The role of supplements with Health and Fitness has changed considerably in recent times and a misunderstanding of the role in achieving health has become very clouded. For many young guys wanting to pack on some muscle, the attraction of clever marketing with all types of protein and creatine supplements can see guys feeding their bodies with all types of harmful and completely unnecessary products. There is also plenty of people who are eating all types of sugar laden processed food garbage taking all types of supplements and vitamins and calling themselves healthy. Once again clever marketing and just poor information have led people to believe they can get all the necessary vitamins and minerals from a synthetic man made capsule or tablet. It is time for people to realize that only through eating a nutritious diet rich in organic proteins, fats and vegetables will your body be able to achieve optimal health and energy. Here is an excellent article that explores this unfortunate trend.
Written by James Langford of www.jlperformancecoaching.com
Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of supplements when they are used correctly. The keywords being, "when used correctly". One phrase that I have heard over and over again is, "I want to try and put some muscle on, what protein should I buy?" Another example is, "What supplements can I take to help me lose weight?" Let's nip this in the bud straight away. No supplement will help you lose weight if your diet and exercise regime is not on point. Equally, just eating protein powder will not suddenly build copious amounts of muscle.
Eating Habits
Imagine for a second that this is what you eat every day of the week:
Breakfast: Large Bowl of Sugary Cereal
Mid-morning Snack: Bag of Chips
Lunch: 12 in Sub and Bottle of Soda
Afternoon Snack: Bag of Skittles
Dinner: Pizza and Garlic Bread
Evening Snack: Chocolate Bar
Now I realize that if you were to eat this every day you would get exceptionally bored but stick with me on this one. Imagine this is what you eat every day and you suddenly decided you want to lose weight and get in shape. You decide to do this by cutting your evening chocolate bar from your diet.
How Supplements Work
Now let's be realistic, with a diet like that, dropping one chocolate bar isn't going to make much of a difference. You won't see any real results until you sort out the rest of your diet. Supplements work the exact same. By adding a daily protein shake to a poor nutrition plan it isn't suddenly going to start building the muscle you desire. Your time would be much better spent sorting out the remainder of your diet and saving yourself the cash.
Miracle Supplements Don't Exist
Equally when trying to lose weight adding some 'miracle' supplement you have read about wont do jack until you fix the remainder of your diet. Anytime you read a statement or see an advertisement in a magazine, newspaper, website, or anywhere else that has someone claiming they lost 'x' amount due to this supplement remind yourself that this is an advertisement and that person will no doubt have been paid to say so. Once you have found a diet and exercise plan works for you and starts to get you results then you could start to look into supplementation. But in the beginning of any fitness journey you would be wise to save your money.
Conclusion
It is time to look beyond a short cut to health and eat a diet rich on clean fresh foods. You cannot get healthy from eating synthetic capsules or drinking potions made from man made artificial ingredients. To read more about this topic I suggest you check out our other article on Supplements versus Real Food and if you would like to know more about this topic or any of our programs fill in the form below and I will get back to you within 24 hours to schedule a consultation.
