i just started working out. i went to my local GNC and talked to the guy there tonight. From what i heard before, as a beginning lifter, it is better to drink a protien shake after every workout than to drink a creatine shake every morning. The guy at GNC told me to take the creatine. He said that will gain me about 30 pounds of mass an about two months. At that point, it is good to do exercises to lose fat to get cut. While trying to gain mass, he said to eat everything in sight (i thought eat lots of protein, little fat?). So is what he is telling me the right thing to do? Or what approach should i take. I am doing a full body pyramid workout 3 days a week.

If you are just starting, SKIP THE SUPPLEMENTS for now. Condition your body first. If you are new to lifting, gains will come quickly at first anyway. When you start to plateau, then supplementing with creatine may be beneficial. Before then, it really is wasted money. After working out you need to have a shake that has protein and carbs (simple carbs are best). Carbs really are important here since the workout depleated your glycogen stores and you need to replenish them to start the repair process. A carb:protein ratio of about 60:40 is pretty good.
And yes... you want to increase you caloric intake to put on mass. Not necessarily everything in sight (unless you're a hard gainer =]) but at least up 500 calories a day. Get around 1g protein per pound of body weight and the rest complex carbs and healthy fats.
Just my $0.02

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Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins

[This message has been edited by Naxis (edited 01-09-2003).]