In the last week I have started a regimen of beta-alanine and creatine. My goal is to improve strength and metabolic conditioning with a dedicated supplementation program that includes these.

I understand both of these take a while to load into the muscles (1 month for beta-alanine and 1 week for creatine). Both products i am using are from NOW foods. I like that the creatine is in crystallized form rather then powder form as was the last creatine I tried from AST. Ended up stopping the AST creatine after a while because it gave me terrible nausea . The NOW creatine does not do this.

I am excited about the power and strength properties that will come from the use of creatine and the endurance / stamina that will come from the use of beta-alanine.

Beta-alanine builds up carnosine in the muscles which acts to increase the pH levels after and during intense workouts. An increase in pH levels is a decrease in the acidic state that leads to muscle fatigue. there is very little carnosine in the muscles naturally so beta-alanine is a non essential amino acid that increases the carnosine levels safely and naturally. Sounds good to me if it translates into more pull-ups, faster.

More info on beta-alanine and carnosine as it relates to exercise:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20479615

And let me not forget caffeine / theanine as an excellent supplement, as long as it is not overdone (100-300 mg a day of caffeine is good for daily work working out where 600 mg is good for competition) . The body adapts to the stimulation provided by caffeine and breaks are necessary to get the proper benefits of caffiene during a workout or competition. The theanine helps to reduce the overstimulation from caffeine and create a more pure form of energy, less jacked up jittery feeling.

I have found pretty much every other pre workout supplement to be a waste of money in the type of strength training and metabolic conditioning I do from week to week. Believe me, I have tried quite a number of the last year and have given up on them. Sorry gpc and Vitamin shoppe. That is the way it is.

Caffiene, beta-alanine and creatine are pretty much the only ones that have shown real evidence to Improving athletic response and are backed by a plethora of research and published scientific studies.

Here is essentially my daily supplementation plan;

Beta-alanine (10 g) - NOW foods

Creatine monohydrate (20 g while loading)-NOW foods

Fish oil (5 g in morning)- stronger faster healthier (sfh) fish oil is awesome. No comparisons.

BCAA (30 g throughout the day)- xtend is the best!

100-200 g caffiene with theanine (1 hour before daily cross fit)

Opti men multi vitamin - 2 a day. They recommend 3 but I am not so good about remembering the 3rd one at dinner.

1500 mg Calcium (ba chews)

whey isolate (40 g, morning)- muscle milk liter

Compound Protein stack ( 40 g, post workout) - BSN Syntha powder

Casein (50-60 g, bed) - gold standard double chocolate is very good. My daily "treat"

I eat modified paleo style and hit about 2000-2500 calories a day. More strict then traditional paleo as I focus on lean protein and veggies. I also try and hit 1 G protein per .92 * ideal body weight. This works out to be about 160 g for me at 175 lbs. most protein comes from shakes, but I do get at least 2 solid meals of some lean protein and veggies a day, sometimes 3. I eat about 7 meals a day of between 200-400 calories. I do not track, but have built up a pretty good understanding of proper measurements.

Hope this info helps other post ops into fitness and nutrition.

Fiddle, I'm curious - how do you manage to get in so many supplements & Vitamins? I know you are much further along than I (I am just past 5 months) but I still struggle to get in all my vitamins & supplements. Do you space them throughout the day?

Also, with regard to the creatine & beta-alanine, do you think these supplements are more for advanced fitness, or do you think you would have had better results if you had used them earlier on in your fitness development?

I find it difficult to know what I should be doing now, as opposed to what I should be doing when I have developed more endurance & strength. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, and it's hard to sort through. Do you just determine by trial & error what works for you?

Fiddle' date=' I'm curious - how do you manage to get in so many supplements & Vitamins? I know you are much further along than I (I am just past 5 months) but I still struggle to get in all my vitamins & supplements. Do you space them throughout the day?

Also, with regard to the creatine & beta-alanine, do you think these supplements are more for advanced fitness, or do you think you would have had better results if you had used them earlier on in your fitness development?

I find it difficult to know what I should be doing now, as opposed to what I should be doing when I have developed more endurance & strength. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, and it's hard to sort through. Do you just determine by trial & error what works for you?[/quote']

I had vsg July 2nd, 2012 so am quite a ways out. Dropped 180 lb. Lost most of it by month 7 and have been working on fitness / muscle since then. Believe me, it is an uphill battle considering where we have come from, just to hold ground against the natural athletes out there. Daily effort and tenacity. I want to give up sometimes, but then just remind myself where I have come from and what I want to achieve. It is hard work.

I do space these supplements out in the day. Most of the vitamins I take in the morning. Protein is consumed morning, mid after noon and bed time. Bcaa is taken before and after working out late afternoon. Creatine and beta-alanine are taken 4x through out the day during loading cycles. After loading cycle is complete on both, then both will be taken in small maintain doses of about 5 g daily.

I take some caffeine mixed in with the bcaa drink before working out. It is about 2-3 cups of coffee worth of caffeine, nothing to really write home about. However, it makes a huge difference on both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Tells the muscles to twitch faster and increases intercellular communication for essentially creating faster response times. For me that means being able to bust out sub 5 minute miles, do 50 pullups in a row or lift 125# thrusters 50 x for several rounds. It helps me. May not do the same for everyone.

I would not get too serious with creatine or beta-alanine until you need them to break through barriers in your lifting or metabolic conditioning routines. They are the difference in being able to make real gains in strength and overall fitness and hanging out on a plateau. It is not for the average vsg post op. You need to have a reason to take them.

And yes, I am all about trial and error. Seeking what actually works and discarding what does not work. I have been fine tuning for almost a year now. And I still will keep fine tuning. However, what I have discovered is there is no off the shelf supplement that works for me. I have to make my own based upon goals, experience and knowledge. A friend of mine on vsg said this to me a long time ago, but it took a lot of trial and error in addition to lots of cash to come to the realization for myself that I need to make my own strategy in terms of supplementation rather then depend on the store stuff : c4, no explode, craze, whatever. Lessons learned.

Fiddle' date=' I'm curious - how do you manage to get in so many supplements & Vitamins? I know you are much further along than I (I am just past 5 months) but I still struggle to get in all my vitamins & supplements. Do you space them throughout the day?

Also, with regard to the creatine & beta-alanine, do you think these supplements are more for advanced fitness, or do you think you would have had better results if you had used them earlier on in your fitness development?

I find it difficult to know what I should be doing now, as opposed to what I should be doing when I have developed more endurance & strength. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, and it's hard to sort through. Do you just determine by trial & error what works for you?[/quote']

I had vsg July 2nd, 2012 so am quite a ways out. Dropped 180 lb. Lost most of it by month 7 and have been working on fitness / muscle since then. Believe me, it is an uphill battle considering where we have come from, just to hold ground against the natural athletes out there. Daily effort and tenacity. I want to give up sometimes, but then just remind myself where I have come from and what I want to achieve. It is hard work.

I do space these supplements out in the day. Most of the vitamins I take in the morning. Protein is consumed morning, mid after noon and bed time. Bcaa is taken before and after working out late afternoon. Creatine and beta-alanine are taken 4x through out the day during loading cycles. After loading cycle is complete on both, then both will be taken in small maintain doses of about 5 g daily.

I take some caffeine mixed in with the bcaa drink before working out. It is about 2-3 cups of coffee worth of caffeine, nothing to really write home about. However, it makes a huge difference on both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Tells the muscles to twitch faster and increases intercellular communication for essentially creating faster response times. For me that means being able to bust out sub 5 minute miles, do 50 pullups in a row or lift 125# thrusters 50 x for several rounds. It helps me. May not do the same for everyone.

I would not get too serious with creatine or beta-alanine until you need them to break through barriers in your lifting or metabolic conditioning routines. They are the difference in being able to make real gains in strength and overall fitness and hanging out on a plateau. It is not for the average vsg post op. You need to have a reason to take them.

And yes, I am all about trial and error. Seeking what actually works and discarding what does not work. I have been fine tuning for almost a year now. And I still will keep fine tuning. However, what I have discovered is there is no off the shelf supplement that works for me. I have to make my own based upon goals, experience and knowledge. A friend of mine on vsg said this to me a long time ago, but it took a lot of trial and error in addition to lots of cash to come to the realization for myself that I need to make my own strategy in terms of supplementation rather then depend on the store stuff : c4, no explode, craze, whatever. Lessons learned.

Thanks, Fiddle. It's helpful to hear this stuff from people who have some experience under their belt.