Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimellow
A more general question that came to mind since my original post is: How do I tell if I need more calories/protein in my diet? Aside from a numerical value, what indications does a body give that it needs more calories/protein?
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I guess what I am asking is: Why I would be taking a protein supplement in the first place, or for the sake of this thread, why you are taking a given supplement?
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Weight loss/Muscle loss is the simplest way to determine if you're in any kind of state of malnutrition. Find a reliable way to determine your lean body mass (your total mass - any fat you may be carrying = lean body mass). A body fat scale is probably the easiest, as long as you continue to increase your LBM then you probably are doing just fine in terms of total calorie/fat/carbohydrate/protein intake. The only question that remains is if you could increase the rate at which you gain mass.
This is why people take supplements. To maximize the speed of their gain, and the return on their workouts. However, for some reason, a lot of folks don't like to admit that you can accomplish the same thing through diet without the supplements.
What I would do if I were in your situation is: eat a little more at each meal throughout the day. Increase your total calorie intake slowly, until you start to put on some fat, then back off a little bit. This may not be your theoretical max, but it should be pretty close. It will also prevent you having to go through the weight loss cycles mentioned previously.