What Supplements Should I Be Taking?
This is such a great topic that’s trending in the fitness industry these days. What’s the best workout supplement that’s going to get me the fastest results? Should I be taking a fat burner? Should I be taking an appetite suppressant (my fav), or should I get some Sweet Sweat to put on my stomach so I’ll tone up there? So many questions! So many different weird ass products out there. Let’s get down to it.
Let’s first start with the simple scientifically-proven fact that the majority of the population can lose fat and tone up by simply changing the way they eat and burning more calories than they’re consuming. That’s it. Pretty plain and simple. HOWEVER, the fitness industry has banked off of the idea that people are not patient. Like not even alittle. SO, they’ve created these products that “guarantee” fast fat loss by simply adding in that product every day. They’re marketing schemes are insane. They are making money off of the fact that YOU want to lose weight fast and are willing to believe that their product can make it happen. Let’s look at some different examples.
Fat burners. The oh-so-popular product that fitness companies RAVE about. “Take this supplement and it will TORCH fat!” Will it though? There are NO legit case studies or research that show that these products work. AT ALL. Companies can claim whatever they want. Keep that in mind. There is not a single “fat burner” out there that is proven to work. You might as well be throwing your money straight into a garbage can.
Appetite suppressants. Ugh good lord. I hate these with a passion. “It makes me not eat, so I’m losing weight! Yay!” What KIND of weight though? If all you’re doing is depriving your body of food, you’re more than likely depriving it of protein. Protein maintains muscle mass. Without it, your body is going to drop muscle weight in order to preserve your life. LITERALLY. Muscle is expensive. It burns A LOT of calories. So, when you’re not giving your body calories, your body is gonna be like “YO, get rid of this muscle STAT! It’s costing us too much!” So, you’re losing weight? MUSCLE WEIGHT. Your body fat percentage is actually going to skyrocket in order to literally keep you alive. Insane right? And in return, your metabolism is going to TANK. Byeeeeeee. These are one of the worst supplements out there in my opinion. For anyone.
Sweet Sweat, stomach bands, blah blah blah. For one, you cannot spot reduce, which means, you can’t work out one area of your body and tone up and lose fat in only that spot. It happens globally, or across your entire body collectively. The reason people rave about these products is because the moment they take off the band they’re wearing or see all the sweat around the troubling area, it seems more “toned” looking. And yes, it is going to be tighter and look more “tone” …. For like 5min.... all you’ve done is caused the area to heat up and sweat… so you’ve lost water…. Unless you don’t plan on drinking water for the rest of your life afterwards, which I don’t recommend, you’re going to gain that water weight right back the moment you rehydrate. No fat loss there. Just water weight. Pointless and kind of miserable if you ask me. I, personally, don’t want to be wrapped up like a gordita during a workout and get hot as f*ck for no reason.
Last one I’ll roast – It Works, Herbalife, Advocare, Le-Vel (the ol thriver crew), and other MLM and pyramid scheme groups. These companies are in the business of MAKING MONEY. Keep that in mind. None of their products are scientifically proven to work and some have even been linked to long term health issues for people including liver damage. Most companies like this offer “weight loss” kits and fancy processed shakes that “torch fat”. They obviously do not. Are you just supposed to stay on those kits for the rest of your life if you do happen to lose fat on them? Because if you don’t, you’re just going to gain it all back. How is that a healthy maintainable lifestyle? These companies are garbage and are simply used for people to make a little money as a side hustle. I get messages from people involved with these ALL THE TIME. Got one this morning, in fact. A big argument the person had was, “Explain to me how its in over 100 countries then!” …… well bro, so are cigarettes and pornography companies. Doesn’t mean they’re great for society.
So, what SHOULD you invest in? I keep things simple for my clients. #1 – most people are not getting all the nutrients they need from food they’re eating. And with all of the modern-day processing that goes into even getting “clean” foods on the shelves, some of the nutrients in GOOD foods are getting lost in the process. Therefore, let’s get on a high quality and potent multivitamin.
#2 – most people deal with stress of all kinds throughout their day, AND most people are getting nowhere near the recommended amount of omega-3’s in their diet. These help minimize inflammation caused by stress on the body. Most people get a ton of omega-6 and 9’s, which are infamous for promoting stress in the body, and therefore, cause inflammation. Like I’ve stated many times before, chronic inflammation can put a halt on fat loss, muscle growth, and overall function.
#3 – most people are not getting enough protein in their diet. Protein contributes to muscle growth and muscle maintenance. We don’t want to be burning our hard-earned muscle instead of fat. Therefore, let’s add some protein powder. It’s a quick and easy way to get in extra protein. That being said, if you’re willing to just eat more natural protein during the day, obviously do that instead.
#4 (optional and on a per client basis) – most people want to build muscle in order to boost metabolism and see more toning and definition in their body. CREATINE. Creatine is already found naturally occurring the body, and is scientifically proven to help build muscle quicker AND give you more energy during bouts of working out. It is one of the very few science-backed supplements out there.
These are the 4 basic and most universal supplements that MOST people will benefit from. AND, they are actually SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN to WORK. Aside from those, I can get into the smaller details about clients individually to see if they actually NEED anything else, but most of the time they do not. And 100% of the time, I NEVER recommend fat burners, appetite suppressants, belly bands, or products that make you sweat more to ANYONE. They are simply not effective.
Now once you decide that you’re going to invest in these supplements, what should you look for? Quality, purity and potency.
Quality and purity. What exactly does that mean? Well, for example, in a multivitamin quality and purity are normally found in A CAPSULE. Gummies and tablets are loaded with harmful fillers and sugar, and most companies where these are offered don’t even use nutrients in their most absorbable form. It’s cheaper for them not to. So, are you even absorbing it? Who knows?
Potency is also a big thing. Make sure you’re getting an accredited brand and one that actually has what is says it has ON the bottle IN the bottle. A lot of the time, the “cheaper” brands like Costco and HEB are in fact cheaper, but they are nowhere near as potent when compared to higher-quality brands. For example, I use a fish oil from an accredited company, and it’s alittle more expensive than most, BUT when compared to the fish oil from Costco, it would take NINE of Costco’s capsules to even get close to the amount of fish oil that’s in TWO of my capsules. So, is the Costco brand really cheaper when you think about it? Or just poor quality?
One thing to keep an eye out for that makes researching supplements a lot easier is a USP Verified Mark. Supplements with the USP Verified Mark not only means that what you’re buying is what you see on the label, but that the product has met high-quality standards. This mark can prevent you from buying a product that doesn’t have what it actually says it has on the bottle. This is a great rule of thumb to go by when searching for the right supplement for you.
For all supplements, do your research first before purchasing. It’s amazing what companies can put on their bottles without it actually being accurate. The supplement industry THRIVES off of people’s desire to have what they want NOW. Who wants to actually wait the normal time to drop body fat or gain muscle? No one. It sucks, but patience is key, and its unfortunately the only way you’re going to get there. This isn’t a cute answer or the answer most people are hoping for. But, it’s the damn truth. These supplements marketed to TORCH fat like crazy and blah blah blah are 99% of the time, full of shit and not backed by anything.