Do I need a supplement?

Hello Everybody, I am new to this site but also relatively new to Martial Arts. I began Freestyle and Kickboxing 6 months ago and I love it, the only problem I see at the moment is my weight loss.
I am 6 foot tall, medium build and weighed 12st.12lbs when I started, I have lost about 10lbs since (training 2 to 3 times a week), which theoretically puts me underweight for height and build etc. I have looked into supplements i.e. Maximuscle but have seen differing views so I thought maybe there was a little help and guidence out there from people experienced in these matters, cheers.

Welcome to the forums. I would recommend looking at your overall lifestyle/diet first before considering supplements. There are very few supplements available that can give you something that good quality tucker can't.

Do you put any thought in to your diet? I know it can be a pain, but a little preperation goes a long way. It is a perfectly healthy thing to think about what you eat, and when you eat. Obviously you don't want to obsess though!

First and foremost, you need to make sure you are getting enough energy to perform the tasks you undertake. I ate a normal 3 square meals a day when I started to box. I, like you though, lost a bit too much weight after a while. I realized that as I was more active, my body need more fuel. This is a simplified way of explaining it, but best to start small!

Try this: Write down what you eat, when you eat it. You might surprise yourself.

Try and give us an idea of your diet first (i.e. is it healthy, how often you eat etc....), then we can advise you further. I wouldn't touch supplements until you look at your nutrition.

Thanks for the info., I have thought long and hard about my diet and eating habits but instead of eating little and often I have always been an eat when your hungry drink when thirsty sort of a bloke. Although I do generally always eat after training and eat lots of fruit and veg. That's what brought me to my initial question, I thought maybe my intake was not sufficient for the training etc. therefore supplement my diet.

You dont need supplements. I am trying to gain weight, muscle mass and I have learned the best way to maintain or gain weight is just eat about 6 meals a day. 3 normal, then 3 a little smaller. You can adjust from that, but that is probably the safest way.

I'd agree with everything Prizewriter says. Get your diet sorted first. And then if you decide you need a bit extra, get a supplement. If you give an example of your daily food intake I'm sure somebody on the forums would hapily point you in the right direction.

If you do decide to supplement I'd steer clear of Maximuscle. Nothing wrong with their product's effectiveness but they are overpriced. If you shop around on the internet or even between health shops you can get essentially the same compounds for much lower prices. Maximuscle are a big brand driven by clever marketing and advertising, so peoples perception is that their goods are of greater quality. This is not the case.

I don't think weighing 12 stone is underweight for somebody who is 6 foot. Are you lacking energy or has your performance level dropped?

Just to add to what the Special one said re the expense of Maximuscle products....Cyclone costs you around £40 per month.

You can go see a nutritionist for a one off session to sort your diet for around £20.

Do the math!!

While I won't dismiss that some supplements are useful, the majority are not. For yourself I would suggest taking no supplements as you don't need them.

You have mentioned after losing 10 lbs that you are now underweight for your height. Please understand that we are all different and there is no right weight or wrong weight if you are healthy. If you follow those guidelines most times you are under weight or over weight and in my case I would be considered obese which is far from the truth.

What you need is in your diet. If you eat properly and still are losing weight during your training then that is what it is and it should be accepted. With weight training you can then put on some lean muscle that will make you heavier and in a case like this, a protein supplement may be a good idea however knowing that you can get these same effects from the foods you eat, the supplement is nothing more then a convenience thing.

When I was purely into a body building routine, I was 5'8.5" and was around 207 lbs. I introduced cardio and I dropped weight considerably which should be expected. Not liking it I stopped the cardio and again regained my weight. However after joining martial arts again I saw a loss in weight also including strength and size. I was constantly battling to get above 195 lbs and soon realized that I would just have to accept this if I wanted to continue doing martial arts. With a currently 4+ month lay off due to ACL surgery on my left knee, I am again getting close to 200 lbs but knowing that once I can start training martial arts again in 2+ months I will the weight and strength again. However now I have my mind set to get to 185 lbs so that when competing in grappling tournaments (gi & no gi) that I am a middle weight and at the top end instead of being a light heavy weight and being at the bottom.

Again, don't take supplements especially weight gainers of any kind. With your new active life style you should expect to lose some weight, that is natural and why you are losing weight. If you want to gain weight do it the right way and that is by gaining muscle from weight lifting and eating properly based on your activity level. If you start taking weight gainers and supplements for the purpose of gaining weight, you will end up gaining the unwanted kind of weight and all it will do is give your grief later not only trying to lose it but also your pocket book as well as will make you slower. You have to remember, when gaining weight through weight lifting you are getting stronger and if you weight lift for speed you will be faster. Taking supplements to gain weight is only adding unwanted weight and will make you slower.

First, thanks to everyone for all the sound advice, cheers.
When I first started the Arts I was in good shape but wanted to up my fitness and flexibility, marrying this with a little toe to toe what could be finer. I soon found my strength, stamina, speed, accuracy, timing etc. was improving exponentially. This spurred me on with more vigour as I was noticing more muscle definition but also weight loss, but I haven't noticed any loss in strength or a sense of fatigue.
As I mentioned in an earlier post I don't eat just for the sake of it but I may need to evaluate what to eat and when. This has given me food for thought (pardon the pun!!), cheers Fellas.

The 5 to 6 meals a day are a good suggestion as this will allow your body to burn the calories more efficiently thus not allowing to store unused fuel as fat. What I would also suggest is prior to doing anything strenuous is to make sure that you have plenty of carbs built up to give you that energy and after anything strenuous to ensure you replace carbs but also replace proteins that will help in maintaining muscle and feeding the muscle. This would be a good time for one of those meals.

While I don't advocate supplements, a protein shake, out of convenience rather then necessity, after a hard workout may be in order. This you can build into your meal plan. If not supplements then perhaps a tuna fish or chicken sandwich and a glass of milk. Just some ideas.

Sounds like you're in good condition. Losing body fat while maintaining muscle mass and improving speed etc. is always a good sign. Your diet must be sufficient enough to allow this progress. Keep up the good work!

If you have lots of energy, are training well and are happy about the way you look then why are you looking to gain weight?

Re. eating after training, I generally train in the evenings and never eat beforehand ( don't fancy losing it all on the mat! ) so I have a good meal afterwards but I have heard it's not good to eat after 8 P.M. ( that's a whole other area ).

Re. Feeling good, lots of energy etc. What's made me think I have lost a little too much weight is the old " have you lost weight , not ill are you " etc. when you see someone you haven't come across in a while so I suppose it creeps into the mind that you may need to look at yourself to try and balance things out. But then again !

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Sounds like you're in good condition. Losing body fat while maintaining muscle mass and improving speed etc. is always a good sign. Your diet must be sufficient enough to allow this progress. Keep up the good work!

If you have lots of energy, are training well and are happy about the way you look then why are you looking to gain weight?

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My thoughts exactly. Everything you are describing is excellent, so underweight-shmunderweight!