Why I don’t take supplements

I started bodybuilding in Sept. 1984. At that time I was told by my coach that I needed to take supplements to help with my training and weight gain. I barely weighed 100 lbs. and had to drink a milk shake from Baskin Robbins after each work-out otherwise I’d lose weight and become even skinnier.

I sold supplements in my gym and even represented Beverly International Supplements by posing for their ad in their catalogue. I truly believed that everyone needed vitamin packs, amino acids and protein shakes to become healthier. I continued to sell and take additional supplements as they became available believing that these products would make me healthier.

Please note that the vitamin/supplement industry is not as closely regulated as the pharmaceutical companies. Supplement companies can produce and sell products easily. Every time you flip open a magazine you’ll come across an ad for supplements, juices or shakes that claim to do one thing or another. In our quest to become ever healthier, we fall for these claims and buy these products.

I had taken supplements for 20 years. At my yearly physicals, my family doctor always prided himself in knowing that my test outcome would show optimum results. I was always in perfect health.

In 2000, I had my regular physical and was surprised when my doctor called me to ask me if I drank alcohol. I was puzzled because I rarely drink alcohol or any beverage other than water. He explained that my liver enzymes were that of someone who drank alcohol daily. He then asked me to explain my daily routine and to describe whatever supplements I consumed. I told him that I ate breakfast and took a vitamin pack, liver tablets, amino acids after a work-out, drank a protein shake in between meals and took a fat burner before a cardio work-out. He asked me to go to the cabinet that I stored these items and to hold a trash can up to it and dump all the bottles out. He was serious. I did as instructed.

The next day, I lie on my couch trembling and nauseous. I was weak. I was addicted to those supplements. They were affecting me negatively. That lasted 3 days. I then went back to the clinic after several weeks to repeat the liver enzyme test and my levels had dropped a few points. This indeed was the cause. I was instructed not to even take a Tylenol tablet or aspirin.

It took about a year for my liver enzymes to return to normal. In that time I learned that the liver is a filter and any excess supplements that are not needed are stored there. I came so close to damaging my liver permanently.

Please do not take supplements unless you need them. Be careful of medical doctors who sell supplements.

Today, I take a calcium supplement because I am in the earliest stages of osteopenia, because I’m over 50 I take fish oil gels for heart health and low grade aspirin to help with blood thinning. Except for my hormone replacement pills that I truly need, I don’t take any other supplements.

By the way, because I’m lactose intolerant.instead of milk, I add 1 scoop of strawberry flavored protein powder to my cereal each morning.

Please click on the following links to read my eye opening articles on supplements and the supplement industry.

http://cspinet.org/nah/09_07/supplements.pdf http://cspinet.org/nah/09_07/mfj_supplement.pdf

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The importance of the proper type of footwear for exercise. How to pick the right shoes.

The average person who embarks on an exercise program may not know how to select the proper work-out shoes. Inevitably, we find ourselves asking a store clerk to get a style that we picked out based on looks only. This is not a preferred way to shop for exercise shoes. The following is a brief education about foot type and exercise footwear.

First time exercisers are the most susceptible to injuries so it’s important that they spend money on good quality shoes and socks. Weather you’re a walker only, a walk jogger, or a runner, a good pair of RUNNING is best for cardio work-outs. You can walk in running shoes but you can’t run in walking shoes. Running shoes offer the most support for overweight individuals and those who are new to exercise. Walking shoes are best for wearing with jeans to go shopping at the mall.

Know your foot type. Go to www.roadrunnersports.com and click on go fetch to get a shoe analysis. Answer the questions. If you’re new to exercise just click on the lowest miles run. Even walkers can fill in information as if they were runners. Once you’ve figured out if your feet tend to turn inward, outward or are pretty straight when you walk, the proper shoe style will be easier to find.

If you have bunions or corns or notice that your feet get numb while walking or on an elliptical trainer in a gym, then you must wear shoes with a wide toe box. Women may even opt to wear men’s running shoes. I wear a ladies size 9 even though my dress shoe size is an 8. Men’s shoes even come in extra wide widths.

If you have wide feet you can also try retying your shoes to allow for more room in the toe box. Remove laces and retread them skipping the second and third set of holes. Lace only the first holes and the top two or three. You’ll experience relief from tight shoes almost immediately.

Be careful of wearing cross trainers to go walking or running. These shoes are designed to be worn for weight training or court sports (tennis, squash, volleyball). Cross trainers are too heavy and don’t have enough give to allow you to propel forward while walking to burn fat.

Basketball shoes are for basketball and may be worn in the weight room. Please do not wear them when doing a cardio workout on a treadmill or on the sidewalks outdoors. Remember, the best shoes are running shoes for a cardio work-out.

Aerobics shoes are for aerobics only. They may be worn in the weight room but they have the most cushioning in the ball of the foot and not the heel.

Socks: Please invest in good quality socks like Thorlos brand or another anti blister brand. Roadrunnersports.com has other brands avaialbe. Cheap cotton socks sold in bags at stores bunch up when the wearer sweats. This results in a blister. The last thing an exerciser wants is a blister anywhere on his or her feet. Thorlos brand socks run about $11.00 a pair but they are worth the money. You can find them at any Footlocker store on-line at http://www.thorlo.com. There are Thorlos socks for skiing, basketball, walking, running and more.

When trying on shoes, go at the end of the day. Your feet swell when you exercise so you’ll get a better fit at that time of day. Buy your Thorlos socks and even an insert ( a rubberized sole that you put inside your shoes) and bring them to the store. Make sure that you can play piano with your toes while wearing them in the store. Never think that you can break a pair of shoes in. They should feel comfortable when you put them on and lace them up.

Avoid buying fashion exercise shoes. These are fads that are usually geared towards young teens and adults. Stick to brand name shoes found in athletic stores. Avoid buying inexpensive exercise shoes in discount stores. They do not offer the support needed for regular exercise.

By the way, it’s time to buy a new pair of running shoes when they become loose from the inside. Exercise shoes lose their support way before the treads get worn. Use old shoes for yard work. Invest in two pair of the same running shoe and alternate them to make them last longer.

Fat Belly, Stay Away from Pasta and any Noodles

Time and time again, I get approached by men and women asking me how to lose their belly fat. The answer is multi-faceted, and can’t be answered quickly. Belly fat isn’t caused by one food or only inactivity, it’s caused by a lifestyle of processed food and possibly the wrong type of physical activity.

Certain food will most certainly be stored in your stomach as fat. Juice of any kind, sweets, sodas, fat free candy like licorice, gummy bears, white bread and pasta are partly to blame. Refined sugar is the big culprit because it so easily and quickly processes into sugar and gets stored as fat. If you can cut the intake of these food items you will lose belly fat. If you find it hard to stop, cut down eating each of these items by 50 percent. Then slowly cut them out and replace them with the high fiber versions. Instead of drinking juice, eat the fruit, instead of white rice, brown rice with 3 grams of fiber or more, instead of gummy bears, Hershey’s with almonds..(just remove the chocolate around the outside of the almonds and eat the strip of almond chocolate). The good fat and fiber in the almonds will help slow the digestion of the sugar in the candy bar.

For those of you who love pasta, I have found a wonderful whole wheat Japanese noodle.

Shirataki Noodles! The famous noodle seen in several health magazines is available on-line now. These low-carb noodles can satisfy your spaghetti cravings, and are a gluten free replacement for pasta. Shirataki Noodles are made from yams, and are naturally low in calories and carbs, plus they are an excellent source of fiber, depending on the brand you prefer. These low fat noodles are tender and absorb the flavors you cook them with, so be creative and try them with every meal. If you are a health-conscious eater then Shirataki Noodles are for you. Go to http// www.asianfoodgrocer.com to order. This can take the place of pancit noodles, ramen noodles or Thai noodles. You many also find whole wheat noodles at your favorite grocery store. Look for 6 grams of fiber per serving (2 ounces) and stick to the serving size. The noodles are dark brown but taste delicious.

Once you’ve attempted to eliminate processed carbohydrates from your diet, make sure you do activities that burn fat for energy. Swimming burns very little fat. I suggest swimming for the obese, or elderly or those with arthritis. If you can walk, you should swim for fun only. Swimming actually stimulates your appetite because the energy source you use is not predominantly fat but glycogen. Glycogen is limited and once used up, must be replaced. Thus the craving for carbohydrates after the swim.

Weight lifting is great to put back muscle lost from dieting and aging. Weight lifting without doing cardio workouts will increase your appetite, especially for carbohydrates. I suggest you weight train to raise you overall metabolism but you must do cardio fat burning work-outs as well.

Volleyball, baseball and tennis are not fat burning exercises. Do these exercises for fun and overall exercise but don’t expect your waistline to be smaller just from doing these activities.

Finally, do abdominal and lower back strengthening exercises daily. You won’t burn fat doing ab exercises but you will strengthen your ab and lower back muscles so that when the fat on top and underneath your abs are burned away your posture will be better. You’ll have a stronger core and you’ll look better.