So, last week I talked to you about your nutrition. In the past I have given complicated formulas and long drawn out explanations. Last week I made it simple and straight forward and you need to get that going if your ever going to reach your weight loss goals. No amount of supplements or exercise will ever trump having a dialed-in diet, you have to fuel your body well FIRST.
All that said, everyone wants to know what I take, what THEY should take and what works the best when it comes to supplements. So, without further ado, here are my supplement recommendations.
Part 2: Supplements
First I'll say this; there's really no "best" supplement. All of them from every brand have their place and purpose and different folks react differently to different formulations, it's why there are so many different companies and products out there. There are some I would call "bad", but that's because I'm not into taking banned substances while some folks don't mind it as long as they get the results they want. For most folks, a simple stack based on your goals will suit you just fine.
So let's start with maybe my least favorite, but most asked question: what do you take? Here is what I take and when I take it.
First Thing in the Morning: Driven Whey Protein, Allmax CarbIon, Optimum Nutrition AmiN.O. Energy, Extreme Endurance
During A.M. Cardio: Driven Amino
With Breakfast: Animal Pack, Driven Fish Oil
Pre-Workout: Driven PreWOD
Post Workout: Driven Whey Protein, Allmax CarbIon
Right before Bed: Extreme Endurance
Basically what I take is what I would call a "Performance Stack". I'm not concerned about losing weight or adding mass, I'm focused on performing well. I do CrossFit, Spartan Race, Battle Frog, Warrior Dash, and a myriad of other sporty endeavors that require me to do a lot in a diverse range of athletic ability so that is my focus.
So, what else is out there? What if I have different goals? What should I do? Should I take a fat burner? Should I still take protein? Here are some generic stacks that I put together:
- Performance Stack: What I take. Guys or gals can do this one. Amounts for protein are size and workout frequency dependent.
- Weight Loss Stack: Driven Whey Protein, Allmax CarbIon, MultiVitamin, Driven Fish Oil, Driven PreWOD, Driven Amino, Fat Burner
For this stack pick a Men's or Women's specific multi to fill in nutritional gaps. I like RAW One in this case for many reasons, but mostly because it fills the job and is inexpensive comparatively. You can also check out Optimum Nutrition for their Men's and Women's multi as well as Irwin Naturals. Filing in nutritional gaps is important and a multivitamin does that job well. As for the fat burner, my favorites here are QuadraLean from RSP, Lipo6 Black Ultra Concentrate (there's a men's and women's), and MusclePharm Shred Matrix. Again, the amounts of the protein, CarbIon, and Amino are workout frequency dependent as well as being dependent on the aggressiveness of the weight loss schedule you want to chase. The PreWOD may also get cutout as some fat burners suggest you not take any other caffeine for the day.
- Mass Add Stack: Driven Whey Protein, Allmax CarbIon, Animal Pack, Driven Fish Oil, Driven PreWOD, Driven Amino, Mass Gainer
Nearly the same stack the weight loss stack, with some MAJOR differences. No fat burner here, stick with the Animal Pak as a multi, and you now get to choose a mass gain product. My favorites are Optimum Nutrition Pro Gainer, MHP Up Your Mass, Universal Nutrition Real Gains, and BSN True Mass 1200.
No matter what you do your plan MUST be specified, timed, and CONSISTENT. That's the key here. Taking it a few times here and there isn't going to do the trick. It has to be consistent and done for AT LEAST 90 days before you start seeing results. And you won't see anything major for near 6 months. Sorry folks, it's reality. When you start out you may see some fast change, even with in the first 2-6 weeks and it can be encouraging until you hit the slow down. Then it can be DIScouraging and you'll feel like you want to quit. Don't. Stay the course. If you couple one of these with a great nutrition schedule your goals will start feeling more and more in reach (see last weeks blog about nutrition).
And here is where I will insert my only sales pitch; if you want to build a personal stack or are interested in purchasing one that I mention in the article, email me at brandon.garcia@crossfitcrossroads.com because in many cases as a gym owner I can leverage some discounts and save you some money. Also, we offer nutritional guidance so we can figure out the right food and supplements for you.
*A quick note: no, I am not sponsored by Driven Nutrition or any of these companies, I just really like a few of these products. I chose each of these products based on my experience with them, overall company reputation, and reviews from pros who use them.
Next week, part 3. The exercise part. Yes it is necessary. No I will not tell you you MUST drink the CrossFit kool-aid. I will tell you some easy ways to WORK toward your goal while you stay focused on your nutrition.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Swimsuit Season, Weight Loss, Nutrition, and Supplements...Pt. 1
Man, it's been a while. There are so many things in my head I can't even handle it. I guess I'll start with the thing everyone wants to know about; how do I get skinny/cut/hot for swimsuit season?
Yes it's that season already and the crash dieters and cereal starvers are coming out of the wood work hoping to look good for the summer. Want to know a secret? Even I want to "look good" in a swimsuit (I guess board shorts for me, but ya know, same thing). So how do we get there? What do we have to do? This isn't going to be a sarcastic shaming of people who think they know what they're doing or the folks that want the pill and/or the short-cut to the goal (ok, maybe a little). Instead, I'm really going to talk about what must be done, because after all I am in the business of getting people to their goals. So here it goes:
Part 1: Weight Loss and Nutrition
Ok folks, here's the hard fact: you cannot get fitness model ripped in a few short weeks unless you are already fairly close. And by close I mean 12% body fat for guys and 18% for ladies. Are you not sure? Go to any gym and you should be able to get a body fat analysis done for free or fairly cheap, heck, come see me at CrossFit Crossroads and I'll do it for free.
So then, where does that leave us? First, stop obsessing about your weight. It's your relative relationship to the gravtational pull of the planet. On the moon you weight 50 lbs. What should I be focused on then? How about feeling confident and looking (and feeling) as good as possible as fast as possible. The truth is a lean, healthy body starts in the kitchen so that's where we're headed first. Seriously, I know you're probably reading this on your smart phone or tablet so I'll wait...ok ready? Start in your pantry/cupboards. See all that processed junk? The cookies, the Little Debbies, the "healthy" bars you bought so you could have a "healthy" snack or a "healthy" breakfast. Gather them...and throw them out or give them away. Seriously. Don't hide them, you'll find them and eat them, you know you will. Now, to the fridge. Same drill. All the process crap MUST GO! The "healthy" juice that's all natural and organic...yeah, it's concentrated fruit sugars mixed with water and it's holding you back, get rid of it. Now, time for a trip to the grocery store. Here is a list of the foods you are allowed to buy and eat:
-Ground Meats (Must be EXTRA LEAN)
-Lean Meats (Chicken/Turkey Breast, Lean cuts of Beef, Fish)
-Eggs and/or egg whites
-Veggies, any kind fresh or frozen (stay away from canned), get creative, stay diverse, and buy A LOT!!!
-Fruit, a little. Not too much. Your veggies should FAR out number your fruits
-Raw nuts and seed (and avocados) these are healthy fats, you'll have a small portion with every meal
-Coconut Oil, this will replace any vegetable/cooking oil you have (yes even olive oil and all the other "healthy" oil you have).
-Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Beets . These are starches. You'll have them basically once a day so you don't need much, but you need some.
-Greens aka Spinach, lettuce, kale, cabbage, water cress, bok choy...these will be great fillers to help you feel fuller and you can have as much as you can stomach.
-Spices that you like or want to try (as long as they're not full of sodium or other fillers)
Not too bad right? All healthy stuff and now you have to build your meals. Your meals should look like this: Guys - 1.5-2 Big Handfuls of Veggies, 2 thumb size servings of fat (nuts, seeds, avocado), 1.5-2 fist size portions of protein (aka meat/eggs). Ladies, 1-1.5 Big Handfuls of Veggies, 1.5 thumb size servings of fat, 1-1.5 fist size portions of protein (aka meat/eggs). In either case you can switch out half your veggies for a fruit at breakfast, and half for a starch (aka potatoes and the like) at dinner. Use the coconut oil to do do any cooking you need to do. A little goes a long way so you should rarely need more than a tablespoon. Spices are your friend, use them often with a shake of salt...notice I said A, as in 1...maybe 2.
Also, STOP DRINKING YOUR CALORIES!!! That latte you just had, it has more sugar than a soda. The only liquid you should be drinking is water. Seriously. No milk (dairy, soy, almond, or otherwise...side thought, this also means no yogurt, cottage cheese, or other dairy or dairy type products), no more lattes, frappacinos, "green" shakes from that healthy juice place. No liquid calories. Stop it. Now. NOW! No diet, zero calorie, fake sugar bull crap either. "But what about coke zero/powerade zero/sugar free mocha-choka-bull-crap?" Nope. STOP. Fake sugar is worse for you than the real stuff and the real stuff isn't good either. Water. It's the only thing you should be drinking. You get one exception; coconut water. Raw coconut water. Not coconut water blended with or added to anything. Water or coconut water. That's it.
Got it? Sounds restrictive and exclusive. It is. It has to be to re-teach you how to eat the way should be anyway.
Plan your meals. Go shopping on Sunday come home and make your meals. All of them. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week and put them in Tupperware and fridge them so it's done and you have no excuses. Do this with NO variance for 90 days. I double-dog dare you. If you're about to ask, "well but what about (insert food/ingredient here)?" Is it on the list of approved foods? That answer will tell you if you can have it. Don't bull crap yourself, be real, don't make excuses and don't justify it. For once in your life stick to the plan.
I think that's a great place to start. Part 1 of this discussion is about nutrition because it's THE MOST important. If your diet sucks no amount of supplements, fat burners, protein powders, OR exercise can get you where you want to be. They are all certainly a part of it and can and do help, but get your diet in line first. We'll talk about supplements, what I take and what I recommend next week. So be ready for part 2, it'll be a doozy. But first, get the food you in line and under control. It will take discipline. It will be hard. It will be...WORTH IT.
Yes it's that season already and the crash dieters and cereal starvers are coming out of the wood work hoping to look good for the summer. Want to know a secret? Even I want to "look good" in a swimsuit (I guess board shorts for me, but ya know, same thing). So how do we get there? What do we have to do? This isn't going to be a sarcastic shaming of people who think they know what they're doing or the folks that want the pill and/or the short-cut to the goal (ok, maybe a little). Instead, I'm really going to talk about what must be done, because after all I am in the business of getting people to their goals. So here it goes:
Part 1: Weight Loss and Nutrition
Ok folks, here's the hard fact: you cannot get fitness model ripped in a few short weeks unless you are already fairly close. And by close I mean 12% body fat for guys and 18% for ladies. Are you not sure? Go to any gym and you should be able to get a body fat analysis done for free or fairly cheap, heck, come see me at CrossFit Crossroads and I'll do it for free.
So then, where does that leave us? First, stop obsessing about your weight. It's your relative relationship to the gravtational pull of the planet. On the moon you weight 50 lbs. What should I be focused on then? How about feeling confident and looking (and feeling) as good as possible as fast as possible. The truth is a lean, healthy body starts in the kitchen so that's where we're headed first. Seriously, I know you're probably reading this on your smart phone or tablet so I'll wait...ok ready? Start in your pantry/cupboards. See all that processed junk? The cookies, the Little Debbies, the "healthy" bars you bought so you could have a "healthy" snack or a "healthy" breakfast. Gather them...and throw them out or give them away. Seriously. Don't hide them, you'll find them and eat them, you know you will. Now, to the fridge. Same drill. All the process crap MUST GO! The "healthy" juice that's all natural and organic...yeah, it's concentrated fruit sugars mixed with water and it's holding you back, get rid of it. Now, time for a trip to the grocery store. Here is a list of the foods you are allowed to buy and eat:
-Ground Meats (Must be EXTRA LEAN)
-Lean Meats (Chicken/Turkey Breast, Lean cuts of Beef, Fish)
-Eggs and/or egg whites
-Veggies, any kind fresh or frozen (stay away from canned), get creative, stay diverse, and buy A LOT!!!
-Fruit, a little. Not too much. Your veggies should FAR out number your fruits
-Raw nuts and seed (and avocados) these are healthy fats, you'll have a small portion with every meal
-Coconut Oil, this will replace any vegetable/cooking oil you have (yes even olive oil and all the other "healthy" oil you have).
-Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Beets . These are starches. You'll have them basically once a day so you don't need much, but you need some.
-Greens aka Spinach, lettuce, kale, cabbage, water cress, bok choy...these will be great fillers to help you feel fuller and you can have as much as you can stomach.
-Spices that you like or want to try (as long as they're not full of sodium or other fillers)
Not too bad right? All healthy stuff and now you have to build your meals. Your meals should look like this: Guys - 1.5-2 Big Handfuls of Veggies, 2 thumb size servings of fat (nuts, seeds, avocado), 1.5-2 fist size portions of protein (aka meat/eggs). Ladies, 1-1.5 Big Handfuls of Veggies, 1.5 thumb size servings of fat, 1-1.5 fist size portions of protein (aka meat/eggs). In either case you can switch out half your veggies for a fruit at breakfast, and half for a starch (aka potatoes and the like) at dinner. Use the coconut oil to do do any cooking you need to do. A little goes a long way so you should rarely need more than a tablespoon. Spices are your friend, use them often with a shake of salt...notice I said A, as in 1...maybe 2.
Also, STOP DRINKING YOUR CALORIES!!! That latte you just had, it has more sugar than a soda. The only liquid you should be drinking is water. Seriously. No milk (dairy, soy, almond, or otherwise...side thought, this also means no yogurt, cottage cheese, or other dairy or dairy type products), no more lattes, frappacinos, "green" shakes from that healthy juice place. No liquid calories. Stop it. Now. NOW! No diet, zero calorie, fake sugar bull crap either. "But what about coke zero/powerade zero/sugar free mocha-choka-bull-crap?" Nope. STOP. Fake sugar is worse for you than the real stuff and the real stuff isn't good either. Water. It's the only thing you should be drinking. You get one exception; coconut water. Raw coconut water. Not coconut water blended with or added to anything. Water or coconut water. That's it.
Got it? Sounds restrictive and exclusive. It is. It has to be to re-teach you how to eat the way should be anyway.
Plan your meals. Go shopping on Sunday come home and make your meals. All of them. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week and put them in Tupperware and fridge them so it's done and you have no excuses. Do this with NO variance for 90 days. I double-dog dare you. If you're about to ask, "well but what about (insert food/ingredient here)?" Is it on the list of approved foods? That answer will tell you if you can have it. Don't bull crap yourself, be real, don't make excuses and don't justify it. For once in your life stick to the plan.
I think that's a great place to start. Part 1 of this discussion is about nutrition because it's THE MOST important. If your diet sucks no amount of supplements, fat burners, protein powders, OR exercise can get you where you want to be. They are all certainly a part of it and can and do help, but get your diet in line first. We'll talk about supplements, what I take and what I recommend next week. So be ready for part 2, it'll be a doozy. But first, get the food you in line and under control. It will take discipline. It will be hard. It will be...WORTH IT.
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