Do Gym Junkies Need More Minerals and Vitamins?

August 11, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

A thought occurred to me the other day.

When we work out, we burn calories and fat. When we work out a lot, we burn even more.

We need to restore a higher amount that other folks.

So… does the same happen to our vitamin and mineral levels?

Do athletic addicts need more minerals and vitamins than the average gym rat?

Should sweat junkies munch more supplements to compensate? We all know that we need certain levels of vitamins and minerals to survive. On a weight loss path, cravings will take us down if we’re down on anything from the iron that makes us able to exercise to the vitamins that force us to forage through the fridge at 3 A.M. if we don’t have enough of ’em in our system. But if we’re physical fitness fiends, do we require even more than what the Google machine quoted? This question’s been pestering me. And, looking it up, I found the answer indeed to be affirmative. Raising the roof on your metabolism mansion means your micronutrient house guests get used up far faster than when your azz is planted motionless on the sofa. Which ones exactly? Well, just a few typical things we tend to get low on are zinc, calcium, leucine, sodium, and potassium. But you may find, especially when sweating it out in hotter ambient temps, that your vitamin B levels are equally depleted.

Rewinding my mind tape, I found this particularly interesting. Because I remember going vegan four years ago, having crazy hair growth for one year, and then suddenly it wouldn’t grow at all after that year. It was dreadful. I tried every kind of hair-apy spray on and conditioning mask out there. And, naturally, everyone wanted to blame it on the lack of animal products on my plate. But, about a month ago, I finally figured it out. For that first year, I was def exercising, but not very intensely. Maybe once a day. Just a gentle jog. Still, I had a ton of energy (because: plant fuel) that I’d never had on a standard meat ‘n milk product diet. So, I joined a dojo. After that, I was working out like a monster. And, as my cranial mop morphed into straw, I just assumed that a head of hay was my destiny now. (Because whether veganism or excessive exercise was to blame, neither were items I was willing to sacrifice.) I even remember writing an article on here about how too much exercise can mess with your health – including your hair. But I wasn’t about to change my ways. And it wasn’t until recently that I realized, I don’t have to. Veganism wasn’t the issue. Exercise wasn’t either. It’s just that, on a vegan diet, I had energy levels that led me to exercise until I was running low on my vitamins and minerals. Before veganism, I hardly worked out at all. (And I was skinny fat with zero endurance, too.) Really, I just needed to eat more. This was great news. I could have my treadmill and tresses too. And, indeed, after evening out my supplement levels (and realizing that I just have to dial up some micronutrients to match my needs), a few things happened. The first? An improved mood with far better workouts (requiring far less caffeine). The second: fewer cravings so weight loss worries weren’t an issue. (When you’re getting what you need, your tummy’s tantrums for more food tend to reduce.) And third has been the superior follicular growth I’d resigned myself to never enjoying again. It’s only been a month since I’ve tweaked which tablets I take daily. And my mane has already changed in quality and length alike.

So what’s the answer?

Well, the first is to tune into how you feel. A lot of articles out there scare you on purpose. Telling you you’re absolutely lacking something keeps you reading. It keeps you hooked. That’s not my deal at all. What I want is for you to get back on a healthy plan that allows you to lose weight, maintain your target size, and stay healthy. While it’s nice to have lovely locks, the status of your skull spaghetti is often just a side effect showing what’s biologically wrong or right with you. And, with respect to weight loss, low micronutrient levels can stress your system out until it pumps out that blasted fat storing hormone, cortisol. So, if your hair and skin and nails are all healthy, your weight’s normal, and you feel good – awesome. Keep living your best life, love. But, if not, see if your vitamin intake’s not high enough for your level of exercise.

And if you’ve got any doubts, don’t chance it.

(Yes you *can* overdo vitamins. It’s just ridiculously unlikely that you will)

Instead of OD’ing on products from the holistic aisle, just wait it out. (Honestly it’s less likely to be detrimental – taking too many vitamins; it just makes for really expensive pee and wasted money ’cause your body won’t use more than it needs). If you feel down, get a workup from your doc. See which minerals you’re missing after he does a little sanguine assessment and checks your levels. Just be sure to tell him first that the treadmill’s like meth to you, so he can take into account what amounts will match your activity. And don’t let anyone make you feel bad about your need to move, Boo. ’cause everyone’s got a vice.

You ‘n I might just need more vitamins for our vice.