The new year is the perfect time to reset your physical health and get active again. When planning and achieving your fitness goals, what you put into your body is just as important as how you work out. You need to revamp your diet to complement your training routine and improve your fitness results.
Therefore, whether you're looking to build muscle, lose weight, or get fit and healthier, you can incorporate a few essential nutrients into your eating and lifestyle habits.
Here are five foods and supplements to introduce to your 2023 fitness journey:
- Mushroom Extract Supplements
While mushrooms have been used as traditional medicine in eastern cultures for millennia, their use as a food supplement has gained traction in other parts of the world over the past couple of years. Mushrooms are technically fungi but are considered vegetables for food and culinary purposes. To make the most of their nutritional benefits, consider taking supplements containing potent compounds extracted from mushrooms in concentrated form.
Mushrooms are noted for their anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant properties. These make them a valuable option for combating health conditions related to colds and allergies while giving you more energy to stay healthy and work out for longer. Additionally, you can consume the extracts in many forms, such as capsules, powders, or gummies from Mushroom Revival that suit your fitness habits.
- Varied Fruits And Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables contain many micronutrients to promote a healthy lifestyle and support your fitness goals. They are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that keep your body functioning optimally. Moreover, they are packed with natural sugars such as glucose, and many are water-based. These properties make them perfect for fueling your workouts.
Sports nutritionists recommend eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to gain the most benefits. This is especially true for those with deep, dark, and bright colors, such as blueberries, spinach, watermelon, grapes, bananas, and peppers. The simplest way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet is by blending them into a smoothie or adding an assortment to your morning bowl of oatmeal or cereal.
- Creatine Supplements
If building muscle and improving bodily strength is part of your fitness goals this year, you can take advantage of creatine supplements. Creatine is an organic compound found naturally in muscle cells and works similarly to amino acids that help build your body's protein and energize these cells.
Most people get creatine from high-protein foods, while the rest is produced in the kidneys and liver. It can also be taken as a supplement to raise the amount stored in your body. Thus, taking creatine supplements can help you power through high-intensity exercise, enhance athletic performance, and increase muscle mass through cell hydration and protein production. Furthermore, creatine can be consumed with water post-workout.
- Fish Oil Supplements
When it comes to good fats in foods that contribute to training and exercise, it doesn't get any better than fish oils. These are oils naturally found in fish such as mackerel, tuna, and salmon. They're also high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Bodybuilders and gym enthusiasts commonly take fish oil supplements because these are known to be effective in reducing fatigue and symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after a workout. This makes them the go-to supplements for muscle and injury recovery.
Furthermore, ongoing studies have shown that fish oils could improve your heart health and oxygen usage when you're active, boosting your performance further.
- Vitamin D Supplements
Vitamin D is another essential nutrient you need to get enough of to help your fitness journey. It has immense health benefits for individuals stepping up their training regimen, which is why many athletes focus on improving their vitamin D intake combined with calcium.
Doing this can support bone health and strength, improving muscle functions while boosting exercise capacity and safeguarding heart health. The best sources are salmon, sardines, egg yolks, red meat, and cow's milk.
However, you may opt for vitamin D supplements if you struggle to get the right amount from food alone since it's a common deficiency. The recommended intake is 400-4,000 IU daily, depending on several biological and environmental factors.
Conclusion
The best foods and supplements to introduce to your 2023 fitness journey contain a diverse range of nutrients that are known to optimize your training, help build muscles, and contribute to overall health.
These include proteins, amino acids, vitamins, healthy fats and oils, and micronutrients. You can approach each from its primary food source or take supplements in a form that suits your preference. Doing this can set you on the right path to achieving your fitness goals.