I’ve shared a lot recently about how my approach to nutrition has evolved, and I’ve shared in the past about the supplements I’ve tried in order to heal my body and, by extension, support healing in my mental health. As I’ve continued to educate myself on the physical effects of stress, hoping to figure out and solve the ongoing struggle to reach my fitness and body composition goals, I’ve tried a great many things, and learned a lot.

Here’s what I’m currently focusing on with nutrition and nutritional supplements:

With food, I’m mostly focusing on whole foods, lots of protein and vegetables, with some fruit and quality carbs (rice, potatoes, quinoa, beans, corn tortillas), mostly post workout. Like I’ve shared, I don’t believe in off-limits foods, and I’m really working to operate in a place of food freedom, and keep the more “indulgent” foods well in balance. I’m going to get back to planning out all my meals for the week ahead of time, and prepping as much of it as I can to take the guess work out of things, as well as making sure I get the nutritional balance I’m looking for.

I’m also using MyFitnessPal, in a very specific way, to help me with this. The system is, each night, I input what I’m planning to eat the next day, as well as any planned exercise, so I can make sure I am eating enough to fuel my body for the work I’m asking of it. On the day, I edit as appropriate, based on if I change any food and updating my actual tracked calorie burn from exercise. I am not being a slave to the “target calories” in the app, at least for now, instead trying to make sure I eat at least as many calories as are suggested as my pre-exercise level- currently just below 1400.

I am free to eat as much as I need to, but because on the average (meaning when I’m not on vacation at the beach with Scott and Max…) day, I am more likely to under eat than overeat, I do try to make sure I’m eating enough. I am still learning to listen to my hunger cues, and I’m hoping that alone will be enough to make progress toward my goals. I’ll admit it’s still nerve wracking for me to not try to tightly control and regulate this, but I know that it would be very easy for me to slip into a restrictive and unhealthy mindset, and that’s something I need to avoid, for my long term health. I’m looking for a healthy lifestyle that will bring my body into a healthy composition and allow me to pursue and achieve athletic performance goals. I do want to lose fat and build muscle, and see progress sooner than later, but the big picture is also very important, and I do not want to add further stress and damage my body to get there. I also want this to be sustainable and a lifestyle, not a diet. I have had success before, eating in the general calorie range prescribed by MFP, but on heavy exercise days, that range is far greater, so learning to listen to my hunger cues is going to be important, and the tracking will, I hope, help me see trends and feel “safe” listening to my body as far as what and how much to eat.

Now, onto supplements. I’ve tried so many things the past few years, and I don’t know what has really helped, but I’ve been taking the same (or at least close) things for the past couple months, and I feel like I’m doing better in general, so I’m sticking with it:

General Vitamin type stuff

• Greens drink
• Beef Liver capsules
• Fish oil
• Food based b vitamins
• Food based vitamin C
• Vitamin D3
• Probiotic
• Biotin
• A hair/skin/nails gummy
• A cranberry supplement for urinary tract health
• a magnesium beverage before bed
• Calcium/magnesium/zinc

Fitness related supplements- only with workouts

• Flow Supps Pre workout
• Flow Supps Protein shake
• TB12 electrolytes

I also am including plenty of collagen peptides , and as much turmeric and ginger as i can in my diet each day. Reducing inflammation and stress on my body are a high priority as an ongoing focus, and after much research, I’ve also put together a kit of extra supplements to take a week or two at a time as needed when my body or mind are under excess stress, as I’ve learned that the body burns through some nutrients faster when under stress.

• Nature’s processs Catalyn
• Nature’s Process Cataplex B
• High potency Stress-B complex
• D/K2 drops
• Fermented cod liver oil
• Digestive enzymes
• Adrenal support (ashwaghanda, rhodiola, other herbs)

I got a cute Kate Spade lunchbox in my FabFitFun box this season, and it makes a really cute home for this kit.

I’ll be taking these supps for at least the next week and a half to help me recover from the beach trip and ease back into working out. After that, I’ll set them aside until the next time my body needs a little extra support.

The other major pieces of this puzzle are Exercise and Recovery, and I’ll cover them in my next post.