You’ll get an assortment of answers here, and given that we’re on a supplement website, I am hesitant to say too much. Personally, I take a few grams of creatine, one heaping scoop of gelatin (great for the joints), and some protein powder as part of a morning smoothie, maybe a second helping after a workout in the evening, but that’s all. Some trainees here take more stuff, and they can share their experiences with the respective supplements that they have tried. As a beginner, though, that’s pretty far down the list of things I would be worried about. Get your training right, get your diet right, and then worry about what supplements to take.
I tend to avoid most pre-workouts now. A little caffeine/coffee before can be helpful, but I try not to depend on supplements to provide that sort of stimulation on a regular basis to keep from becoming dependent on it.
I second this. I’ve taken this consistently for years. It is cheap, mixes with anything and really has a ton of research backing its effectiveness.
I’ve heard that a few people take gelatin, but have never tried this myself. I’m very interested in joint health/inflammation so I would definitely be interested in looking into this. @ActivitiesGuy, is there a particular type of gelatin that you find is more effective than others or can I literally just consume JELL-O?
I also consume fish oil, protein powder and some other vitamins.
THIS! Until this has been figured out and adhered to consistently, supplements are not going to make much/any difference.
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I probably ought to avoid other brand names on a supplement website, but I don’t believe that Biotest actually sells a competing gelatin supplement, so I will cautiously go ahead (apologies to @Chris_Colucci and forum mods in advance if this is inappropriate). I’ve used two gelatin supplements: one from Vital Proteins and one from a company called Earth Fed Muscle (and, full disclosure, I played football against the EFM founder in high school, so I buy from them in part due to the personal connection). I don’t know if there’s anything magic about a specific type of gelatin; I just know that since I started taking gelatin, my joints feel significantly better the day after tough workouts. I just put a spoonful into my daily smoothie. Beware - if you overdo it, the gelatin does give a bit of a chalky, unpleasant taste. So stick with one spoonful to get the benefits while minimizing the taste impact, lol.
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I’m working on my nutrition now. My biggest issue is not consuming enough calories. I’ve been IF to lose my first 40ish pounds and I am consistently coming up 600-700 calories short with struggling to get to that. I was thinking of adding a snack with a protein shake to get the last 600 calories or maybe I just need to eat breakfast.
Are they beef gelatin?
I can’t comment on IF as I’ve never really done it consistently. Under-eating while overweight can have some significant impacts on your metabolism if done for long periods of time. Nutrition isn’t my strong suit, but you want to be consuming the MAXIMUM number of calories while still LOSING weight. A larger deficit is not necessarily going to produce better results and can result in muscle loss/slower metabolism which you do not want.
The Simple Diet that @caesium32 posted is a great place to start. Just keep in clean, eat lots of veggies, drink lots of water, hit your protein requirements and move around more than you do now.