Supplementing for a 17 year old?

[K38chomponTHIS]

Hey guys what's up, I'm 16 going to be 17 this month, 5'11" 174#, and I'm wondering about supplementing for younger teens?

I've played on and off with Muscletech Nitro-Tech (I've used four pounds in the last 2 ish years) so I never really got on a consistent plan with it, and at the same time I never really noticed any results when taking it.

I'm wondering what type of supplements can be taken to increase size and strength? I'm not looking to just "add on weight" for the sake of getting bigger, but at the same time I don't want to be getting stronger and staying the same size. I know that since I'm still fairly young, I still have a good amount of test levels happening, so I'm wondering if that should make a difference in what type of supplements I use?

My friend in school's brother is involved with something weightlifting out in L.A., he's huge as hell. He also gets discounted products (no-xplode for like $18 a jug, example) and I have the option of buying stuff from him (he has pretty much every type of supplement) so money is not really too much of an issue

As far as diet, I eat pretty well, in the mornings I usually have a banana, multi-vitamin, large glass of milk with instant breakfast, lunch varies because of school but usually I eat as much as I can and limit any sweets (normal lunch would be two 8 oz. no-fat chocolate milks, nutri-grain blueberry bar, the main item of the day: could be four slices of dominos pizza, a couple double cheeseburgers, two foot-long hotdogs, whatever, and a non-processed (baked on premesis) brownie) and for dinner I usually have as large of a portion as I can possibly eat of whatever we have hanging around: steaks, burgers, brats, spaghetti, beef stroganof, lasagna, whatever, with a large glass of milk and something for dessert: big bowl of ice cream, big slice of pie, etc. At night, between 7 and 10 I usually have another serving (I guess if you went by FDA guidelines it would be another two-three servings) of a meal.

I snack throughout the day, peanut butter cups, etc. and I also work in the kitchen at a nursing home so needless to say I get my snack on there, too.

I try to drink 8 full glasses of straight water throughout the day, never less than 6.

What do you guys think?

thanks for any help

[Jyang486]

No offense, but your diet is pretty bad. No wonder you haven't seen any results with any supplementation. Supplements are only supplements to a clean diet and good amount of exercise. Don't waste money or even worry about supplements until you get your diet in order. Your friend's brother didn't get huge from taking no-xplode but by consistent weight training and a clean diet. You're taking in a lot of unhealthy fats and bad calories. Only supplement I can recommend to start with would be the multi-vitamin that you are taking.

[Embrance]

What I would suggest to stop eating or limiting at once per week are the burgers and pizzas and all that junk food.

[K38chomponTHIS]

well the things is, I have seen results. I definitley have gotten bigger, literally at a minimum of once a week someone asks if I have been lifting or for how long. I just wanted to to really gain an edge if you will, try to see the best results as fast as possible.

Just wondering, do "bad fats" and the like have a negative impact on growth, or are they just not putting out the nutrients I should be getting? I have a ridiculous metabolism, I could sit on my ass all day eating and barely gain any weight, so I'm not necessarily worried about becoming fat or... uncut.

regardless; I'll try and keep my shit food intake low

Thanks for the replies

[Bocgam]

Originally Posted by K38chomponTHIS

Just wondering, do "bad fats" and the like have a negative impact on growth, or are they just not putting out the nutrients I should be getting? I have a ridiculous metabolism, I could sit on my ass all day eating and barely gain any weight, so I'm not necessarily worried about becoming fat or... uncut.

regardless; I'll try and keep my shit food intake low

Thanks for the replies

I'm no expert on this, but the junk probably isn't limiting growth. I would guess it's just more work for your body to process the extra saturated fat, sodium, or whatever. Provided you're working hard and consuming enough, a hardgainer at your age shouldn't need those supplements. And as long as you're seeing gains as is, you should be happy and just stick with it.

[pliny_2001]

At that age, bad foods won't (really) slow your growth, but they won't improve your health. But they will increase inflammation, increase the amount of time you need for recovery, etc. So if you're willing to be dedicated to lifting, you'll probably want to shore up your diet - a ton of threads talk about it in detail, but the basic points revolve around 5 meals a day, several snacks, and being healthy.

The testosterone and growth hormone that adolescents have will cover up a multitude of sins, and let you experience some good growth in spite of less-than-ideal diets and training programs. But if I had my high school years to live over again, I know that I'd get alot more strict on both, so as to take full advantage of the super-high growth abilities.

So get your diet and training done up. The only supplement you really could want is some protein powder and - to be honest here - you'll probably get more out of eating grass-fed beef and salmon. But powders are fairly convenient. FWIW.