To supplement or not to supplement that is the question. I probably receive about 5 emails per week saying something like, “I am having trouble losing weight, what supplement should I take?” If you have been following my blog for any amount of time you will come to realize I very rarely talk about supplements. In fact I have over 300 articles on this site that I have written and maybe 2-3 even mention supplements.
So the question is… Do I believe in supplements and should you take them? Yes and maybe respectively.
You see many of the people coming to me for supplements are the ones that are eating fast food a couple times per week, don’t like to eat vegetables, hate the taste of water, only like a couple fruits, has dessert with most meals, drinks a lot of coffee, drink soda or diet soda, eats mostly processed foods and skips breakfast.
I just kindly laugh at them (at least inwardly) and tell them that they need a lot more than just another pill to pop or powder to gulp down. It gets back to the quick fix society that we live in, and trying to see how lazy we can be and still get results. Did you know, “Diet Pills” is one of the top search key words for fat loss on google.
So do I believe there is a place for supplements? Yes, but lets take a look first at the elephant in the room which is your bad diet. I am not going to go into a big nutritional lesson today, since I have written over 70 articles on the subject already. Click here to check some of them out.
So assuming you are fully committed to eating much healthier, what should you take as a supplement? I want to first say that although I read quite a bit of research on supplements and nutrients, I don’t consider myself a top expert in this field. But it can be very tricky to know what to believe, because there is so much money that can be made in selling supplements, that it can cause so many people to recommend things that don’t even work, just to make more money.
So the following supplements are what I take on a regular basis. I use a company called Prograde. I like their quality, I know the owners, and love their customer service. Yes I do make a small commission if you purchase through my links, but if you want to go with some other company that is totally cool too. I just don’t want to always have to answer individual emails about what I take.
At this time I would also like to say if you are someone who sells a product or supplement with a MLM company, please don’t contact me telling me about it being the latest and greatest product and it will change the lives of everyone who even looks at it. If you only knew how many times I have heard that. I don’t deny there are great companies out there, and supplements that do work great, but I am not looking to promote other products at this point. Fair enough?
Before I tell you what I take, I must remind you to consult with a doctor before taking a supplement in case you have some pre-existing issues.
So what do I take? And Why.
Protein Powder: Although I have seen some people get great results on a low protein diet, it seems to be the small minority. Based on research, protein builds lean muscle, increases the feeling of being full, requires more calories to be burned when breaking it down, and is the least likely to be stored as fat. I generally recommend .8-1.o g per ideal body weight. So if you should be 130 lbs, try to get between 100-130 grams of protein. Now I have found that most people get less than half of that! If you aren’t use to eating 20 grams of protein with each meal, then it can be tough. So I like to use protein powder in my smoothies that I make. I usually drink at least 2 per day, sometimes 3. Now there is nothing magical about the protein powder, but it is quick, handy, and high quality. What should you look for in a protein powder? 100% whey protein (avoid soy like it is the plague), low sugar, a natural sweetener like Stevia, no fake sugars (usually in the form of sucralose, another name for splenda, or aspertame) and low in fat. For a woman, the body can’t break down much more than 25-30 grams at any given time, so don’t go overboard with the protein at each meal. Click here to learn more.
Multivitamin: I tend to think that eating a very well balanced, high in veggies and fruits, and more organic should cover most of my vitamin and nutrient needs, but with the declining soil conditions and days when I don’t eat like I should, I think a multi vitamin is a good choice. It can be a nice safety net when we don’t get all the daily vitamins and nutrients we need. Click here to learn more.
Omega 3: Fish oil or krill oil. The amount of research that shows benefits to increased omega 3 fatty acids is pretty staggering. If you ate a fatty fish everyday day (like salmon), you probably wouldn’t need a supplement, but I also wouldn’t recommend eating fish everyday because of the mercury. I take a krill oil supplement that has much higher levels of omega 3s. Click here to learn more.
Post workout meal: Again, there is a rediculous amount of research about the fat burning and muscle toning benefits of the meal you eat right after your workout (within 45 min). Your muscles are craving protein and simple sugars. But the problem is so many people know this, but don’t make the time for this important meal. You should have a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein. If you are trying to lose weight I would recommend 2:1. So take in maybe 30-40 grams of simple sugars (I like to use fruit), and 15-20 grams of whey protein (fastest to absorb). I just use my regular protein powder and blend in fruit. But some don’t even want to do that, so the other option is to have a post workout powder that already has the components necessary. It is low fat, and has a 2:1 ratio of sugar to carbs. If mixing a powder is easier for you, this is a good option. I still think eating whole foods would be better, but this is much better than not eating at all. Click here to learn more.
Meal Replacement: Most people also know that eating smaller more frequent meals seems to help more people stay on track with their body fat goals. There are many reasons for this which I am not going to get into, but yet again with our busy lives and people not wanting to prepare food ahead of time, a meal replacement powder can be a good option. They are very well balanced and should fill you up pretty good. I usually don’t use these unless I am traveling and don’t have great access to healthy food, or I am in a bind and haven’t prepared anything ahead of time. This does contain a little sucralose which I am not happy about, but believe they are in the process of switching over to stevia. Click here to learn more.
Energy bar: These I will sometimes use as a meal replacement or as a dessert 
It fills my sweet tooth while at the same time being a pretty low calorie, but very good tasting treat. These all organic bars are pretty low in protein (wish they were higher), but not too processed and use all organic components. Plus they are around 150 calories so they won’t be breaking the calorie budget. Click here to learn more.
So there you have it, basically that is all the supplements I take. I have experimented with others, but these are the ones I feel science supports the most. Feel free to not buy from these links, but do your own research and make sure it is from a trusted source, has high quality ingredients, has been as less processed as possible, and doesn’t contain fake sugars. The downside is that they are going to cost a little more than some of the cheaper brands out there, but the upside is the quality of the product is much more natural and healthier.
Remember, supplements are there to “supplement” an already healthy eating style. Don’t think because you are taking all these powders and pills, it allows you to blow it on your diet!
