FORT IRWIN, Calif. — NutraVerity, a new fitness food establishment contracted by Fort Irwin Family and MWR, began serving up smoothies, supplements and prepared meals last month during a soft opening at the Resiliency Center. The grand opening will take place May 19.
The store aims to be a one-stop shop for athletes, community members and gym patrons looking to meet a wide range of fitness goals, from losing weight to building muscle.
“We do pretty much everything across the board, from supplements to diet plans to coaching to personal training,” said NutraVerity CEO Matthew Gregg. “We actually even cook for you, so meal prep, smoothies, pretty much anything that you need.”
The menu is fairly basic, he said. It is based on an assortment of lean meats, including chicken, turkey, and beef, as well as clean carbs and vegetables. Customers can build their own meals based on the protein source they want and their personal nutrition goals.
“If you’ve ever done a real diet in your life before, you know that it’s not very fun,” Gregg said. “It’s nothing crazy, nothing deep fried, nothing fun like that, but it is very, very convenient for the people that do have goals and want to achieve them.”
Gregg, originally from Barstow, is a body builder who competes at the national level. He opened his first store, Superior Aesthetics, in Barstow three years ago. To him, the value of nutrition can’t be overstated.
“Honestly, there’s no possible way that you can achieve any of your goals if you’re just on the physical side and you’re not taking care of the nutritional side,” he said. “If you work out for an hour a day, there are still 23 hours in the rest of the day. So honestly it depends what you’re doing during those 23 hours, aka your diet, that really is going to shape your body.”
While there are many different food fads and trends, nutrition is really dependent on the fundamentals and an individual’s personal goals, he added, and meeting those goals safely is key. For example, Gregg remembers turning away a customer who wanted to lose 20 pounds in just two weeks.
“You can’t really generalize fitness,” he said. “Everybody’s path is different.”
