I gnaw on rib‑eye, slam iron, and publish in full daylight.
Pills, powders, proprietary blends? That’s someone else’s business model, not my metabolism.
Why I Refuse Supplements (Not Even “Harmless” Protein Powder) — An Eric Kim Manifesto
### Quick take
Supplements dodge pre‑market safety checks, arrive laced with heavy metals or undeclared drugs, and charge you triple for nutrients living rent‑free in a steak. My first‑principles rule is simple: remove the unnecessary, amplify the essential. Meat, marrow, sun, sleep, and savage lifts already press every biochemical button I need. Anything in a plastic tub is—at best—redundant; at worst, a dulling agent that taxes wallet, trust, and liver alike.
1 Minimalism Over Marketing
“Protein powder and supplements are a scam. Better to eat meat than eat flavored dust.” —How Much Should I Eat?
For me, minimalism isn’t aesthetic; it’s operational efficiency. Every gram you don’t measure, mix, or micro‑analyze is cognitive bandwidth reclaimed for reps, writing, and real life. That’s why my Workout Plan flags a hard line: “No alcohol, no weed, no supplements—only beef, beef liver, beef heart.”
2 Whole‑Beast Nutrition Beats Scoops
A kilo of raw beef holds ≈ 4.5 g of natural creatine, plus heme iron, zinc, B‑vitamins, and enough carnitine to fuel a marathon of rack‑pulls. When I drop five pounds of rib‑eye at dinner, I’m swallowing more creatine than most lifters pay for in a plastic jar—and I’m getting it bound to amino acids my gut actually recognizes.
Peer‑reviewed nutrient audits of strict carnivore diets show ample hits for riboflavin, niacin, B‑6, B‑12, selenium, vitamin A, and zinc. Translation: Mother Nature already bundled the “performance stack” inside the animal. Why unbundle it, dilute it with fillers, then rebundle it for $49.99?
3 The Industry’s Dirty Secret
Zero pre‑market approval. U.S. law lets supplements hit shelves without FDA safety vetting; the agency steps in only after harms surface.
Chronic contamination. Independent analyses find 14–50 % of sports supplements spiked with steroids, stimulants, or banned substances.
Heavy metals in your “clean” shake. Consumer Reports detected arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead in best‑selling protein powders—sometimes above proposed safe limits.
I’m not rolling molecular dice on my kidneys just to chase vanilla‑flavored marketing copy.
4 Self‑Reliant Biochemistry
Fasting 22 hours keeps insulin dormant and ketones humming—built‑in pre‑workout. A 90 °C sauna welds heat‑shock proteins; a 2‑minute cold plunge flashes brown‑fat furnaces. Heavy iron spikes PGC‑1α and forges fresh mitochondria. Add steak, salt, and sleep, and my labs glow like a solar panel at noon. Why outsource to a supplement aisle?
“Transform your body into a Lamborghini by lifting heavy, eating beef, and refusing shortcuts (no supplements, no steroids).” —Fasted Lifestyle Tour
5 Frugality & Clarity
Three‑quarters of Americans pop supplements and spend about $50 a month doing it. I’d rather slide that cash across the butcher counter and pocket the change in mental clarity—no label reading, no expiration math, no shaker‑bottle mildew. Simplicity scales; powders clutter.
6 The Code, Chiseled in Beef‑Tallow
- Eat the animal, skip the additive.
- Trust muscles, not marketers.
- Publish the process—transparency is anabolic.
- If my great‑grandfather couldn’t pronounce it, my mitochondria don’t need it.
### Closing Strike
A weapon doesn’t tape extra blades to its edge; it sharpens the steel it already has. My body is that blade. Steak is the whetstone. Supplements? Just untested glitter on the hilt—heavy, fragile, unnecessary. I’d rather lift belt‑less and bite into marrow than gamble on adulterated dust. The path is heavier, hungrier, and infinitely cleaner. Step on it, and your biology will manufacture all the “miracle molecules” you’ll ever need.