Several of you may ask why do we need to supplement? If you’re are anything like me and have a difficult time getting in a consistent 8-10 servings of green veggies, fruits, fiber and lean protein everyday, you may need to consider supplementing.
Supplementation is meant to enhance –or fill in the gaps of what you may be missing from your everyday diet. Also the RDA or Recommended Daily Allowance suggested by the FDA is simply the minimum amounts to prevent actual vitamin deficiencies…not to reach optimal wellness. And I’m not satisfied with just the minimum….I prefer optimal wellness!
I’ve written a couple of articles on Basic Vitamin Supplementmentation, as well as my thoughts that food and the SAD or Standard American Diet play in our health and risk of disease in the post Nutrition, Disease and Vitamin Supplements, but today I want to specifically touch on vitamins and supplements specific to weight loss, fat burn and muscle retention.
While there is no magic weight loss pill and nothing takes the place of clean eating and regular exercise, scientific studies have shown that certain supplements can specifically promote fat loss by:
- balancing blood sugar
- regulating hunger hormones
- increasing lean muscle and metabolism
- using sugar and fat for energy
Here are my favorite supplements for fat loss.
I highly recommend you adding a protein shake not only during your training, but also in your typical daily routine. Protein is essential for maintaining and building muscle tissue and when our body doesn’t get enough protein to fuel muscle, our body will start pulling protein from muscle for energy resulting in muscle atrophy and weakening of the muscles. Since muscle fuels metabolism, without an adequate supply of protein, your metabolism will plummet and your weight loss and fat loss efforts will also plummet.
It’s also essential to consume protein and quick digesting carbs within 30 minutes of working out to replenish the lost energy used during the workout ~ this is when your muscles are the most hungry and like a sponge, will soak up all that goodness! You can read more of what to eat before and after a workout in this post.
My favorite is the TLS On the Go Nutrition Shake because it’s a concentrated whey protein that’s low in sugar, high in fiber (for healthy digestion) and it tastes great! My Nourish clients are encouraged to drink at least one and sometimes two protein shakes per day. I have some great protein shake recipes to burn fat listed in this post.
Multivitamin
Regardless of how well we do try to eat, our food source and soil is just not the same as it was fifty years ago when our great grandparents were growing their own food. It’s sad to say that most of our food ‘crops’ come from a temperature-controlled warehouse and ‘enriched’ with protein additives, preservatives and growth hormones.
When choosing a good multivitamin, it’s critically important that you read the labels–not necessarily the vitamin amounts and percentages, but the actual ingredient list itself. There are way too many vitamins on the market today that contain hydrogenated oils, trans fat, harmful food coloring additives and synthetic binders and fillers. I prefer Isotonix or Nutrametrix brand vitamins because of their quick absorption and natural ingredients. Because they are absorbed into the bloodstream so quickly, you’ll feel the benefits that much quicker too!
CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid)
CLA is a fatty acid naturally occurring in meat and dairy sources, but is found in much lower quantities within modern day agricultural practices. CLA has been found to reduce body fat by utilizing it as an energy source (aka it uses fat for fuel = fat loss). CLA has also been found to preserve muscle tissue to improve your overall body composition. CLA contains natural ingredients that can help redistribute fat to fat burning muscle tissue to assist in promoting lean muscle mass and decreasing the amount of fat stored in your body.
Many studies have been done on the benefits of branched chain amino acids and its variety of benefits. My favorite is Isotonix Peak Performance for preserving muscle tissue, increasing muscle strength and reducing muscle fatigue. Other benefits also include providing antioxidant protection, improving cardiovascular health and boosting the immune system. It has been shown that supplementation of BCAA during exercise supports muscle protein synthesis, inhibits protein breakdown and muscle fatigue.
Omega Fish Oil
Fish oils are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids that offer numerous health benefits, as well as a variety of performance-enhancing effects, such as increasing muscle growth, improving strength and physical performance, reducing exercise-induced muscle damage and delayed-onset muscle soreness, combating negative immune effects of intensive training, strengthening bones, improving heart and lung functioning, and enhancing cognitive functioning.
One of the best ways to burn fat and promote healthy weight loss is to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and studies have shown that green coffee bean extract can not only help burn fat, but inhibits the conversion of excess sugars into fat in your body. Green coffee, a naturally decaffeinated green coffee extract, helps facilitate the use of stored fat as a source of energy – promoting thermogenesis and accelerating fat burning.
Glutamine is an amino acid used in the synthesis of protein and thus supports the production of muscle. It also supports & regulates the immune system, is an alternative fuel source for the brain and supports & regulates the dietary system. It promotes digestive and brain health, muscle growth, athletic performance. There’s also shown to be a connection between your gut’s bacterial composition and obesity.
If you feel like you’re always hungry and never full or have you tried several weight loss products on the market but still struggle with your weight, you may be dealing with leptin sensitivity. Leptin is the hormone that, in essence, tells our brain when to eat, how much to eat and – most importantly – when to stop eating. Leptin is secreted by fat so the more fat we have, the more leptin we have. serial dieters – those who are continually losing and gaining weight – lose fat through diet and exercise, the brain thinks it is starving and tells the body to hold on to its fat stores. This is when the weight usually roars back. That’s because the body will fight harder against losing fat than it will against gaining fat. That’s why most people find it a whole lot easier to get fat than they do to get lean.
My favorite product with Lepticore is TLS CORE Fat & Carb Inhibitor that inhibits the amount of starchy carbohydrates being absorbed by the body. These carbohydrates can elevate blood sugar levels which increases insulin. This can cause the body to store additional fat, triggering leptin, causing you to eat and over-consume. Here is a complete study on the use of Lepticore in reducing fat and managing weight loss.