Supplements Are Worthless, (IF your plan sucks)

I am frequently asked by my patients what supplements they should be taking. Realistically, they should not be taking any until they have a lifestyle that is driving their health forward AND they have reached a plateau in their results. The supplement industry has marketed itself very similarly to the pharmaceutical industry. Take this thing for that result. It sounds awesome but the truth is that this does not work IF the habits are not there to support it. You can buy all the fat-burners, pre-workouts, greens supplements and protein powders you want but if you are not eating, sleeping and moving properly, you are probably just wasting your money. Supplements are meant to ADD to results not create them. The foundation of your health is built with healthy sustainable habits. I find this to be the hardest part for my patients. Not because they are lazy, I would argue that most have tried in earnest and really only failed to reach their results because the plan given to them was probably unrealistic, not sustainable and did not focus on truly building healthy life long habits. Health is much like investing, it’s about playing the long game with solid and proven choices. I have found that my patients need more education on healthy living, not more products. A big part of this education includes a lifestyle design. I do this with my patients so that they are empowered to truly take control of their lives. This allows us to create a real and sustainable plan that will yield consistent and predictable results. As the patient improves, reaches milestones and manages time better, we can start fine tuning the different aspects of the lifestyle design like physical training and nutrition. This is when I normally would recommend supportive supplements or increasing the training intensity. Health is a marathon, not a sprint and if you change too much too fast you will likely crash and burn.

I realize this is probably going to piss some people off. Especially those who pump supplements 24/7. I am not saying supplements are bad in general. Just that they should not be the first step in trying to create a healthy lifestyle. If you have questions, send them my way.