So trying to get a good supplement program going, as my diet is crap, and being a very very picky eater, means things are made worse by food choices. Also doctors have said to add vitamin D, and more fiber. This somewhat links to my general birthday and fitness wish list. So here’s what I’m taking and thinking of taking.
Weekdays, I eat 4 pieces of toast (bread has 2 g of fiber per slice) in the morning with Country Crock Calcium, Peanut Butter (thin amount, probably not a full serving EDIT June 2024, I’ve moved to a reduced fat version of the peanut butter in an effort to cut total fat from over 40%, as in high 40s of daily intake to 30%, and that’s when I use peanut butter, as most mornings I do cinnamon sugar), and sometimes honey..Then for lunch a valveeta cheese sandwich with 2 slices of the valveeta (EDIT June 2024, I’ve cut the Country Crock from this to help cut the daily total fat). Dinner ranges from taco with chicken, cheeseburgers (sometimes with bacon), pizza (pepperoni), steak (with salad), more toast, Velveeta Shells and Cheese.
I’d probably do more spaghetti with meat sauce (Prego Mushroom for the sauce), but I just don’t get around to it like I probably should I’d also probably do fish sticks, or breaded fish fellets, but when you live in a multi unit building, one has to consider the smell.
Weekends, breakfast ranges from toast, french toast, pancakes, eggs and toast, or occasional donuts. Dinner is the same as weekdays.
So yeah, not super healthy…
What I Take
Mornings
I take a multivitamin, currently Up & Up Adults’ 50+ multivitamin, as it’s fairly affordable. This is daily in the morning with breakfast.
I sometimes take probiotic, currently Up & Up Digestive Health Probiotic Supplement, which Target’s version of Cultrelle Digestive Health, which seemed to be the best recommended probiotic. I generally do it daily in the morning with breakfast, though it’s not something I always have on hand, and panic if I don’t have it. In fact it can sometimes be months between buying another pack.
Afternoon
My fiber supplement is a Psyllium Fiber Supplement Capsule. Now the instructions say 5 capsules 4 times a day… and I generally only do 5 once a day, and then only on weekdays. This is about 2 hours after I’ve had the morning pills as it can mess up the absorption of the stuff I take it the morning, including the prescriptions. As I eat a lot of bread each day, I can’t afford the higher fiber breads I’d like to get. Then on weekdays, my lunch typically is a cheese sandwich, so there’s another 2 slices of bread. So without the fiber supplement, on the weekdays I get about 12 g of fiber, and I am supposed to be aiming for 28… now that’s just bread based fiber, but I don’t think most of my other foods have much fiber. So that’s why I added the supplement, but I probably really need to crank it up, and take more of the capsules.
After Work / Evenings
I take a K2 + D3 supplement. The K2 (as MK-7) is also helpful for calcium in the bloodstream, to keep it from hardening arteries, and the like. NOTE: As of June 2024, the name brand was changed, link coming later.
Now the final supplement is Magnesium, in the form of a complex. BioEmblem Triple Magnesium Complex, has the 3 main forms that likely would be of help to me. Magnesium Glycinate is helpful for anxiety and depression… Magnesium Citrate helps the body absorb the magnesium, and might help with headaches and the like, but not good for those with loose bowls such as myself… Malate also helps make it easier to absorb without some of the negatives of Magnesium… This one would likely be taken at dinner and before bed. NOTE: As of June 2024, I’m not sure that’s the brand I ended up with… link will be fixed.
What I’m Thinking of Adding
In theory I could, (should?) add Glucomonnan an hour before each dinner with a full glass of water. More fiber, and should make it so I eat less snacks at least after dinner. Only dinner as I can’t get up early enough to take it in the morning before breakfast, and not really useful on weekday lunches. Anyhow, beyond more fiber, it reduces hunger, and decreases blood sugar, which isn’t as much of a big deal as I’m not diabetic, but still a net positive.
Potentially Cinnamon in a Ceylon type. Again, more for digestive help than blood sugar help.
The rest of these really depend on getting tested to see what I may be short and or deficient on.
Iron, which is especially important from an endurance athlete standpoint. Want this in the ferrous bisglycinate chelate form, rather than ferrous sulfate form, which is what more of the cheaper ones do.
Vitamin C if needed.