Hair friendly way of building muscle?

All the body builder diets you see include every thing that we are supposed to run a mile from, tons of dairy, whey protein, sugary carbs etc. Is there no way round it? Im not bothered about being absolutely ripped, just well toned and to bulk up a little bit.

The thing is, some of those are only bad in certain contexts.

I don't believe whey protein is bad to begin with, especially if you are getting a quality whey. The undenatured whey is probably one of the best ways to boost endogenous glutathione production simply because of the bonded cysteine. Its also immune supportive and beneficial for the gut. But like anything, if its sourced from unhealthy animals, its obviously going to be harmful. Eating meat from a sick animal is no different. Its about the quality of the source.

I don't believe dairy is essential on a bodybuilding diet. It was kind of an old school relic actually, the idea of using loads of milk to help put on mass. I think bodybuilding has become a little more "refined" today than it was in the sixties and seventies, save the more proliferative use of steroids. But again, dairy was just a concentrated source of calories and simple sugars. There are better ways, in my opinion, of getting these. I'm not of the crowd that thinks blindly bulking by just consuming a ton of calories is a good idea anyway.

Now as far as the simple sugars are concerned, it all depends on the state of the metabolic machinery you are putting the fuel into. For someone who is only moderately active and might go to the gym 3 days a week for an hour to use the eliptical machine, adding a ton of simple sugars post-workout is going to be detrimental. But for the people training at very high intensity and maybe volume as well, you are priming the body to accept the simple carbohydrate and your insulin sensitivity is going through the roof. By training that way (intense resistance) you are ensuring that both during the workout and for a period of time afterward, you insulin sensitivity is high, the sugars are being shuttled into the cells where they are needed, and you aren't promoting a chronic high level of circulating blood sugar or insulin. The body is becoming more EFFECTIVE at oxidizing sugars (with insulin playing a big role). This is why I think it is ideal to consume very little carbs, save that period of about 3 hours after a workout. It is creating a very anabolic environment precisely when you want it, when the muscle tissue requires it.

So as a general rule, you're right I would avoid the high simple sugar post-workout meals if your workout doesn't demand it. But if you are going in and training in big, complex movements, i.e. doing 4-5 sets of power cleans followed by deadlifts and then support movements, then by all means go home and eat a sweet potato, a heaping pile of rice, or a shake with dextrose. If you are providing the proper stimulus, do not be scared of simple sugars, just know when to use them like a tool. I'd say try to get 50-60% of your carbohydrate in those two meals after an intense workout. So its not odd to get 150 grams of carb between those two meals. But again, spread the reamaining carb in your diet evenly, in small amount intermittenlty through the rest of the day, perhaps eating 4 other meals at about 25 g carb each form non-simple sources like vegetables.

That is an awesome response, thanks!!

Do you know the name of the better whey to take? I remember reading it on here but cant remember at all now it was something to do with the way it was processed.

Or what about creatien? Isnt that just a good supp to take in general?

No problem man. I'm highly interested in this area of nutritional science.

As far as where to purchase the undenatured whey, I've only found one source that I thought was legitimate, and I cannot even remember it now. I think Mt. Capra has an undenatured whey protein. There is also a product called Whey Factors which is. I believe Mercola also offers a product, and pretty recently Swanson started carrying one.

At the time it was too expensive to be practical. And I think that's the difficulty. In the amounts you would be taking whey protein for bodybuilding purposes, the truly undenatured stuff isn't going to cut it for the price (at least in my case). If I remember correctly the amount of protein per serving size is quite low, whereas with many of the more commercial whey products you are getting 20-30 grams, which is economical. I think taking the undenatured stuff on the side strictly for the glutathione enhancing purposes would be wise, but again if it fits into your price point.

I think creatine is a take it or leave it supplement. I've used it for periods of my life and I will say I experienced the single benefit of increased endurance. But it also tended to make me add water weight, which is expected for many. It super hydrates the cell. But if you are looking for an edge in the gym, I definitely think as a pre-workout it is beneficial, and certainly not harmful. I know a lot of guys who will take it several times a day for up to 10-15 grams daily. I think that is an absolute waste of time. 5 grams daily pre-workout is all you need. There might be some marginal benefit to including it post-workout as again, it promotes hydration of the muscle cell, but as you've probably already gotten the impression from me, I'm a cheap son of a bitch so if I can stretch out the servings in one container, I'm going to.

If you want to put on mass you should just do compound movements and follow mike mentzers heavy duty system. You will only workout 3 days a week for 30min a workout. Less is better for gaining mass. Look up colorado experiment and you will see mentzers system utilized.

I use NitroFusion plant based protein poweder post workout. It's got a decent amount of BCAAs as well. I'm not too sure what to take to prevent some shedding during/after a workout. I know some people lose more hair during excercise which sucks. Maybe vitamin E would help or try a more holistic approach.

I mostly notice improvements within a week in body composition but then I also mess up sometimes eating out socially. Luts of junk, beer, etc. It's a struggle but never give up.

PS. I just started 2 days ago using milk thistle, NAC, 6 grams of MSM w/ 1 gram of Vit. C daily, Lecithin for Glutathione production. I hope it helps with hair mostly among other things.

Vince, I think Mentzer's a genius.

Risingfist, I have used milk thistle for a long time and I really do believe its beneficial. I used to be quite the drinker but went a long time where I didn't. Some of the medications I've been using lately are pretty detrimental for the liver, and I noticed some days where the upper right quadrants of my abdomen was giving me some trouble. Milk thistle completely eliminated this. I do believe it is very liver protective. And in the hormonal game, that's pretty big. Combined with enough protein in the diet and some high dose vitamin E, it would probably keep the liver is great shape. But the gut plays a big role there too.

Check out Leangains, it is designed to improve insulin resistance despite a carb-heavy diet plan. Lots of good reading on the site.

Nuuu_Dx wrote:All the body builder diets you see include every thing that we are supposed to run a mile from, tons of dairy, whey protein, sugary carbs etc. Is there no way round it? Im not bothered about being absolutely ripped, just well toned and to bulk up a little bit.

IME you don't need to follow body builder diets to gain. I do no Whey, dairy or sugar.

Yet I can gain through free weights and great food: 30% protein, tons of green veggies, good fat.

In last 3 weeks been on a weights push, working out twice a day and just eating up to 4 - 5 meals a day. Gained about 4lbs.

M