Nutrition Notes: Week 10

Last week we finished up by talking about supplementation. Over the years we have fielded so many questions about what supplements are good or bad, which ones work the best, which ones are o.k. to take, when to use them, if they should be used at all, and on and on. The correct answer to most of these questions is...that there isn't always just one correct answer. In consulting with our clients, including Michael, we first need to evaluate where they are at nutritionally, understanding their personal situation, before we can make sound recommendations. While many people do fall into similar traps and poor nutritional habits, each person's needs and limitations will vary (vegetarians/vegans, lactose intolerance, etc.). This is also why we don't generally provide generic meal plans or an exact amount of calories to follow. When it comes to nutritional supplements, most of our recommendations follow this same level of specificity. There are some basic guidelines, however, that just about everyone can take into consideration, and for the purpose of still keeping this focused on Michael's situation, we can discuss how we evaluated his needs. First of all, we focus only on the nutritional supplements that have true nutritional value to our clients, specifically supplements that provide proteins, carboydrates, vitamins, and minerals, either stand alone or combined in the product itself. The amount of products out there is staggering, and for just about anything you can think of. Unfortunately, most of what's out there is either poor quality, completely unnecessary, provides little to no actual benefit, or all of the above. Despite this fact, the supplement industry is a vastly growing, multi-billion dollar industry. Also, there are limited to no regulations by the FDA on most supplements, so when it comes to them...Buyer Beware!

It doesn't mean they are all bad or useless, it just means it is important to either educate and arm yourself with the knowledge, or seek out a qualified and experienced professional to guide you in the right direction - and no, the guy behind the counter at your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe is NOT that person. They are paid and have incentive to sell you as much as they can and steer you to the products that give them the most profit, regardless of whether you really NEED them or not. The right fitness professional will ONLY recommend the right products that you can truly benefit from, and actually discourage you from buying or using the ones you don't need or that could harm you. This is what we did with Michael. We evaluated that most of his need was in ensuring that he was keeping his food frequency up by getting good snacks in. He had the ability to take care of his main meals well, but would struggle with getting healthy and balanced snacks in at the correct portions. He also was in need of a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement from years of eating processed and high fat foods that provided him with little to no nutrients. Finally, with the intensity and effort he is putting into his workouts, we knew he would need a high quality recovery product to ensure that his body was getting the right balance of quality carbohydrates and protein post workout. That's it, though - no products specifically designed for "weight loss", pre-workout energy, or anything outside of what he needed to fill the gaps in his nutritional plan. Eating right and getting all the nutrients you need will provide you with all the energy you need and will support your metabolism, allowing you to lose weight naturally. Also, the plan is to eventually taper the use of some of these off as he progresses. He may decide eventually to always use them in some capacity, which is completely fine - if you polled all fitness professionals, I would be willing to bet that the vast majority use nutritional supplements in some capacity on a daily basis. The overall idea, however, is to use them for convenience and to "fill in the gaps," an insurance policy as we always like to say. Without taking up too much more time or space (I didn't realize how quickly it can add up), next time we can go into a little more information about quality and what can potentially distinguish a "good" supplement from a "bad" one. Until next time...