Nutrition & Supplements

ben_milner

Hello ,

I'm a new gym goer while I cycle and run. I believe I exercise enough when schedule allows. What I don't have down is my nutrition, which I know is half the battle.

I have my three meals a day with snacks in-between coupled with MyProtein Alpha Men Multivitamins and Omega 3-6-9. I don't have a plan and I don't count calories - This needs to change.

I have no idea where to start it. I have no idea on calorie deficits or anything like that. Usually I would burn over 3000 calories on a gym day (coupled with walking to work) which is good to get rid of the bit of weight I've started putting on (I think). The end goal is to be a bit more defined and be happier in my self.

So, how do I get started?

Side question, are their other supplements I could be adding to my diet?

B

BarbaraHelen2013

Best place to start is to set up your account with your stats (height, age, current weight and goal weight. I can’t imagine you have a lot to lose with your exercise level so I’d suggest just a half pound per week loss level. That’s a deficit of 250 cals a day, for reference. Be aware that when it asks for your activity level it wants your typical day activity without your exercise.

You are intended to log exercise separately and eat some or all of your ‘gained’ calories as well as the calories the setup process suggests. Be aware that exercise burns from machines, gadgets and even the MFP database can be overly generous, though. A good starting point is to eat 50% of them and keep track over a few weeks to see if you need to adjust up or down on that level.

As to your side question, I’m, personally, not a proponent of dietary supplements unless you have medical evidence or conditions that suggest a supplement is advantageous. A good, balanced diet should provide anything you need. I’m sure others will come along to disagree, but unnecessary supplements just make expensive urine imho!

apullum

Is your goal weight loss, recomp, muscle gain?

If you’re looking to lose weight, you said it yourself—you almost certainly need to count calories. There are no supplements that cause weight loss. Weight loss is caused by consistently being in a calorie deficit.

sarko15

Second starting with entering your stats into MFP. That should be your very first step.

Supplements won't aid your weight loss and may or may not be even necessary. I do, however, supplement with protein powder -- I find that helps me as a vegetarian weight lifter. I don't focus on my nutrients other than my three macros much and I seem to be doing okay. In my opinion, the simplest and more straightforward you can make this process, the better.

Unless you have any known deficiencies identified by a doctor, I would just focus on your three macros and calorie deficit and check into your nutrient log after a while and see if there's a spot you're consistently not meeting. Do some research on that nutrient and decide if you need to change your diet or take a supplement. Changing your diet is typically cheaper or you might feel that you're doing just fine as is and leave it be.

AnnPT77

Others have given good advice about setting yourself up in MFP to get a calorie goal, and begin logging your food.

The thread linked below describes a way of gradually remodeling your eating to both meet that calorie goal and improve nutrition, in ways that are personally manageable for you.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

As far as supplements go, I'm not a huge fan, in the absence of a documented deficiency. We can go a long way toward meeting our nutritional needs from food, with plenty of varied, colorful veggies and fruit included to supply micronutrients. As a bonus, many people find veggies/fruits filling for their calories, and they provide extra fiber.

During my lifetime (I'm 63), science has identified quite a number of essential nutrients, plus others that are beneficial. Once these are identified, companies start putting them into supplements, but they were in food all along. Some supplements (vitamin A, for example) have potential risks that are not a problem with equivalent nutrition from food. Common foods that humans have eaten for centuries to millennia are natural-selection-tested for effectiveness. I'm betting science isn't done identifying essential/beneficial nutrients, so I'm striving to get most of what I need from food.

I pretty much just take things my doctors have recommended to me for specific concerns (such as Vitamin D) plus a non-mega-dose multivitamin as backup insurance.

If one of your goals is to be more defined - by which I assume you mean more muscular (or for existing muscles to be more visible) - the weight management will reveal muscle, and strength training (plus adequate protein/nutrition) is key to developing muscle (or retaining what you have while losing weight, since adding large amounts while losing weight is lower probability). There's good information about getting started with strength training in this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

It includes bodyweight programs that need no/minimal equipment, not just classic weight lifting.

Best wishes!

psuLemon

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Others have given good advice about setting yourself up in MFP to get a calorie goal, and begin logging your food.

The thread linked below describes a way of gradually remodeling your eating to both meet that calorie goal and improve nutrition, in ways that are personally manageable for you.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

As far as supplements go, I'm not a huge fan, in the absence of a documented deficiency. We can go a long way toward meeting our nutritional needs from food, with plenty of varied, colorful veggies and fruit included to supply micronutrients. As a bonus, many people find veggies/fruits filling for their calories, and they provide extra fiber.

During my lifetime (I'm 63), science has identified quite a number of essential nutrients, plus others that are beneficial. Once these are identified, companies start putting them into supplements, but they were in food all along. Some supplements (vitamin A, for example) have potential risks that are not a problem with equivalent nutrition from food. Common foods that humans have eaten for centuries to millennia are natural-selection-tested for effectiveness. I'm betting science isn't done identifying essential/beneficial nutrients, so I'm striving to get most of what I need from food.

I pretty much just take things my doctors have recommended to me for specific concerns (such as Vitamin D) plus a non-mega-dose multivitamin as backup insurance.

If one of your goals is to be more defined - by which I assume you mean more muscular (or for existing muscles to be more visible) - the weight management will reveal muscle, and strength training (plus adequate protein/nutrition) is key to developing muscle (or retaining what you have while losing weight, since adding large amounts while losing weight is lower probability). There's good information about getting started with strength training in this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

It includes bodyweight programs that need no/minimal equipment, not just classic weight lifting.

Best wishes!

Adding: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10637410/beneficial-supplements-which-ones-are-right-for-you/p1

CalgaryMac

There seems to be a lot of discussion in the media about whether supplements have any benefits particularly if you are eating a balanced diet. We have stopped taking almost all supplements due to this. We still take Vitamin D and probiotics. Without broad consensus about the benefits of supplements I am going to assume that a lot more science needs to happen.

psuLemon

CalgaryMac wrote: »

There seems to be a lot of discussion in the media about whether supplements have any benefits particularly if you are eating a balanced diet. We have stopped taking almost all supplements due to this. We still take Vitamin D and probiotics. Without broad consensus about the benefits of supplements I am going to assume that a lot more science needs to happen.

There are some supplements that are very well documented and supported. But the benefits aren't big and won't replace a good diet and exercise. For example, creatine monohydrate has been shown to be very effective in about 70% of the population. So for those lifting who are looking to maximize performance, its a safe bet to take some.