So many of you have been following this blog since the very beginning (or near to it) and have seen my life evolve over the years. Today marks another day in the journey I’ve been on towards better fitness and overall health. I’ll admit, what began as a way to shed the baby weight I’d gained with my second child, turned in to an all out life dedication to health and fitness. I would not go so far as to say I am obsessed, but I am, a little bit. I love being healthy. I love feeling strong. I can’t stress this statement enough: “Strong is the new skinny”. I just feel good. I love the way feeling strong makes you feel like you could take on any challenge the world throws at you. I have more than my fair share of confidence these days.

I LIVE health and fitness, I breathe it, I am it. I talk to people about it daily on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, in real life, at kindergym, to my friends and family (to their annoyance, I’m sure), anyone who will listen. I feel like I am changing lives. I know I’ve inspired people to get into health and really care about their bodies. It’s not about starving yourself, it’s about eating and moving our bodies. These two simple things are in everyone’s power to use. Anyone can do what I have done, you simply must make the time in your life. Care about yourself and your body, what goes into it and what power (or lack thereof ) comes from that.

Last year I had a goal. I wanted a six pack by summer. I really wanted it, but I didn’t act like I did. I continued my bad eating habits and I never did see that six pack (though if you squinted you could just almost notice it).This year though, being a part of the FitFluential Ambassador program, I have upped my game a lot. It’s a great thing to be involved in such an amazing, inspiring organization and I commend every member for their continued hard work. We are inspiring people across the continent to get up and move their butts!

If you tuned in last June, you would have seen my Beachbody Insanity before and after photos. Well now I want to compare those photos from last June to now. This is after continued Insanity workouts, plus a couple rounds of Insanity: The Asylum, running, hot yoga and in the last three months, P90X. I credit my good change in diet plus Tony Horton’s amazingly put together P90X program. In the time I’ve been tracking changes in my numbers I’ve done the following: Lost 18 pounds, lost five inches off my waist, four inches off my hips, (sadly) five inches off my chest, three and a half inches off each thigh. I also lost an inch off each upper arm, but the fat that was there is now just pure muscle…:)

Let the photos speak for themselves:

From left: 75 days into Insanity (not following nutrition guide), Insanity after 8 rounds (not following nutrition guide but calorie cutting),  11 weeks into P90X  (following macro nutrient profile of 20/40/40)

But It’s not just my diet and exercise that are helping me achieve my goals. There are also added supplements that I wouldn’t go without. So let’s talk a little about those supplements and how they fit into my clean eating diet. As I’ve said to a few people already, I don’t think that most protein powders could be considered to be “clean eating” but they are essential to my daily life. I’ve already covered the basics of protein powder in my last post, so I hope you’ll read that if you have any questions.

First of all I want to go over what “clean eating” really means. To me the definition of clean eating, put at it’s most simple, would be eating foods that are whole, unaltered foods and foods you made yourself from those whole foods. But put in a more complicated way, clean eating can be described as a person that:

• Eliminates all added and refined sugars
• Eliminates saturated fats
• Eliminates dairy
• Eliminates all refined carbohydrates
• eats under 1500mg of sodium per day
• Cooks healthy meals for themselves and their families
• Packs healthy meals whenever they will be away from home (work, travel, etc.)
• Makes healthy choices when dining out
• Drinks 2 liters or more of water a day
• Eats 5-6 small meals a day
• Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
• Always eats breakfast

But let’s talk about the other supplements I take and why I recommend them.

L-Carnitine

L-Carnitine is an important amino acid known for promoting growth and development, fat-burning, increasing energy, and improving resistance to muscle fatigue it can also help transport fat to the muscle to be burned as energy. In promoting better utilization of body fat, it may aid in weight loss and improve athletic performance. Clinical research has also suggested L-Carnitine supports athletic performance in endurance athletes. Through a greater reliance on fat for energy, the body reduces depletion of muscle glycogen. This combined with the reduction of lactic acid accumulation in muscles can extend exercise capacity before fatigue.

L-Carnitine plays a crucial role in cardiovascular metabolism and weight management. L-carnitine is very similar to the nonessential amino acid carnitine. It performs some of the same functions, such as helping metabolize food into energy. It is also great in dieting, as it can reduce feelings of hunger and weakness. L-carnitine transfers long-chain fatty acids, such as triglycerides into mitochondria (a cell’s energy powerhouse), where they may be oxidized to produce energy. Some studies show that oral carnitine reduces fat mass, increases muscle mass, and reduces fatigue. Other studies suggest people taking L-carnitine may be less likely to suffer a subsequent heart attack or experience chest pain and abnormal heart rhythms.

L-Carnitine is found in red meat and dairy but I prefer taking capsules to ensure I am getting a high concentration.

Omega 3s (1700mg)

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids (EFAs), meaning your body cannot produce them and therefore we must get them from our food. To an endurance athlete (or even the weekend warrior), omega 3s are important for a number of reasons, a major reason being that they help reduce inflammation which is a side effect of workouts. You tear your muscles down after a heavy lifting session or a mean 10km run and you need help to get those muscles back to their original state.

Omega 3s also help promote heart health, improve nervous system function and increase blood vessel elasticity.

Omega 3s are found in most cold water fish such as wild salmon, mackeral, halibut, sardines, herring and anchovies. Other sources would be flax seeds, walnuts and tofu.

Vitamin D (1000 IU)

I take vitamin D because I’m a red head and I live in Canada. I never go in the sun for more then 20 minutes without 60+SPF sunblock and although the daily requirement for sunshine sourced vitamin D is 20 minutes of full sun, this only counts if your whole body sees the light. I ain’t getting buck naked in my garden to get a little sunshine. First, I’d burn my whiter then translucent ass and second, the neighbours might think I’m weird. Vitamin D is also crucial in maintaining bone strength, nervous system and heart health. You can get Vitamin D from eggs, fish and butter.

Vitamin C (2000mg)

An immune boosting powerhouse, Vitamin C also helps to improve muscle soreness after strenuous activity. Anything that helps me feel great after a workout is a big plus in my books. Plus I eat the chewables, which brightens up my vitamin taking routine of swallowing big, ugly pills.

Creatine (1500mg)

Creatine supplementation for women is a somewhat controversial subject. Mostly it comes down to women thinking that taking creatine will make them gain weight. I’ve been taking it for about a month now and have only maintained or lost weight (I fluctuate about two pounds up and down).

Creatine is one of the most widely studied supplements and is shown to increase muscular strength and power and improve performances in relatively short-duration, high-intensity activities. It might also help allay the fatigue which can be caused by a drop in muscular pH and reduce the susceptibility to musculoskeletal injuries among training athletes. It also reduces lactic acid build up in your muscles (this is what makes you sore). A big reason wimen should get on the creatine bandwagon? Muscle burns more fat then fat. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. Get more muscle.

Just don’t be afraid that creatine will make you bulk up, this is as silly as thinking that weight lifting will make you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mix it up. Do your cardio, throw in some yoga or pilates and make sure you do some weights.

Right now I’m not sure how long I will take it, but I have noticed an increase in my weight lifting abilities. I can actually pump out the pushups and pullups I struggled so hard with in the beginning.

BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids)

These are the essential aminos leucine, isoleucine and valine which are not broken down in the liver but in the muscles. Skeletal muscles break down the amino acids during trauma, starvation or exercise.

From B-Rockstrong.com:

• build muscles by increasing raw materials of your muscle tissues which contributes to muscle building.
• increases stamina because strenuous exercise automatically decomposes proteins and uses up BCAAs to compensate for the lack of energy source. BCAAs could help speed up recovery of damaged muscles, prevent muscle soreness, fatigue and other symptoms of muscle damage.
• improve recovery from fatigue by suppressing lactic acid production. Lactic acid is a fatigue-causing substance. Continuous exercise increases lactic acid blood levels which results in the decrease of pH in muscles. This results in a sudden difficulty to contract muscles. Amino acid can replenish your body’s BCAAs, halting the elevation of lactic acid, even if you’re performing intense exercises.
• reduces mental fatigue

For an intense overview of why BCAAs are important for any training athlete or weekend warrior, read this article at Bodybuilding.com

Glutamine

From Popeyes Supplements Canada:

Glutamine is the single most abundant amino acid found in the skeletal muscular system and is heavily metabolized during endurance and weight training conditions. Clinical studies reveal that supplementation with glutamine helps support recovery after intense training by promoting energy repletion, maintaining a healthy immune system, buffering against lactic acid build-up and most importantly increasing muscular growth. Additionally, studies have found that consuming supplemental glutamine stimulates the release of growth hormone, volumizes your muscle cells and promotes intestinal integrity increasing the absorption of other nutrients. Glutamine also helps control the toxic ammonia that occurs within individuals who weight train or are on a carb-restricted diet. Because your body will digest its own muscle to get glutamine, providing an outside source of this amino acid during times of heavy training or dieting prevents that catabolism.

In the fitness industry, glutamine is what we call the “Anabolic Amino Acid”. Used in conjunction with weight training, this supplement can produce exceptional results in strength, muscle growth, and accelerated fat loss. Glutamine is a powerful anti-catabolic supplement and is compared to the popular supplement creatine.

Greens

I take a greens supplement to support healthy immune system function, increase my energy and insure a healthy PH. I take Magnum Performance Greens. The list of ingredients is a bit overwhelming, but there is so much good stuff in there and I love the taste mixed in my morning smoothie.

Morning Energizer

Some people drink coffee. I drink a green fizzy stimulant free liquid. Every morning before I work out, I down a drink from Magnum Nutraceuticals called Opus. The claim is that Opus creates an “anabolic firestorm” in your muscles delaying the onset of fatigue, revving you up without stimulants and by increasing blood flow and hydration to your muscles. I love the taste and I love the way it makes my fingers and arms tingle.

Water

I know, I know…water is NOT A SUPPLEMENT. But it is SO IMPORTANT to my overall health and well being that I just had to mention it here. Drink your water people! Hungry? Drink some water. Feel like a coffee in the mid afternoon? Drink some water. Having lunch and need a bevvy? Drink some water! I can’t emphasize this enough. I drink 8 16oz glasses a day. Yes I have to pee a lot, but I also feel the benefits daily. Radiant skin, no dryness, and an overall feeling of well being. Water is essential to all functions of the body. DRINK IT!

Disclaimer: I am by no means a nutritionist, dietitian or even a fitness trainer. Any of the suggestions, advice or other information listed on my site is purely my own opinion and garnered from 11 years of being either dieting, weight lifting, working out, researching nutrition or otherwise being face first in health and fitness related materials. Before beginning any diet or exercise program, be sure to speak with your doctor or other health professional.