Ramadan, Catabolism and BCAA

If you read my blog long enough you would know I used to take supplements and have now entirely stopped consuming them.  When I say supplements, I mean the likes of mass gainers, creatine, whey protein and what not lest anyone gets a bit anal technical about the term.  Anyway, I used to spend quite a tidy sum for mass gainers but it only served to aggravate my allergies.  It didn't help me in anyway in terms of gaining mass though.  Gee... how ironic.

However, the mass gainers were pretty useful during Ramadan when I had to ensure my caloric intake was sufficient to minimize the inevitable weight loss that I would have to endure during that one-month period.  Am I going to take mass gainers again?  No.  It's not worth suffering eczema for.

Enter BCAA (Branch Chain Amino Acid).  I first knew about BCAA reading blogs by people who are like walking pharmacies.  I knew the rest of the supplements were pretty much crap but back then I have never heard of BCAA before.  So I asked around and did some research and in a gist of it, this is what BCAA does:

It helps a person reduce the effects of catabolism.

I could further write about other scientific aspects of BCAA but I'm too bloody lazy. So come this Ramadan I'm gonna get myself some BCAA supps and get into guinea pig mode.  I'll weigh myself at the start of the fasting month.  I shall take the BCAA capsules during sahur (pre-dawn breakfast) together with a decent meal of course.   I shall continue doing so throughout Ramadan and I shall weigh myself again at the end of the fasting month.

Will let you know if BCAAs were successful in reducing the inevitable catabolism.  Last year I lost 'only' 2kg. Pretty okay seeing that I am known to lose as much as 5kg.  May not seem much.  But when you're 48kg and you're down to 43kg, you downgrade from 'normal weight' do 'underweight'.

Okay that's my ramblings for today.  Tata.