Supplements are supposed to go with your good training and nutrition, not take the place of them.
Protein powders:
Protein builds muscle. The harder you train, the more protein your body needs to repair, rebuild, and nourish muscle tissue.
Protein is supplement #1 if you want to ensure muscle gains. The best protein sources are egg, milk, and whey.
Creatine:
Creatine is a tested and proven strength and muscle-building supplement.
Creatine increases creatine phosphate storage in muscle tissue and attracts more water into each muscle cell, resulting in cell volumizing (swells up bigger). The bigger your muscle cells, the bigger your muscles.
Meal replacement powders:
Meal replacements make eating every 3 hours a snap. Not only that, it makes eating healthy a snap.
Meal replacements allow you to get the nutrient benefits of whole food meals without the simple sugars and fats you'd normally get.
Glutamine:
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue.
It helps shuttle muscle-building nitrogen into muscle cells where it is used for muscle growth.
Glutamine also plays a major role in elevating growth hormone. Studies have shown that a 2-gram oral dose of glutamine elevated circulating growth hormone levels.
Keeping a high level of circulating growth hormone helps keep the body in an anabolic, muscle building state more often.
Another huge benefit of glutamine supplementation is the positive effects it has on the immune system.
When your body requires L-glutamine to fight off infections or viruses, it will get it from muscle tissue, resulting in potential muscle loss.
When you supplement with glutamine, it can help protect the glutamine stores within the muscle tissue.
Protein Bars:
These are great for when you're on the go and cannot make a whole food meal and cannot get a regular meal replacement. Keep a bunch of high quality meal replacement/protein bars with you somewhere at all times.
This way, if you can't make a meal, you can rip open a bar and get your much needed calorie boost.
Honestly, if you are going to shell out your hard earned money for supplements, you're best off choosing a couple from the list above.
For more info, download Best Supplements, a free ebook.
Calorie Count is a useful tool for calorie intake calculation and diet planning. Calories do count and it's also important how efficiently your body burns them. Calorie Count also contains a diet planner with professional advice on food combining, detox, suggested daily calorie intake for men and women, calorie intake from beverages consumed, as well as some useful guidelines for speeding up the metabolism and making the most of it. People make the mistake of thinking they have to make drastic changes to lose weight and get in shape, but the secret is to make small changes and incorporate them into their lives permanently.
