[Rmtt]

I was always a big fan of BCAA's especially when dieting. Then I switched to EAA's as I felt you got a "bigger bang" for your buck.

I have done experiments in the past where I dropped all protein supplements from my diet, and used EAA's in place of them and had good success especially since you can use less of it and still harness the benefits of added supplementation. Also it allowed more room in your daily diet for more whole food.

I don't have anything against protein powders, but I think EAA's are better aside from Whey also typically having Glutamine added to the mix. But you can get that pretty cheaply on its own.

But things are always changing. I have been reading some pretty interesting studies lately that show only Leucine is needed for stimulating protein synthesis in the body...and in fairly small amounts like 3-5 grams.

I have cut back a lot of my supplementation over the years as I feel micro-nutrients play as big of a role as macro-nutrients.

In other words get most of your diet from quality whole foods, supplement with Leucine during and after your workouts.....and also supplement with Glutamine as it's just generally healthy for the "gut lining" and levels in your body decline with age..(as does pretty much everything else).

Find foods that agree with your digestive system and that your body processes fairly easy, get your workouts in always striving for some type of improvement in progress across a myriad of factors that we have at our disposal for tracking it, and let your body dictate its calorie needs.

I have always let my body tell me when it's hungry..and when it does I feed it with the mindset that I'm putting into it the fuel it needs to make it to the next meal. I also look at it as I want my body to run as efficiently as possible..so that means good food choices.

Doing the above lets me maintain/slightly progress. And the only time I deviate is when I am dieting..or bulking as I am now. And even when bulking, I try to stimulate my body to need those extra calories that I am taking in.

The body is a wonderful complex piece of machinery and everyone is different. So ultimately while you can follow certain guidelines to expect certain results...you have to experiment and find what works best for you.

A good personal trainer/nutritionist can point you in the right direction, but only through trial and error can you "dial" yourself in.