Lesson #2 – Vitamins, Minerals & Super Supps!
It can be challenging when trying to navigate through a sleazy supplement industry that’s full of pixie dust and sugar pills. The sad reality is that the majority of legal supplements sold at your local health store or from an online sales merchant offer little to no benefits whatsoever. Most Supplement Companies aren’t even fully transparent with their listed ingredients. And the ones that are, rarely if ever provide the exact amounts of each ingredient that you are consuming for every “scoop” you swallow or for every “pill” you pop.
In my opinion, the Supplement Industry as a whole is grossly oversaturated with garbage that just doesn’t work. And yet, time and time again, people fall victim to sexy labels and empty promises from juiced-up meatheads that give credit to these shameless companies for their God-like physiques to fulfill their sponsorship contracts.
The Iron Virgin Cheat Sheet
Vitamins & Minerals – The only true way to truly learn which vitamins and minerals your body requires is to go and get some blood work done. Certain blood tests will tell you which vitamins you are deficient in and which minerals your body is lacking. With that being said, I understand that most people will not take the time to go see their Doctor, ask for a bloodwork requisition sheet, and then make an appointment with a lab to have their blood withdrawn to be tested. Therefore my recommendation is to just stick with the basics to ensure you’re covered. And by the basics, I just mean short and simple, yet effective.
Vitamin C – 1000mg-2000mg per day
Vitamin D – 1000iu-2000iu per day
Omega 3-6-9 – 500mg-1000mg per day
Of course this is just a basic plan and one that should be tweaked based on your needs, goals and lifestyle. Once again, the only true way to learn what vitamins and minerals your body is deficient in, is to go and get blood work done on a regular basis.
Supplements – As for supplements, the ONLY supplement that I believe to be essential is a high-quality Whey Isolate Protein Powder (unless you are a Vegan/Vegetarian, in which case you might prefer a high quality Plant Based Protein Powder). I honestly believe that we can get everything else that these other supplements offer us by following a clean and nutritious diet throughout the entire year.
Now, if you have a little bit more flexibility in your budget and would like to add one or two more supplements to your supplement regimen then I would recommend purchasing some bone broth and collagen powder. Keep in mind though, that I don’t believe either of these supplements to be necessary, however, I am a firm believer that they both offer numerous health benefits backed by REAL science that cannot be ignored.
*For more information on my Bone Broth and Collagen Protocol, please check out my Weekly Q&A Podcast on our YouTube Channel today!
Lesson #3 – Dietary Nutrition
Chances are if you are new to his whole gym thing, or perhaps returning from an extended layoff, your diet might not be in the best of shape. I’m a firm believer that it’s important to consume foods that are stocked full of high-quality ingredients and contain loads of vitamins and nutrients. I also believe that it’s important to have a healthy relationship with food and not become too extreme with one’s diet. It’s important to remember that crash course diets do work – SHORT TERM. However, in the long term, these diets that either eliminate certain macronutrients, reduce caloric intake to a bare minimum, and/or force a person to drink the majority of their meals, WILL backfire and cause more harm than good.
The Iron Virgin Cheat Sheet
Smart Eating 101 – You don’t have to consume chicken and broccoli all day, every day to build muscle. And you don’t need to follow a ketosis diet for the rest of your life to lose body fat. You do however have to be strategic with the foods you do eat and where you implement them throughout your day-to-day activities.
I’ve always found a good base plan to start most people with when it comes to their diets is to have them follow a Nutritional Plan that is simple, flexible, effective, and most importantly, healthy. When designing Nutritional Plans for my clients, I always try my best to incorporate a variety of options and certain foods that my clients enjoy. Of course, we do have to ensure that we are watching our daily sugar intake, and limiting our processed and fried foods, however at the same time, I like to leave room for a little bit of “bad food” in a client’s diet from time to time.
My main advice for anyone who is trying to clean up their diet is to practice portion control (think food scale), keep overall sugar intake below 30g per day (this includes good sugar as well) and learn how to get creative in the kitchen (spices and certain condiments like soy sauce, sugar-free ketchup and hot sauce can add more flavour to even the blandest of foods).
Well, that takes us to the end of Phase Two of our New Year Game Plan for the Iron Virgin. Please stay tuned for next week’s final two lessons that will help you take your physique and your health up to a whole new level in 2023!
Yours in Good Health,
Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance