141.0
Posted on November 19, 2019
Good morning!!! My body is not happy with this cleanse, but it must be done to achieve my goals.
I’ve lost four more ounces since yesterday morning, so that’s a plus:) I have one more day of this tomorrow and then i can resume my supplements. I haven’t been taking them for over a month!🙀
I definitely won’t be to 18% bodyfat like i wanted by January 1st 2020, but if i continue at this rate i will be at least be to my goal weight of 133 lb. Then i can continue to lose bodyfat and gain muscle.
Once my beer belly is gone i likely won’t really care about my weight; for now I’ll keep my goal.
Creatine
Posted on February 24, 2019
Please understand that I am not a licensed physician. This is my personal research on creatine. People like to question me on why I take the things I take, so I am going to explain each and every one, one at a time.
Creatine is a non essential nutrient and it is NOT a steroid. If you are a meat eater, chances are you are getting enough. I, however, do not partake of such… so taking 5 grams of Creatine Monohydrate a day is beneficial for me. I take it once a day after lifting weights for 30 to 75 minutes, in my plant protein shake, along with L-Arginine, L-Ornithine, Glutamine, CLA and ALA, (which I take before and after biking and before and after lifting). I never front-load, even when I haven’t taken it for a while. You’ll have the same result at the end of four weeks, just a bit slower to see results.
Some great benefits of Creatine include; improvement of upper body strength and power, increases muscle mass and muscle fiber, promotes greater gains, reduces severity of injury, improves recovery, and slows Parkinson’s and Huntinton’s. I don’t know about you, but those are all some pretty good reasons to take it. I don’t have either of those diseases but the rest of the benefits are wonderful for a bodybuilder, or aspiring one like myself.
There are some supposed possible side effects. I did allot of reading about creatine when I was trying to convince myself to take it for two months before I got the nerve. And I’ve done a good bit for this post, and I very much doubt these “possible” side effects are actually side effects of creatine. More likely something else being ingested or possible even just an underlying and/or unresolved health issue.
Stomach cramps: I’ve yet to have this even when I haven’ drank enough water. Diarrhea, nope, not even the day I took it two times in one day because I didn’t take it the day before (which I won’t do again, I did get palpitations, but more than likely that was caused by dehydration and overdoing it working out).
Muscle cramps, no. Although I take allot of glutamine so that could potentially counteract an issue like that, but I doubt an active person taking it correctly is going to get muscle cramps. Dizziness and nausea, no and no. IF you starve yourself and take creatine you might get that result but that is no fault of creatine. Fever or heat intolerance? I doubt it. I certainly have not had that issue with it.
Dehydration and water retention, those I can agree with. Creatine helps your muscles pull in water, which causes retention and if you aren’t drinking enough water you will get dehydrated…. Not so common sense, and there are many drugs out there that will cause water retention, so drink water!
Now we get to blood pressure.. I am finding conflicting opinions on whether it helps or impedes improvement of high blood pressure issues. I have been having high blood pressure issues, and it is hard to tell if it is because of the creatine or just the fact that I am over weight. I think the latter. When I get back down to where I need to be, around 20 pounds less than I am, we will see if it is still an issue.. and if so, then I reckon I will have to go off it and see, but i think fat is a good portion of all human health issues.
Kidney and liver damage, I don’t think so. If that were to happen I think it would be from some other cause. Just because you are taking creatine and you develop some ailment, doesn’t automatically make creatine the culprit. Lots of things can cause kidney and liver issues; lifestyle in general, hereditary illnesses, drug abuse, alcoholism, diabetes, blood pressure, urinary tract issues, lupus, hepatitis, cirrhosis and malnutrition in general.
Contraindications are kidney damage, of course, diabetes, NSAIDS (Ibuprofen and Naproxen), diuretics, caffeine, probenecid and cimetidine, (acid reducers), and ephedra (which can cause stroke). I quit taking nsaids when i discovered it causes high blood pressure, i recently switched to decaf (because of blood pressure) and i don’t take any of the others, so these are not an issue. With this, I hope you are now comfortable with me taking Creatine, and if you are not, well,,,I don’t know what else to say.
Gaba
Posted on February 22, 2019
Gaba is a gamma neurotransmitter.
Remember that I am not a doctor. This is my research on another supplement that I take. Just for you concerned followers to understand why I have added this into my supplements.
There are a few of reasons why I want to take Gaba, one is it naturally increases HGH (human growth hormone), which will help me build my muscles bigger. HGH helps your body fight fat along with increasing exercise endurance and improves sleep, both of which helps build muscle.
Secondly, it will keep me from drinking if I stay on top of it, as alcohol is a contraindication. One could most likely get away with drinking on it? But I would be too terrified to wager that on myself. I have taken it a total of three times as I’m writing this. The first time I was worried I would be allergic to it all by itself. After that I wasn’t really concerned with that anymore. But instead, as I take it I say to myself, “well you won’t be drinking tonight”.
Thirdly, it should help with my blood pressure which has already been bordering high even on all the supplements together that I will talk about next, so I don’t think too low of blood pressure is going to be an issue for me. I can only hope with staying away from vodka, getting hydrated, doing all my workouts daily; religiously and taking all my supplements including GABA and the ones listed below that I can get it under control.
Medications that can interact with Gaba include; psych drugs, blood pressure meds, and supplements that are known to lower blood pressure. Out of the 13 in this list; I take nine, ten if you include the folic acid in my multi vitamins. ALA (Alpha-linolenic Acid), cacium, cocoa, cod liver oil, COQ10, EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid), DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid), fiber supplements, folic acid, garlic, l-arginine and magnesium and potassium. The EPA and DHA I take are in the form of Krill oil.
There are a few possible negative side effects, none of which I have yet experienced. Depression, nausea, feeling of electric shock throughout body, skin flushing, and tingling. This would most likely only happen in high doses and I am unconcerned with that at this time.
As of late my blood pressure has been ranging from 136/90 to 150/103 and heart rate of 80 to 120. We’ll see how this helps. I have also added liquid apple cider vinegar, which is just awful btw.. so between the two, we should see some positive progress! And now you know my reasoning for taking Gaba.
L-Carnitine
Posted on January 20, 2019
Why do i take carnitine? Firstly, it converts fat into energy. I’m fat, so it should give me lots of energy🙃
It also decreases muscle soreness, helps prevent muscle damage and improves recovery time. It helps protect the heart from inflammation and also helps regulate blood sugar. Carnitine works well with ALA (alpha lipoic acid) which I also take.
One can eat more carbs and get away with it, in fact it works best with carbs,,, perfect!! I eat allot of fried potatoes; it’s my favourite, I can’t help it!
Some side effects include; nausea, vomiting, cramping and diarrhea.. usually in high doses. High blood pressure and tachycardia. <— well you got me there, but personally I feel the benefit outweighs the risk. When I get back down to 24% fat my heart issues will be null. My goal atm is 18%.
Less common side effects are muscle weakness in people with kidney failure and seizures in people with a seizure disorder.
Contraindications are Warfarin (a blood thinner), hypothyroidism and a history of seizures. I can find no other.
All in all I think l-carnitine is another important supplement for not only bodybuilders, but also people who just want to be healthy.
L-Glutamine
Posted on January 16, 2019
First of all, let me just point out that I am not a doctor. This is merely my research on one of many supplements that I take. Just to give concerned followers my justified reasoning for taking said supplement.
L-glutamine is a nonessential amino acid that supports the immune system. For best results, I need to get my B vitamins, especially B12 (which is another supplement I take) as it helps keep glutamine at the appropriate level.
L-glutamine has many benefits; including suppression of insulin levels, stabilizing glucose. Enabling the body to build rather than lose muscle and decreasing recovery time, essential for a bodybuilder.
There are; of course, many other benefits of l-glutamine. Such as healing ulcers, counteracting inflammation, intestinal health, balancing pH levels and improving brain health. The bottom line? L-glutamine is a paramount supplement.
There are some contraindications; such as cancer meds, seizure meds, lactoluse (which is a treatment for constipation), kidney and liver disease, cancer and Reyes Syndrome (a rare condition of swelling in the liver and brain)… I don’t have any of those things, so I needn’t worry.
Common side effects include nausea, headache, rash and dry mouth. Severe side effects include worsening liver disease, mania, seizures and Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (a syndrome usually contracted by people after eating Chinese food, most likely linked to MSG).
Again, I’ve had none of this, and I’ve been taking it for close to two years. So this is one supplement down, explaining why I take it. I hope this was helpful for anyone questioning this particular choice.
-Sil
Hungry anyone?
Posted on May 15, 2018
This is the supplement pack I put together to take with my lunch😛
