Supplements And Vitamins
The supplement and vitamin industry is $40 billion per year industry. That’s a lot of money. Whenever there is that much money at stake, people will be willing and available to say whatever it takes to separate you from your hard-earned cash. Buyer beware.
What’s important
Let’s start with the fundamentals: what do you really need. It’s likely that your current nutrition plan, despite all the work you put into it, is leaving you short on vitamins and minerals. A good multivitamin can help overcome this deficit. A trip to your doctor for your annual physical (we’ll cover that next week) can reveal any deficiencies specific to you, and your doctor can recommend the appropriate course of action.
For men, checking your testosterone levels as you age is essential. For women, it’s important to check your estrogen levels. While you can order test-at-home kits for both of these, I think it’s better to involve your doctor but also get a copy of the results and do your research. The range of acceptable values your doctor uses is based on research using the average American population. Guess what? Forty percent of the population is obese, so the average numbers skew themselves in that direction. This is why you need to implement a combination of your doctor + your research.
For the rest of the available supplements on the market: only take what you need if your tests indicate you are deficient in that area. Think you need more potassium? Get it tested. Think you need more magnesium? Get it tested. Repeat for everything you think you need. I get it. This contradicts many of the “advice” you get from the Internet. So I’ll say one last word on that: buyer beware. Most of the information you get comes from someone trying to either sell you a product directly or draw you to their website, where they can display ads for someone who is (and take a nice little commission). The vitamin and supplement market is largely unregulated, and the sales tactics used reflect that.
One last thought today on a personal pet peeve of mine: pre-workout supplements.
PreWorkout Supplements
We’re here to pump you up!
I know why you like the pre-workout juice.
Sip down that fruit-flavored goodness, and you feel your muscles getting amped up within minutes.
You lift more.
You run faster.
You get a bigger pump from your gym time.
Magic juice makes me go faster.
Here’s the catch: sooner or later, all that excessive firing of your nerve synapses will take its toll. In my younger days, I did drugs. A lot. No, seriously, a lot. Like Keith Richards levels of drugs. I can tell you firsthand about the similarities between the feelings resulting from pre-workout supplements and the feelings resulting from certain drugs I’ve used. There are too many similarities not to have similar long-term effects. Twenty years from now, having enough functioning synapses and brain cells to link together cohesive thoughts will be more important to you than the extra 5 lbs you got on your deadlift from taking those supplements. If you’re a professionally competing athlete, you must weigh the pros and cons of millions of dollars against your long-term health. For the everyday person, it’s just not worth it.
If you need something to start your workout, try some black coffee or tea for a caffeine jump start. If caffeine doesn’t give you the boost you’re looking for, what does that tell you? You have a dependency on it. Rather than looking for a bigger dose, cut the caffeine out. Suck it up, go through the withdrawals, then add it back in, mindful of how much to take. Amino Acids (also known as BCAAs or Amino Energy by some labels) contain caffeine and BCAAs to provide energy and stimulation. Be sure to read the labels to choose one that will work with your current fasted state and macro ratio. (In other words, check how many carbs are included. Many of these supplements add unnecessary ingredients.)
I know that’s not the answer you wanted to hear, but it’s the answer you need to hear.
Today’s Tasks
Don’t forget to complete today’s tasks for the challenge.
- Drink 1 gallon of water
- Workout for 45 minutes
- Read ten pages from your book
- Stick to your meal plan (unless you are fasting) Once completed, head to the tracking site and mark them as completed to track your progress for the challenge. Tomorrow we’ll cover strategies for eating healthy when eating out.