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4 supplements that will help you drop weight before race season.

4 supplements that will help you drop weight before race season.
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Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx

"Supplements" is almost like a dirty word. Most people steer clear of this topic. There are 3 main reasons why people are hesitant to use them.

Reason #1: Supplementation gets a bad wrap for not having the purest products.

Reason #2: They can be very expensive. Is it really necessary to take on a new expense?

Reason #3: There are too many products from too many sources. You can get them online. That is over whelming. You may feel that the salesperson at the vitamin store may just be trying to sell you anything. For these reasons, It is hard to know who to trust. It is important to find a brand you trust from a trusted source.

Why I recommend them and think they are something to consider.

Back in 2005, I began running after I had already lost weight and was on supplements. Runners, myself included, often think that we can lose weight by our running program alone. I had not come to the full appreciation that often times runners are misguided to this fact. As mileage racks up, we often times rationalize a burger and beer diet thinking that we earned it. Then, we have not lost our weight and wonder why. Supplements are a great way to get kick started. They give you the much needed energy to handle workouts. Here are the ones that I use and why. You decide if supplements are right for you.

Multivitamin

With any new training plan, I 100% suggest getting on a multi-vitamin. You are repeatedly putting your body under stress that it is not used to. This can cause havoc on your immune system. A multi-vitamin can help by filling in the gaps of much needed nutrients. You should be on a meal plan that supports your goals which gives you the macronutrients your body needs to perform. A multi-vitamin provides your body with the micronutrients it needs to perform. Just to be clear. Macronutrients means the food you eat that has the nutrients in it. Micronutients means the straight shot pill form of those nutrients.

Added Benefits

Multi-vitamins Increase your collagen production (AKA joint lube), a necessity for runners.

The B Vitamins provide energy, increased metabolism, and red blood cell production.

For ladies, multivitamins often contain folic acid, which are great for hair, skin, and nails.

Fish oil

Good old omega 3 fatty acids is the next go-to supplement. If you can't eat the macronutrient in wild caught salmon and other fatty fish, you can take the pill form. Your Omegas are essential for your brain function, your metabolism, and provide more good lube for your joints. This means more calories burned and less injuries.

Protein shake

Protein is vital to lose fat and build lean muscle. These muscles help you go the distance and give you speed. The thing is, to get all the protein that you need, you will be literally shoving food in your mouth all day. To help get you all the protein you need, definitely start drinking protein shakes. You are going to have to trial and error which are best for you and your performance and body. There are many types of protein. The most common are whey, plant based, casein, and egg white. Personally, with running, plant based is best on the stomach and won't slow you down. Casein, which is what I am using now, is optimal for late night use. It is slow absorption which means it will not make you bloated and cause discomfort while you are sleep. Try some and see which is best for you.

Fat Burner

If you are like me, you want to see results quickly. It is totally optional, but try a fat burner to speed things up. There are a few types so stay with me while I try to explain them in simple terms.

L-Carnitine: an amino acid that is a key ingredient in many fat burners. It is already in your body and simply put helps with the formation of mitochondria (which causes your cells to burn energy). Before I scare you, next…….

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA):

An amino acid that is naturally occurring in proteins such as milk, beef, lamb, and others. it assists with building lean protein while reducing body fat. Next.

Calcium Pyruvate:

I could give you the long explanation, but basically it sends out any unnecessary glucose before your body adsorbs it. It also transports protein to your muscles to promote growth. Remember going the distance.

We have now built a solid supplementation program for you. Funny enough, the fish oil and the multi-vitamin act as mild fat burners too. Begin taking these, you will see your gains increase exponentially…..or is that losses?

Remember, supplements are called supplements because they assist a healthy diet. People, who do badly on supplements usually abuse them through ignorance or bad habits. If you experience nausea or any other bad side effects is is probably because you did not eat enough as many supplements are to be taken with food.

I get my supplements online at Bodybuilding.com. They have a huge selection, but they offer spot on reviews from customers that use them. Look for the supplements that have hundreds and thousands of reviews as opposed to the ones that do not. Stick with the high scoring brands. They offer many articles about supplemenation. They are written by bodybuilders who can be quite technical, but they know their stuff.

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Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes have been the Astros' best hitters. Composite Getty Image.

It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.

Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.

What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.

His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.

And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.

Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.

But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.

Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.

And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.

For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.

Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.

We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!

The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!

*ChatGPT assisted.

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