Good work so far. Oral supplementation of glutamine is pretty worthless unless you're trying to boost immune system function. I wouldn't buy any more of it if I were you.

Immediately after your workout, you want a shake that contains a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. I outlined this before. I normally do about 20g of protein & 60g of carbs (WMS for me). A typical scoop will contain 18-24g of protein...check the label.

Definitely fix the form on those squats. Machine squats are better than none, but they still suck. They're likely to cause imbalances and don't have a great carryover to free squats. I believe there was an instructional squat video that was stickied recently. As for the rows....if I'm setting the weight down between each rep, then I'll relax my upper back (although I always keep my lower back tight). Otherwise, stay engaged throughout the movement.

With seated DB press, people have a tendency to cheat by leaning back into the seat more. I prefer standing personally although a combination of the two will be most beneficial.

I think you should be able to decrease calories a bit. If you're not losing now, then I think it will be safe for you to decrease cals by 200-300. The 3100 calories would have been maintenance...& that's a ball park figure. Please note that just dropping calories isn't the way to go. That recommendation is based on your history & starting point. Personally, I think that would be the next step for you....you still have other options open to you.

I don't advocate running on an empty stomach. I think it's not a bad idea to low carb it before running though. And it's still not altogether necessary. You could eat a box of cereal before running & still lose weight. (Research EPOC) Try to have some protein beforehand if you can.

Eating some fat & protein (preferably slow digesting protein) before bed will help to prevent catabolism. It's not going to do much for growth. That's about the best you can do though.

I think you're still pretty confused about insulin. I love insulin. It's probably my favorite hormone. Insulin prevents the release of cortisol among other things. Exercise will increase insulin too. The thing that will be most controllable by you is your blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar is elevated, your pancreas will release insulin to deal with it. So the question you should ask yourself is this: What can I do to control blood sugar? Low GI carbs is the best way to do it. Protein & fat have fairly negligible effects on blood sugar. So carbs are what you need to worry about. No high GI carbs except for around your workout. If you have your carbs & fats together, then that will slow the digestion of the carbs, & thus lessen the spike of blood sugar & insulin.

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