My husband teases me that I'm getting a pill organizer for my birthday so I won't overdose on vitamins!

Popping pills seems to have such a negative connotation with most people (or in my world anyway). I never took vitamins or supplements growing up... so it was a big paradigm shift for me to consume pills everyday to fortify my body with vitamins and minerals.

There is no question that I eat really healthy but I also work my body hard (at least 2 hours of working out 5-6 days a week).

A few months into my rigorous workout routine... I was having a lot food cravings and also feeling tired all the time. I eat lots of fruits, veggies, protein and try to incorporate complex carbs into my diet too... so I went to a local health food store and started combing the shelves for things that might give me a "little boost"! I had been taking a multi-vitamin for active women and a green tea supplement for months... but I still felt like there was something missing. In addition to researching vitamins and minerals online, I also talked to a medical doctor that works in the area of weight loss. I explained to him my symptoms, told him that I was under a lot of stress at work, explained how I worked out 8+ hours a week, told him about my eatting habits and cravings, and that my weight had plateau over over a month. He suggested that I implement a Complex B Vitamin and B12 to help me handle stress and start losing weight again. Well it did! Even though it made my pee a bright yellow (is that too much information?)... after a couple weeks... I didn't have food cravings when I was stressed and I felt like I had more energy and was happier.

About 2 weeks ago... I started to get slack on taking my vitamins and it's bizarre... but in the last week... I found myself more irritable, my weight plateaued again... and I started craving chocolate and wanting to cheat on my food when it wasn't Saturday! Is it mind over matter... is it outside influences (possibly)... I have no idea exactly what is causing this change but I'm blaming it on vitamin deficiency!

I'm in no way promoting these specific vitamins in this photo (talk to your medical doctor before taking supplements)... but to give you a visual of how many pills I consume... I thought I'd share with you the bottles in my medicine cabinet.

Now in my defense... I do not consume all of these pills at once. They are supposed to be spread out during my 3 main meals... but most of the time I usually forget to take them with supper... but this is what the bottles suggest I take everyday!

I also take electrolyte stamina pills before hot yoga. I've never had to stop during a class because of heat exhaustion (though often times in class a few people do)... I say it's because my electrolytes don't drop... but really maybe I'm just hard core... I've never tried a class without taking electrolytes first... so I really don't know! But if the cost of trying hot yoga without electrolytes means potentially getting dizzy or passing out… I’d rather not experiment with it.

Some booty sistas have also said that Chromium is great to curb for sugar cravings... I have some in my cupboard but I haven't been taking it regularly (for no reason other than there are only so many pills a chick can swallow in one day)!

The health food professional also told me that cinnamon supplements are great for regulating your blood sugar... which also helps in weight loss... but I haven't tried that yet.

In addition to vitamins... I also drink 1 protein shake every day... usually it replaces a meal or if it's a high intensity workout day then I drink it as a snack. My favorite is the "Chocolate Low Carb Myoplex". Often I'll throw a banana and some almond butter in it too and 6 ice cubes! Oh yah baby - milkshake! We have to order "Low Carb Myopolex" from the USA because the retailers in Canada only have the "Myoplex Lite" version which has more sugar and carbs then I want. But if you buy a couple boxes of the protein shake then you can usually get free shipping. Protein shakes are a great post-workout recovery drink and an awesome way to get fortified with vitamins and minerals!

One important thing that I learned about vitamins is to try to buy the ones that are enclosed in vegetable capsules (they are a clear oval tube with powder inside instead of a hard compressed pill). From what I've been told and read (disclaimer: I'm not an expert)... your body will absorb more of the vitamin in the capsule form then hard compressed pill.

Of course... I believe there is no better vitamin and mineral source then real food... but suppliments seem to help me "top up" on what I'm missing from my regular food in-take.