Taking the right supplements can help you achieve better fitness and weight loss goals in a shorter space of time.  Making sure you get enough of the right nutrients in your diet can speed results too. Life is busy and exercise can be tiring. If you follow the correct strategies, you can get faster and better outcomes.

Improving your overall health and energy level should be the first step.

Healthy, energetic people want to move their bodies. Building up a good level of strength and fitness takes time and commitment. Once you have achieved greater fitness, exercise becomes much more enjoyable.

Certain nutrients can help to boost your energy and enable you to work out to a higher intensity. Nutrients can also help with muscle recovery and enhanced performance. You’ll feel less sore and tired afterwards, making you want to work out more frequently.

Adequate, easily digested protein is vital for healthy muscle function.

Good sources of protein include seafood, red meat (preferably pastured or grass fed), eggs and poultry. Nuts, seeds and legumes provide smaller amounts of protein. Whey protein powder shakes are a very useful way to incorporate easily digested protein into your diet. They can particularly help muscle recovery if you consume them after a workout. Your muscles are made of protein. Exercise causes tiny tears in your muscles. They heal and become larger. You need enough protein to provide building blocks for your muscles.

Glutamine helps your muscle cells and your immune system. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. It makes up approximately 50% of the free amino acids in muscle tissue. It plays a major role in muscle repair and maintenance. Your cells can also use glutamine as a source of energy, in a similar way to using glucose. Taking a glutamine supplement can help you work out harder and recover more quickly. Intense exercise can temporarily weaken the immune system and make you more prone to picking up an infection. Glutamine can be used by immune cells as a source of energy. Professional athletes are particularly at risk and several studies have shown that a glutamine supplement can help support the immune system during and after exercise.

Magnesium can help to reduce muscle aches and pains and prevent muscle cramps. Exercise causes your body to use up more magnesium. Sweating causes even more magnesium loss. Being magnesium deficient raises your risk of suffering with aching muscles and slow recovery. Magnesium is also required by the enzymes that generate energy in your body, and fatigue is a common manifestation of magnesium deficiency.

The antioxidants found in vegetables, fruit, tea, spices and coffee can all improve your exercise performance and recovery.

The energy generating components in your cells are called mitochondria. The inner membrane of the mitochondria is very rich in fatty acids. These fats are fragile and easily undergo oxidative damage from free radicals. Air pollution, stress, sugar, alcohol, viral infections and diets lacking fresh vegetables all promote oxidative damage. This can impair the health and function of your mitochondria, leaving you low on energy. Apart from making sure you consume a lot of fresh vegetables each day, I’m a big advocate of raw vegetable juices. They are a powerful way to boost your antioxidant intake.

Omega 3 essential fatty acids help to reduce inflammation in the body, including in the muscles; they improve joint flexibility and speed up recovery from exercise or injury. Omega 3 fats are found in oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and anchovies. The precursor of these fats is found in some nuts and seeds. If you're not a fish fan, consider taking a fish oil supplement.  You may find it significantly reduces aches and pains in your body.

Please remember to get adequate rest, relaxation and sleep. This is the time when your body repairs itself and your muscles grow bigger and stronger if you have exercised during the day. If you are feeling tired, have a rest day. Don’t push your body if it is telling you it needs rest.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.