118. My Top Supplements for Maintaining My Body and Health At Age 43

I don't like shiny objects , I don't like quick fixes , I don't like all of that stuff . If I find something that works for me , if I find a product I like , if I find a brand I like , if something's working for me , I'm going to stick with it , and these supplements are no different . Honestly , I have not tried a lot of different supplements .

As far as a lot of things out there , again , I don't trust a lot of companies . I don't trust a lot of supplements . I don't think a lot of them are absolutely necessary . As I'm getting older , of course , my body is changing and those types of things . So , yeah , I probably need to do different things .

But I'm trying to do different things in terms of eating a little bit differently , focusing on my digestion and my rest and my stress levels , things like that , instead of just worrying about supplements and the things that you see on social media that you need X , y and Z . For all these things .

There's always something that you quote unquote need that someone's telling you you need for some issue you're having , and none of that stuff appeals to me . I'm just being honest .

So I will be honest in saying that a lot of the supplements I'm going to talk about today I already talked about in the other supplement episode , which was probably like two years ago , and again , I hope that lets you know you can trust me because I'm still talking about the same stuff two years later because it freaking works .

I have changed things , you know a little bit in between and I'll talk about that . As I talk about these supplements , I'll let you know these are the ones I'm taking right now , but that doesn't mean that I've taken them the whole time . It doesn't mean like I'm recording this in summer .

It doesn't mean that I take these necessarily all fall and winter , so , but honestly , a lot of them I do . But I'll get into that as I'm kind of talking through this . But this is again supplements that I'm taking . I will talk a little bit about the brands of them that I'm taking .

I will talk about why I'm going to hit on the general idea of what the supplement is used for , but I want to talk about it also in terms of why I like it , what it does for me , because you can Google , let's say , I'm talking about protein . You can Google protein , the benefit of protein powder , what is protein powder , and you can find out the basics .

Right , that information's everywhere . What I want to tell you is what I'm taking , why I'm taking it , what it does for me , what I like about it , because this is my podcast and I want to give you . I mean , there's no sense in me just getting on here and saying this is the supplement and this is what it does , like no shit .

I mean , you can find that information everywhere and I want to be transparent and obviously authentic about it . So let's get into it . I get this question a lot on social media , so I'm really excited to be talking about it and I'm going to be talking about glutamine . That's my number two on here .

These aren't necessarily in any kind of an order , but it's the second one I'm going to be talking about . I just added that back into my supplement routine , whatever you want to call it .

I've wanted to do this episode for a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure that I had my true thoughts on glutamine before I put them in here , because sometimes I just don't want to get in here and say this is what I'm taking and I love it if I don't or if I'm not sure . So this has kind of been a long time coming .

So everybody who has sent me messages asking me if I would do a supplement episode , here we go . Okay , so protein powder . Again . These are in no particular order . These are just the supplements I'm currently taking and they will supplement . These are supplements that I will continue to take , that I have kind of on repeat , that I never really deter from .

So let's start with protein , because it's something that I talk about a lot . It's something that I'm very passionate about . It's something that you need , regardless of what your goals are . If you are a human being and you want to function properly , you have to be fueling your body properly and , yes , you can hit your macros .

When I say fueling your body properly , I mean feeding it enough calories , and those calories are broken down into macros proteins , fats and carbs . Most people do not have a problem hitting their carbs and fats , but they do have a problem hitting protein , because it's just protein , isn't ? The types of foods that protein is found in ?

Aren't things that we're snacking on necessarily , just intuitively , to kind of go off of what I talked about last week . Intuitively , my body doesn't tell me to pick up a chicken breast and chew on it , right ? So these are the things that it's very good to supplement with different types of protein powders .

So , again , you can easily hit your protein goal with food . But it's also not a bad thing to supplement . I will be 100% honest and say that I do supplement every single day with protein in some sort , whether it is a protein shake , a protein bar .

Right now , I'm making protein ice cream with my Ninja Creamy , so I'm not always getting my protein from eggs and from chicken and from tuna and from salmon and all those things . Yes , I do get a lot of my protein amounts from those foods , but there are times in my life when I don't want those foods .

They're not on hand , I'm busy , I'm away from home , it's not accessible X , y , z , whatever , right . So it's easy to supplement with protein . So protein is essential for muscle growth . Protein helps increase your muscle mass and strength , and it's important that you are hitting your protein goal , no matter what , every single day .

Whether you work out , whether you lift weights , whether your movement is a lot , whether it's a little , you have to be eating enough protein , even if you just sit on your ass most of the day , because your body needs it to maintain your muscle to function . So you have to be eating protein regardless .

I know a lot of people used to say well , I'm not a bodybuilder , I don't want to work out or I don't want to have huge muscles , it doesn't matter , your body needs it regardless . Yes , you should eat more of it .

If you are trying to build muscle and look like a bodybuilder , or even look like me , in the sense that you want to be strong , lean , fit , you do have to consume enough protein . It's not scary , it's not bad for you , right ? High protein intake can help you gain muscle and strength while reducing muscle loss during weight loss .

This is a huge reason why I have my ladies always instantly start to work toward their protein goal , because almost all of my clients their goal is body recomp , so they want to increase muscle and become stronger and leaner while losing weight , and protein is essential in this .

If we get to a plateau with my clients , it's almost always because we need to increase their protein intake . There's not enough protein in their body to be able to maintain the current amount of weight loss that they want , and have it be muscle , and we don't want to just lose muscle . That's not the kind of weight loss that we are looking for .

So muscle is primarily made up of protein . Therefore , protein is essential for muscle growth . Whey protein contains types of amino acids that are great for muscles . Whey protein is considered to be a complete protein because it has nine the nine essential amino acids .

Your body does make amino acids , but they're not the kinds that are found in whey and isolate protein . The supplements that I'm talking about Amino acids aid in building muscles and creating new immune cells for your body .

Your body can only process 20 to 40 grams of protein at a time , so if you're trying to build muscle , you need to be eating protein consistently throughout the day . Now I have heard I stick with the 20 to 40 grams of protein at a time kind of rule .

I've heard different studies on the fact that that's not true , that your body can process more than that . Here's what I will say . I don't really fucking know , but sometimes I don't know what to believe and the studies are always changing . Here's what I know to be true Protein is the hardest macro for your body to digest .

It takes a lot of energy , it actually takes calories for your body to digest protein . It's hard on your digestive system , on your gut , to process protein . So it is , whether your body can only process 20 to 40 grams or not . Okay , I'll quite frankly say I don't know for sure . I don't know Because the science is always changing .

I'm just going to'll quite frankly say I don't know for sure . I don't know Because the science is always changing . I'm just going to go ahead and say I don't know . I will say this I feel better and less bloated when I consume within 20 to 40 grams of protein at a time .

I feel like my body digests it better , I don't get as inflamed , I don't get as bloated , I don't feel as disgusting . So I try to break mine up with like 30 grams for breakfast , 30 grams for lunch , 30 grams for dinner and then , you know , kind of fill in the gaps . So I will just say that if don't come at me with . Science has disproven that theory .

That's totally fine . The thing is is that I feel like if I'm going to be consuming 60 grams of protein in one sitting , I am going to be bloated because my gut is going to have a hard time digesting that . So that's all I'll say on that .

I do like a protein powder that has 20 grams of protein in it , because what's the point of it's not high protein If you're only getting 10 grams ? You can literally almost find 10 grams of protein in like anything . So if you're not getting 20 grams of protein with your protein shake , find a different one Protein isolate .

That's different than a whey protein because it is stripped of almost everything except the protein . It's processed to reduce its fat content and it's the lactose content essentially , so it leaves mainly just the protein . So whey protein isolate may be better than just a regular whey . For people who have , like digestive issues . This is me .

I am able to digest the first form brand . The formula one is the isolate it's like a post-workout and the level one is the meal replacement , which is just your basic whey protein shake . I'm able to digest both , but I've had a lot of issues digesting protein shakes in the past . So I started with the isolate . It's very fine texture .

It mixes perfectly in water . I digested it very , very easily . A big reason for that is it's low temperature processed , which means it's very , very slowly processed to keep most of the nutrients intact . A lot of companies just obviously use higher temperature to process it because they can process it faster , but it takes a lot of the nutrients out .

So that's a huge reason why first form products work really well for me . If you have problems digesting protein shakes , I would stick with the protein isolate , which is the formula one .

It is designed to be a post-workout shake , meaning your muscles do use it quickly , but you can use it any time of day , it doesn't matter , and I wouldn't necessarily use a meal replacement protein shake as a meal replacement . Our goal here is not to be skinny , it's to be strong , it's to fuel our bodies .

So if you don't want to look for a meal replacement shake , you want to have a shake to eat with something else to make it a balanced meal . We want proteins , fats and carbs at every meal , every snack , to make sure that your body is working properly . I will also be quite honest and say currently my body is like revolting against protein powder .

I the thought of it makes me want to throw up . I don't know if it's because it's dead summer , it's 100 degrees outside and the thought of it I just can't , even right now . So I have been doing just pre-mixed protein shakes from the store , the gas station , whatever . I've been drinking those right now .

So there's absolutely nothing wrong with going out and getting a 30 to 14 gram protein shake from the store , from the gas station . I do it all the freaking time . They're fine , they're totally fine . Please grab one , chug it and get your protein in . That's all that matters .

So that's one thing I take every single day in some kind of form is protein supplement . Next , glutamine . Glutamine is an amino acid that is found in the body , so it's already something that your body makes . That makes me feel happy because I feel like if my body makes it , I'm better off supplementing it .

I'm not putting like a yes , it's a foreign substance in terms of it's a powder that was created somewhere . I get that , but also it's not just like I'm putting this random shit in my body , I don't know In my head . It makes me feel better .

Call me crazy , but glutamine is important for recovery and muscle growth and it also it helps me to not feel so tired right after my workout . And I don't know if that's just me or if that's scientific , but I feel like taking it right before my workout with a couple of other things .

I take my glutamine , I take my creatine , I take my L-carnitine and with a little bit of pre-workout I mix that all together . I feel like the glutamine and the creatine really give me some long-lasting energy . But I'm loving the glutamine .

I've only been taking it again for a couple weeks but I have noticed a really big difference in the way that my stomach looks . It's flatter , it just feels leaner . So I'm loving that . Glutamine is important for digestion and immune function , which obviously is going to help you feel leaner and feel better .

Sometimes I will describe my guts as feeling like I can only describe it as like a garbage disposal .

When I eat something disgusting or and I feel crappy , I always just tell my husband like I don't know how to explain how my stomach feels and if you have like autoimmune issues or digestive issues , you might be able to relate to this , but I'm always like it just my stomach feels like a garbage disposal , like it just feels disgusting .

So I think the glutamine really , really helps with that . I've taken it in the past and sometimes I just stop taking things because I'm not sure if it's working , and then when I add it back in , it absolutely is working . So supplementing with glutamine protects your muscles from being so broken down that they recover very slowly .

I love it because it does help feel my workouts and it does help build muscle a little bit faster , especially right now when I'm not taking that specific post-workout protein powder because I just can't even , like I just said , but this has been really helpful for that too .

So if your body runs out of glutamine , it will look to your stored glutamine , and we do want to prevent that . So that's one thing that I like about the L-carnitine that your body already makes and creatine your body already makes , and glutamine your body already makes it .

So we're supplementing so your body can keep what it naturally makes and use what I'm giving to it . So I'm essentially not ever running out of it , and sometimes I think I don't know if I need this , I don't know if it's doing anything , but eventually it catches up with me and I need to take it again . So I've just added glutamine back in .

Like I said , it's probably been about a month , honestly , and I'm really liking it . Collagen is something that I have not been taking for a couple . Well , I add my collagen protein or to my protein powder . So when I make a protein shake , I add I just use water , I add some ice , I put in a scoop of my protein powder , I put in a scoop of collagen .

It mixes beautifully just in a shaker cup . Love that . But since I hadn't been using my protein powder , I haven't been using my collagen . And I got some new skincare which I'm freaking loving . But I noticed that it's not the skincare , it was something else . I'm like . My face feels like just not as plump , my skin is not as plump and pretty .

I don't know what I'm trying to say , but I noticed it was something different . And just last week I realized I had a container of collagen up in the cupboard that I hadn't used in a long time and I realized that's why . Because I have not been taking my collagen . So I'm taking that again . I'm just like you guys in the sense that it gets overwhelming .

There's so many things I need to get back . I'm going to make a list on my notes app of things that I need to take every day and do every day and just get my shit back together .

So collagen I added it back in last week , but it's something that I've consistently taken for years , so I know that it works , even though I haven't been taking it for a little while .

But collagen is a protein , love protein found in every single joint , tendon , bone ligament in your body and it's absolutely important for strengthening and keeping all of those tissues healthy . Not only that , but it does support our skin and elasticity .

Hello , that's what I just said Nails , hair , strong joints and that may be why my knee's been hurting too , that I just thought of that . But unfortunately , our production of collagen does decrease with age , so we do have to be supplementing with collagen . It's not optional , christy , I don't know what I was thinking . Protein is not optional .

Collagen is not optional . None of these things are going to be optional for me from here on out . But same thing with this company . I've taken Vital Protein collagen in the past for years .

Like I said , I even took their beauty collagen for a while and while I loved the taste of it like I love the refreshing beauty collagen part I saw no results from the Vital Proteins brand From the First Form brand . I do love it .

The First Form brand does have a 50 milligram serving of Dermavol , which is a nutrient-rich complex supplement in itself that increases and helps maintain the skin elasticity in your body .

So I don't know if it's the Dermavol in it or if it's because of it's also low temperature processed and really really easy for my body to digest it , but I find that it really really works for me , so that's my favorite brand .

All of these will be linked in the show notes in a guide that I'm going to create , and they're also linked in my bio on my Instagram , on my Christy Castillo Fit Instagram page . If you click the link , it'll take you to my favorite supplements , or you can just send me a message and I'll send you the link . That's super easy as well .

Takes out the work for you . So next is creatine . Creatine is also a naturally occurring energy source in your bodyine monohydrate . It's important that when you are taking creatine , that you are taking monohydrate . It is one of the most studied and one of the most proven supplements to improve muscle growth period . Creatine is .

It's something that I never second guess now . I used to because creatine was , for whatever reason associated with like huge muscles and bodybuilders , which I don't even understand why . Now that I'm in this world and taking it Same thing with like squats with a barbell , I used to think I was somehow just going to get massive if I squatted with the barbell .

Anyways , creatine monohydrate is absolutely something that you want to take . If it's monohydrate , you will not feel bloated , you will not feel discomfort because it mixes so easily and just with water , and it doesn't cause any stress to your digestive system . Creatine is a supplement that will give you more muscle growth .

It will grow your muscles faster when you're lifting weights and your body will also use it to fight off muscle soreness and muscle fatigue , and it acts as a power supply , as an energy supply for your muscles during exercise . So I love creatine because we want muscles , we want to grow muscle , we want to maintain the muscles that we have .

We want weight loss , but we want it to be fat loss , so you have to be taking protein . You have fat loss , so you have to be taking protein . You have to be taking collagen , you have to be taking creatine Like . We have to be doing these things to be able to maintain and to perform at the level that we want to perform at .

I personally take creatine all the time , not just when I'm lifting super heavy , because I want to maintain my muscle mass . I will be honest , I just got back on the creatine train , though , probably about a year ago .

So there was a time that I just didn't take it and , honestly , that was a time where I was pretty stressed out , mentally way off and just way off my game , and so that's not an excuse , it's just . It is what it is . I didn't take it for a while . I probably didn't take any of this stuff for a while because my physical health was not my main goal .

My mental health was my main goal and my main focus , and that's just being honest . But I am taking this now , so I threw it in this list . But creatine is something that you absolutely should be taking . L-carnitine is next on my list . L-carnitine is also something that your body makes on its own .

It's an amino acid that is found in your body , but a supplement can really increase the effectiveness of it . But a supplement can really increase the effectiveness of it . L-carnitine provides your body with the nutrients that it needs to effectively use stored fat . So people say it's a fat burner ? It's not really .

It just increases your likelihood of using your stored fat for energy instead of other ways that your body could use things for energy . So that's a very simple way of putting it . But I use L-carnitine in the spring and summer . I don't use it in the fall and winter because I'm not necessarily looking for , I don't really care what my body uses for energy .

That sounds kind of ridiculous in the fall and winter because I'm trying to build muscle . So I personally maybe just to save a little money , maybe just to chill out a little bit I don't take it in the fall and winter , but I'm taking it right now . So L-carnitine is absolutely amazing . It also helps me to not feel that garbage disposal feeling in my stomach .

It helps me to just feel a little bit fresher . I don't know from the inside out . That's weird . Okay , eaa is essential amino acids . So muscle we've talked about is made up of protein and that protein is constantly being used by your body and it needs to be replenished . As these proteins are broken down .

The goal is to produce new proteins , obviously to take their place , and if you're not consuming enough protein daily , which a lot of us are freaking not . You should be supplementing with essential amino acids . They're different than BCAAs . They're different than branched chain amino acids . I want you to be taking EAAs because they're essential .

We don't necessarily need to be fucking around with all the amino acids , because your body makes all of the other amino acids , so that's fine . What we need to be worried about is these other ones , these essential ones , that sometimes , if you're not consuming the right things or the right amount , your body will not be making .

So that's why I love essential amino acids . I actually feel a difference with these . With BCAAs , I don't . I , as no surprise , am using the first form essential amino acids . I love , again , how they process everything so cleanly , so it's third-party tested . I love the process that they go through .

One thing I love about their EAAs is they use essential amino acids that mimic the exact profile , the exact makeup of your muscle tissue , which gives you the ability to rebuild muscle faster than it's broken down .

So this is actually called the anabolic state , which boosts muscle protein synthesis , and it helps in your ability to recover and add more lean muscle mass .

When I start taking creatine and EAAs together , my muscles it's just like this seem okay , and maybe it's all of these , because I take them all , but for me I should say the L-carnitine too the L-carnitine , the EAAs and the creatine . For me personally , my body starts to change very quickly .

I start to lean out , I'm not as bloated and inflamed everywhere and my leg muscles start to pop . My ab muscles start to pop . They're there all the time .

I'm always building and lifting , but coming from fall and winter when I'm building muscle and I don't really care what my body's using for energy and all the things , once I get this little makeup going , I know this works for me . Like I said before , I don't do things that don't work for me . I know this freaking works , so it's just like magic .

Of course , I'm putting in the work , but it's like all of a sudden I start to show up in my garage gym and I look in the mirror and I'm like , oh my God , I can see a quad . Oh my God , I can see some abs and they're back and it's just like it works so well . And I am pretty picky about what I put in my body .

It doesn't have to be super , super clean , it doesn't have to be ridiculously tested . I'm not huge on all of that , I'll be honest , but I know that I probably should be , but for me I'm like , if it works , I know that it's good quality . That's what matters for me . I want to feel good when I take it . So that's honestly , all that I'm taking right now .

I'm also taking , honestly , I take a biotin pill every day , I take an iron pill every day , I take my depression anxiety medication every day , and I think that's it , in addition to everything that I mentioned . So those are all the supplements that I take .

I will let you know too that , just in the effort of being authentic and transparent , whatever I want to say that on the containers , it will tell you when it tells you . You know , the best time to take all of these products is I take my pre-workout . I use Bucked Up pre-workout right now . It's really , really good .

I take a half scoop of pre-workout and then I add the creatine , I add L-carnitine , I add the EAAs and I add the glutamine into my little tiny mason jar , stir that up , chug it . I do my workout shortly thereafter and then , after my workout , I have .

Well , a couple hours later , I have another scoop of glutamine , another scoop of L-carnitine and another scoop of EAAs . That's all that I have . So I have them all together in the morning , first thing when I come downstairs , I'm mixing that up and starting to drink it . I love how it makes me feel . And then later in the day , post-workout .

But it doesn't have to be right after your workout because I just had it . So I'm not going to have it again , but I'm kind of going against all the rules here . Here's what I will say . I think consistency is key .

I think if you're taking it every single day , I think if you take it around the same time every single day , that's what's going to matter most and , honestly , it's working for me . So I'm not . If it ain't broke , don't fix it right .

I know on the containers it says to take it so many times a day and take it 30 minutes before your meal and then after , and I would go crazy trying to do that and trying to be perfect , and we all know I could care less . So I am not doing that . That's when I take it and it works perfectly for me .

I want to talk about reds and greens , though for a moment . I'm currently not taking reds and greens because I'm eating a lot of berries and I'm eating I could be eating more salads , but I'm getting my reds and greens , and pretty naturally right now .

So what I will do is I won't take L-carnitine in the fall and winter and I may not take EAAs , because I will most definitely be getting my protein in . My appetite is a lot bigger , larger , when I'm lifting heavier , when I'm putting on muscle and a little bit of fat , of course .

So when I'm in a growth phase , when I'm in a build phase fall and winter I have no problem hitting my protein because I'm putting on muscle and a little bit of fat , of course .

So when I'm in a growth phase , when I'm in a build phase fall and winter I have no problem hitting my protein because I'm freaking starving , because I'm building muscle and I need to eat and I'm always hungry . Right now I'm in a cut phase , I'm not eating as much and so I need to be supplementing with more protein and being cautious of that .

But I am eating more greens and reds , more berries and salads and veggies , so I don't do that in the winter . So I will rotate through those things . But I will say that if you are just starting out , if you have gut issues , glutamine is great , and then I would also start with greens .

So greens will help with digestion and the utilization of nutrients and they improve your gut health . A strong gut allows you to properly digest your food . If you can't digest your food , you're not getting the nutrients anyway , so it's a complete waste of money .

So greens are the best place to start because they help you more efficiently utilize the nutrients that you're eating . And then the reds think about the reds . They help with healthy blood flow . So it's like your greens help with the digestion and the utilization of the nutrients .

The reds take those nutrients into the blood flow and deliver it to the rest of your body . That's how I like to visualize it in my mind .

So if you need somewhere to start , if you're just at the very basics , I would absolutely start with reds and greens and protein powder , and then I would move on to collagen , and then I would move on to glutamine , and then I would move on to L-carnitine and creatine and EAAs . That would be my order of attack , just because I think that's absolutely perfect .

That would make sense in terms of probably what you want for your body composition , for fat loss , for muscle gain and things like that . So I really hope this was helpful . I feel like I talked a lot about these things . It's a lot of information .

Go back and listen again , because again I tried to give you information about the actual product right , what it does scientifically , what it means for your body , what it's composed of , what it helps with . And then I want to tell you why I actually love it , because I'm not going to buy a product because it helps with your digestive system .

I want to know that the person using the product looks great , feels great , functions great , buys that product with their own freaking money , has used that product for a long time . I want to know the freaking truth and so I'm trying to just be authentic with that , tell you what I take and when . Sometimes I don't take it .

I'm not perfect with these by any means , but I do rotate them , and currently I told you what I'm taking , and then reds and greens would be next on the list . Other than this stuff . Guys , you don't need all of this stuff in the beginning of your journey , you don't need it . Actually , you do probably need some of it .

So I was going to say you don't need it at all If you eat enough and if you eat the right nutrients , which none of us do . Let's be real . So you do need some of these , but supplements are not absolutely necessary .

If you can't afford it , if you don't wanna mess with it , if you think it's a waste of time and money and energy and all the things cool , good for you , that's fine .

But just know that to have a healthy , functioning body , you do have to feed your body macronutrients , micronutrients and those things do often come in the form of supplements , because our food is just not processed that great , it's not grown that great , we don't eat that great . So the reality of the situation is sometimes these things are necessary .

But if you have any questions , as usual , shoot me a message at ChristyCastilloFit on Instagram and I will talk to you next week .