The Best Supplements on the Planet

Okay.  I finally caved.  I am going to talk about what everyone wants me to talk about (if you know me, you know I hate doing what everyone wants).  I am going to tell you what I think are the best supplements are for any category.  Yes, websites like bodybuilding.com have ratings for this and give away consumer voted awards for it every year.  But these are all based on user experience and have no science to back up why any of these brands make the best stuff or which product is actually better than another.  That's where I come in.  And without further ado, the best supplements on the planet are...

Food.

That's right.  Food.  Nope, not the stuff you bought at GNC that "guarantees" you'll gain 100lbs of muscle and look like a fitness model in just 6 weeks.

Sorry, the $60 fat burner that guy just sold you has nothing on good ol' fashioned food.

What's that?  But Herbalife/Shakeology/ViSalus/AdvoCare changed your life?  Nope.  Sorry.  Still bullcrap.  The product didn't change your metabolism.

The cleanse you just did.  The wrap thing you just tried...it's all smoke and mirrors.  I know.  I can prove it.  I have proven it.  Over and over, to client after client.  The product you use makes basically no difference what-so-ever.  What matters is this:  when you use those products it (for the most part) makes you stick to a regimented eating plan that is typically weighed and measured amounts of...food.

So why is the supplement industry a $37 billion dollar a year industry?  Is there science behind what they do?  What about all the "results"?

The answers to those questions are as follows: Marketing.  Yes.  They speak volumes to making sure you buy the product (see: Marketing).  90% of what these companies care about is sales.  To accomplish this they only show you success stories.  They don't show you the 99.9% of people who use the product under the pretense that if they just use it their fitness/wellness/happiness with their body image will change yet it never happens.

Why?  Because the human body needs food.  The right amount of the right kinds.  Your body needs carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water to function on a daily basis.  That's it.  It gets all of those things from real food.  Not from the $90 tub of powder at the local supplement warehouse, although it may contain some if not most of those things, your body still needs food.  Real, actual food.  In the right ratios, meaning portion control and in many instances meal planning will be essential to accomplishing that (dang!  And you were hoping you could just wing it).

Alright, this is starting to feel like a bit of a bait and switch.  So which supplements really are the best on the planet?  The ones that get you to stick to a program where you eat food and SUPPLEMENT you diet with the products.  That's why they're called SUPPLEMENTS.  As in "in addition to" or "in aid of"  not "in place of" food.  Also, supplements are usually used best in conjunction with others, aka, stacks.  Stacks are not one size fits all and the best way to figure out your best stack is to work with a knowledgeable, reputable trainer, dietitian, or nutritionist (shameless self plug) to get on the right track.

Still want to build a supplement stack?  At CrossFit Crossroads we use Driven Nutrition (drivennutrtion.net) products as well as a few others we have found work well with most people.  Work with one of our degreed and certified coaches to build your stack and we can save you a few dollars instead of buying retail.  We can also help you with that whole "meal plan" thing I was saying might have some importance.  Head to our Coach's Page to contact a coach and get started today.  Mention the blog and get your initial consult for free.  Mic drop.

Finding your happiness

What will it take for you to be happy?  Hitting your goal weight?  A new PR in the gym?  A latte?  A beer?

Maybe your looks a little different.  That new job, a new house, a dream car, or maybe it's that one absolute babe you have been dying to go out on a date with.

No matter what you think it might be, I have a challenge for you.  Dig deep.  Real deep.  Soul search.  Now begin to answer that question with some real honesty.  Focus on the answer and really, truly accept what it is.  Own it.  Write it down.  Now figure out how you are going to get there.

You can't get what you want until you know what you want (I think I heard that in a song...yep just googled it, it's a Joe Jackson song...man I've heard a lot of odd music in my life).  You have to be honest with yourself about what you want.  You have to be able to picture it and then be able to chase it with real, deep, heartfelt honesty.  It will be, perhaps, the first time in a long time (or maybe your whole life) that you have been the brutally honest with yourself and it will scare you.  The thing itself will frighten you because you weren't sure you had it in you.  Then you'll look at the journey ahead and think "there's no way I can get there".  Really?  Is that all you think of yourself?  Do really find yourself that incapable?

I'm here to tell you that you are (to quote Marianne Williamson) powerful beyond measure.  Check out this piece of amazing word fuel:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Ch. 7, Section 3 (1992), p. 190.)

Why fear your power?  Your power to create and effect change. Your power to empower others.

Now, focus again.  What do you, in the deepest corner of your heart, want more than anything?  Where is your happiness?  Now focus all you are, all of your power, on it and GO GET IT!  When you do (and you should do it now)  you may be the reason someone else chases their happiness or maybe even the reason the world changes.

Are you going to accept status quo, or will you be an awe-inspiring, world changing happiness chaser?  You have the power, use it.