The supplements I take to stay energized and lean

 Supplements are a tricky issue for many people looking to start their journey towards a healthy life style. I get it, with the new wave of organic eating and living a healthy life style taking pills to assist your progress seems a bit like cheating. However that is not the case for all supplements. Science has come a far way and we would be robbing ourselves of the benefits of these supplements if we decided to fear them. 

That being said I do believe in first educating yourself first before you consume anything. Do your own research and make your own conclusions first before moving forward. That is what I did. When I was younger and even now I read up on many supplements out there now on the market. I tried many of them as well. Some worked and others were just a waste of money.

Here are the supplements that I currently take.

Creatine:

Creatine is a substance found naturally in your body especially in muscle cells. Creatine can improve health and athletic performance in several ways. In high intensity exercises, its primary role is to increase the phosphocreatine stores in your muscle. The additional stores can then be used to produce ATP, which is the key energy source for heavy lifting.

Creatine also helps you gain muscle in the following ways:

·         Boosted workload: Enables more total work or volume in a single training session, which is a key factor in long-term muscle growth .

·         Improved cell signaling: Can increase satellite cell signaling, which aids muscle repair and new muscle growth .

·         Raised anabolic hormones: Studies note a rise in hormones, such as IGF-1, after taking creatine .

·         Increased cell hydration: Lifts water content within your muscle cells, which causes a cell volumization effect that may play a role in muscle growth.

·         Reduced protein breakdown: May increase total muscle mass by reducing muscle breakdown.

·         Lower myostatin levels: Elevated levels of the protein myostatin can slow or totally inhibit new muscle growth. Supplementing with creatine can reduce these levels, increasing growth potential.

Some people recommend loading phase when initially taking creatine. However, I recommend taking it normally before workouts and continuing like that.

BCAA:

You would take BCAA during your workout. They help to support endurance, replenish essential nutrients during your workout. Your BCAA should have leucine, isoleucine and valine.

L Carnatine: 

With higher levels of L-carnitine, your body becomes more efficient at burning fat. Not only does this decrease the amount of fat that your body stores, but it also helps reduce visceral belly fat, the kind that surrounds your vital organs and potentially leads to fatty liver disease and other serious health conditions. Taking that energy increase into your exercise routine will allow you to perform with more intensity, providing a boost to your metabolism. A more efficient metabolism significantly aids your weight loss program because you’ll increase the amount of calories you’re able to burn—even at rest.

CLA:

Even though conjugated linoleic acid is a trans fat, there's a purpose for this one! Specifically, CLA helps reduce the urge for unneeded food intake and inhibits the production of additional fats. Basically, CLA is a special type of fat that takes the place of our need for other, unhealthy fats.

CLA hardwires us to stay lean and clean, helping us to burn the calories that already exist, instead of craving additional calories that serve no purpose.

MCT oil

MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides . They are a type of fatty acid that is derived from coconut oil.  Consider MCT oil as a super fuel for your cells, because it boosts fat burning and increases mental clarity. 

MCT can also help you lose weight because it is quickly burned and metabolized. It gets absorbed directly from the gut into the liver and doesn’t get stored as fat but rather burned quickly and turned into energy.  For many people, MCT becomes that little nudge to help you drop those last 10 to 15 stubborn pounds that just won’t go away.

How to take these supplements: Creatine should be taken at least one hour before your workouts. On your rest days take it in the morning before your meal. BCAA are an intra workout supplement that should be taken during your training. CLA and L carnetine should be taken 3 times daily before meals. MCT can be taken with your meals. I usually pour about a table spoon of it over my chicken or on my salad. 

I think what many people get wrong about supplements is that they are not a shortcut to your goals. Yes they do help you to achieve your desired look but they will not be that magic pill that transforms your body over night. Change takes time and it takes hard work. So really think about that before you go forward. 

Nothing will ever replace hard work and a good diet. These supplements will only assist you along the way.