Supplements are the new 'Kardashians'

Supplements are the new “Kardashians”

I know, I know, the last post was a pretty boring one but even a Queen needs to learn about it. I am not going to revise it but I guess you understood my point.

Right.

So you are here to know about supplements?

#TBH, Supplements are like “The Kardashians“ of the fitness world. Everyone seems to know their names but no one knows what they actually do.

The marketing companies use such complicated scientific words to sell their shitty product. Sometimes even saying it’s backed by research.

But they only tell you half the story.

Marketing and supplements companies only use selective researches to back the claim.

Check this clip from a documentary - “Bigger, Faster, Stronger”

Let me list out the most common supplements people know about :

• Whey protein
• BCAA
• Fat Burners
• Mass Gainers
• Creatine

While those are the most common ones, there are more than 91719101 supplements in the market. (Yes, I made up that number but you get the point, right? )

And do you know how many supplements do you REALLY, REALLY need to be fit?

Give me number

100? Nope.

20? Nah.

5? Not really.

In reality, ZERO.

You don’t need any supplement to be fit.

But I see everyone in my gym taking supplements?

supplement (noun) ˈsʌplɪm(ə)nt

• a thing added to something else in order to complete or enhance it.

The “supplement ” word in itself says it adds benefits to something else, in this case, your diet. These products are meant to “supplement” a healthy diet, not “replace” it. The supplements only enhance the benefits of a good diet.

Thus, if you are eating a diet containing all the macros and essential micros, you don’t need to spend your money on supplements. Focus on fixing your diet before stressing over supplements.

Supplements should be adding benefits to your diet and workout regime, but 90% of them are sh*t.

They exist to fool people.

Generally, this is how a supplement comes into the market : Research, generally funded by supplement companies, says that consuming XYZ is beneficial for weight loss. Supplement companies use this research to make grander claims. People go bonkers about it because it is backed by science and spends on it.

So if the supplement is backed by research, it should be good then, right?

This is the catch. The supplement industry is quite an unregulated one. You can pick up any research and sell a product without getting a certification from FDA.

So when supplements companies talk about “the one” research which supports their product, they don’t talk about other 99 pieces of research which do not support the claim.

Supplement companies only tell the half-truth.

They don’t talk about the conditions of participants or how effective the product is? It could be that with XYZ product you would lose 0.1% more weight. But supplement companies will market it as the “BEST FAT BURNER” in the industry.

So make sure you do your research about the supplements. See if the research they are talking about even make sense.

100s of new supplements are rolled out in the market every week. I am not exaggerating, but below 5 supplements are the only supplements you would ever need.

Whey protein -

It’s the buddy of every gym-goer. But it’s still a supplement. Whey protein is not superior to dietary protein, such as eggs, chicken, etc in any way. If you are able to consume an adequate amount of protein from the diet, you can totally skip it. But, in case you are not able to complete your protein from the diet you can take whey protein.

More than 100 researches have validated the safety of consuming whey protein, but if you have prior kidney issue talk to your doctor first.

I have recently turned vegetarian so consuming whey protein gives me the convenience to complete my protein while staying within 1000 calories limit.

To give you a comparison between paneer and whey protein :

To get 25 gm of protein, you need to take either : 1 scoop of whey = 120 calories

OR

140 gm of paneer = 420 calories

So, if you are running on low calories taking whey protein would be beneficial.

Caffeine -

Thinking about buying a pre-workout supplement? Don’t. They are an expensive form of caffeine which you can easily get from a cup of coffee.

Not only pre-workouts, it is the main component in fat burner pills too. The reason being, a person high on caffeine will move around a lot.

Remember I talked about NEAT?

Caffeine allows you to make use of it and hence increase the calories burnt by your body. So next time you are thinking of buying fat burners, drink a cup of coffee and go for a walk.

Creatine -

This the most studied supplement and it’s safe for human consumption. It’s already present in your body and is the main source for instant energy.

If you are trying to lose weight, then you don’t need to worry about it and focus on your diet. But if you are into powerlifting or trying to increase your strength or muscle mass, you should use it.

It’s a value for money supplement as you can find it for INR 500-600 and it will last you for 2-3 months. I would suggest you buy monohydrate-creatine rather than the mixed up version.

If you are planning to consume it for along term, you don’t need to do the loading cycle. For men, 5gm/day and for women, 3gm/day is the required amount of creatine.

Creatine has been a part of my supplement stack for 1 year now and I have seen good improvement in my strength and muscle mass.

Fish oil -

If you don’t eat fish, just buy fish oil capsules and consume it every day. It provides the essential fatty acids and is the easiest way to consume your omegas.

In general, you should be consuming 2-10 gm of EPA per day so calculate the number of capsules for yourself. Vegetarians can check algae based capsules for the same.

Disclaimer - Fish oil capsules might cause some unwanted burps.

Multivitamin -

I have talked about the necessity of micronutrients in the previous chapter but in case you are not able to eat daily required amount, then supplement it with multivitamins tablet. You can buy them at the nearest chemist shop and they are pretty cheap.

The above supplements have been a part of my diet for more than a year now. I don’t advise any other supplement unless you have a particular goal or situation.

The takeaway point from this chapter should be -

Don’t accept the claims of every research. Read the research carefully and you are sure to find a catch.

If you are thinking about buying a supplement, write it to me. I will help you decide if you should be spending $$$ on it or not. Thinking why supplements like BCAA, Glutamine, etc didn’t make it to my list, question me about it. I will answer, promise.

Until then, check out www.examine.com . It’s my favorite site to check about any latest supplement in the market. Hope this helps.

Also, only 1 chapter to go. I am eggciteeedd! I am curious to know how is this course going for you? Is there anything you learned and stuck with from this email course? Please do write it to me, I am reading all your emails.

Talk soon - Calories Queen.