The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast

118. My Top Supplements for Maintaining My Body and Health At Age 43

June 25, 2024 Kristy Castillo
118. My Top Supplements for Maintaining My Body and Health At Age 43
The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast
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The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast
118. My Top Supplements for Maintaining My Body and Health At Age 43
Jun 25, 2024
Kristy Castillo

Today’s episode is all about supplements - those trusty aids that really can positively impact your fitness journey! Honestly, the majority of supplements I currently use I have been for awhile. I’m a creature of habit and don’t change up my routine too often..especially if I’m using something and it’s working well for me. I want to share more about my top picks for supplements (like why they’re actually beneficial), and why I personally enjoy taking them. 

In this episode, I’m discussing my supplements routine, and how these tried-and-tested products have supported me through different seasons of life. From the critical role of protein in muscle growth and maintenance, to my go-tos like protein powder, glutamine, creatine, essential amino acids, and more, I’m diving into all things supplements, and why these specific types may be helpful for you to add into your own regimen.  

Just like with anything I share, I’ll always be transparent and authentic about what I’m doing. I’m not super strict about my supplements, and have learned to change and adapt when necessary as my body changes, as I get older, etc. While supplements can be incredibly beneficial (and I do believe they’re more needed now), it’s vital that you find what works best for YOUR unique health and fitness needs - it won’t look exactly like mine, or someone else’s. Wherever you are with your fitness journey, I hope this episode gives you some valuable insights on supplements, and of course, optimizing your body for long-term health and wellness!

Related episodes mentioned:

Episode 7 | Supplements 101: My 7 Favorites, and How They Can Benefit Your Health & Fitness 


Supplement Guide (mentioned in episode)


How to work with me:

FIT CLUB is a monthly membership with workouts designed to take the guesswork out of your fitness routine and get you the body you want. These workouts can be done at home or at the gym.

PRIVATE COACHING is my 1:1 program, where we work closely together to cut the BS, and learn what to do to get the results you want-for life! This is the best way to fast track your results and truly understand the journey, and you can choose a 3 month or 6 month option!

MASTER YOUR MACROS COURSE is available now! Go at your own pace and learn how to make macros fit into your lifestyle.

💁🏼‍♀️ Where to find me:

Connect with me on Instagram @kristycastillofit and @unfuckyourfitnesspodcast so we can keep this conversation going! Be sure to tag me in your posts and stories!

Shop new Unf*ck Your Fitness merch!


If you’re looking for more of my best fitness and nutrition tips and community with other like-minded ladies and more, join my FREE Facebook group, Kristy Castillo Fit!


Click HERE for all my favorite fitness and life things!

Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Today’s episode is all about supplements - those trusty aids that really can positively impact your fitness journey! Honestly, the majority of supplements I currently use I have been for awhile. I’m a creature of habit and don’t change up my routine too often..especially if I’m using something and it’s working well for me. I want to share more about my top picks for supplements (like why they’re actually beneficial), and why I personally enjoy taking them. 

In this episode, I’m discussing my supplements routine, and how these tried-and-tested products have supported me through different seasons of life. From the critical role of protein in muscle growth and maintenance, to my go-tos like protein powder, glutamine, creatine, essential amino acids, and more, I’m diving into all things supplements, and why these specific types may be helpful for you to add into your own regimen.  

Just like with anything I share, I’ll always be transparent and authentic about what I’m doing. I’m not super strict about my supplements, and have learned to change and adapt when necessary as my body changes, as I get older, etc. While supplements can be incredibly beneficial (and I do believe they’re more needed now), it’s vital that you find what works best for YOUR unique health and fitness needs - it won’t look exactly like mine, or someone else’s. Wherever you are with your fitness journey, I hope this episode gives you some valuable insights on supplements, and of course, optimizing your body for long-term health and wellness!

Related episodes mentioned:

Episode 7 | Supplements 101: My 7 Favorites, and How They Can Benefit Your Health & Fitness 


Supplement Guide (mentioned in episode)


How to work with me:

FIT CLUB is a monthly membership with workouts designed to take the guesswork out of your fitness routine and get you the body you want. These workouts can be done at home or at the gym.

PRIVATE COACHING is my 1:1 program, where we work closely together to cut the BS, and learn what to do to get the results you want-for life! This is the best way to fast track your results and truly understand the journey, and you can choose a 3 month or 6 month option!

MASTER YOUR MACROS COURSE is available now! Go at your own pace and learn how to make macros fit into your lifestyle.

💁🏼‍♀️ Where to find me:

Connect with me on Instagram @kristycastillofit and @unfuckyourfitnesspodcast so we can keep this conversation going! Be sure to tag me in your posts and stories!

Shop new Unf*ck Your Fitness merch!


If you’re looking for more of my best fitness and nutrition tips and community with other like-minded ladies and more, join my FREE Facebook group, Kristy Castillo Fit!


Click HERE for all my favorite fitness and life things!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Un-Fuck-Your-Fitness Podcast. I am your host, Christy Castillo, and I'm here to give you real talk and cut the BS so you can actually enjoy building a body you love. I'm a personal trainer obsessed with giving you simple action steps to take you from feeling stuck to feeling sexy. Let's go, hey guys what's up?

Speaker 2:

Welcome to today's episode. I am going to be talking to you today about supplements that I am currently taking. I do have a previous podcast episode about supplements and, honestly, a lot of it is the same. If you're new here, I am very much a creature of habit and when I find something that works, I stick with it. I don't jump around. I don't like shiny objects, I don't like quick fixes, I don't like all of that stuff. If I find something that works for me, if I find a product I like, if I find a brand I like, if something's working for me, I'm going to stick with it, and these supplements are no different.

Speaker 2:

Honestly, I have not tried a lot of different supplements. As far as a lot of things out there, again, I don't trust a lot of companies. I don't trust a lot of supplements. I don't think a lot of them are absolutely necessary. As I'm getting older, of course, my body is changing and those types of things. So, yeah, I probably need to do different things. But I'm trying to do different things in terms of eating a little bit differently, focusing on my digestion and my rest and my stress levels, things like that, instead of just worrying about supplements and the things that you see on social media that you need X, y and Z. For all these things. There's always something that you quote unquote need that someone's telling you you need for some issue you're having, and none of that stuff appeals to me. I'm just being honest. So I will be honest in saying that a lot of the supplements I'm going to talk about today I already talked about in the other supplement episode, which was probably like two years ago, and again, I hope that lets you know you can trust me because I'm still talking about the same stuff two years later because it freaking works. I have changed things, you know a little bit in between and I'll talk about that.

Speaker 2:

As I talk about these supplements, I'll let you know these are the ones I'm taking right now, but that doesn't mean that I've taken them the whole time. It doesn't mean like I'm recording this in summer. It doesn't mean that I take these necessarily all fall and winter, so, but honestly, a lot of them I do. But I'll get into that as I'm kind of talking through this. But this is again supplements that I'm taking. I will talk a little bit about the brands of them that I'm taking.

Speaker 2:

I will talk about why I'm going to hit on the general idea of what the supplement is used for, but I want to talk about it also in terms of why I like it, what it does for me, because you can Google, let's say, I'm talking about protein. You can Google protein, the benefit of protein powder, what is protein powder, and you can find out the basics. Right, that information's everywhere. What I want to tell you is what I'm taking, why I'm taking it, what it does for me, what I like about it, because this is my podcast and I want to give you. I mean, there's no sense in me just getting on here and saying this is the supplement and this is what it does, like no shit. I mean, you can find that information everywhere and I want to be transparent and obviously authentic about it.

Speaker 2:

So let's get into it. I get this question a lot on social media, so I'm really excited to be talking about it and I'm going to be talking about glutamine. That's my number two on here. These aren't necessarily in any kind of an order, but it's the second one I'm going to be talking about. I just added that back into my supplement routine, whatever you want to call it. I've wanted to do this episode for a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure that I had my true thoughts on glutamine before I put them in here, because sometimes I just don't want to get in here and say this is what I'm taking and I love it if I don't or if I'm not sure. So this has kind of been a long time coming. So everybody who has sent me messages asking me if I would do a supplement episode, here we go. Okay, so protein powder. Again. These are in no particular order. These are just the supplements I'm currently taking and they will supplement. These are supplements that I will continue to take, that I have kind of on repeat, that I never really deter from.

Speaker 2:

So let's start with protein, because it's something that I talk about a lot. It's something that I'm very passionate about. It's something that you need, regardless of what your goals are. If you are a human being and you want to function properly, you have to be fueling your body properly and, yes, you can hit your macros. When I say fueling your body properly, I mean feeding it enough calories, and those calories are broken down into macros proteins, fats and carbs. Most people do not have a problem hitting their carbs and fats, but they do have a problem hitting protein, because it's just protein, isn't?

Speaker 2:

The types of foods that protein is found in? Aren't things that we're snacking on necessarily, just intuitively, to kind of go off of what I talked about last week. Intuitively, my body doesn't tell me to pick up a chicken breast and chew on it, right? So these are the things that it's very good to supplement with different types of protein powders. So, again, you can easily hit your protein goal with food. But it's also not a bad thing to supplement. I will be 100% honest and say that I do supplement every single day with protein in some sort, whether it is a protein shake, a protein bar. Right now, I'm making protein ice cream with my Ninja Creamy, so I'm not always getting my protein from eggs and from chicken and from tuna and from salmon and all those things. Yes, I do get a lot of my protein amounts from those foods, but there are times in my life when I don't want those foods. They're not on hand, I'm busy, I'm away from home, it's not accessible X, y, z, whatever, right. So it's easy to supplement with protein.

Speaker 2:

So protein is essential for muscle growth. Protein helps increase your muscle mass and strength, and it's important that you are hitting your protein goal, no matter what, every single day. Whether you work out, whether you lift weights, whether your movement is a lot, whether it's a little, you have to be eating enough protein, even if you just sit on your ass most of the day, because your body needs it to maintain your muscle to function. So you have to be eating protein regardless. I know a lot of people used to say well, I'm not a bodybuilder, I don't want to work out or I don't want to have huge muscles, it doesn't matter, your body needs it regardless. Yes, you should eat more of it. If you are trying to build muscle and look like a bodybuilder, or even look like me, in the sense that you want to be strong, lean, fit, you do have to consume enough protein. It's not scary, it's not bad for you, right?

Speaker 2:

High protein intake can help you gain muscle and strength while reducing muscle loss during weight loss. This is a huge reason why I have my ladies always instantly start to work toward their protein goal, because almost all of my clients their goal is body recomp, so they want to increase muscle and become stronger and leaner while losing weight, and protein is essential in this. If we get to a plateau with my clients, it's almost always because we need to increase their protein intake. There's not enough protein in their body to be able to maintain the current amount of weight loss that they want, and have it be muscle, and we don't want to just lose muscle. That's not the kind of weight loss that we are looking for. So muscle is primarily made up of protein. Therefore, protein is essential for muscle growth.

Speaker 2:

Whey protein contains types of amino acids that are great for muscles. Whey protein is considered to be a complete protein because it has nine the nine essential amino acids. Your body does make amino acids, but they're not the kinds that are found in whey and isolate protein. The supplements that I'm talking about Amino acids aid in building muscles and creating new immune cells for your body. Your body can only process 20 to 40 grams of protein at a time, so if you're trying to build muscle, you need to be eating protein consistently throughout the day. Now I have heard I stick with the 20 to 40 grams of protein at a time kind of rule.

Speaker 2:

I've heard different studies on the fact that that's not true, that your body can process more than that. Here's what I will say. I don't really fucking know, but sometimes I don't know what to believe and the studies are always changing. Here's what I know to be true Protein is the hardest macro for your body to digest. It takes a lot of energy, it actually takes calories for your body to digest protein. It's hard on your digestive system, on your gut, to process protein. So it is, whether your body can only process 20 to 40 grams or not. Okay, I'll quite frankly say I don't know for sure. I don't know Because the science is always changing. I'm just going to'll quite frankly say I don't know for sure. I don't know Because the science is always changing. I'm just going to go ahead and say I don't know.

Speaker 2:

I will say this I feel better and less bloated when I consume within 20 to 40 grams of protein at a time. I feel like my body digests it better, I don't get as inflamed, I don't get as bloated, I don't feel as disgusting. So I try to break mine up with like 30 grams for breakfast, 30 grams for lunch, 30 grams for dinner and then, you know, kind of fill in the gaps. So I will just say that if don't come at me with. Science has disproven that theory. That's totally fine. The thing is is that I feel like if I'm going to be consuming 60 grams of protein in one sitting, I am going to be bloated because my gut is going to have a hard time digesting that. So that's all I'll say on that.

Speaker 2:

I do like a protein powder that has 20 grams of protein in it, because what's the point of it's not high protein If you're only getting 10 grams? You can literally almost find 10 grams of protein in like anything. So if you're not getting 20 grams of protein with your protein shake, find a different one Protein isolate. That's different than a whey protein because it is stripped of almost everything except the protein. It's processed to reduce its fat content and it's the lactose content essentially, so it leaves mainly just the protein. So whey protein isolate may be better than just a regular whey. For people who have, like digestive issues.

Speaker 2:

This is me. I am able to digest the first form brand. The formula one is the isolate it's like a post-workout and the level one is the meal replacement, which is just your basic whey protein shake. I'm able to digest both, but I've had a lot of issues digesting protein shakes in the past. So I started with the isolate. It's very fine texture. It mixes perfectly in water. I digested it very, very easily. A big reason for that is it's low temperature processed, which means it's very, very slowly processed to keep most of the nutrients intact. A lot of companies just obviously use higher temperature to process it because they can process it faster, but it takes a lot of the nutrients out. So that's a huge reason why first form products work really well for me. If you have problems digesting protein shakes, I would stick with the protein isolate, which is the formula one. It is designed to be a post-workout shake, meaning your muscles do use it quickly, but you can use it any time of day, it doesn't matter, and I wouldn't necessarily use a meal replacement protein shake as a meal replacement.

Speaker 2:

Our goal here is not to be skinny, it's to be strong, it's to fuel our bodies. So if you don't want to look for a meal replacement shake, you want to have a shake to eat with something else to make it a balanced meal. We want proteins, fats and carbs at every meal, every snack, to make sure that your body is working properly. I will also be quite honest and say currently my body is like revolting against protein powder. I the thought of it makes me want to throw up. I don't know if it's because it's dead summer, it's 100 degrees outside and the thought of it I just can't, even right now. So I have been doing just pre-mixed protein shakes from the store, the gas station, whatever. I've been drinking those right now. So there's absolutely nothing wrong with going out and getting a 30 to 14 gram protein shake from the store, from the gas station. I do it all the freaking time. They're fine, they're totally fine. Please grab one, chug it and get your protein in. That's all that matters. So that's one thing I take every single day in some kind of form is protein supplement.

Speaker 2:

Next, glutamine. Glutamine is an amino acid that is found in the body, so it's already something that your body makes. That makes me feel happy because I feel like if my body makes it, I'm better off supplementing it. I'm not putting like a yes, it's a foreign substance in terms of it's a powder that was created somewhere. I get that, but also it's not just like I'm putting this random shit in my body, I don't know In my head. It makes me feel better.

Speaker 2:

Call me crazy, but glutamine is important for recovery and muscle growth and it also it helps me to not feel so tired right after my workout. And I don't know if that's just me or if that's scientific, but I feel like taking it right before my workout with a couple of other things. I take my glutamine, I take my creatine, I take my L-carnitine and with a little bit of pre-workout I mix that all together. I feel like the glutamine and the creatine really give me some long-lasting energy. But I'm loving the glutamine. I've only been taking it again for a couple weeks but I have noticed a really big difference in the way that my stomach looks. It's flatter, it just feels leaner. So I'm loving that.

Speaker 2:

Glutamine is important for digestion and immune function, which obviously is going to help you feel leaner and feel better. Sometimes I will describe my guts as feeling like I can only describe it as like a garbage disposal. When I eat something disgusting or and I feel crappy, I always just tell my husband like I don't know how to explain how my stomach feels and if you have like autoimmune issues or digestive issues, you might be able to relate to this, but I'm always like it just my stomach feels like a garbage disposal, like it just feels disgusting. So I think the glutamine really, really helps with that. I've taken it in the past and sometimes I just stop taking things because I'm not sure if it's working, and then when I add it back in, it absolutely is working. So supplementing with glutamine protects your muscles from being so broken down that they recover very slowly. I love it because it does help feel my workouts and it does help build muscle a little bit faster, especially right now when I'm not taking that specific post-workout protein powder because I just can't even, like I just said, but this has been really helpful for that too. So if your body runs out of glutamine, it will look to your stored glutamine, and we do want to prevent that. So that's one thing that I like about the L-carnitine that your body already makes and creatine your body already makes, and glutamine your body already makes it. So we're supplementing so your body can keep what it naturally makes and use what I'm giving to it. So I'm essentially not ever running out of it, and sometimes I think I don't know if I need this, I don't know if it's doing anything, but eventually it catches up with me and I need to take it again. So I've just added glutamine back in. Like I said, it's probably been about a month, honestly, and I'm really liking it.

Speaker 2:

Collagen is something that I have not been taking for a couple. Well, I add my collagen protein or to my protein powder. So when I make a protein shake, I add I just use water, I add some ice, I put in a scoop of my protein powder, I put in a scoop of collagen. It mixes beautifully just in a shaker cup. Love that.

Speaker 2:

But since I hadn't been using my protein powder, I haven't been using my collagen. And I got some new skincare which I'm freaking loving. But I noticed that it's not the skincare, it was something else. I'm like. My face feels like just not as plump, my skin is not as plump and pretty. I don't know what I'm trying to say, but I noticed it was something different. And just last week I realized I had a container of collagen up in the cupboard that I hadn't used in a long time and I realized that's why. Because I have not been taking my collagen. So I'm taking that again. I'm just like you guys in the sense that it gets overwhelming. There's so many things I need to get back. I'm going to make a list on my notes app of things that I need to take every day and do every day and just get my shit back together. So collagen I added it back in last week, but it's something that I've consistently taken for years, so I know that it works, even though I haven't been taking it for a little while.

Speaker 2:

But collagen is a protein, love protein found in every single joint, tendon, bone ligament in your body and it's absolutely important for strengthening and keeping all of those tissues healthy. Not only that, but it does support our skin and elasticity. Hello, that's what I just said Nails, hair, strong joints and that may be why my knee's been hurting too, that I just thought of that. But unfortunately, our production of collagen does decrease with age, so we do have to be supplementing with collagen. It's not optional, christy, I don't know what I was thinking. Protein is not optional. Collagen is not optional. None of these things are going to be optional for me from here on out. But same thing with this company.

Speaker 2:

I've taken Vital Protein collagen in the past for years. Like I said, I even took their beauty collagen for a while and while I loved the taste of it like I love the refreshing beauty collagen part I saw no results from the Vital Proteins brand From the First Form brand. I do love it. The First Form brand does have a 50 milligram serving of Dermavol, which is a nutrient-rich complex supplement in itself that increases and helps maintain the skin elasticity in your body. So I don't know if it's the Dermavol in it or if it's because of it's also low temperature processed and really really easy for my body to digest it, but I find that it really really works for me, so that's my favorite brand. All of these will be linked in the show notes in a guide that I'm going to create, and they're also linked in my bio on my Instagram, on my Christy Castillo Fit Instagram page. If you click the link, it'll take you to my favorite supplements, or you can just send me a message and I'll send you the link. That's super easy as well. Takes out the work for you. So next is creatine.

Speaker 2:

Creatine is also a naturally occurring energy source in your bodyine monohydrate. It's important that when you are taking creatine, that you are taking monohydrate. It is one of the most studied and one of the most proven supplements to improve muscle growth period. Creatine is. It's something that I never second guess now. I used to because creatine was, for whatever reason associated with like huge muscles and bodybuilders, which I don't even understand why. Now that I'm in this world and taking it Same thing with like squats with a barbell, I used to think I was somehow just going to get massive if I squatted with the barbell. Anyways, creatine monohydrate is absolutely something that you want to take. If it's monohydrate, you will not feel bloated, you will not feel discomfort because it mixes so easily and just with water, and it doesn't cause any stress to your digestive system. Creatine is a supplement that will give you more muscle growth. It will grow your muscles faster when you're lifting weights and your body will also use it to fight off muscle soreness and muscle fatigue, and it acts as a power supply, as an energy supply for your muscles during exercise. So I love creatine because we want muscles, we want to grow muscle, we want to maintain the muscles that we have. We want weight loss, but we want it to be fat loss, so you have to be taking protein. You have fat loss, so you have to be taking protein. You have to be taking collagen, you have to be taking creatine Like. We have to be doing these things to be able to maintain and to perform at the level that we want to perform at.

Speaker 2:

I personally take creatine all the time, not just when I'm lifting super heavy, because I want to maintain my muscle mass. I will be honest, I just got back on the creatine train, though, probably about a year ago. So there was a time that I just didn't take it and, honestly, that was a time where I was pretty stressed out, mentally way off and just way off my game, and so that's not an excuse, it's just. It is what it is. I didn't take it for a while. I probably didn't take any of this stuff for a while because my physical health was not my main goal. My mental health was my main goal and my main focus, and that's just being honest. But I am taking this now, so I threw it in this list. But creatine is something that you absolutely should be taking. L-carnitine is next on my list.

Speaker 2:

L-carnitine is also something that your body makes on its own. It's an amino acid that is found in your body, but a supplement can really increase the effectiveness of it. But a supplement can really increase the effectiveness of it. L-carnitine provides your body with the nutrients that it needs to effectively use stored fat. So people say it's a fat burner? It's not really. It just increases your likelihood of using your stored fat for energy instead of other ways that your body could use things for energy. So that's a very simple way of putting it. But I use L-carnitine in the spring and summer. I don't use it in the fall and winter because I'm not necessarily looking for, I don't really care what my body uses for energy. That sounds kind of ridiculous in the fall and winter because I'm trying to build muscle. So I personally maybe just to save a little money, maybe just to chill out a little bit I don't take it in the fall and winter, but I'm taking it right now. So L-carnitine is absolutely amazing. It also helps me to not feel that garbage disposal feeling in my stomach. It helps me to just feel a little bit fresher. I don't know from the inside out. That's weird.

Speaker 2:

Okay, eaa is essential amino acids. So muscle we've talked about is made up of protein and that protein is constantly being used by your body and it needs to be replenished. As these proteins are broken down. The goal is to produce new proteins, obviously to take their place, and if you're not consuming enough protein daily, which a lot of us are freaking not. You should be supplementing with essential amino acids.

Speaker 2:

They're different than BCAAs. They're different than branched chain amino acids. I want you to be taking EAAs because they're essential. We don't necessarily need to be fucking around with all the amino acids, because your body makes all of the other amino acids, so that's fine. What we need to be worried about is these other ones, these essential ones, that sometimes, if you're not consuming the right things or the right amount, your body will not be making. So that's why I love essential amino acids. I actually feel a difference with these. With BCAAs, I don't. I, as no surprise, am using the first form essential amino acids. I love, again, how they process everything so cleanly, so it's third-party tested. I love the process that they go through. One thing I love about their EAAs is they use essential amino acids that mimic the exact profile, the exact makeup of your muscle tissue, which gives you the ability to rebuild muscle faster than it's broken down. So this is actually called the anabolic state, which boosts muscle protein synthesis, and it helps in your ability to recover and add more lean muscle mass.

Speaker 2:

When I start taking creatine and EAAs together, my muscles it's just like this seem okay, and maybe it's all of these, because I take them all, but for me I should say the L-carnitine too the L-carnitine, the EAAs and the creatine. For me personally, my body starts to change very quickly. I start to lean out, I'm not as bloated and inflamed everywhere and my leg muscles start to pop. My ab muscles start to pop. They're there all the time. I'm always building and lifting, but coming from fall and winter when I'm building muscle and I don't really care what my body's using for energy and all the things, once I get this little makeup going, I know this works for me. Like I said before, I don't do things that don't work for me. I know this freaking works, so it's just like magic. Of course, I'm putting in the work, but it's like all of a sudden I start to show up in my garage gym and I look in the mirror and I'm like, oh my God, I can see a quad. Oh my God, I can see some abs and they're back and it's just like it works so well.

Speaker 2:

And I am pretty picky about what I put in my body. It doesn't have to be super, super clean, it doesn't have to be ridiculously tested. I'm not huge on all of that, I'll be honest, but I know that I probably should be, but for me I'm like, if it works, I know that it's good quality. That's what matters for me. I want to feel good when I take it. So that's honestly, all that I'm taking right now. I'm also taking, honestly, I take a biotin pill every day, I take an iron pill every day, I take my depression anxiety medication every day, and I think that's it, in addition to everything that I mentioned. So those are all the supplements that I take.

Speaker 2:

I will let you know too that, just in the effort of being authentic and transparent, whatever I want to say that on the containers, it will tell you when it tells you. You know, the best time to take all of these products is I take my pre-workout. I use Bucked Up pre-workout right now. It's really, really good. I take a half scoop of pre-workout and then I add the creatine, I add L-carnitine, I add the EAAs and I add the glutamine into my little tiny mason jar, stir that up, chug it. I do my workout shortly thereafter and then, after my workout, I have. Well, a couple hours later, I have another scoop of glutamine, another scoop of L-carnitine and another scoop of EAAs. That's all that I have. So I have them all together in the morning, first thing when I come downstairs, I'm mixing that up and starting to drink it. I love how it makes me feel. And then later in the day, post-workout. But it doesn't have to be right after your workout because I just had it. So I'm not going to have it again, but I'm kind of going against all the rules here.

Speaker 2:

Here's what I will say. I think consistency is key. I think if you're taking it every single day, I think if you take it around the same time every single day, that's what's going to matter most and, honestly, it's working for me. So I'm not. If it ain't broke, don't fix it right. I know on the containers it says to take it so many times a day and take it 30 minutes before your meal and then after, and I would go crazy trying to do that and trying to be perfect, and we all know I could care less. So I am not doing that. That's when I take it and it works perfectly for me.

Speaker 2:

I want to talk about reds and greens, though for a moment. I'm currently not taking reds and greens because I'm eating a lot of berries and I'm eating I could be eating more salads, but I'm getting my reds and greens, and pretty naturally right now. So what I will do is I won't take L-carnitine in the fall and winter and I may not take EAAs, because I will most definitely be getting my protein in. My appetite is a lot bigger, larger, when I'm lifting heavier, when I'm putting on muscle and a little bit of fat, of course. So when I'm in a growth phase, when I'm in a build phase fall and winter I have no problem hitting my protein because I'm putting on muscle and a little bit of fat, of course. So when I'm in a growth phase, when I'm in a build phase fall and winter I have no problem hitting my protein because I'm freaking starving, because I'm building muscle and I need to eat and I'm always hungry. Right now I'm in a cut phase, I'm not eating as much and so I need to be supplementing with more protein and being cautious of that. But I am eating more greens and reds, more berries and salads and veggies, so I don't do that in the winter. So I will rotate through those things.

Speaker 2:

But I will say that if you are just starting out, if you have gut issues, glutamine is great, and then I would also start with greens. So greens will help with digestion and the utilization of nutrients and they improve your gut health. A strong gut allows you to properly digest your food. If you can't digest your food, you're not getting the nutrients anyway, so it's a complete waste of money. So greens are the best place to start because they help you more efficiently utilize the nutrients that you're eating. And then the reds think about the reds. They help with healthy blood flow. So it's like your greens help with the digestion and the utilization of the nutrients. The reds take those nutrients into the blood flow and deliver it to the rest of your body. That's how I like to visualize it in my mind. So if you need somewhere to start, if you're just at the very basics, I would absolutely start with reds and greens and protein powder, and then I would move on to collagen, and then I would move on to glutamine, and then I would move on to L-carnitine and creatine and EAAs. That would be my order of attack, just because I think that's absolutely perfect. That would make sense in terms of probably what you want for your body composition, for fat loss, for muscle gain and things like that. So I really hope this was helpful.

Speaker 2:

I feel like I talked a lot about these things. It's a lot of information. Go back and listen again, because again I tried to give you information about the actual product right, what it does scientifically, what it means for your body, what it's composed of, what it helps with. And then I want to tell you why I actually love it, because I'm not going to buy a product because it helps with your digestive system. I want to know that the person using the product looks great, feels great, functions great, buys that product with their own freaking money, has used that product for a long time. I want to know the freaking truth and so I'm trying to just be authentic with that, tell you what I take and when. Sometimes I don't take it. I'm not perfect with these by any means, but I do rotate them, and currently I told you what I'm taking, and then reds and greens would be next on the list.

Speaker 2:

Other than this stuff. Guys, you don't need all of this stuff in the beginning of your journey, you don't need it. Actually, you do probably need some of it. So I was going to say you don't need it at all If you eat enough and if you eat the right nutrients, which none of us do. Let's be real. So you do need some of these, but supplements are not absolutely necessary. If you can't afford it, if you don't wanna mess with it, if you think it's a waste of time and money and energy and all the things cool, good for you, that's fine. But just know that to have a healthy, functioning body, you do have to feed your body macronutrients, micronutrients and those things do often come in the form of supplements, because our food is just not processed that great, it's not grown that great, we don't eat that great. So the reality of the situation is sometimes these things are necessary. But if you have any questions, as usual, shoot me a message at ChristyCastilloFit on Instagram and I will talk to you next week.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to today's show. Go ahead and leave a rating and a review and, of course, follow the podcast so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And I would love it so much if you came to connect with me over on Instagram at ChristyCastilloFit. I will see you next time.

Supplements for Optimal Fitness
Importance of Key Fitness Supplements
Supplement Rotation for Optimal Health