Should you be taking supplements and if so, which ones are best? I know you’ve been wondering all about this and whether or not the supplements sitting on your counter right now are good for you. I am going to help you figure that out today in the simplest way possible.

SOME MORE BACKGROUND

One of the most common questions I get asked is, “what do I think about this or that supplement?” So many nutritional methods on the market today involve some sort of supplements. In fact, you’re told that true success is impossible without this line of supplements. And so we have so many moms that have a full line up of jars and containers on their kitchen counters and in their pantries and TONS of money spent.

The size of the vitamin and supplement industry in the US in 2022 is an astonishing $37.2 billion dollars and growing, while the health of the country is getting worse and worse. People are buying more and supplements, yet as a whole, everyone’s health is declining. I’m not saying that these two things are necessarily correlated, it’s just proof that even though countless Americans are spending thousands of dollars every year on supplements, they’re not necessarily getting healthier.

At a friend’s house: cupboard full of supplements, probably hundreds of dollars worth

• General fear that you could be missing something, and that missing nutrient or mineral or stimulant could be the one thing standing in your way between the body you have now and the one you want - the one with all the energy, the best body composition, and the greatest health.

THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS

Today I’m going to teach you that this is simply not true. I want to put your fears to rest, save you tons of money, and help you feel confident that you know what you’re doing for your own health

I need you to picture something for a minute: Let’s say you’re getting ready for a really nice night out with your husband or your friends. You’re pumped because this is going to be an evening that you get to feel very adult, maybe even pretty and put together. So you spend an hour in the bathroom before you head out, taking a shower and doing your hair, putting on makeup and your favorite perfume and all of your favorite jewelry. And you feel all ready, and walk out of the bathroom and somebody says “where on earth are your clothes?”

Taking supplements is like putting a ton of time and effort into getting all your makeup and jewelry just right, while still being naked.

So if we go back to that general fear that we’ve felt when it comes to supplements and missing something, you could actually be missing the MAIN THING that’s standing in the way between how your body feels now and how you want it to feel.

1- Real, whole food is your wardrobe

The foundation of your nutrients. This is where as much as possible of all of your macronutrients and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals) should be coming from.

• “Bioavailability” - How much of a substance that enters your body is able to have an active effect and actually go to work
• Nutrients that come from real food are significantly more “bio-available” and effective than those same nutrients that come from a supplement
• As a super basic example to explain what this means: if you eat 100mg of Vitamin C from some sweet yellow peppers vs. take a 100mg vitamin C supplement, the vitamins coming from the peppers will have a greater active effect because it’s more “bioavailable”.

Now I don’t want you to get too bogged down in that (mannnny in the supplement industry do, touting their supplement is more bioavailable than so and so’s supplement and totally missing the point). The point is that it’s better for you to get your nutrients from FOOD!

Many, many women that have a background in dieting have a tendency to undereat and miss out on nutrients and this is how you simply don’t get enough.

How do we make sure your wardrobe is as great as it possibly can be?

• Water - Half your bodyweight in ounces per day
• Eat PROtein at every single meal, aiming for over 100g of protein/day
• Eat PROduce at every single meal, aiming for a minimum of 2 servings and about a 2 to 1 ratio of veggies to fruit
• Eat a variety of healthy fats throughout the day coming from nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, fish
• Eat whole grains in moderation but make sure you’re choosing whole, unprocessed grains like quinoa, barley, rice, and even whole wheat

If you eat like this on a regular basis, making sure that any splurge foods don’t get in the way of you eating the nutrients your body needs, the necessity for supplements in your life will go WAY down. You just might not need them at all.

2-Supplements are your finishing touches - your jewelry (3 that I recommend)

Sometimes there are scenarios that call for a little extra by way of a supplement to fill in the gaps in your diet or because your body needs something specific above and beyond what’s baseline for the average woman

Needing something specific - this should be determined by your doctor or a registered dietitian that can run blood tests and other samples and determine that you are truly deficient in a specific nutrient. This may include:

• Iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin D, some of the vitamin B’s, folate, and others

Filling in gaps in your diet with a supplement - if you know that you really struggle to eat enough of something, then you can add a supplement in

• Protein - whey or casein, low carb, help get you over the hump
• Multivitamin/multimineral - a broad spectrum multi from a reputable company like Thorne Research or Nature’s Bounty
• Omega-3 - look for DHA/EPA omega-3 supplement, aim for ~2,000mg/day, I like Nature’s Bounty fish oil capsules

EXAMPLE FROM MY OWN LIFE

As you probably have figured out by now, I am just a huge fan of simplifying everything and removing anything in my life that’s truly unnecessary and demands high expectations. And for me, supplements tend to fall in this category. I just don’t have the time and the energy to worry about all the little bits of jewelery when I’m just trying to make sure my clothes are on every day.

So, recently for me, life has slowed down a bit, but I’m coming out of a really intense season of life. I haven’t been taking anything extra. Honestly, I just forget. I devote my nutrition decision energy into choosing good foods. But when I remember, I do take a fish oil supplement and a multivitamin. That’s about it.

TAKEAWAYS

The big idea here is that you really don’t need to spend money and energy on supplements. And I especially don’t advise it if your wardrobe is not as put together as it could be. Start there. And then, only then, think about what jewelry you might want to add to your outfit. But you just might not need it!

Above all else, don’t live in fear - especially with eating!

‍

More Resources

Need more help with your nutrition? This is a great place to start! ⬇️

FREE! - Download my free report on the Three Eating Dangers to Avoid to Reset Your Eating Habits

Follow Megan on Instagram

‍

‍