Weight routine and Supplements...

[cstretten]

Hello all,
I had a question or two pop up... it seems I'm having difficulty with a few concepts for fat loss.
I have read that building muscle while in a losing fat phase is very difficult for most people to do ( some say its impossible, others disagree ), and that Cardio should be the main focus. Obviously there should be some weight lifting done, but to what amount? What kind of intensity level should I be aiming for when losing weight? Perhaps intensity is the wrong word, but I'm sure its not the same type of routine one would do during the bulking phase ( Max-OT?).
Another question is regarding supplements... Is the whole 100% Whey Protein (or other protein) supplementation required when losing instead of bulking?
Yet another question... because of my schedule, I will only be able to consistantly lift weights in the evenings... fairly late at that. Around 9 oclock would be an average time. I realize many people work out in the evenings, and I was wondering how you handle your meals and supplements? I've read that eating late at night, before bed is a bad thing to do, yet also that you should always supply protein within 30 minutes after a lifting session... that would be around 10 oclock for myself. Any thoughts on how to handle this?
To clarify a bit, here is my routine as it stands for the moment:
5:30-5:45 am : Get up and eat breakfast
6:30 am : Begin Cardio on elliptical trainer for 20-30 minutes
7:00 am : Get my daughter up and ready for school
7:30 am : After Cardio snack
8:41 am : Heading to work on GO Train... la la la..
10:00 am : Snack at work
12:30-ish : Lunch
3:00 pm : Snack
8:00 pm : Home from work finally and eat Dinner
9:00 pm : Lift Weights
10:00 pm : Post lifting meal?
10:30 - 11:00 pm : Hopefully Bed so I can get up in time for 5:30 once again, hehe

Any advice on this timing regarding what I should be eating/ Supplementing, would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for the help!
Cheers,
Chris
--------
My Stats:
Male, 28, 5'8" tall, 215lbs, Mesomorph body type (under fat currently, perhaps leaning a bit towards Endomorph ), 20.8% Body Fat (Internet source), Basal Caloric Rate 1933 (Internet Source)

[marcus]

It is possible to put on muscle while cutting but it is difficult. You need to have your diet down perfectly. If you have never trained before youe body will repond well and you might put on some mucscle while cutting. You wont put on heaps but you should weight train to maintain what you have.

If you have some good muscle mass already, just concentrate on cutting while doing weights 2-3 times per week.

You should still supplement with whey protein while cutting in order to get your daily protein requirements without having to consume too much fatty animal produce.

With regards to your schedule, try and do weights during your lunch break or at 8 when you get home instead of 9pm. All you need is half and hour with good intensity and that should be sufficient.

I hoped this helped but a lot of the questions you asked are dependent on personal variables like your specific goals, body type and time constaints. Just design a program, see how it works and what results you are getting and then tweak to your liking.

Marcus

[cstretten]

Thanks for the response Marcus.
Yeah, I'd love to be able to lift during the day, but unfortunately this isn't possible. Heh.
If I am to lift as soon as I get home, should I be consuming some sort of pre-workout meal ( I'll be on the train at that point still )? Post workout would be my final meal of the day, and be protein rich.
My goals are to lose at least 1-2 lbs. per week. I am planning on maintaining this until Summer, June-ish. At that time I will change my focus to building muscle. I do have some muscle under all my fat, and if I can keep that while losing, or perhaps gain a bit, that will be awesome.
I've also read about the other supplements that people are using, Glutamine, Glucosamine etc. Is it a good idea to be using these types of supplements during a fat loss phase? Or are these geared more towards a time when gaining muscle?

Cheers,
Chris

[marcus]

Hi Chris,

I think you should still do your weights session as soon as you get home from work, it would be better training on an empty stomach than going to bed with a stomach full of protein still digesting. You could always have a snack on the train like a protein bar or something.

With regard to supplements. L-Glutamine is really useful when you are cutting. Amoung other things it helps prevent your body from eating into your muscles (anti-catabolism). So if you have trouble fitting in your weight session but still want to retain the muscle you have during cutting then L-Glutamine is useful.

You probably dont need Glucosamine unless you have joint problems. Its main use is reducing joint pain for arthritis sufferers. I dont know a whole lot about it but unless you have the money to spend, dont bother.

When it comes down to it you could get by without taking any supplements. For cutting the main ones you should take are Whey Protein so you can take in your required amount of protein efficiently and effectively without eating fatty animal products. I also take L-Glutamine and Multi-Vitamins and minerals to ensure I'm getting all the nutrients I need. As I said if youve got money to spend you can buy the others if you think you need then but the ones I listed are the main ones to use.

I wanna say more but I gotta go, Im babysitting this massive dog (120lbs) and I cant get him to shut up and go to bed.

marcus