It goes without saying that a good diet is key to good health. As a fan of fitness and dieting, I'm always interested in reading about how professionals train and what diet supplements they take post workouts and, for triathletes, what they ingest during races.
So in addition to a well balanced diet, I was wondering what dietary supplements you guys take (if any). When I was marathon training, I drank undiluted Gatorade during runs with Gu every 4 miles and drank Muscle Milk for post-workout recovery. Other people preferred drinking Accelerade, eating Powerbars or Sports Beans, etc. but they didn't seem to do it for me. Because I sweat a lot I also found out that I needed to take in a lot of salt to prevent dehydration. (Dehydration, by the way, sucks big time!)
Even though I've long put off running because of bum knees, I find that Muscle Milk still works well for post workout swims and weight training. It helps to reduce muscle fatigue - if I don't drink it I will be sore.
We all have our own preferences, so I hope this doesn't turn into a flame thread. It's just interesting to hear what you guys are using for diet supplements.
Gatorade powder doesn't have hfcs. But, Jazzy and I share a common opinion on the anti HFCS conspiracy.
My food allergies are very real. For decades I tried all kinds of meds, sprays, and shots but nothing worked satisfactorily or for long.
After I eased off diary, corn, soybeans, and most nightshades, my allergies finally left me.
It is a well known FACT (yes, Allen Stark, FACT) that milk is the grossest natiest crap ever forced upon kids. That many adults choose to drink it, in any flavor, defies explanation. Blech, meh, yawn on milk!
Interesting that so many people are taking fish oil. I don't think I've ever even heard of it before reading this thread! What are its purported benefits?
Omega-3 fatty acids are the "new" sexy thing in a tablet. I read a Wall Street Journal article recently claiming that, of all supplements, these ones actually work. Back in the day researchers did studies on Greenland Inuits to understand why they had a low incidence of heart disease even though they maintained a fatty diet. Research discovered that their diet consisted in large portion of seafood rich in protective omega-3's fatty acids.
Now how much omega-3 you need to ingest to show cardiovascular protection is a matter for debate. All I know is they're marketing the hell out of it. DHA, one form of omega-3, is even marketed in baby food, claiming to increase infant brain development.
I'm not surprised that so many people are taking fish oil considering its recent popularity. I am surprised, however, at the (alarming) number of chocolate milk drinkers. I, too, prefer to drink dark chocolate flavored Muscle Milk. Mixed with milk it tastes just like like a chocolate shake. Perhaps, there's something to the aftertaste of chlorine and chocolate.
so I hope this doesn't turn into a flame thread. It shouldn't.
Supplements are simply part of a balanced athletic nutrition plan, especially on the post workout carbo (and or protein) replenishing side.
It's food like any other food. And speaking of money, I actually find them cheap (given that you pick the best price/calorie/quality ratio).
I like good old carbo reload (at $2/500Kcal) after most exhausting workouts and if I suspect there might have been muscle damage then I make sure I have sufficient protein reload, either through my diet (dinner) or through a protein/carbo shake (at $3/30gram at my local gym).
When I am in an intense overall training schedule, I might add a weight gainer/vitamin supplement (a shake there again, cytosports at $3.00/450Kcal done home early morning). Anyway, I keep a can home just in case, to increase Kcal intake to make sure I don't suffer Kcal deficit (like it happens to me sometimes).
Some like to seek for performance enhancement stuff like red bull or other stimulant, or Cytomax or anything. I prefer taste over anything else. And on that side, to me, poweraid comes first so this is my main fuel while training. Just for the taste It reminds me koolaid when I was I kid. I hate water, I find it is not rewarding.
i get my fish oil from sardines.
started taking hammer's tissue rejuvenator.... no more ibuprofin, yea!
before/during short workouts gu's, gels, shot blocks and water.
long workouts hammer perpetuem. i just picked up a tub of maxim... 100% flavorless maltodextrin.
post workout: oj with whey protein, myoplex, or recoverite.
For me: a multivitamin every day (when I remember), a banana every workout day, tons of water, and diluted Gatorade before, during & after workouts. I think the Gatorade helps with foot cramps during longer swims.
Enough fish oil also creates a "sheen" on the body, similar to slime on a fish, which offers obvious advantages to slip easily through the water.:bolt:
I have a problem with my joints, so I'm taking glucosamine as well as some kind of anti-inflammatory oil, i.e. fish oil or evening primrose oil. Taking fish oil all the time makes me sick (too much vitamin D), so I switch between the two. Thinking of trying New Zealand green lipped mussel extract which is supposed to contain both glucosamine and a much more effective anti-inflamatory oil in addition to other goodies.
I also take deep sea kelp (a source of iodine). I hate multivitamins, prefer to eat lots of fruit instead.
For me it's :
fish oil (I like Nordic Naturals) 2x a day
multi-vitamin daily
then occasionally B complex and C if I'm surrounded by sick young people
and occasional calcium/magnesium when I feel like it.
finally, whether I want to or not, 2 glasses of good red wine :rolleyes: in the evening. When I'm tapering, I taper down to less than one glass for a couple of nights before the meet.
During meets I drink gatorade.
Interesting that so many people are taking fish oil. I don't think I've ever even heard of it before reading this thread! What are its purported benefits?
No supplements for me. Like Chris, I do have the occasional chocolate milk after a workout. Sometimes Gatorade (G2, usually) during a workout. I prefer it diluted by about half.
