Nathan Detracy-Supplements-Nutrition

NW Fitness Magazine (March-2012)
Nathan DeTracy

No Bashing …. Just Asking…. Do you know?

For those that don’t know me, my name is Nathan DeTracy and I will be competing at this May’s New York Pro show in the 212 class for my pro debut.

My bodybuilding journey began back in 2002 when a devastating family tragedy at 21 years old pushed me into the sport of bodybuilding. I have grown up on stage over the last 10 years. My fear was that if I didn’t do something constructive with my body I would go down a path of destruction. Bodybuilding quickly became a quiet obsession and lifestyle for me. I’ve never been the “look at me” type yet deep inside we all want to be noticed, right?

Gracing the stage at a robust 143.25, in 2002, I quickly understood that was not where I want to be. By 2005 my persistence and dedication led to an overall win as a Light Heavy weight at the Oregon State. In 2006, I was laughed off of stage at the USA’s (well, at least in my head). Making a trip down to California and then to Vegas to not even make the top 15 was a feeling I held deep within myself and it drove me forward for years.

In 2007, I sought professional help with my nutrition and won the 2007 Emerald Cup Light Heavy weight class and overall trophy! It felt good to be the local #1 for a year, yet I still held an anger inside to get back to a national show and prove to myself I could belong.

The next year 2008 was a hard hit to my ego to make the decision to drop down a class to Middleweight. I made this decision after studying the National level competition and I had to accept that I wasn’t ready to be in the Light heavy class for the look I wanted to pull off. The Light heavies and up are considered the monsters of the stage. Everyone wants to be the monster, but in my head, what separates the top from the average is shape and leanness. I had to stand out; to do that I had to give up a little size to come in more shredded. I did cardio for USA’s tirelessly with a diet that stripped me of every ounce of fat. I stepped on stage very gaunt and depleted, but that is what it took for me to win the middle weight class at the USA’s. Usually a National level win in your class is enough to earn a Pro card, but at USA’s only the top 2 in the overall earn Pro Status and I was #3 in the overall!

2009 was filled with a struggling business that took its toll on me emotionally but I was determined to be ready for the 2009 NPC Nationals for another chance at going Pro. The only thing I changed in my regimen was switching my core wellness supplementation and BCAA’s to Advocare. When starting my cut down for the 2009 NPC Nationals I weighed the same as the year prior at 230lbs. As the 16 week cut down progressed I held a much different look and was amazed at how much healthier I felt and looked. I retained much more muscle and my face looked fuller when it came time to get on stage. The diet was the same, lifting was the same…. Everything was the same except my muscle retention from the change in nutritional supplements. At 8 weeks out I was doing 3 hours of cardio a day and with 3 days left still had 10lbs to drop when I had absolutely no body fat left! With hours left before weigh in severe dehydration and the help of a couple suppositories, I weighed in at exactly 176.25. Fewwww! I went on to win the 2009 middle weight class at Nationals and there I received my Pro Card!

More of my background up to now is important to know my credibility and knowledge. I was a personal trainer for 13 years from 1998 to 2011 and also owned a Max Muscle supplement store for a little more than three years from 2002 to 2006. In 2006 I achieved a lifelong goal and opened my own Gym. I specialized in weight loss and competition prep for 7 years. I have used numerous supplement brands and had contracts with two different supplement companies as a bodybuilder. I have written thousands of nutritional diets and as you can see I’ve been around the game a long time with a tremendous amount of self-study, trial and error.

After being in the National circuit for years and seeing what went on behind the scenes to market nutritional products I was extremely skeptical due to the lack of quality products in the marketplace. Marketing and hype was more important than quality, health and results. I researched in depth and decided that Advocare was the best fit for me. When I switched exclusively to Advocare for my 2009 show I was a true believer due to my increased health and muscle mass retention. Advocare had years of credibility with top athletes in many sports, extensive testing for impurities and higher levels of “active” ingredients that indeed increased my health and results.

These are the questions I posed to make my decision to switch;

Question? How do you know what you are putting in your body that you get at the XYZ store is really helping you? Or a better question… How do you know it isn’t hurting you?

Question? Who tests products to make sure they are what they say they are? The government does not have any laws set forth to make sure what is on the label is in fact in the bottle, so how do you know? How do you know your product is not made with toxins, impurities, low grade ingredient or fillers?

Advocare’s Answer; Informed Choice https://www.advocare.com/science/informedchoice.aspx

Informed Choice is an independent testing facility. Advocare products are tested for over 200 banned substances, toxins and impurities. Advocare factually tests more products for more impurities than any other nutritional company in the world. Advocare is always looking to prove their excellence is a standard above other companies. They test against the highest testing standards in the sports communities where optimal health is needed to compete at peak levels. Advocare is the only full line of supplementation that is endorsed by the Olympics Standards Committee and able to be used by any professional athlete. This insures that if the product is of the top of the line for an Olympic Athlete it will be for the individual seeking health and wellness.

Question? Who formulates the supplements? In my past experiences I don’t ever hear a claim of who designs the products? You hear of a big name Professional that markets the products but who is really in charge of the foundation of the products?

Advocares Answer; The Scientific and Medical Advisory Board https://www.advocare.com/science/scimedboard.aspx

At first glance a board of doctors was impressive but as I dug in, it went much deeper than a Med School Graduate. Advocare has a board of 8 doctors who are well known in the Medical Field. They are not hired specifically to work for Advocare which I found interesting. They are well known doctors with world class accomplishments and credibility in their field. For example, Dr. Stanly Dudrick is a professor of surgery at Yale University and responsible for inventing the intravenous feeding solution in hospitals. William Kraemer is professor of Sports Medicine at The University of Connecticut and won the lifetime achievement award from the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Sidney Stohs is head of Pharmacology and Toxicology and travels the world in search of the highest active ingredients and new plant extracts for improved supplementation. Dr. Robert Hackman and Carl Keen are professors of Nutrition at UC Davis (which is considered the Harvard of Nutrition).

These are World famous medical specialists that come together for Advocare and design products based on the highest quality raw materials and newest science. They used synergistic products for optimal absorption and utilization.

The more I investigated and tried to prove something was wrong with Advocare’s supplements, the more I found that Advocare produced the best supplements I had ever found. It doesn’t matter if you’re an athlete or a mom taking care of 3 kids… your life will be better if you are of optimal health. For me, as an athlete that is trying to get the most out of my body; having my body function to the best of its ability improves my chances of building more muscle and being healthier.

Question? Does the price on the bottle determine the quality? You know we have all done this… Go to your local store and see two bottles of the same thing. One is $20 more than the other so you either take the one that is least expensive because you want to save money, or like me you get the higher priced one thinking its better. What if they just marked it up higher than the other?

Advocare’s Answer;

Advocare is a 20 year old company. They have more unpaid professional athletic endorsers than any other nutrition company in the world. What does that mean? It means an athlete who can make $500,000 or more a year saying they take “something” will instead line up for Advocare products without getting paid a cent! Why? Because they know it will better their performance which is far more important. I use this example because it happened to me. I was given free product before Advocare and chose to pay for my products instead to increase my health and performance. I have yet a second example. I can’t mention any names for obvious reasons but had a very famous professional athlete working out at my gym who was paid by a supplement company but saw the value in Advocare so he chose to pay for products through me. He since dropped his contract but it was funny to see him come in with a company’s name on his shirt yet walk out with $500 in Advocare products.

The majority of most of these companies’ money goes to advertising and endorsing. Advocare spent 17 years with none of that and only recently now has grown so much that now they can do both. They put the money into the products before they put it into letting us know about who was taking them! That speaks huge and unlike any other company in the world!

I’ll leave you with these questions to ask yourself;

Do I know who formulates my supplements?

Are my supplements made with Synergistic ingredients that help absorption and utilization?

Are my products of the highest grade or does it just make me feel better that I am putting something in my mouth?

Do my products add to my overall health in the future?

Do my products increase my chances of bettering my performance or add to my end result?

Have I been taking my products for a while with no real results seen?

Knowledge is power and Advocare has directed me down a path that has impacted my life forever in a very positive way. Not just through health, but also being a part of an environment of values and high character people that strives to bring out the best in others. The personal growth that I have experienced has been life changing.

Everyone reading this article has greatness inside of you to accomplish great things! Why do some of us do it and others do not? I started at a weight less than 150 pounds! There were many other guys that could’ve accomplished what I did easier and in less time. The difference was not in my body type, it was in my attitude, dedication and perseverance even when the destination seemed almost impossible. Fear of change and success is very normal in us. The way things are is so much easier because it is familiar, comfortable and predictable. However it is also settling for mediocrity. For anything to improve in our lives, things cannot stay the same. You must break out of mediocrity with a hunger for more! We all have a drive inside where faith can overcome fear. I challenge you to go after your dreams and not set them on a back burner. We only live once; wouldn’t you rather die striving for purpose and greatness, rather than settling for being average?

What I shared with you has changed many more lives than just my own so do not take it lightly if your interest is sparked. It may or may not be for you, but thousands with a passion for the wellness industry have found this to be a perfect match for their health and life goals.

My website is WWW.ADVOCAREBYDESIGN.COM

You are welcome to contact me through here for more information.

NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition - Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition – Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition - Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition – Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition - Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition – Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition - Nathan DeTracy
NW Fitness Magazine-Supplements & Nutrition – Nathan DeTracy