The 12 Most Overrated Supplements

Last Updated: Mar 11, 2016 | By Christopher Mohr, PhD, RD

Think twice before spending your precious dough on these supplements. Photo Credit sai/ Adobe Stock/LIVESTRONG.COM

The dietary supplement industry is a big business. In fact, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data collected from 2003 to 2006 indicate more than half the U.S. population took at least one dietary supplement as part of the $38 billion industry. Does this include you? Of course, some products may have benefits: omega-3s, vitamin D, probiotics, protein and others. But, unfortunately, not all of the available products produce results; many are popular because they’re well marketed. Let’s take a look at 12 of the most overrated supplements.

1. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

CLA came out of the gates with a lot of promise. It is a naturally occurring fat found mainly in meat and full-fat dairy foods. After it showed massive promise by helping rodents shed tons of body fat, it was marketed to humans for the same reason. Unfortunately, the research in humans and fat loss is inconsistent, at best. To top things off, CLA has been seen to adversely affect glucose metabolism, inflammation, insulin sensitivity and blood lipids. Skip it.

2. Nitric Oxide (NO)

The hyped benefit is that NO improves our training performance, muscle growth and recovery through vasodilation. However, this hasn’t quite panned out in the literature. Nitric oxide supplements actually include arginine -- not nitric oxide. Arginine is naturally found in foods like spinach, sesame seeds, crab, shrimp and white-meat turkey. Further, research involving the independent effect of arginine supplementation on the aerobic endurance capacity of healthy athletes has not been uncovered.

According to Jim White, RD, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson, “I recommend making sure optimal NO is produced by consuming essential precursor vitamins and nutrients. This can be done by a healthy, well-balanced diet, with attention to some additional nutrients. Red beets, spinach and other leafy greens, for example, have a large amount of nitrates.”

3. Glutamine

The rationale for the use of glutamine likely comes the fact that patients who are very sick -- burns, sepsis, cachexia -- have low levels of muscle glutamine. When those patients receive this amino acid their muscle protein balance improves. Active individuals then took this information to mean that those who take glutamine could build more muscle and enhance performance.

“The problem is that despite glutamine leaving the muscle in large quantities during exercise, it never really drops that much,” says Dr. Phillips. He continues, “In fact, no study has, so far as I am aware, shown that ingested glutamine (even in large doses) increases muscle levels of glutamine! I think it’s largely useless as a supplement.” One study supplemented young, healthy adults with 0.9 g/kg of lean body mass per day and still no effect. If that dose didn’t work, then how much would? Skip it.

4. Green Coffee Bean Extract

This supplement hit the market with high expectations of being a fat burner. And a few very small studies and reviews showed a possible benefit. However, it’s important to note that the methodology of the studies was questioned for being so poor, and other similar, poorly done studies were actually retracted from the journal.

According to Jen Widerstrom, fitness expert and trainer on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” “When it really comes down to it, fat supplements don’t work. Period. There is no exception to this. Many clients ask about these types of products, and, frankly, it’s human nature these days to want that quick and easy magic pill. Lowering your body fat takes dedication in the gym and getting enough nourishment so that your body will trust you and drop those excess pounds.” It doesn’t take green coffee bean extract (or any other fat-loss supplement).

5. Zinc Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA)

This one became popular in the late ’90s and has had a recent resurgence in popularity. It’s made from zinc, magnesium and vitamin B-6 and is marketed to increase muscle, fitness, sleep quality and testosterone. Unfortunately, the renewed interest isn’t due to its efficacy. Aside from the “study” from the creator of ZMA, Victor Conte (of the BALCO steroids scandal), which showed promise, study after study has not shown it to work for improving hormone levels or training adaptations.

Layne Norton, Ph.D., agrees: “Unfortunately, there are no data to support these claims. Every study I’ve seen on ZMA shows zero difference from placebo. Save your money.”

6. Raspberry Ketones

Widely advertised to increase body-fat loss and improve body composition, raspberry ketones seemed promising at first. It certainly helped that raspberry ketones were promoted in a positive light on “The Dr. Oz Show,” among others. However, like so many in the fat-loss category, raspberry ketones have not lived up to the hype for any of the promises made in any single research study to date.

7. Elk Antler Spray (or Deer Antler Spray)

This spray is purported to stimulate the production of hormones that build muscle (IGF-1). Strangely, this leap of faith came from data that IGF-1 levels increase during antler growth in sika deer. NFL player Ray Lewis was vocal about its benefits for him, which surely spurred its popularity. The problem? It doesn’t work. The claims state that it will improve muscular strength and increase endurance. The facts show it will do nothing for muscular strength, aerobic power or hormonal response.

8. Tribulus Terrestris

This herb has been hyped to raise testosterone and thus aid in muscle size and strength gains. There is very little research that has been conducted on tribulus terrestris, and what has been done has consistently failed to show a positive effect among athletes for improving body composition, strength or training performance and is not recommended.

9. Ribose

Pushed as the next creatine, the theory around ribose includes being able to volumize cells, replenish ATP, enhance anaerobic training and aid in muscle recovery and growth. Surely sounds promising, but the facts tell a different story. The evidence is not strong for the performance benefits of ribose. No research evidence exists supporting its ability to build muscular size or strength.

10. Garcinia Cambogia

Like other weight loss supplements, Dr. Oz helped put this one on the map. Touted as what may be the next "magic ingredient that lets you lose weight without diet or exercise." Sound too good to be true? The deal is, the science isn't compelling. Study after study has not found this "magic ingredient" to produce magical weight loss results in humans. Turn off the television and save your money on this one.

11. Chromium

This essential trace mineral showed potential for lowering fasting blood glucose in people with Type 2 diabetes. The assumption was then made that it could potentially help with weight loss. Multiple controlled studies across a wide range of populations have shown its ineffectiveness for weight loss, including this Cochrane Database System Review in which the authors concluded, “We found no current, reliable evidence to inform firm decisions about the efficacy and safety of chromium picolinate supplements in overweight or obese adults.”

12. Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA)

Popular and marketed for an ability to improve recovery and increase muscle growth, BCAAs have yet to really pan out in the research world. Numerous well-controlled studies have found no significant ergogenic effects of BCAA on exercise performance. One popular study that circled the forums recently supported their use for maintenance of lean body mass. However, due to flaws in the methods of this study and other inconsistencies, a letter to the editor has been written and will soon be published in the same journal calling out such flaws.

According to world-renowned protein researcher Dr. Stu Phillips of McMaster University, “The evidence on BCAAs is remarkably weak, and they are not anabolic. Bottom line, if you’re taking in adequate protein then BCAAs are a complete waste of money, in my opinion.”

Newsweek Closed its Doors With A Bang!

MichaelVara •January 4, 2016News

 

LNM Radio Network 

Subject: NEWSWEEK CLOSED ITS DOORS WITH A BANG!
Newsweek Is Now History.  The liberal Newsweek Magazine is going out of business, but not before it attacks the President. This is quite an article, even more so when you consider that NEWSWEEK finally had the guts to admit it.

Finally, Matt Patterson and Newsweek speak out about Obama.  This is timely and tough.  As many of you know, Newsweek has a reputation for being extremely liberal.
—————————————————————————————
By Matt Patterson
(Newsweek Columnist — Opinion Writer)

Years from now, historians may regard the 2008 election of Barack Obama as an inscrutable and phenomenon,
How, they will wonder, did a man so devoid of professional accomplishment beguile so many into thinking he could manage the world’s largest economy,

Imagine a future historian examining Obama’s pre-presidential life: ushered into and through the Ivy League, despite unremarkable grades and test scores along the way;

He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature legislation as a legislator.  And then there is the matter of his troubling associations:

Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow.

What could this breed if not the sort of empty narcissism on display every time Obama speaks?  In 2008, many who agreed that in short: our president is a small-minded man, with neither the temperament nor the intellect to handle his job. When you understand that, and only when you understand that,

P.S.  Please send this article to family and friends throughout America and ask them to read and distribute this article to others.

Now that Hillary is singing Barack Obama's praises, where does she go from here?

WOW!  Newsweek COVER!  It is their last cover before they fold.  Also read the article at the end. AMAZING!

The fact that their editor saw fit to print the following article about Obama and the one that appears in the latest Newsweek, makes this a truly amazing event, and a news story in and of itself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At last, the truth about our President and his Agenda are starting to trickle through the protective wall built around him by the liberal media…

The result of a baffling breed of mass hysteria akin perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle Ages. Direct the world’s most powerful military, execute the world’s most consequential job?

A cushy non-job as a “community organizer;” a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, less often did he vote “present”); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the United States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his presidential ambitions.

The white-hating, America-loathing preacher who for decades served as Obama’s “spiritual mentor;” a real-life, actual terrorist who served as Obama’s colleague and political sponsor.

It is easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: how on Earth was such a man elected president?

There is no evidence that he ever attended or worked for any university or that he ever sat for the Illinois bar. We have no documentation for any of his claims.

He may well be the greatest hoax in history. Not content to wait for history, the incomparable Norman Podhoretz addressed the question recently in the Wall Street Journal:

To be sure, no white candidate who had close associations with an outspoken hater of America like Jeremiah Wright and an unrepentant terrorist like Bill Ayers, would have lasted a single day.  But because Mr. Obama was black, and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberal-dom to have hung out with protesters against various American injustices, even if they were ‘a bit’ extreme, he was given a pass.

Let that Sink in: Obama was given a pass – held to a lower standard because of the color of his skin.  Podhoretz continues: And in any case, what did such ancient history matter when he was also so articulate and elegant and (as he himself had said) “non-threatening,” all of which gave him a fighting chance to become the first black president and thereby to lay the curse of racism to rest?

Podhoretz puts his finger, I think, on the animating pulse of the Obama phenomenon – affirmative action. Not in the legal sense, of course.  But certainly in the motivating sentiment behind all affirmative action laws and regulations, which are designed primarily to make white people, and especially white liberals, feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, minorities often suffer so that whites can pat themselves on the back.

Liberals don’t care if these minority students fail; liberals aren’t around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self-esteem resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes, racist. Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the color of his skin – that’s affirmative action in a nutshell, and if that isn’t racism, then nothing is. And that is what America did to Obama. True, Obama himself was never troubled by his lack of achievements, but why would he be?

As many have noted, Obama was told he was good enough for Columbia despite undistinguished grades at Occidental; he was told he was good enough for the US Senate despite a mediocre record in Illinois; he was told he was good enough to be president despite no record at all in the Senate.

All his life, every step of the way, Obama was told he was good enough for the next step, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary. He lacked executive qualifications nonetheless raved about Obama’s oratory skills, intellect, and cool character. 

Those people – conservatives included – ought now to be deeply embarrassed. The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of cliches, and that’s when he has his Teleprompters in front of him; when the prompter is absent he can barely think or speak at all.

Not one original idea has ever issued from his mouth – it’s all warmed-over Marxism of the kind that has failed over and over again for 100 years. (An example is his 2012 campaign speeches which are almost word for word his 2008 speeches) And what about his character?

Obama is constantly blaming anything and everything else for his troubles.  Bush did it; it was bad luck; I inherited this mess.

Remember, he wanted the job, campaigned for the task.  It is embarrassing to see a president so willing to advertise his own powerlessness, so comfortable with his own incompetence. (The other day he actually came out and said no one could have done anything to get our economy and country back on track).

But really, what were we to expect? The man has never been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act responsibly? Will the current erosion of liberty and prosperity make sense. It could not have gone otherwise with such an impostor in the Oval Office.

Not into the white house I hope. Don’t let the fact she’s a woman influence your vote. Look at her record!

Digital Dementia

Have you ever heard of the term Digital Dementia? Well it's real and it is a legitimate problem for our kids, as well as adults who have embraced the new technology with open arms. If you aren't familiar with the problem, educate yourself, take steps to neutralize the issue in your own life, and the ones around you. If you doubt what studies have identified, look around you. The distracted drivers, the people who freak out being away from their phone for more than a few minutes and feel the are disconnected from the world if they don't check their phone immediately when it sounds a tone, or even become annoyed when the person at the other end doesn't pick up immediately. 

I was at a concert last night and I was astounded at the number of phone on and being used up to the last second before the concert began. Even though they said NO photography or recording, I saw some around me covertly using their phones to do it anyway. And the moment the concert was over, these same people were back using their phones. I don't go to concerts much these days, but it highlighted to me the level of addiction we have come to accept as normal and a part of every day life.

Don't let the warning signs go unnoticed. Is your cell phone the new cocaine? Take a look at your own use. Are you one of the masses using your technology as your digital heartbeat? Maybe it's time you take a good look at your own use. Of course it's your life.

Surge in 'digital dementia'
Doctors in South Korea are reporting a surge in "digital dementia" among young people who have become so reliant on electronic devices that they can no longer remember everyday details like their phone numbers.

Overuse of Technology Can Lead to ‘Digital Dementia’

Have you ever heard a scatter-brained, stressed out friend mutter ‘I have such ADD today’? It’s become all too common to dismiss our flustered, uninterrupted lives as just part of the everyday new normal. Undeniably, modern society is dictated by our constant connection to technology. Plain and simple, we are married to it – for better or worse. But it’s actually quite serious. In fact, more and more young people who’ve been raised in a digital age are showing signs of short term memory dysfunction as a result of their addiction to technology. What can be done and what does this mean for future generations?

14 Moves to Build the Strength and Stamina of an MMA Fighter

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

Overview

Training like an MMA fighter is tough, but it's worth it. Mixed martial arts (MMA) strength and conditioning requires a lot of dynamic and compound movements. MMA is incredibly demanding on the body and fighters need to be able to generate a tremendous amount of power, speed and explosiveness. A successful MMA training program will build strength, increase lung capacity, improve core stability and develop power and speed.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

1. Plyometric Push-Up

You can do this explosive variation on a classic exercise either for time or for reps (i.e., 25 to 30 seconds or 15 to 20 reps). You’ll target the muscles of your chest, triceps and shoulders. HOW TO DO IT: Begin in the standard push-up position with your hands straddling an elevated platform about four to six inches tall. Perform a traditional push-up, inhaling as you descend. But while pushing back up, drive your hands into the floor with maximum force to elevate your hands and upper body off the floor to the top of the box. Walk your hands down to the floor and repeat. For a more advanced version, rather than walking your hands down, repeat the plyometric push-up both onto and off of the box. Be sure to land with your elbows slightly bent and ready for the next push-up -- never lock your elbows. Maintain a strong core, and don’t allow your hips to dip.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

2. Lunge Jumps

This plyometric movement is great to do for time (i.e., 25 to 30 seconds). The major muscle groups targeted with this exercise are the legs, including quads, hamstrings and glutes. HOW TO DO IT: Begin in a square stance, standing with your feet hip-width apart. Jump into a lunge, with your right foot forward and your left foot behind you. When you land, immediately sink your back knee to a 90-degree angle till it almost touches the ground. Explode out of the lunge position, driving from your front heel and lifting both feet off the ground before landing back in the starting position. Repeat with the left foot forward, making sure to keep your back knee below the hip and your front knee stacked over the front heel. Keep your chest up and shoulders back.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

3. Heavy Bag Plank with Knees

This core stabilization exercise -- which also targets your shoulders -- is great to do for time. Start with 30- to 45-second rounds. If you don’t have a heavy bag, you can use a wall ball, BOSU ball or medicine ball. HOW TO DO IT: Begin in a plank position with your elbows on top of the heavy bag. Your elbows should be directly below your shoulders, with your upper body elevated off the bag. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and your weight pressed back on your heels. Keeping your core tight and maintaining proper plank form, forcefully drive one knee into the heavy bag as you exhale. Take your foot back to the starting plank position before switching legs. Be sure to maintain the integrity of your spine -- preventing your lower back and hips from sagging -- by pulling your belly button to your spine.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

4. Corkscrew Plank

With this plank variation, you’ll target your shoulders, chest, triceps and obliques. Start with 10 reps and work your way up to 20. HOW TO DO IT: Begin in a push-up position with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Bring your right knee to your left elbow, rotating your right hip under and opening your left hip so they become stacked, exhaling to contract and properly engage your core. Reset to the starting position before repeating the same movements on the other side. When bringing your knee to your elbow, your hips may slightly shift forward as they rotate to a stacked position in order to get the full range of motion on this exercise.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

5. Medicine Ball Underhand Rotational Slam

This core-blasting exercise is best when done for time, so start with 30 seconds and work your way up to 45 seconds to a minute. You’ll really feel the burn in your arms, quads, glutes and abdominals. HOW TO DO IT: Stand with your feel shoulder-width apart, approximately two to four feet from a sturdy wall, holding a medicine ball with an underhand grip and facing the wall. Rotate the ball to one side behind your hip, hinging and pressing your hips back. Once your hands have rotated behind the hips, thrust your hips and hands forward and release the ball into the wall in an explosive, controlled motion. Exhale as you let go of the ball to contract and engage your core. Catch the ball and swing back into your starting position. Repeat this, alternating sides each time.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

6. Box Jumps with a Squat

Get ready to jump! Start with eight to 12 reps of this plyometric exercise to strengthen your lower body (quads, hamstrings and glutes, to be exact) and generate more power. HOW TO DO IT: Stand facing a box or a platform you can comfortably jump onto with both feet (the lower the better when starting out). With your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider, sink your hips to a half-squat as you reach your hands back behind you. Driving through your feet and throwing your arms upward, explode up to the platform, landing in a square stance with your feet flat. Sink down to a full squat once you’ve balanced on top of the platform. When squatting, be sure to hinge from your hips while you’re in the squat and drive through your heels as you stand from the squat. Step backward off the platform to the starting position and repeat.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

7. Seated Dumbbell Stability Punches

Core strength and stability is paramount for MMA fighters, as nearly all movements originate there. You can do this exercise for time, starting with 30 seconds and working your way up to 45 seconds or a minute for each set. HOW TO DO IT: Start in a seated position with your legs elevated a few inches off the floor and your upper body tilted slightly back. Tuck your chin toward your chest and contract your abs to maintain balance. Using two- to eight-pound dumbbells, hold the weights to your chin, palms turned inwards. When you’re ready, begin alternating straight-arm punches from your chest, fully extending your arms outward and rotating your hand with each punch so that your knuckles are up. For a more difficult progression, punch over the head, touching your bicep to your ear at full extension for each punch.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

8. Medicine Ball Squat to Chest Pass

Do this explosive and power-generating exercise in timed rounds, starting with 30 seconds and progressing to 45-second or one-minute sets. As you move through the exercise, you’ll be strengthening both your arms and legs. HOW TO DO IT: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart about two to four feet away from a sturdy wall, holding the ball directly below your chin. Sink down into a squat, driving your hips down and back as your weight shifts to your heels, keeping the ball just below the chin with your chest up. Explode out of your squat, simultaneously driving your arms forward and throwing the ball into the wall with full arm extension. Catch the ball after it bounces off the wall and bring it back under your chin, keeping your chest upright through the entire movement.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

9. Dumbbell Up/Down

Similar to a burpee, this endurance and overall-strength exercise is great to do for time. Try to start with just 25 seconds and see if you can work up to 45. HOW TO DO IT: Start in an upright square stance with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells (eight to 15 pounds) at your side. Pull your shoulders back and lift your chest. Bend your knees and sink your hips down, similar to a squat, but instead drop your hands/dumbbells to the floor just to the outside of your feet. Kick your feet back so that you’re in a push-up position. Immediately tuck your feet and knees back to your chest, keeping your feet shoulder-width apart. Stand all the way up to your beginning stance, keeping the dumbbells at your side throughout the entire movement. For a more advanced progression, add a push-up when you drop to the floor.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

10. Lateral High Knees

Speed and quickness is key here. The goal of this drill should be to minimize the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground. It’s best to run through this agility exercise for time. Do 30-second rounds at first and progress to 45 seconds. HOW TO DO IT: Set up three cones or hurdles (four to 12 inches in height and equal distance apart) in a line. Begin at one end of the line and move laterally across the cones while pumping your knees and arms. Your knees should come up at least as high as your waist. When stepping between cones, each foot should strike the ground once. When stepping on the outside of the cones, you should strike the ground only once with your outside foot the quickly change directions. Strike your foot to the ground with the ball of your foot only (no heel strike).

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

11. Suicide Sprint to Back Pedal

To increase your lung capacity and overall endurance, you’ll need to incorporate this speed and agility run. Perform sets for time, taking about 20 to 30 seconds to complete the entire exercise. HOW TO DO IT: Set up four equally spaced cones in a straight line (each about 10 to 20 feet apart). Begin at the first cone and sprint to the second cone. Bend down to touch the cone then backpedal to return to the first cone, staying low as you move backward, pumping your arms and landing on the ball of your foot. Once you’re back to the first cone, immediately sprint to touch the third cone and backpedal back to the first cone. Upon returning to the first cone, sprint to the fourth cone and again backpedal to the first cone. After returning from the fourth cone, repeat this in reverse order -- sprinting to the third cone, then the second, then back to the first.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

12. Komodo Dragon Walk

This full-body strengthening movement can be done either for distance or time. For instance, you can either walk 30 to 50 feet or go for 30 to 60 seconds. No matter how you measure it, your shoulders, chest, triceps, obliques and abdominals will feel the burn. HOW TO DO IT: Starting in a push-up position, bring your right hand back slightly as you reach your right knee to your right elbow, leaving your left foot back and your left arm forward. Slowly reach your right arm forward, slightly raising your body from the ground, and simultaneously bring your left knee to your left elbow. When your left knee hits your left elbow, your body will lower back to your starting position. Repeat this, alternating sides with each step forward. Keep your core tight and hips low and in line with the rest of your body.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

13. Medicine Ball Overhead Slams

Target your core, arms and legs simultaneously with this explosive exercise. HOW TO DO IT: Using a medicine ball, begin in an athletic stance with the ball at your chest. Your feet should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. To begin, raise the ball above your head, inhaling deeply and keeping your hands on the sides of the ball. Quickly lower the ball from over your head to slam it to the floor as you exhale, sinking your hips and throwing your arms down and back in attempt to generate the maximum force with your slam. When you release the ball, your hips should drop to half-squat position, your chest should remain upwards and your arms should be angled toward the ground and slightly back. Catch the ball on the bounce and repeat these motions continuously for 30 to 45 seconds.

Travis McCoy/travismccoy.com

14. Scissor Step with Toe Touches

Get ready for some serious cardio and coordination! This speed and agility drill is best done in time intervals of 30 to 45 seconds. HOW TO DO IT: Using a medicine ball, tire or other elevated, round platform, start facing the platform with one toe on top and standing on the opposite foot. When you’re ready, lean back slightly and alternate which foot is on top of the platform, remaining light on your feet and striking both the floor and the platform with the ball of your foot only (no heel strike). As you continue switching feet, circle around the platform. Do this drill as quickly and efficiently as possible, changing the direction in which you’re circling every three to seven seconds.

The Simple Hierarchy of Fat Loss

by Tom Venuto

Setting priorities is a valuable concept that has been around for a long time in many forms. Taking several priorities and putting them in order is known as creating a “hierarchy,” which is often shown graphically in the form of a pyramid. I first read about “the fat loss hierarchy” over a decade ago, and lately there’s been a big resurgence of interest in the topic in. Both coaches and athletes alike are keenly interested because so many people are still confused and overwhelmed about nutrition and failing to get results.

Having a hierarchy removes the confusion and answers two key questions:
1. What are the most important strategies and steps to take first to succeed at fat loss – what are the “vital few?”
2. What ideas and tactics are the minutia – the “trivial many?”

This has been done before, so why I am doing yet another? I wanted to create the definitive nutrition hierarchy for fat loss. I found that many of the old versions focused only on training, or they mixed training and nutrition together. Others tried to mix fat loss, muscle gain or performance goals together. Some covered nutrition but included things I don’t think belong on a priority list, or they were missing something, even if it was just a full explanation for the rationale behind it.

One of the most glaring omissions I’ve seen is the lack of emphasis on health; not enough focus on the health value of food. And while flexibility in food choices is important for adherence, that concept is also taken too far, with excessive focus only on calories and not enough on where those calories come from.

I also believe that most fat loss programs today, even ones that identify the right priorities, are still not simple enough. Fat loss is not easy – it’s hard to achieve and harder to sustain – but it is simple. We’ve got to simplify everything, and move away from complicated plans and convoluted theories (which are often one part pure marketing, one part eccentric guru-ism).
Simplifying – and getting more results with less stress – starts with setting priorities, or as Stephen Covey wrote, “Putting first things first.” After you’ve made the main thing the main thing, only then move on to number two, and number three and so on. That’s what we mean by hierarchy: Set priorities, put them in order and be sure the vital few pieces are in place before worrying about the trivial many.

You’ll find that this hierarchy covers all the bases: it’s simple, flexible and includes health in the equation. So with that preface complete, here is my take on the Hierarchy of Healthy Fat Loss – Made Simple:

1. Calories (energy balance) the base of your pyramid: You can apply this hierarchy to almost any fat loss nutrition program you choose to follow, with the exception of any philosophy that still promotes calorie denialism (the idea that calories don’t matter).
We understand that calorie calculating is not a perfect science, that tracking calories is difficult, and a calorie deficit is a moving target.  Yet the fact still remains: You need to consistently maintain a calorie deficit over time to lose fat(you must achieve a negative energy balance). We also must agree that there’s more than one way to do it…

You can create a meal plan at your ideal calorie level, print it out and simply follow the plan, you can set calorie and macro goals in advance, then use a mobile app to track the food you eat meal by meal, you can simply cut back on calorie-dense foods or food groups, you can practice mindful eating and stop when you’re only 80% full, and the list goes on from there, including all kinds of “tricks” that diet gurus use to get you to eat less.

If you really think about it, almost every weight loss diet is trying to accomplish the same thing. Directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, the goal is to get you to eat less. Many methods of achieving a calorie deficit can work, but I don’t believe every method is equally successful.

Intuitive eating can fail. Estimating portion sizes can fail. Low carb diets can fail. Low fat diets can fail. Clean eating can fail. Any method will fail if you don’t maintain that calorie deficit, but calorie-tracking can increase your odds of success. My number one choice is the by-the-numbers (calories and macros) daily meal plan method. Start every day already knowing what you are going to eat – the types of food as well as the amounts – because you’ve planned it in advance.

Whatever method you use to try losing fat, the bottom line is, if you don’t get your calorie balance right, you will not succeed, no matter what foods you eat, no matter what macros you eat, no matter how healthy you eat. Getting calories right is the top priority for fat loss.

2. Protein (macro-nutrition)  the next tier: The root of the word protein, translated, means “of first importance.” It may not be first on our list of priorities, but protein is first in importance among the macronutrients. I believe in the importance and value of eating carbs, (and I definitely like eating carbs!). There are essential fatty acids, but you don’t need large quantities of fat either.
Protein is essential, and ongoing research continues to confirm how important protein is when you’re trying to lose fat. Protein helps stop muscle loss when you’re in a calorie deficit. It also has the highest thermogenic effect and helps make you feel fuller or suppress your appetite more than any other macronutrient (and that’s on top of the muscle building benefits).

Because of the support protein lends to your fat loss efforts, it’s the highest priority macronutrient for body composition goals. That’s why you should calculate your protein needs and be sure you have your protein covered, and only then nit-pick over the exact amounts of carbohydrate and fat. In fact, if you get your protein right and your calories right, you’re probably 80% of the way there toward setting up a fat loss plan that works.

How much is enough? That question will be endlessly debated, but if you’re strength/weight training (and you should be), the popular recommendation is roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. The actual range is 0.8 to 1.2g per lbs of bodyweight depending on your goals, preferences, current body fat level, and dieting status. 


3. Carbohydrate and Fat (macronutrition)—important, but…: For all the attention given to high carb diets and low carb diets (these two macros have been in the forefront of the “diet wars” for years), I have what some might consider surprising news: When it comes to fat loss, the importance of fat and carbs are both lower than calories and protein. Some people fuss over macronutrient ratios on a meal plan spreadsheet for hours, or get in lengthy debates on forums about low carb versus high carb diets, but both are a waste of time if you are eating too many calories. There’s no magic ratio or gram amount of either macro that makes you burn fat faster.

Let’s assume you’re not one of those calorie denialists. But, you do think reducing carbs helps you lose weight better. Great. Have at it! (preferring a low carb diet doesn’t make you wrong, it’s knowing your body). And if you think that cutting high fat foods and or eating a lot of plants helps you lose weight, that’s great too! Go for it!

Let me assure you that the weight of scientific evidence today says that over the long term, low carb and low fat diets both work. Go ahead and pick a side and stay in the diet war battle if you want to keep wasting time or raising your stress levels, but it’s a fact that thousands of people have succeeded using both types of diets – short term and long term. What they had in common is they achieved a calorie deficit, they consumed adequate protein and their choice of diet was based on knowing they would enjoy their plan and have no problem sticking with it long term.

Do I have ideas about what’s optimal for carb and fat intakes or recommendations for best practices? I certainly do. I don’t like extremes on either end of the spectrum, but, carb and fat intake can be customized to a great degree based on your personal preference and on what works best for you.

Here’s the simple approach: Do your calorie math and do your protein math. Then fill in the rest of your calorie budget with fat and carbs in the amounts that make you happy. That’s it, you’re done (for now). Want to experiment and fine tune the macronutrient amounts? Great! You should. But not until you know priority #1 and #2 are covered.

4. Nutrient density – vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fatty acids, phytonutrients, etc (micro-nutrition): Get about 90% of your calories from healthy foods that you enjoy. That’s my simple advice. If you enjoy healthy foods, if you take pride in eating nutrient-rich meals, and you’re not that into eating fast food, sugar, desserts or other treats, make it 95%. Heck, make it 99% and be a “clean eating saint” if you wish. If you enjoy being more relaxed and you’re tracking calories and macros carefully, make it 80-85%. In any case, the directive is clear and simple: eat healthy foods you enjoy the vast majority of the time.

“Healthy foods that you enjoy” is an important qualifier. One of the biggest reasons most diets fail is because they prescribe foods to eat every day that you don’t like (and take away foods you do like). You probably won’t stick with any diet long term by eating someone else’s way – even if it’s scientifically sound or it worked well for others. The more rigid the lists of allowed and banned foods, the less likely you are to stay with it. The more you make the effort to customize your nutrition based on your own tastes, the more likely you are to stay with it.

That’s the great irony of the diet industry meeting human psychology. Most people want to be a follower not a student,they want the work “done-for-them” and they want rules painted in black and white. These facts are taken advantage of by marketing experts (in fact, they are taught by marketing experts). And these are also the very desires that contribute to the failure of almost all diets that are not flexible and which “give you a fish” instead of “teaching you how to fish.”

When I put micro-nutrition below calories and macronutrients, I’m not suggesting you should eat anything you want as long as it fits your calories and macros. I’m saying, start with calories and macros, but don’t stop there. You can lose weight by eating most of your calories from any junk food you desire, if you have a calorie deficit, but that doesn’t mean it’s optimal for body composition and it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. It surely doesn’t set a good example when you’re a fitness pro.

Health and fat loss overlap, but they are two separate subjects and people are constantly forgetting this. You can eat health foods and gain fat if you eat too many of them. You can eat unhealthy foods and lose fat if your calories are low enough. That’s why calories are at the top of the fat loss hierarchy. However, fat loss should be a healthy endeavor, and enjoying good health, energy and vitality requires attention to the quality of food you eat, and probably more so as you get older.

Once you’ve got you goal numbers set for daily calories, protein, carbs and fat, fill them in with (approximately) 90% healthy foods that you choose yourself and that you enjoy and you can be both lean and healthy – for life.

5. Meal scheduling and nutrient timing—the top of the pyramid (note that it’s the smallest part): In the past, when fitness enthusiasts thought about nutrient timing, they thought about the famous post-workout “window of opportunity” where you are supposed to eat immediately after training or risk wasting all your hard work. Not only that, nutrient timing or even the post-workout meal alone was placed at or near the top of the priority lists. Entire programs were created and books written based on nutrient timing, often claiming that optimizing the post workout meal (or meals) and or taking pre-, during- or post-workout supplements were the most important things you could to improve body composition.

Current science suggests that while nutrition after intense training is important for recovery and progress, it’s not the most important factor, especially when fat loss is the goal. Current research also suggests that the best way to look at nutrient timing is to consider the entire several-hour period from the meal before your workout, the workout itself and the period after the workout. It also suggests that the post-workout “window” lasts longer than most people used to believe, especially if you ate before training.
I also like to include the scheduling and number of daily meals in the nutrient timing discussion. It has been interesting (comedic at times), watching the arguments back and forth over the years. Guess what? Nutrient timing fads are either complete nonsense, or there is validity on some level, but it’s minutia compared the higher priorities.

And then we have the infamous meal frequency discussion. Is it 5-6 meals a day is optimal (at least 4), 3 meals or 3 meals plus snacks, or does meal frequency even matter? Well, those who say meal frequency or nutrient timing “don’t matter at all” are mistaken. Nutrient timing matters. Our understanding of it has simply evolved so we now know where it fits on the list of priorities. It’s on the list, but when you eat or when you eat which nutrients is the least important factor.

If you eat too many calories, it doesn’t’ matter how many meals you had, you’re going to gain fat. In fact, if you eat many meals and that high meal frequency leads to excess calories consumed – you put on fat. If you eat too few meals, and the long gaps in between make you ravenously hungry and you binge and overcompensate with excess calories later – you generate fat. And, if you eat too many calories, it doesn’t matter how perfect your pre-, peri-, and post-workout nutrition is, you will gain fat.

Furthermore, just like the dietary fat and carbs debate, there’s no single best way to schedule your daily meal plan – this is a highly unique and personal choice for each individual. Your daily meal plan should be based on your goals, your personal preferences and your willingness and ability to follow the plan for the long term. Who are you and what are your goals? Are you a large male bodybuilder in hard training, trying to gain muscle mass? If so, then a higher meal frequency – aka classic bodybuilding meal plan – makes perfect sense, and is almost necessary, for practical reasons alone. Are you a small-framed female, lightly or moderately active and trying to lose weight? If so, then it might make more sense to eat fewer meals.

Your meal schedule should be customized and it should be your choice, it should not be dictated by rigid program guidelines from any guru or diet book. Nothing is worse than cookie-cutter meal plans. Please, do not jump on bandwagons here, make the decision for yourself, or choose coaches who teach a structured, yet flexible approach, and don’t be afraid to experiment a little.
One thing I encourage everyone to do is daily meal planning. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said , “Don’t start your day until you’ve finished it.” What he meant was, don’t wing it. Go into your day knowing exactly what you’ll eat and when you will eat it because you have a daily meal plan on paper. Research does not say there’s one ideal meal frequency. But research does say that an inconsistent or haphazard meal pattern is inferior to a scheduled and consistent one – for both health and fat loss. In addition, having a regular meal plan schedule taps into the power of habit, and the longer you do something, the easier it gets to do.

Bottom line: Nutrient timing does belong on the priority list, but getting your calories, proteins, carbs, fats, and healthy food choices in order are all higher in importance.

What about supplements? Some people could argue that the evidence-based use of supplements should be on the list, though granted, most of those people are selling them. Nearly everyone agrees supplements are the item of lowest importance. I’ve chosen to leave them out completely because I consider my list a hierarchy of priorities, and I don’t see supplements as a priority at all – especially when we are talking about fat loss.

Out of all the supplements on the market, the so-called fat burners have the worst track record, the most scams, and the fewest evidence-based products than any other supplement category. Generally speaking, “fat burner supplements” either don’t work, or the benefit is so small it’s not even worth mentioning. On rare occasion, products have emerged that did work, but there were side effects or safety questions.

For competitive bodybuilders or athletes where the slightest edge makes a difference, certain types of supplements might help with workout performance, recovery and so on. You also have protein powders which could help you hit your (very important) protein goal. But supplements are simply not a priority for the average health and fitness enthusiast in the overall scheme of things. Supplements are known as one of the “trivial many.”

That’s a wrap! Whether you’re a total beginner or you’re a veteran who is still confused about how to create a daily meal plan, you need to simplify and prioritize, and using the hierarchy of healthy fat loss is a great way to do it. Using this hierarchy is also a terrific way to troubleshoot fat loss plateaus. It’s a valuable tool for everyone.