Supplementation What To Look For
What to look out for
It is possible to cut without the use of any supplements. However, whey protein or equivalent may be a useful addition, as may some protein snack bars. However, with commercial protein bars, look out for the amount of sugar and saturated or trans fats present.
Some bodybuilders may also use fat burners, such as the ephedrine-caffeine-aspirin (ECA) stack. These are by no means essential and the diet and exercise must be spot on before resorting to such supplements.
A note on Glutamine
The use of oral glutamine as a supplement is hotly debated. Glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid; adults can usually make enough glutamine from other amino acids, however at times of increased metabolic stress demand outstrips supply, for example in burns patients. A burns patient who would benefit from glutamine would receive it intravenously. This use led to the development of oral glutamine as a supplement; however results are less than conclusive for oral glutamine.
There are indications that glutamine is beneficial to athletes.
Glutamine can be used as a fuel – the body has a particular metabolic pathway dedicated to using glutamine as a fuel – and so if the athlete is training hard and restricting their intake glutamine can be used to provide fuel without a calorie increase.
Secondly glutamine plays a key role in immune function, and supplementation could aid in decreasing susceptibility to infection – especially those of the upper respiratory tract – the bane of many an athlete’s life.
Because of these potential benefits, and the relatively low cost of oral glutamine (bought in bulk) it is worth considering supplementing at 10g per day split into two doses, while endurance athletes seeking fat loss could benefit from using 5-10g during their training and reducing their simple sugar intake – to help maximise fat mobilisation.
Final note:
It is easy to complicate fat loss for athletes; however, it is relatively simple:
1) cut overall calorie intake below that used per day
2) achieve the calorie reduction by reducing carbohydrate intake
3) place the majority of carbohydrate intake around training to optimise performance
4) only have simple sugars directly after training to replenish glycogen, combined with a rapidly digesting protein
5) eat a variety of foods, lean protein sources (including red meat), fish, fruit and vegetables, and not forgetting dairy products
6) enjoy your food
Get this right and there will be no need for multi vitamins, no need to feel tired and lethargic and no need to see a drop in performance while getting leaner.
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