Quote (Henchman21 @ 15 Apr 2017 00:39)
I am overweight. I count my calories. I workout 4 days a week.
I hit my protein every day.
I drink a lot of caffeine; coffee, tea, sugar free energy drinks.
Current supps include multi and fish oil. I also take fiber and medicinal mushrooms (chaga, reishi, cordyceps, etc don't ask my mom got me into them lol)
What would benefit me most right now if I wanted to splurge on another supplement?
I am thinking about creatine. Maybe some whey even though myfitnesspal says I hit my protein every day. I never hit my potassium according to that app, though. I dn't need a pre-workout.
I agree with most of what has been said here about needing to drive weight loss through diet.
Creatine is a BRILLIANT choice except it undermines weight loss goals. Creatine supports lean mass gain -- and if you're trying to lose weight, it WILL slow you down.
That being said, you can take creatine and drop weight, even if it's a slower process. The best way to get er done is to consume fewer calories. Obviously.
So
option 1 is to map out your diet and find substitutes for the CHO you're taking in. Fat and protein are essential drivers for weight loss, even though fat is the most calorie-dense macro. It looks like this:
If your diet is high in fat (ideally clean veggie fat, clean fish fat, clean other animal fat ... a.k.a. grass feed beef or cold pressed organic olive oil (uncooked!) and somewhat high in quality protein (dem amino acids), and very low in CHO, you move toward a different metabolic state that draws energy from ketones as opposed to glycolysis. If you are running on fat energy and you do it right, your energy and focus will actually improve. The evolutionary history of our biology suggests that cave folk may have often flourished in ketosis (essentially, on hunger). Here, you burn fat for energy and therefore increases the number of calories lost per whatever activity being performed, especially if there is some level of endurance required.
The problem with this is that if you eat a few cookies, you're fucked and ketosis is lost. So exogenous ketones are the way to go (as opposed to dietary ketosis).
Option 2 -- if dietary or induced ketosis isn't for you -- is to reduce caloric intake and increase intensity/duration of exercise (you'd need to do this on ketosis, too). An increase in duration is actually the key here because you can burn fat more efficiently once you've bumped beyond the first two ways we draw energy to get ATP and especially once we reach the 4th pathway.
But if you are serious about weight loss you will probably need to start being more mindful about your eating habits, your shopping habits, your cooking habits ... and while you can change multiple habits at the same time, it'll take about 67 days to change a habit. You will want to be strategic and methodical and to have a compelling set of reasons derived from a compelling vision of your future to drive it all. Weight loss should not be your primary goal. Happiness should be the goal, and I guarantee that if you can follow your heart, you will lose weight in the process
^^ So I've hinted at the supplement I'd recommend next. Exogenous ketones. I recommend going through Pruvit. They're the original. Otherwise, supplement with better habits and the rest will take care of itself.
This post was edited by RewtheBrave on Apr 17 2017 08:48am