Enhance Your Results Through Nutrition & Supplements
Have you been consistent in the gym but not seeing the results you want? Maybe you can tell you’ve been getting strong, your cardio is improving & you’re feeling better, but when you look in the mirror you wish the outside matched what the inside is feeling like.
Or, maybe you’re seeing progress but you aren’t feeling as great as you could! If you are feeling overly sore all the time, low energy or energy crashes during the day, having cravings or trouble sleeping…..
Your problems could likely be solved through your nutrition and supplementation! Even if we are active every single day, the foods that we eat and supplements that we take directly affect the results that we do, or do not get from our hard work in the gym!
The world of nutrition and supplements is VAST to say the least. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with all of the information that’s out there and what’s best for you as an individual so i’m going to try to keep this article as simple as possible as an easy, no-fail way to start. If you are doing the majority of what is in this article, I know that you will immediately get more out of your workouts, feel great and see results!
Take Inventory of Your Current Nutrition
If we don’t get real with ourselves and get really clear on what we are currently doing, how will we know what to adjust or which direction to go? To do this, I suggest food journaling, old fashioned pen and paper style or using a logging app like My Fitness Pal or Chronometer. An app will give you more detailed feedback like total calories, macronutrient and micronutrient breakdown which is very helpful and can help you hone in on what needs adjusting more quickly and easier! Make sure to log every little thing that you intake including vitamins supplements, liquids, etc! It can be a very educational, eye opening experience to do this and sets you up for the most success moving forward!
Identify where you can improve through the Basic Golden Rules
Basic Golden Rules of Nutrition :
Prioritize Protein intake. Protein is the building block of our nutrition, it aids in recovery, building lean muscle mass, helps keep you satisfied & keep away cravings just to name a few! As a general rule of thumb being in the range of 0.7g per lb of bodyweight, up to 1g per pound is a healthy intake. If you are someone with 20+ lbs of weight to lose, I would go on the lower end or if you track your food and find that you are way under this target, start low and work your way up! Center all your meals around your main protein source.
Focus on Whole, Unprocessed foods. Animal protein, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds should make up the majority of our diet. Processed, packaged, sugary foods should be a rarity, not a norm! Remember, we truly ARE what we eat! Make it high quality and REAL foods. Filling up on whole, nutritious foods will immediately keep us more full and satisfied, provide us with the micronutrients and macronutrients our bodies need, give us more energy, help with recovery, reduce cravings, balance hormones.. the list goes on but you get the point! Make sure you are getting plenty of whole foods paired with your protein source at every meal.
Water Intake. A great place to start is making sure you’re drinking at least 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces daily. If you’re active, I recommend drinking at least an extra 16oz of water for every hour of exercise. It can be super beneficial to add a serving of electrolytes in daily as well to help with hydration and get the most out of all of that water you’re drinking!
Listen. Note. Adjust. Eat when you’re hungry, eat slowly, allow your body to tell you when it’s satisfied (not stuffed)! No two bodies are the same & our individual needs change as well. What worked for us before may not work now. Our bodies are amazing and they will tell us when something is working or not. If you are feeling super lethargic after your meals, if you are having bloating or digestion issues, if you are still having cravings… these are a few examples of your body telling you it needs a change up! If we track our food and/or make notes of how we are feeling around meals it can help a ton with how to make adjustments to improve!
If you have weight loss or body composition goals, making sure you are taking in enough calories or conversely, making sure you’re not over eating, is super important. So a great place to start is a base calculation of how many calories you should be eating in order to just maintain your current weight, then you can establish whether you need to be over, under or just organize where your calories are coming from depending on your goal!
How to Calculate your Baseline Calories:
Establish Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate: the base number of calories to keep your body alive and functioning)
Women: BMR= (10x weight in kilograms) + (6.25x height in cm)- (5x age in years)-161
Example: I am 37 years old, 115 pounds, 5 ft 1 inch tall.
(10 x 52.27) + (6.25 x 154.94) -(5x37)-161 =
522.7 + 968.375 - 185 -161 = 1,145.075
Then, we need to establish your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure):
Little to no exercise, desk job= BMR x 1.2
Light exercise, trains 3-5 days weekly = BMR X 1.375
Moderately Active, trains 3-5 days a week= BMR X 1.55
Very Active, trains 6-7 days a week = BMR x 1.725
Extremely Active, double day training & an intense physical job= BMR x1.9
Once you know your TDEE now you can establish the direction you want to go! As a general rule, weight gain or ‘bulking’ would require adding 300-500 calories to your TDEE. Weight loss would be -300-500 calories from TDEE and maintenance would be to stay at your calculated TDEE.
If you find you are eating well under or over your establish TDEE, it would be smartest to work your way to maintenance calories, establish consistency there for 2-4 weeks and then work in whichever direction you’d like. We should be spending the MAJORITY of our time at maintenance calories!!!
Supplementation
The world of supplements can be overwhelming and in all honesty I lean towards the side of being conservative in this area. I believe that if we have a healthy calorie intake and a balanced, nutritious diet, supplements can enhance our health and performance, it’s a way to bridge the gap of any small holes in our nutrition. It enhances a great diet and takes performance and recovery to the next level.
I’m going to list the top supplements I love & find helpful & affective for the majority of people! Remember you want high quality, clean products that will enhance your health, not create problems, I am linking all the products I love below as well!
I always, always suggest getting regular bloodwork from your doctor and running all supplements by them! Bloodwork can also give more specifics on which supplements and vitamins are best for you!
Protein Powder
The grand daddy of all supplements. Like I mentioned above, protein should be the center focus of each meal, it helps our bodies to recover and build lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle we have, the leaner, stronger and healthier we will be! Having a good protein powder on hand is a super easy way to get more protein in your day. Drinking a protein shake within 60 minutes of your workout is an easy way to make sure you’re giving your body what it needs to recover!
BCAA’S | Electrolytes
BCAA stands for Branch Chain Amino Acids, they are the building blocks of protein and refer to the three essential amino acids Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. Our body cannot make up these aminos by itself so they must come from our protein sources. While you can get these through protein powder or animal proteins, if you are looking to add an extra boost to your recovery and hydration, BCAA’S are a great way to do that. These are great to drink before and during a workout and especially if you like to fast in the morning, BCAA’S hold no calorie load, so you can drink them while fasting.
My Favorite BCAA’S + ELECTROLYTES
PRE-Workout
Drinking pre-workout can help you perform better, go into your workout feeling more motivated and energetic, leading to better overall performance and results! Making sure you have a high quality pre-workout that lists exactly what’s in it and how much is in it is important, some can give you a major energy spike and then crash so don’t grab just any pre-workout off the shelf, make sure you know what you’re getting!
Kre-Alkalyn
This is an advanced version of Creatine Monohydrate. Creatine is one of the most highly researched supplements out there and is proven to increase perfromance and energy output. However, Creatine Monohydrate does have some negative side affects like bloating and gut issues, so this advanced version gives you most of the benefits without the side affects. Read the full article here:
Kre-Alkalyn vs. Creatine Monohydrate
Collagen
Collagen is made up of 9 essential amino acids, it is not a complete protein like protein powder and animal proteins are, but it is a great supplement to support healthy joints, recovery and healthy skin and hair! This is easy to throw into your coffee or a smoothie!
Vitamins
Like I said above, it’s always best to consult your doctor but I will list the go-to’s that more often than not, are beneficial to add into your daily routine!
Multivitamin
Micronutrients are essential to our bodies running optimally and taking a multivitamin can help to fill in any small gaps that might be there! Even when eating super healthy, taking a multivitamin will help cover our bases and make sure we are getting in micronutrients needed to feel our best.
Vitamin D
It is very common, especially in the gray and rainy state of Washington, to be deficient in Vitamin D. Supplementing with D helps to support our immune system, supports energy levels, and optimizes bone and joint health!
ZMT
I personally love this supplement for recovery- it’s packed with a variety of ingredients that will have you sleeping like a baby and recovering like a rockstar! Remember, when we sleep and recover well, pretty much everything else falls into place!!
I hope this gave you a jumpstart and some guidance into your nutrition and supplementation! It can be an overwhelming subject, so just remember, keep it simple, listen to your body and take it one step at a time! Ask questions and remember, you are your own, living experiment. What your body needs will change over time, so always, always listen to it!
We ARE what we EAT, so eat WELL!
