P90X Supplements—Written by Phoebe

If someone, who is losing fat rapidly, is telling you that they are doing it just by eating right and working out every day then know off the bat that they are LYING!

First of all, let me define “rapidly”. When someone loses 10 pounds of body fat in 2 weeks is rapid fat loss. You cannot simply eat right and workout 6 hours per week and see amazing results in amazing time. Any weight loss in the first week or two is water weight—and nothing more!

So how are these people, who lose fat fast do it? They do it by working out hard, eating clean and by taking supplements (pill or powder form usually) that help accelerate fat burn.

Every athlete will tell you they have at some point in their life “tried” some kind of supplements. The types of supplements used vary (of course!) but without supplements, the results appear at turtle speed; which in some cases, discourage people to continue with their health and fitness goals.

I know, because I used to be one of those ’some people’. When it comes to supplements, I have tried a couple of readily available from your local nutrition house. It started very innocently for me. I had no idea how to search the internet back in the early 90s and was very trusting.

Someone gave me a product with ephedra and said “this is herbal” - try it. They failed to give me the basics of advise and luckily for me, I ended up discussing the supplement with one of the fitness trainers at Bally’s (my gym of choice at the time) and the guy first of all gave me a huge lecture for even taking the pill. Then he made sure I would only take half the dose and only on the days I had scheduled intense workouts. Soon, I found out the dangers of ephedra and my mind just started to visualize all sorts of horror.

And since then, I get nervous about trying sports supplements. I do it in very low dosage. Give my body time to react and then weight the pros and cons of the particular supplements.

I will admit, that I am not against taking supplements. Tom Venuto will be disappointed to hear this I guess, but supplements do different things for different people. They are not to be used with the attitude of “they worked for her and so they will work for me too!“. That is not how supplements work.

Find an expert at your local GNC and talk to them before purchasing anything. Moreover, it is important to get a second opinion from their competitor (I have this guy, he is AWESOME! He tells me like it is. He doesn’t just bullshit me to sell me stuff. What’s more, I also get samples to try so if I don’t like it - I don’t have to waste money on it). My expert is called Shane from Fit Mass Nutrition (Richmond Hill, Ontario).

So if you are going to use supplements then you need to find someone like Shane who is looking to serve a loyal and a happy customer rather than looking to unload his inventory. He will spend time talking with you before recommending a product. And his recommendations for me have been safe, efficient and legal.

Beachbody also have a line up of supplements which you can purchase from their website or from their coaches. I will tell you however, that ephedra and related products work but are temporary and sometimes dangerous solutions. You need to save your $ and purchase something that is going to help you lose weight safely and efficiently, without ephedra.

If you are looking to seriously incorporate fitness in your daily life then you will NEED to take supplements – the safe ones. Although, if I were to share my honest opinion, I would say it is in our minds. If we think supplements work—or if we think they don’t, we are right!

So what are the safe supplements, pills or aides?First of all, know that I am NOT an expert on supplements and am NOT recommending or suggesting in any way that you should take the following. I am not responsible for your health – you are! So you must ask your doctor if you can take these as well.

For myself, I have lined up the following supplements:

• Multi vitamins with iron (if you are getting enough iron from your meats then you might want to consider taking multi vitamins without iron).
• Omega 3 – or any fish Oil capsules.
• Protein Shake. Use water based. Don’t take it with milk or juice as it only adds pounds. The water based that I like is by Ultimate Nutrition called “ISO-SENSATION 81. They come in different flavours and I use the coffee flavour (café Italiano) in the morning“. I take protein shake 2x per day and schedule it for consumption before and after my workouts.
• Jamieson’s Calcium & Magnesium capsules with Vitamin D.
• Recovery Drink: Oh there are so many out there. Currently I am using EAS Muscle Armour (this is what was recommended and has been working for me – it does have a weird after taste however I mask the after-taste with my protein powder. Recovery drink can be used during or within one hour after each workout.
• Mental ooze. This is THE best supplement ever! Every athlete uses it and you should too! It is free, it is available in abundance and it is self manufactured! The ooze is something that you produce with sheer determination. Its power comes from discipline and “can do” attitude. You don’t need to go out and buy it – you just need to produce enough of it daily so that you stick with the plan! Mental ooze makes P90X workouts fun and successful – so use mind power as a supplement!!!!

There you have it! I believe these supplements ensure quick recovery, safe repair and provides insurance of nutrients that your body may require but you don’t provide through scheduled meals.

P90X is very hard on your body so you want to make sure you are taking enough protein and drinking enough water every day. If you feel tired then try to drink water first before using tiredness as an excuse to not workout during the challenge. It takes a lot of discipline and preparation. I cannot stress this enough.

Now, there is only more thing to do before you start the challenge. Set your goals!!! That’s tomorrow!