Toning? Here are some supplements to avoid
Supplements are great for certain goals. For instance, it’s great to use protein to build muscle but it doesn’t make sense to consume thousands of calories in protein if you are trying to lose weight (especially if you aren’t even exercising), right? Check out the best supplements to avoid if you are trying to slim down!
What are some supplements to avoid?
So you’re ready to start working on your body and lose some weight! You want to tone up and you’re diligent about eating the right foods. You’re religious about working out. You’re getting all the nutrients you need with vitamins and supplements. Your body is primed to lose weight and tone up.
But there’s something you need to know. Something you’re using to get fit may have the opposite effect for you.
Supplements can be a huge help when your goal is to build muscle and improve the function of your body in general. But you have to be careful, because some of them will make you bulk up, instead of tone down (it is possible to do both at the same time though), which is the opposite of what you want to do. Here’s a list of what to watch out for. These are the 4 supplements to avoid if your goal is to tone and lose weight.
You really need to watch out for B vitamins because a lot of multivitamins sneak in huge amounts of them. Overdosing could be a big problem for many. B vitamins increase fat synthesis in your body and cause insulin resistance.
They also disturb metabolism. You need your metabolism to work smoothly so you can burn calories and lose weight. B vitamins can also increase your appetite, causing you to eat more and gain weight.
Fish oil has pollutants that are all around bad
I know you’ve heard about all the benefits of fish oil, and everybody these days is taking it, but it might not be actually doing them any good. The pollutants found in fish (and therefore in fish oil pills) are obesogens and strongly linked to weight gain.
That’s because obesogens create more fat cells and make them bigger and able to store more fat. Obesogens are endocrine-disrupting chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDT (found in insecticides).
Additionally, due to pollution in water, heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are consumed by fish in high amounts. This means that fish oil will also have a lot of those heavy metals in them.
This can lead to serious health issues such as cognitive impairments, damage to the nervous system, cancer, liver and kidney problems, and death. Since fish oils can disrupt your weight loss goals, AND give you serious health problems.
Whey protein is for gaining
Unless you’re trying to gain and build a lot of muscle, whey protein supplements are not your friend when it comes to weight loss. Bodybuilders take it to ensure that their workouts help them gain muscle mass. But whey protein can add a lot of extra calories. If you are barely working out and just trying to slim down, using whey protein can make your attempt to lose weight more difficult.
Whey protein can also mess up your cholesterol levels, increase your risk of diabetes, cause stomach problems, and increase your thirst, leading to bloating. So not only can it give you extra calories, making you work harder to slim down, but it can have several unhealthy side effects.
Like whey protein, energy bars just give you extra calories to work off. They might be marketed to appear low-fat, wholesome, and healthy, but they’re just as bad as candy bars. Would you eat a Snickers bar right after your workout?
It might have a small benefit of replenishing you, but with unwelcome added fat-friendly soy and sugars.
Most energy bars have up to 350 calories! This will not help you tone up. They’re also highly processed. We know that to slim down we need to be eating whole, unprocessed foods instead. Energy bars can give you excessive nutrients, which is not always a good thing!
Certain vitamins in these bars can counteract your toning efforts by giving you too big a dose combined with other supplements you might be taking.
Wrap-Up: Just say no.
Unless you are trying to gain weight and build bulk, I urge you to stay away from these supplements. You’re just trying to slim down and tone up. You don’t need these extra things in your body.
If your goal is to tone, stick with fresh produce and unprocessed foods – these are the best vitamin providers.
By eating this way, you are much less likely to overdose on certain vitamins. Your digestion and overall health will improve, and your body will have the right nutrients it needs to burn fat and tone muscle. You’ll be svelte, and unstoppable!
- Supplements To Avoid If Your Goal Is To Tone - June 6, 2016
