Seek The Substantial

Outside Online’s Alex Hutchinson with a terrific article on supplements and whether or not they even work (there are a few that have scientifically been proven to work like creatine and baking soda and caffeine). Hutchinson talks initially about Andrew Huberman who I believe is one of these online gurus who and Hutchinson mentions that Huberman has a $370 supplemental stack and as part of that is the extract Fadogia Agrestis, which Hutchinson notes that there’s been no human studies on this supplement, thus thinking it is something that should be ingested or something that helps humans seems, well, problematic (I had no idea that Huberman, who I know about, but have never listened to, is attempting to sell products). Hutchinson mentions that there’s really only been a few supplements that actually do work, but larger than that it’s us and not them having an expectation of something or understanding that it’s usually not that big of a deal (supplements that is):

As improbable as these results seem, they fit within a larger body of research on a psychological phenomenon called licensing. We often pursue goals that are in conflict with one another, like having an active social life while still getting plenty of sleep. When we make progress toward one goal, we feel justified balancing things out in the opposite direction. Have an afternoon nap and you might think it’s OK to stay out that night for one more drink. When it comes to supplements, the calculus is almost always lopsided. We dramatically overestimate the benefit, and subsequent licensing leaves us worse off than we started.

People with an internal locus of control tend to be more highly motivated, which makes sense since they believe working hard and trying their best will be rewarded. They’re also more likely to take up demanding sports like running and cycling, while those with an external locus of control are drawn to activities like golf and fishing. And athletes with an internal locus of control tend to have lower stress and anxiety, presumably because they believe they determine their fate. We all have a mix of internal and external factors influencing our performance, and an emphasis on supplements nudges us toward the latter—toward belief that success is a consequence not of blood, sweat, and tears, but of ingesting the right pills and powders (and hoping that our rivals haven’t discovered them yet).

Hutchinson really concludes that what typically works is doing the work. Invest in that more than something external and yeah, I have found that this has worked for me. I’ve never been big on supplements or multivitamins and I mentioned last week that I’ve enjoyed drinking Bix, which is part supplement and part recovery drink with electrolytes, which is good after an hour of running for my end of things. If I get some extra vitamins that go along with it, then that’s great. I’ve pretty much subscribed to the idea that I get most of my nutrients from fruit and vegetables that I eat and I try to eat a bunch of them.

I have never heard of La Digue, but it is a small island in the Seychelles, east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. All of that sentence is absolutely from some sort of fictional novel and places I never knew existed. However, La Digue is populated by 2,800 people and is essentially in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The main industry is tourism and the main way of transportation is bicycle, which sounds awesome. Oh, and La Digue is part of the Seychelles, which is is an actual republic with Victoria being the capital and it’s own separate island.

Things I’m consuming. I don’t watch much television and the only time that I really watch television, other than sports, is on Sunday morning when I’m lifting (that’s leg day) and last year I consumed Andor and thought that was one of the best things I’ve watched. Then this year I started watching Moon Knight and holy smokes, what an inventive and original show. Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector has been nothing short of amazing and it as F. Murray Abraham as part of the cast, so what more could you want. I’ve also been watching Ahsoka without really much history at all behind what I’m watching. I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars movies (obviously didn’t stop me from watching Andor). This has been the show I’ve watched with Fitsum. Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka is terrific as the lead and the other two female leads (which is pretty cool) with Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla has been just a fun ride thus far.