thanks NDubs. I didn't weigh in for two reasons: Someone beat me to it...

Supplements and vitamins do not build muscle, hard work and heavy lifting do. Protein and vitamin supplements enable people who are putting in the work in the gym to recover faster.Erm

...and because it seems nobody ever listens to that answer.

As GGW said too, the supplement industry has done a very good job convincing people new to fitness that "supplements" are the key to getting results, and most of them are bogus; otherwise, you wouldn't see an endless line of "revolutionary new products" come and go every six months. Nobody ever wants to hear that though; they all seem to go straight to the local GNC to load up on "muscle builders" before they've even learned how to train.

"Supplements" are fine if you're talking about meal replacements, whether to lose weight or just to save time on a busy schedule. They're also a good way of adding another high-protein meal to your daily intake to gain weight. But "gaining" any muscle weight presumes you're already training often (and correctly) enough to stimulate growth in the first place, and training without any supplements works a LOT better than supplements without good training.

Virtually all the non-meal replacement supplements (i.e. those that are supposed to do what steroids do, only legally) do absolutely nothing, and of the ones that do work, many of them just make you retain water. That's a look that some guys actualy like, because bloated under sweatshirts looks like "muscle" until you have to take it off. A lot of guys on steroids also like to tell everyone that their great gains are just from OTC "supplements" and that also fuels quite a bit of the word-of-mouth claims about them in gyms.

You just can't eat your way into a build. Train regularly and if you're looking to gain weight, increase your calories and protein somewhat also. If you don't have time to make a meal or you want an extra meal in between meals, use a meal replacement "supplement," and if you're looking to lose weight, just pick a meal replacement that's lower in calories than the meal you're replacing. That's really the simple "science" of supplementation, basically. The rest that your read in all the muscle rags is designed to sell products that you don't need and that don't do much of anything. Trust me, none of the massively muscled dudes holding those supplement containers in the ads are showing you the "supplements" that really helped them get in the magazines.