Good for you for making positive changes in your life!

Is a whey powder like Gold Standard something I should be taking to supplement my exercising?

Most unbiased sources will tell you that it is not strictly necessary, and in general it is recommended that you get your nutritional needs met from whole foods. But also, whey protein is basically the most well studied and proven-effective workout supplement that exists. Like... it's protein. If you aren't getting enough protein to support your workouts, a whey shake can be a quick and easy way to increase protein intake. Add to this the fact that it is quite cheap, and there is no real reason not to supplement with a protein shake.

As for which brand to buy - avoid the uber cheap brands sold online, unless they have independent third party testing. In the US at least, supplements are not regulated to the same standards as food, so it is possible for these products to be contaminated with toxins like heavy metals that could be dangerous to long term health. Ideally you would be able to source reliable third party testing for any whey product you might consider buying... but ime, this data can be difficult to find. So my recommendation is to just go to the grocery store and buy a name brand, since the manufacturer will be incentivized to not poison their customers, lest their good reputation be sullied.

As far as which brand in particular to buy... it probably doesnt matter that much. Try a few and see what you like. Taste will probably be the biggest difference. Maybe one brand gives you gas. But people who swear by one brand or another, in my view, are expounding on some kind of cognitive bias rather than an actual lived experience. If you are lifting heavy and eating a reasonable amount of dietary protein, then taking a supplement is just there to eak out the last bit of gains you might be missing, over the course of months. Anyone who claims that they can "feel it working" after a workout or something does not understand the mechanism of how this supplement works.

I have already ordered some Creatine HCL, on the recommendation of a trainer at the gym. I have done some reading on it, and realize there is some debate on if it is better than Creatine monohydrate, worse, or generally undecided… But I figured something was better than nothing, and I didn’t want to deal with possible side effects from the monohydrate.

I've never heard of HCL. But regular old creatine monohydrate is the second best studied and evidence supported supplement we know of. Not sure what sides you are talking about. The ones I know of are slight water retention in the muscles (which is basically a non-issue), some gassiness when you take it (take it with a meal), and hair loss (disputed, probably just a corrolation between men losing their hair and deciding it is time to get jacked). If HCL avoids these issues for you.... great! But it doesnt have the same robust research behind it as monohydrate, and it is probably more expensive for approximately the same effects.

Also, similar to protein supplementation, supplementing creatine will likely not lead to huge increases in gains. It makes it possible to push slightly harder each workout, which means you get a slightly better adaptation response.

Changing gears - you say you've had weight rebound several times in life, that you struggle with issue of willpower, and that your plan is to go to the gym alone. Well, my recommendation to you is to go out into the big wide world and try some exercise that is actually... like.... fun? I'm not saying you should stop lifting. But go play some pickup volleyball in the park or take up crosscountry skiing with a meetup group or something. Humans are social creatures who respond to the incentives of our environments. The best way to stick to an exercise habit (and this often leads to sticking to dietary habits as well) is to make the exercise fun, social, and regularly scheduled.

For more background, I am a generally large framed man with a comfortably fit weight of around 260-280.

What... the fuck? If you are 7' tall, you would still be classified as overweight on a bmi chart at 280. Sure, bmi has its flaws. But unless you are extremely tall or are already carrying around a huge amount of muscle mass, I'd recommend discussing what your goal weight should be with your doctor. For reference, I'm 6'4" and 185/190, and I don't look emaciated.

I am a much smaller frame, 5'11 @ 180 lbs. When I quit drinking, I was up to 250lbs for a bit, but I just stopped eating as much and I lost the weight. Even when I got a belly a time or two before that, I never went on a diet: I adjusted my habits completely. (Or just drank more black coffee... Not a healthy option, but it was an option that suppressed hunger and got me out of the get-hungry-more-because-I-was-eating-more cycle.)

These days, I just run. Cardio can really suck ass at times, but it works wonders. Once you get into extended aerobic exercise, your body has to burn fat for energy at higher rates. (I am absolutely lacking on the anaerobic side of things except for the sprints I do every week.)

Big, small, tall or short, your body needs protein. It needs more protein when you work out. Whey protein is the "gold standard", but usually because it's effective and usually a good value. Hydrolyzed protein is easier for your body to take in because it's (essentially) partially digested proteins. (It's easier on my stomach as well, which is why I take it.)

I would speculate that your protein intake calculation is not going to be near what you think it will be, or even close to what the interwebs will tell you (it's all weight based calculations) until you get your fat to muscle ratio closer to whatever a "normal" ratio is so take that into account.

You didn't ask for any opinion of mine, so take this with a grain of salt. It's just my thoughts on supplementation in general, but you do you.

My method for adjusting any system is to establish a stable baseline first, before all else. If the system is stabilizing or going through massive changes, tuning that system for performance is the last thing on my list.

Supplements didn't make sense to me until I actually started to need them and had some kind of stable system to work with after months of learning to run again. By all means, supplement but supplement when it is measurably effective. (Protein powder is expensive for what it is, and you shouldn't just literally piss it out if your body doesn't need it.)

I'm a little older than you, much less large-framed ( I ought be around 150-160-lbs ).

1. optimize your diet for YOU: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ayurvedic-healing-a-comprehensive-guide ( you may also find Frawley & Kozak's "Yoga For Your TYPE" key to improving your health! )

IF your metabolism is 1 fundamental-metabolism/dosha, THEN the experiment is:

• make pairs of dishes which have 1/2 be all pacifying-for-YOUR-metabolism ingredients, & the other 1/2 of the pair be all aggravating-for-your-metabolism.
• sit down without any distractions going-on, & experience each pair, & see what your body tells you, about the difference.

IF your metabolism is mixed, it may be harder to get clear signal.

IF your metabolism is all-3 mixed, then there isn't any point doing the experiment, unless 1 is stronger or weaker than the others.

2. DGLS: Dairy + Grains provides better-completeness of protein.

Grains + Legumes/Pulses does, too.

Legumes/Pulses + Seeds/Nuts does, too.

IF you're using whey-protein, THEN you probably want some grain-protein with it, to give your body more-complete protein.

DGLS is from a hiker's handbook, from a decade or 2 ago, btw.

3. An experiment you'll need to do, & periodically redo, is to find YOUR protein-requirement.

I don't eat meat, anymore.

Not compatible with the meditations I need/love.

Ideally I do mungs+rice, but tofu's MUCH less work than sorting mungs, to get the bad ones out, & eggs are much cheaper, per day, than tofu.

I need at-least 1/2-doz eggs / day, when on them.

( cooked is better than raw: more bioavailable for human digestion )

The diff beween 6/day & 3/day is like instant-disability.

When you find YOUR threshold for protein, you'll KNOW.

Once you know, then you simply don't need to bother buying more than you need, see?

Do well, & find your right-way.

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