getting skinny , help

I just started playing football. We play 2 games per week and practice a couple of times per week. Before this I never really do cardio, but always manage to stay lean. My body doesnt react well to cardio. I think all the running I do in football is causing me to lose muscle. I love playing and am not thinking of quitting but does anyone know a supplement I might be able to take, to prevent muscle loss during football season. My body fat is around 7-8 % and I weigh 176 lbs, but I might of dropped a few pounds. I feel so skinny. Any help, would be appreciated.

Supplements?.. Before you jump there, how about letting everyone know about your diet, specifics please.

Lauren

Try eating more.

Eat more.

Football is an anaerobic sport, just like weightlifting. Plays last 10 seconds or less and are followed by 35 seconds of rest. Take a glutamine/BCAA supplement during the game (about 40g will do the trick) in addition to water. After the game do 3.5 scoops of Surge with 1 liter of water. That stack should minimize catabolism. You might also consider taking 4ad ec.

This is just my opinion, but I think eating more would be a good idea.

I would definately take a serious look at your diet before considering anything like 4ad

Yes, it’s called food and you oughta try it. It works wonders.

Pretty damn cheap too.

Seriously Tony, you’ve been around long enough to know the answer to your question. You’re clearly spending more calories - to prevent mass loss you need to increase the amount of calories you eat and eat smart.

Obviously a high protein diet, fairly high in carbs, fairly high in fats (emphasize omega-3 fats - 2.2 oz of bumblebee canned pink salmon will give you 1500 mg of it). Omega 3 fats are anti-inflammatory, will speed up recovery, improve performance, improve body composition and optimize your hormone profile.

Everybody has a hectic life from time to time, you just need to alter your diet/workouts to accomdate for this. If your caloric expenditure goes up, your caloric intake must go up too.

Multiply your body weight by 16 and factor in the calories spent in your workouts/training and add an additional 1000 calories. This will get you on the right track.

Interestingly this formula was RIGHT ON THE MONEY for me. My RMR is 2500 (had it measured). Since this number is 75% of my total caloric expenditure, my total caloric requirements to maintain my weight were roughly 3125 cals. If I simply multiply my weight (198 lbs at time of RMR test) by 16, I get 3168 cals, which is VERY close.
I added an additional 500 calories for workout (on the conservative side), which bumped it up to 3668 cals/day. Since my goal was to bulk up, I added an additional 1000 calories which bumped it up to 4668 Cals/day. Worked fine for me as my weight, 3 weeks later, is 205 lbs (went as high as 208 lbs, but obviously some was water retention).

Anyhow, hope this helps. If you want to gain muscle, you need CALORIES. If you want to maintain what you have, you need CALORIES. No supplement can give you this. You need to get calories from a good balanced diet, not search for some kind of magic pill that’ll make the hard work go away (as if eating steaks, eggs, nuts, and so forth was hard work).

Good luck, and remember - diet, diet, diet, diet, diet.

Im not looking for a magic pill. The only supplement I use is one or two protein shakes a day. I have increased my calories since football started. Im taking in an average of 3200-3600 calories per day. Even still I think during a football game or even worse during a practice Im burning muscle. For all of you telling me to eat more, thanks for the advice, but Im not an idiot. I dont have a strict diet. Never needed one. Just try to eat as much protein as I can, and Im not worried about limiting my carbs. I eat tons of carbs and protein. Maybe ill try some glutamine. Thanks for the advice.

do you THINK you’re burning muscle? or are you? is it possible you’re turning nasty fat into muscle & reducing size so therefore you feel like you’re loosing muscle? Are you loosing weight and/or strength?

No ones calling you an idiot, but what everyone is trying to say is you shouldnt be loosing muscle if you’re consuming enough food.
Being on a strict ‘undiet’ might just be what you need, writing down everything you consume & adjusting where needed if you already already doing so. I find that if I dont write down what i eat for afew days I lower my calories each day & not notice until I start jotting it down again.

If after that you are still worried than maybe a supplement might help…? Are you already taking a basic multivitamin? That might help also.

Lauren

lots of helpful advice above, so why throw it back in there faces? you are being an idiot.

Its plain and simple consume more than or equal to the number of calories expended, if your goal is not to lose weight.

You dont keep a strict diet? yet you assume that means you are consuming more than enough calories by default. Well your dwindling weight suggests otherwise.

Take the straight-forward advice given and stop being a prick.

3200-3600 calories? I’ve known guys your size ingesting 7000-8000 calories while cutting. Completely natural, just outrageous metabolisms. Try somewhere around the 5000 calorie range and see what happens. Seriously, if you’re losing weight, the only thing you can do is eat more.

Depending on the intensity of your practices (and naturally this will be influenced by your position) plus your in-season training, your caloric intake may not be sufficient. I would re-visit your diet and make sure of this - it is a very easy cycle to be fatigued from practics and not eat properly. Another point, that really needs to be stressed is looking at your in-season program, how it responds to your off-season preparation and present practices. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

In faith,

Coach Davies

Blah, blah, blah…

Get the HOT supplements; steak, eggs and nuts - available at 7-11

It worked in the days of Johnny Unitas and it will work today…

-Don

Of course, you may find yourself glued to the toilet for the next 48 hours if you actually take Don’s advice and buy a steak from 7-11.

Hehe.