Protein drinks: how much /how often? Realistic rates of growth-progress?

[Mdlftr]

Hello all,

My question is about protein drinks. I've been using Nature's Best (50 gm protein, low carb formula) for about a month. No big changes yet.

I try to work out 3 x per week: chest/tri day, back/bi day, leg day. Occasionally I'll throw in a 4th day and do shoulders or just cardio. I generally drink 2 scoops of the protein drink (per the limited directions ) in 12 oz of water, within 20 minutes of a workout. My body weight, at a height of 6'3", is pretty consistently right around 200-203# for the last 4 months or so. {I am NOT an easy gainer} My weight fluctuates 2-3 pounds over the course of a week: down to 199# one day, say, then up to 202# a couple days later (usually after a day of serious eating with a lot of carbs: pasta for dinner, etc. ) I do NOT want to get fat but I DO want to gain some serious muscle. I'd like to get up to about 220# or so, which I think is a good, reasonable weight which will look good on me and make me more proportionate.

Question: how much protein drink should I be taking per day? THe directions don't say how much. They just say two scoops in 12 oz of water. I read other posts on here where people are doing 3600 calories a day to gain two pounds per week. I don't think that would do anything but expand my waistline. [I'm over 40, and I just got my waist line down from the winter, so I want to keep it trim! ] Overall, with my workout program, I'm finding that I am slowly getting stronger, with no pain. IT just seems to take so d_mn long to see results! [Yeah, like THAT's original! <g>]

I'd just like to hear someone else's experiences and suggestions. What amount of supplements has worked for you? What was your rate of growth?
A bit of history: at 18 I weighed 145#. At 30 I weighed about 175. At 40 I weighed around 185-190. At 45 I'm 202#. I've really only been consistently training since about 1999. Before that it was very sporadic. All of this body mass is pretty lean, but it's not big and bulgy. I wouldn't mind some noticeable bulges as long as they're muscle and not fat! I just seem to have the type of tall, lean body that seems more like a swimmer (which I have done)than a weightlifter-which is what I do now. I've been very impressed by some of the guys on here: Brent, Massing Up, and the guy from MI (sorry, can't remember his name) who went on a cycle earlier this year and is now up around 225-240? What have you guys found worked best for you? What really seemed to make the difference for you as far as seeing noticeable results? THank you for your comments

Mdlftr

[brent]

Mdlftr,
I am not a doctor, or a trainer, or anyother, "Authority" type but I will still share what I believe has worked well for me. I am a vegetarian, and I'd like to get BIG, so protien intake is important to me. I take 1 amino acid tablet, & 1 Creatine capsule before I workout. Then I take 1 amino acid tablet, & 1 Creatine capsule imediately after I workout. Then I take 1 amino acid tablet, & 1 Creatine capsule when I leave the gym (after aerobics, cool-down, and relaxing in the hot-tub, I'd say it was about an hour after my workout). I also take take a multi-vitamin, a mineral tablet, an MSM capsule,1 amino acid tablet, & 1 Creatine capsule before I go to bed. I think this gives my muscle much of what they need, when they need it.

Here is an interesting article form Wanna Be Big . I'd suggest reading the first question, and the first responce at the least .

What I use is:
? Twinlab? Amino Fuel? 1000, for Amino Acid Tablets
? Cheap creatine capsuals with 1,000 mg each of creatine monohydrate.
? Vitamins & mineral tablets from Trader Joe's (they are good, and inexpencive).
? Cheap MSM tablets with 500 mg each.

I hope this can be of some use to you. I don't like protien drinks, since I like to just keep stuff in my gym bag, and not deal with it. Also, if you take creatine (which I HIGHLY suggest) drink LOTS of water. Drink lots of water anyway, but drink more when taking creatine.

Also, I was taking L-Arganine for a while, and it rocked! I just took a little before each workout, and I felt totally pumped the whole time! I ran out, and I can't find it super cheap right now (I am currently broke).

Good luck reaching your goals, and always feel free to IM me, or send a message to me with any questions, or just to say "Hi".


Brent.

I'd like to respond to one part of your question about protein, the "expectiations" stuff is a separate case.

If you choose to use, there's something to consider when purchasing a protein powder which will ultimately affect how much of it you should take in a 24 hour period.

Check out the bioavailability of the protein within the drink. In short, this means how much of the protein you're supposed to be getting in a dose is actually going to be available to your metabolic processes. A high bioavailable index is what you want when selecting any powdered source of protein. Not all products are equal, and you might be surprised how low some of them are.

A good manufacturer will include that information right on the label of their product, or have it posted somewhere. I'm not recommending ANY product (although there is a good one here i Canada), but I would propose that you consider a low sodium, lactose free product which has a good bioavailability index. An experienced retail vendor will know what you're talking about and be able to help you select a product. Or consider doing research online with different sources. Look some of this stuff up with recognized medical authorities and see if they've done any studies on it (if their research was funded by the manufacturer, I wouldn' count it as valuable data). This is homework type stuff but can have payoff.

If you pay the bucks for high bioavailability, you can stick with the manufacturer's recommended dose per 24 hours over the period of time you decide to use it. More if you can handle it but I'm not recommending high protein intake over extended periods of time, ok?

If you have more questions about this please advise. I tried to keep my reply short and to the point.
thanks
liftr

[buffdoc]

Just a couple points of advice:

1. Protein drinks aren't magic but can help provide the raw amino acids necessary to build lean mass.
2. Choose your target lean body weight. To maintain 0.5-1 mg/lb of protein per day, otherwise about 2 mg/lb to bulk up.
3. High protein drink after lifting with lots of simple carbs is very growth promoting.

Good luck.