Diet + Supplements = ?

[buffedmama]

Ok, so maybe the title of the this thread doesn't match what my questions are... But I didn't know what to call it because I didn't want to get ragged on for bringing up something that I've done a search on and couldn't find the answer to...

I'll just go over a little about my routine/diet/supplements and maybe I can get some help...

I'm 25, 5'7", 135 lbs. with a gross 21% bf.

I'm slowly cutting down on my carbs because I tried the Atkins diet and my system went into shock and I ended up in the hospital.

I'm on a 3 day cycle for weights:

Day 1 - Chest, Shoulders & Tris
Day 2 - Back & Arms
Day 3 - Legs

I'm doing about 45 - 60 minutes of Cardio every day. (Some days HIIT, some days just running normally)

I just finished a loading phase with creatine and am now in maintenance for 6-8 weeks. I'm noticing a difference in my ability to lift and can see some results. I'm kind of bloated some days, but I know that's normal for Creatine.

I bought some Yohimbe pills. I guess my question is, do they work? And when should I be taking them and how often?

Any help would be appreciated. Sorry to be bothersome, I haven't been weightlifting for a couple of years and back then I was an anorexic who was weightlifting... This time, I want to be healthier by eating properly (because I wasn't before), but I also want results!! (Plus, I suspect my metabolism is royally fucked up!)

 

[SteelWeaver]

What kind of shock did your system go into? (And btw, what blood type are you? (sorry, my latest little crusade is finding out if there's a link between blood types and diet))

Did you get yohimbe or yohimbine hcl? I dunno much about yohimbe, but I DO know that oral yohimbine hcl is more effective on a low carb diet, and that topically administered yohimbine hcl is more effective than both, but isn't really much use at higher bf levels - wait til you have those last few pounds to lose (see yohimburn and lipoderm y - topical yohimbine).

Congratulations on moving past your anorexia - a lot of us here have experience with eating disorders - believe me, holding a few extra pounds is, in every single case, preferable to slow suicide. 21% isn't really even that high - I'm probably higher than that right now - oh well - at least I feel great about how I look and feel

How long have you been doing that much cardio? Don't forget, results, permanent results, quality, healthy results, take time, determination, and patience. Focus on the medium to longer term benefits of training and eating right, and the "look" will come, OK?

If you pull out all the stops right from the beginning, what're you gonna do when you hit a plateau? 2, 3, 4 hours of cardio a day? No! Heavy drugs? No! Your body is clever - it's designed to adapt to the harshest conditions - you have to stay one or two steps ahead of it. The process is change, adaption, change, adaption. Change small things, then bigger and bigger things, step by step - first the macro ratios, then the calories, then play with macros, a bit of cardio, adjust calories, cycle macros, cycle training, etc, etc, etc Until you either hit your goal, change your goal, or start researching prescription medications (j/k!)

ECA or NYC might be reasonable once you've dropped a few % points?

 

[JJFigure]

If you have yohimbe, be careful with it. They don't do a good job standardizing the stuff; if you're going the yohimbine hcl route, it's really only effective if you take it on an empty stomach and don't eat carbs for 3-4 hours. In other words, the only time you can really take it is first thing in the morning, as long as you don't eat carbs for breakfast. Kind of limiting.

Steel gave you some great advice. What are your goals? It's good to have short and long term specific goals, rather than just a general "want to see results". And you're doing too much cardio if you're trying to add muscle. It's one thing to do that much cardio if you're getting ready for a show and you're 4 weeks out; it's another if you're looking for an approach for permanent fat loss. Like Steel said, you're gonna hit a wall, and then what are you going to do?

Take a look at Corn's post about crunching numbers (I think it's Let's crunch some numbers). He's got great advice in there, even though I argue with him a little.

 

[HANSEL]

What kind of shock did your system go into?

 

[buffedmama]

What kind of shock did your system go into? (And btw, what blood type are you? (sorry, my latest little crusade is finding out if there's a link between blood types and diet))

Did you get yohimbe or yohimbine hcl?

I don't know exactly what kind of shock I went into... I ended up passing out and woke up in the hospital. They said that my insulin was way too low... Which is probably what caused me to pass out.

I got pure Yohimbe. Each pill is 500mg. I've been taking it 3 hours after I eat and I don't eat for a couple hours after I take it. That's really a pain in the ass because I don't like going that long without eating.

I think that I'm A+... I'll have to ask my mom, but if I remember correctly from highschool biology when we tested our blood... It's A.

Originally posted by JJFigure What are your goals? It's good to have short and long term specific goals, rather than just a general "want to see results".

Well... I'm not 100% sure what my goals are. I've been throwing around the idea of running in some races... But I mostly want to look really buff.

I'm not sure if I would like to compete with other women body builders because I'm still really conscious about my body. I have really bad stretch marks, a c-section scar, other surgical scars... Don't judges kind of look at your body for stuff like that? As far as I know, they don't have plastic surgery that I can afford to fix my flaws.

I guess my really huge problem that I have to deal with is patience.

I've been training for a couple of months now and I am noticing a difference. I weigh more now then I did last month and I'm noticeably thinner too.

Too much cardio? I do it because I love it... And it's a good stress reliever. (And because I want to train for a race.)

How can I balance the 2?

 

[JJFigure]

If your goal is running a race (5K? 10K? sprints?), then obviously, you need to train for it. However, training for a 5K and getting buffed are two different things completely. Too much muscle is actually a detriment to running endurance races; a benefit if you're racing sprints. Let's face it - you don't see many built runners out there.

Unfortunately, you kind of have to pick and choose; you can't have everything.