Hi guys, I posted this question in the “cheers” section yesterday. Not sure if it was the right place to ask the question. So, I thought I would post it here as well.

My name is Jim . My wife (Di) and I live Virginia. We are going on our second year of crossfitting and still love it.  We attended the crossfit kids cert . in CA the end of last year and now run the program at the box we have joined.  I have been utilizing the brandx blog to help with some of our questions. However, this question I need some more info.  We have several high school athletes asking about protien shakes and other supplements. I have talked to them about paleo (meats, veggies, nuts/seeds and fruit). I am not sure how to address this question. Some of them want to and need to increase size (Tall skinnies) and some need to lose wt. Can you give us some direction

Hi Jim,
I’m not a big fan of supplements.  Most kids, actually people in general, would benefit way more from cleaning up there diet and adjusting their intake.  After the diet has been adjusted and cleaned up folks often realize they don’t need supplements.  Still, most think supplements are a quick fix and it is often hard to convince them otherwise.  Lay the facts out, discuss with them what it means to be scientifically tested vs. anecdotal evidence, and then hope for the best.

Shakes are a different story.  Nothing wrong with them as long as they are not full of sugar and crap.  Encourage them to eat good real food and if they are convinced that a shake will help them then suggest they drink it directly after their workouts.

I appreciate the advice.

Answer: Caffeine and sleep.. Question: What do teenagers drink a lot of, and try to avoid as much as possible?

I think Guard Dawg is dead on here..

The chubby kids will shed weight quicker with a proper diet and better sleeping habits by getting rid of the coca-cola, mountain dew, starbucks, snapple, and all the rest of the syrup-in-a-can on store shelves these days.. The tall skinny kids could perhaps benefit from protein shakes after hard workouts, but I’m not sure they have enough mass to physically exert themselves enough to require it anyways..

Honestly I would be more concerned with connective tissues being out paced by muscle/bone growth which can end up leading to other, potentially far worse problems down the road. A 120lb 15 year old kid is just not the same kind of animal as a full-grown adult - mentally or physically.