«You won’t achieve results in training and in your body transformation without sports nutrition and sports supplements»! You often hear precisely this phrase from trainers, fitness bloggers, and other athletes. But there is a little truth in this. Most of the products that sports nutrition stores advertise and offer you are just marketing. They do business and hunt for your wallet, you trust them and pay.
So, I have no hesitation in telling you: 99% of sports nutrition and sports supplements are a waste of money!
For sure, not all special dietary products for athletes are useless. Promise, I will write a separate post about those sports food that you can add to your menu. But the problem is that most sports nutrition and sports supplements are provided with miraculous power. Actually, this is the biggest misconception!
Why do I think so? I’ll give you a few arguments hard to argue with
- you can get almost all the necessary calories from your daily meals, as well as trace micronutrients and vitamins. On provision that you have a proper healthy eating plan;
- the effectiveness of many sports supplements is simply not proven. So, you pay for air and get nothing more than just a placebo;
- some manufacturers under the guise of sports nutrition sell not only useless but also unhealthy products (like gainers or some pre-workout complexes);
- both sports nutrition and sports supplements are already processed food. And that’s not good. Because our body and digestive system need roughage, with minimal processing.
Now let’s talk about the most senseless (in my opinion) sports nutrition and sports supplements
For your convenience, I have compiled a separate table. So it will be clearer
| Sports nutrition/Sports supplements | What does the ad promise you? | Why are they useless? | What can replace them? |
| BCAA | They help recovery and muscle growth | If you have a balanced diet, you are already getting enough BCAAs. Therefore, if you drink 5-7 grams of BCAA per day, the effect will be almost zero. Plus, these amino acids are too expensive | Eat foods that are rich in BCAAs. These are eggs, hard cheeses (parmesan, for example), all types of meat and fish |
| L-Carnitine | It helps burn fat and lose weight | L-Carnitine does not burn fat. It is a myth. The only benefit of this amino acid is that it supports the body’s metabolism and can increase working-out efficiency | Remove sugar and other simple carbohydrates from your menu. And add more cardio to your workouts |
| Gainers | They help you bulk up faster | Before buying this sports nutrition, take the package and read its ingredients. The protein content in the gainer is 20-25%. Everything else is sugar or maltodextrin. As a result, you will not build muscle, but fat | Just increase your daily food intake. Or at least drink whey or egg protein once or twice a day |
| Testosterone boosters | They help increase testosterone levels without anabolics | Such sports supplements don’t have any evidential base that can be confirmed by hallmark studies. So, taking some kind of Tribulus or ZMA will not help you build a bag of muscles. It’s just another fairy tale | Follow a healthy lifestyle and control your endocrine profile. This is the best for your testosterone level, not dummy pills |
| Chondroitin & Glucosamine | They protect and restore your joints and ligaments | This is another product with no proven efficacy. Heaven knows what part of the active substance of the pill reaches your joints and ligaments. Thus, you cannot be sure that this supplement works | Include fish, milk products, seaweed, and gelatin in your diet. They are really useful for joints and ligaments |
Is it necessary to abandon sports nutrition and sports supplements completely?
In fact, almost any athlete can easily train, keep in excellent shape, and progress by eating regular foods. Of course, we are not talking about professional sports performers now. But sometimes, sports nutrition and sports supplements come in useful. For example, when you don’t have enough time to have breakfast or when you need to take an additional amount of trace elements or vitamins.
But the most important thing is that you shouldn’t make a cult of sports nutrition and expect a miracle from it.
And what do you think about sports nutrition and sports supplements? Let’s discuss it in the comments!
