Posts by Paul Cook33

Steven Green2 said:You already listed them all out... I see you're based in Palm Springs, but isn't that Pro Nutrition company also located in Palm Springs?! Seems a little too convenient to me... 😬

Honestly, I’m calling BS on that one.😬
What's up. So, I actually know the owner of this company—we met on another fitness forum—and I’ve had the chance to pick his brain in person, which proves he’s totally legit because the guy is an open book. Once I realized he basically handed me everything on a silver platter and had a straight-up, honest answer for every single question or skeptical doubt I threw his way, I knew I was sold. I even went down the rabbit hole to check where they get their raw materials from, and every single ingredient comes with a proper manufacturer's certificate, so you aren't getting some cheap crap from a random factory in China that's selling stuff for a third of the price.
So, like a lot of people lately, I finally made the jump over to Pro Nutrition and honestly, I’m loving it.
Finally got my shirt!😬

Kevin Martin50 said:So, I finally decided to grab some protein and supplements (since my diet is a total train wreck right now, I’m gonna try to fix it), and now I’m BEGGING all you experts, gym rats, and pros to help me out here.
The only catch is that my liver is basically trashed, so my doctor told me to stick to proteins that have the least amount of "junk" as she put it, and the highest protein content—basically, stuff that won't murder my liver. So, what's the move?
Also, what even is glucose? Like, can you just buy that separately? And what else should I be looking at? Creatine? When am I supposed to take all this stuff—before training, after, or just mix it into my meals?
And btw, I don't mind dropping more cash for the high-quality stuff because, honestly, I can't afford to mess around with my liver. I was thinking about using TwinLab, so what do you guys think?

Cheers.
Since your liver is acting up a bit (fingers crossed it's nothing major), I’d definitely suggest going with Pro Nutrition. Their whey is practically categorized as "baby food"—meaning it's ultra-pure, which is something you won't find with a ton of other brands.
You can pick up glucose as dextrose at a place like CVS. As for creatine, just hold off on that until you've been training consistently for maybe 4 or 5 months.

You could do one scoop of whey in the morning with some oats and milk, then have a second serving right after your workout mixed with about 0.5g per kg of protein and 1g per kg of glucose in WATER to make sure it absorbs fast.

If you check the post above the one I'm quoting, there's a breakdown of prices and quality, and I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to figure out which companies make decent whey and which ones are trash (not that I'm naming names here).

David Baker3 said:Can someone drop some decent protein brands they've actually used, along with what they cost at a local pharmacy?

I've cycled through a ton of stuff, but if you want my take, Dymatize is the way to go, Weider is alright if you're desperate, and Optimum Nutrition is solid, but Pro Nutrition is top-tier.

Here’s the deal: the whole process of making and buying whey varies wildly between brands—basically, one batch is meant for livestock, while the other is actually made for humans.
That’s why I steer clear of brands like Scitec; their prices just don't match the quality they claim to have.
Let me break it down for you:

There's this one thing most people don't realize. Everyone knows whey is technically a byproduct, but...

Most of the dairy industry takes that byproduct and sells it after basic processing—like microfiltration and spray drying—which gives you a standard concentrate.
To turn that into an isolate, you have to go through ultrafiltration or ion exchange.
There are basically two lanes here: one is human-grade, high enough quality for infant formula, and the other is just animal feed grade.
On the global market, the price for processed whey concentrate intended for livestock is maybe $0.50 to $2.00 per kg, whereas the high-end stuff (because of all that extra purification) runs about $5.00 to $7.00 per kg.
If we were importing that whey into the States, you'd see one version priced at $1.00 to $4.00 per kg, and the premium version hitting $10.00 to $14.00 per kg. Of course, companies then toss in flavors, sweeteners, and sugars
to make it taste better or just to hide the fact that the quality is subpar. So, when someone tells me
they can find protein from certain brands for dirt cheap, I honestly have to ask: what kind of protein are you actually eating?

Seriously, if it's that cheap, you might as well just stick to feeding the cows.

😎

crimsonhound28 said:did they not hook you up with some kind of sedative or something in your IV drip?

Nah, nothing to help me sleep. I actually checked with them before I headed out.

Scott Allen10 said:It’s totally doable. You see descriptions like that all the time when there's a "mild brain injury" involved. Since you mentioned you aren't having memory gaps, we can probably rule out a full-blown concussion, but you might be dealing with what some trauma specialists call concussion syndrome. Basically, your brain got a bit more of a "shake-up" than usual, and this heavy sleep you're describing is just your command center inside your skull trying to reboot and get everything back in order.
For the same reasons—besides the wet dreams—I’d say those frequent erections during sleep make sense too.
See, frequent erections are actually a regular sign of spinal cord lesions or spinal shock. So, in this case, it could be explained by a little bit of "shaking up" of the spinal cord as well.

Anyway, I'm doing alright now, just pretty banged up and covered in bruises. Even the scans—done on those machines, I don't know the names since I'm no doctor and have never had any reason to learn—showed that everything is fine (thank God) and that I'm cleared to go home.
But man, reading all that just made me feel crappy again... 😉
Jokes aside, thanks. 👍

You didn't offend me at all... where on earth are you getting that from?!?? 😕
Look, if you're just joking, it's totally fine by me—honestly, I'm basically living for the sarcasm right now since I'm covered in bruises and wrapped up like a freaking mummy... 🤣🤣🤣
I guess it might come off a little intense when you read it, but I’m really not actually mad. 😘

No, for real though, I got into a wreck near Venezuela on Monday, 19 miles way out of town where you hit the highway toward Trieste. Some truck decided to swerve right into my third lane like he owned the road.
Then I basically slept from Monday afternoon straight through until Wednesday around 6 PM.
I figured someone around here might actually know what they're talking about, so I thought I'd ask.

They told me I wasn't in a coma since I was having frequent erections.
Though they did think it was pretty weird that someone could sleep that much without waking up once. I was all limp and unresponsive and everything, but absolutely zero movement.
Man, I'm doing alright now, just a little bruised and stuff, but I didn't really want to press them for more info because I was in such a rush to get back home and tackle my workload.

So, I got hit by a semi on the interstate a few days ago, and honestly, the whole thing is a blur of being rushed into an ambulance and everything else—I remember it all vividly.
Then, out of nowhere, I just passed out and slept for two straight days.
Now I’m sitting here wondering: is it actually possible to sleep for two days straight without even realizing you're waking up? My nurse is trying to tell me it wasn't a coma, just some kind of "intense sleep"??!! Like, is that even a real thing?

Starbucks said:btw, you sure she actually miscarried? Or maybe she's just being a total bitch about being pregnant and told you that just to screw with you?? 🙄

I'm positive. She should've given birth by now.
Feel free to lock this thread, thanks everyone.
Take it easy.👍 👍 👍 👍

placidjackal15 said:Look, if she’s already this messed up, it’s honestly better than her having kids and then losing it on them—that would be a whole different level of disaster. Seriously, just run for the hills while you still can, count your blessings that it ended like this, find someone else, and just move the hell on... 😉

👍 👍 (I'm mostly just seeing people in the dating scene for fun lately—nothing serious, just casual vibes since I am absolutely not ready to dive back into a committed relationship... plus, I'm only 21, there's zero rush.)

Kyle Nelson2 said:how long were you guys actually together?
how old was she?

About a year and a half, I guess.
She ended up getting pregnant at 19, so she was supposed to have the baby when she turned 20.

greenpeak said:That’s exactly how I saw it too—just some hysterical defense mechanism to cover up the massive mess she made herself. Honestly, it felt totally irrational, bordering on straight-up psychopathic if you ask me.

If you're really feeling that way about the kid, that's heavy. But hey, time usually dulls the edge of that kind of pain eventually.

And look, if there's some ugly stuff you did that you haven't mentioned here, which is making you feel guilty for how she's acting now—well, conscience is a real bitch. If you need to, go talk to your buddies, a therapist, a priest... whatever helps you drop that weight.

I didn't leave anything out. I was happy, I popped the question, we wanted to get married, and that was the whole deal.
Actually, yeah... I probably should talk to someone about this.

I mean, there's no other way, I just had to pack up and move on with my life, but man, that one realization just hits like a freight train—knowing her child was actually mine. That's the only part that truly hurts.

placidjackal15 said:Are you sure you didn't miss something here? 🙄 It seems totally wild to me that a woman would go for an abortion just a day after getting proposed to. 😕

Sadly, I didn't miss a single thing.

Jamie Johnson6 said:...the cash coming in... I guess just
🤣

I have absolutely no clue what you're talking about...

Jamie Johnson6 said:...just read my reply again...and maybe try to connect the dots on your own...like, those issues you have with women...we aren't actually that hard to figure out...even when we're pregnant

I'll bet my life on it. I might know how to get you there, but I have zero clue what's actually going on in your heads.

Jamie Johnson6 said:...just ask your uncle in New York City...he's basically an expert on women...

Honestly, feel free to just grab a shotgun and fire a warning shot directly into your own skull.

Hey,
I’ve got a question for the psychologists or psychiatrists out there—honestly, I don't even know which one handles this kind of mess:
So, here’s the deal; last year my then-girlfriend got pregnant, and I popped the question. She said yes, but then, out of nowhere, she went and had an abortion the very next day, which absolutely wrecked me. To make things worse, she moved out of town, and when she finally came back, she and her mother started spinning these massive lies, claiming I forced her into it, attacking my family, and just straight-up lying about everyone involved.
Now, whenever my ex sees me, she starts screaming like I personally murdered everything she ever loved.
My question is: how would you actually describe this behavior from a psychological or psychiatric standpoint? Both the lying and the whole situation?
Her mom has always been a total wreck with her mental health, so I can't help but wonder if this is some kind of hereditary thing?
Also, during pregnancy—she was only about ten weeks along—can hormones really flip someone's switch that hard and make them do something like this? Because we had never even breathed a word about it before, and everything seemed totally perfect and idyllic.

Thanks for any insight you guys can give me.