INTRODUCTION
We get a lot of questions about supplements. Which I feel is understandable due to the companies stretching the truth to sell products and also the huge amount of misinformation that is out there. This leads to a lot of people with trust issues and also not knowing what is true and what is false. Leaving everyone with a lot of questions. So we have gathered a few questions that we noticed are being searched a lot online and hopefully, we can clear a few things up and stop this confusion. So let us get stuck right into the first question.
CAN SUPPLEMENTS CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN
Can Supplements cause weight gain? The short answer is no. Not at all. Weight gain is caused by being in a calorie surplus for an extended time. A certain food, a certain supplement or anything won’t make you cause weight. So no, Taking a supplement won’t make you gain weight.
You may find some supplements that might make you bloat and appear like they are making you put on weight, However, bloating is temporary and will go. A lot of people suffer from bloating from whey protein. It can play their stomachs up and cause them issues. Our best avoids it avoid any supplement that plays you up. Try a vegan protein or isolate.
You can also buy weight gainer shakes, which are high calorie shakes, These in themselves won’t make you gain weight. There isn’t anything else in them that will make you gain weight, they are a tool to help you stay in a calorie surplus. We highly recommend that you don’t buy weight gainer shakes. They can be expensive and also contain high sugar and empty calories. Instead, try to make your own, Will be a lot better, tastier, cheaper and also easier. So, can supplements cause weight gain? No, not at all. No supplement will ever make you gain accidental weight.
WHAT SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD VEGANS TAKE
We get asked a lot “What supplements should vegans take”, Now, I am not a Vegan, so I haven’t had a lot of experience with Vegan diets and supplements. However, being vegan doesn’t mean you need to take anything different. Hit your calories/macros. One thing you might need to change is your protein powder. You won’t be able to go for a Whey you will have to buy a pea or soy protein.
Supplements like Creatine and pre-workout should be ok. I would highly recommend checking the labels. Creatine is found in animal products but modern creatine is synthesised and is man-made so I Vegan friendly. Pre-workouts I would highly recommend checking the labels first. Most of them should be Vegan friendly. So to answer the question “What supplements should vegans take”, you don’t need to take any supplements but you can contain to take the same products as long as they are vegan friendly.
SUPPLEMENTS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
This is by far the most popular supplement question we get. “What supplements for weight loss?” Are there any supplements I need to be taking for weight loss? As with the first question, the answer is no. There are no supplements for weight loss. Weight loss happens because of a person being in a calorie deficit. No supplement will make you be in a calorie deficit.
There are some supplements out there that will help you and assist but none will make you lose weight. You see a lot of products like fat burners and they promise weight loss, but they won’t work in the way that they advertise. What they will do is use caffeine to raise your heart rate, and also some other ingredients to help with hunger (Apparently). I am not a fan of Fat Burners, Your money is better spent on a protein powder or real food. This leads us to our next questions.
SUPPLEMENTS OR FOOD
Should you buy supplements or food? Which is better for your diet? Supplements or food? I would always recommend food over supplements. When you break it down, 20g of protein is the same if it comes from chicken breast or a protein shake. However, a chicken breast will be more filling and substantial to eat.
Supplements should always be used as a tool or an actual “supplement,” They are to supplement, in conjunction with an actual diet. For example, if you can hit your daily protein goal with real, whole foods, then you do not need to spend money on a protein powder. Same with protein bars, do not waste your money on bars if you can eat protein through foods. The only supplement I would say that you should take is Creatine. 5g a day is all you need, no need to load. Just consume 5g every day.
CONCLUSION
Hopefully, this clears up some of these questions. Remember if you have any more questions that we didn’t cover in this article then please head over to the advice page and send us an email. We will do our best to answer them. At the end of the day, the thing to remember is that supplements are just that. Supplements! They are there to supplement a healthy and balanced diet. No (Legal) supplement will suddenly improve your strength, make you lose weight or make you pack on the muscle. Focus on your diet and training. Then once you have that sorted you can start to incorporate supplements. Check out this article for more on this subject.
If you are after purchasing some supplements make sure you check out the Members Area on our app. We have loads of discount codes that we find online which will help you find money. These codes are always being updated and we are always on the hunt for more.
Written by Kieran Blacker
Kieran is the CEO and Founder of Sets & Reps. He decided to make an application that helped people get a gym workout when not at the gym. He designed, Coded and built the application himself.