Are you timing your vitamins right for weight loss?

November 2, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

Wait – what? Vitamins can make you lose weight?

Well, why the hell’ve I been holding out on you for so long then?!

Hurry up, Ashley – go on and share which magical vitamins shed flabby flesh.

Ah, I wish it were that simple. But, as we all well know, when it comes to weight loss, nothing is. Not even something as simple as picking up vitamins. Why? ’cause we’re not simple creatures – and we’re not all the same. Yes, vitamins might be the answer for why you can’t lose weight. But you wanna know why? It’s typically because you’re deficient in one of them. (In other words, either you’re not eating the right foods, not eating enough of them, or they were grown in less than stellar conditions that led to lower nutritional value.) And how’s that deficiency make you fat? In a number of ways. Example? A lack of iron might make you too lethargic to exercise. And getting zilch on zinc can sabotage your appetite control. (Also, too little of it can hamper your taste and smell senses, making you crave more sugary and salty foods – another dietary destroyer.) Or then there’s calcium – which, added to a meal plan that’s been missing it – can cause plenty’ve pound droppage. In fact, I came across this one fun study in my research where obese peeps lost over 13 pounds after adding calcium to a diet that’d been deficient in it all along.

Now, that said, a couple’ve caveats follow.

The first? As said before, if you’re meeting all your nutrient based needs, this isn’t your blubber’s magic bullet. You’re either eating too much (or too much’ve the wrong foods), not moving enough (or not in the right way), or suffering from some sort’ve medical condition that’s out’ve the scope of this vitamin related article. And how do you know? Well, your best bet’s to hit up your neighborhood doc to get a blood workup done that’ll play tattle tale on you. Within a few days, you’ll know what you’ve been slacking on snacking on (or, in other words, how high or low all your respective vitamin or mineral levels are). Then, if you learn you’re deficient in something, the work can begin.

Results: “You are the weakest, zinc.”
Experts: “Good, buy (some in pill or food form.)”

Once you see what you’ve been skimping on, hit the local grocer, and stage a drive by.

Now, whether you decide to stage that drive by on the pharmacy aisle or the ones holding the foods high in the vitamins you’re missing, is up to you. I myself prefer a combo. It’s easy to meet my vitamin A, calcium, and fibery needs via the likes of carrots, fortified tofu, and flax seeds. But when grubbing on shrubs doesn’t cut it (or if I just don’t like the type’ve foods that hold a specif nutrient need), then I hit up the pill forms’ve the stuff.

But then comes the second caveat.

Counteraction.

Here’s a protip: don’t make the mistake I did. A year or two ago, I did a vegan blood workup and all my levels were great. Then, I started changing my eating habits. (Still vegan, but not as well rounded.) The results? Gradually, me dragging my azz around ’cause of lowered levels on all the major players, and – to my chagrin – a bit’ve extra thickness out’ve thin air. Noticing this straight away (and priding myself on usually being healthy and energetic), I stalked the right food and vitamin aisles and stocked up on all the stuff I knew to be missing. Then I came home. And then I took a bunch’ve them together. No, I didn’t explode like Violet Beauregard ’cause of the dumb science experiment I’d turned my gastro tract into. However, what I did learn, after some research, was that I was basically wasting my money. I was combining stuff that can inhibit other stuff. As a massive example, calcium can bind to the likes of iron and magnesium, meaning that you don’t even get the desired effects of taking the vitamins. You’ve canceled them out. But, of course, you need all’ve these. So, you’re gonna wanna split ’em up throughout your day for an optimal outcome.

How?

Well, they say to take your zinc alone – and right after food. Then, a few hours later, around pre-lunch, pump some iron into your grumbling tummy (it’s meant to be taken on an empty stomach and separate from most other multivitamins). Then, a few hours later, have your calcium. (I’m not low in this, so I get it in my smoothie or something.) And, finally, at night, have that magnesium. Aside from the fact that it has to be taken apart from a lot’ve the other stuff, it’s also got muscle tension relieving properties that help usher you into slumberville. For me, it’s zinc at 6:00 A.M. (after a light pre-workout breakfast), iron at 9:00 (after said workout), calcium at lunch (noonish), and magnesium at night. The moment got this combo and timing right, I noticed not only near overnight weight loss (okay, maybe it was a couple weeks), but all the good stuff that causes that weight loss – as well as great gains in overall lifestyle. I could think clearer. My muscles were less tense, my mind was less depressed, and I had more zest – for exercise, work, and life overall.

Granted, you’re gonna need to make a little effort, but in an effort to simplify something that’s not simple, I’ll lay it out here: Step 1. Get a workup. Step 2. See what you’re deficiencies are. Step 3. See which ones have to be separated like truculent school children. Step 4. Do that. Step 5. Profit with weight loss and lots’ve other awesome side effects. I mean, sure, you might look like a grandma, separating out your vitamins on the counter every morning.

But you can bet your rapidly shrinking azz you won’t look or feel like one after you do.