Does anyone use vitamins?

Autumn336

Hey guys!

I've been thinking of starting to use multivitamins not just for weight loss but for all around health. But, I found myself in Kroger yesterday not even knowing where to start!

I was wondering if anyone takes vitamins on a regular basis, what their experience is with them, and what kind would be the best?

Any help would be great!

whitpauly

I just take women's One A Day

bigmuneymfp

Yes I take a multi fish oil magnesium zinc d
All NOW foods brand

mjlfit83

If you eat a well balanced diet with a variety of different vegetables and fruits, you rarely need any additional supplements.
The exception would be if you are deficient in a particular vitamin or mineral, but your GP will be able to tell you that. Don't just assume or guess.
Usually taking additional supplements merely gives you expensive urine, but too much of anything will become toxic.

Bottom line, only take what is missing from an otherwise healthy diet.

chelllsea124

I take a women's one a day and fish oil/

JetJaguar

mjlfit83 wrote: »

Usually taking additional supplements merely gives you expensive urine,

I take a generic, store-brand multivitamin just as cheap insurance. A 3-month supply costs like $5. I waste more money on Steam games I've never even installed.

MommyMeggo

I take Vitamin D because I am deficient without it.
My diet is inclusive of the rest.

No need to spend a pretty penny if you choose to take one. An all in one, one-a-day should be sufficient.

cwolfman13

I'm vitamin D deficient so I take 1,000 IU daily. I take a men's one a day to cover my bases.

I also take a magnesium supplement (Drs. Best) as it was recommended to me for a lot of cramping and whatnot after rides...seems to do the trick.

mjlfit83

JetJaguar wrote: »

I waste more money on Steam games I've never even installed.

haha, same here!

To be fair, I myself take 6g of fish oil daily at the prescription of my GP.
My point is simply pointing out that taking anything more than your body actually needs is metabolically wasted.

erienneb66

I take a generic multivitamin, prescription strength vitamin d (50000mg), magnesium, and calcium. Taking all these still leaves me deficient because I have absorption issues and if I don't take these I have serious issues. I get my bloodwork done every 6 months because of this, so I'm not sure if I count as I take vitamins for medical reasons?

Juniper210

I take a women's one a day Active. I mainly take it because it contains caffeine (I cut out the 3-4 energy drinks I was drinking every day) and because my iron has a tendency to be low. I figure if my body needs any of the other stuff in it, well that's a bonus.

mjlfit83

erienneb66 wrote: »

... if I don't take these I have serious issues... I'm not sure if I count as I take vitamins for medical reasons?

Pretty sure that counts.

xmichaelyx

I take vitamin D (2000 IU) every day because I'm rarely in the sun. With a good, varied diet, other vitamins shouldn't be necessary for the average person.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Autumn336 wrote: »

Hey guys!

I've been thinking of starting to use multivitamins not just for weight loss but for all around health. But, I found myself in Kroger yesterday not even knowing where to start!

I was wondering if anyone takes vitamins on a regular basis, what their experience is with them, and what kind would be the best?

Any help would be great!

multivitamins will do nothing for weight loss. it may help if you are low/deficient in something and will help if you dont eat enough foods that have certain vitamins and minerals in them, but it wont help with weight loss.

chelllsea124

Juniper210 wrote: »

I take a women's one a day Active. I mainly take it because it contains caffeine (I cut out the 3-4 energy drinks I was drinking every day) and because my iron has a tendency to be low. I figure if my body needs any of the other stuff in it, well that's a bonus.

Caffeine?! I need to get that one next

Juniper210

chelseahatch24 wrote: »

Juniper210 wrote: »

I take a women's one a day Active. I mainly take it because it contains caffeine (I cut out the 3-4 energy drinks I was drinking every day) and because my iron has a tendency to be low. I figure if my body needs any of the other stuff in it, well that's a bonus.

Caffeine?! I need to get that one next

It's not a whole lot, about the same as a cup of coffee. I took them mainly to help stave off the side effects from caffeine withdrawal. It definitely did the trick.

https://www.oneaday.com/womens-active-metabolism

MommyMeggo

Juniper210 wrote: »

chelseahatch24 wrote: »

Juniper210 wrote: »

I take a women's one a day Active. I mainly take it because it contains caffeine (I cut out the 3-4 energy drinks I was drinking every day) and because my iron has a tendency to be low. I figure if my body needs any of the other stuff in it, well that's a bonus.

Caffeine?! I need to get that one next

It's not a whole lot, about the same as a cup of coffee. I took them mainly to help stave off the side effects from caffeine withdrawal. It definitely did the trick.

https://www.oneaday.com/womens-active-metabolism

Taking caffeine to avoid caffeine withdrawal. Hmmmm....
(said in a mostly joking tone.) =P

Juniper210

MommyMeggo wrote: »

Juniper210 wrote: »

chelseahatch24 wrote: »

Juniper210 wrote: »

I take a women's one a day Active. I mainly take it because it contains caffeine (I cut out the 3-4 energy drinks I was drinking every day) and because my iron has a tendency to be low. I figure if my body needs any of the other stuff in it, well that's a bonus.

Caffeine?! I need to get that one next

It's not a whole lot, about the same as a cup of coffee. I took them mainly to help stave off the side effects from caffeine withdrawal. It definitely did the trick.

https://www.oneaday.com/womens-active-metabolism

Taking caffeine to avoid caffeine withdrawal. Hmmmm....
(said in a mostly joking tone.) =P

LOL Yeah it definitely sounds a little counter intuitive but I wasn't trying to quit caffeine necessarily, I was just trying to quit the minimum of 3 Rockstars I was having every single day. I'm happy with my one cup of coffee equivalent vitamin over the 720 mg of caffeine I was getting from my blue rockstars. My energy level skyrocketed after I quit. I think I was just going through a constant rush/crash cycle all day everyday.

Purplebunnysarah

I have a B12 deficiency so I take that. I also take vit D in the winter because by winter solstice we only get about 5-6 hours of daylight.

jgnatca

Nearly everyone in the northern hemisphere is vitamin D deficient. I also suggest that women of childbearing age take Folic Acid to prevent a certain type of birth defect (the defect happens in the first few weeks of gestation, so taking a pregnancy vitamin after the fact won't prevent it).

A women's multivitamin would cover it.

A first-world problem is the multiplicity of options available to you. Don't miss the tree in the forest. Just pick one.

I do have known deficiencies so I pick up the vitamins I need wherever I see them on sale or in the discount aisle. I even bought a bottle of teen multivitamins because it had everything I needed including the Folic Acid. Plus they smelled fruity. It made me wonder what manufacturers think they know about their buying market.

Moxie42

I take a generic multivitamin (the gummies from Trader Joes), a B6+B12 chewable, and a calcium gummy. I'm supposed to take iron as well but I have yet to find an iron supplement that doesn't make me sick to my stomach, even if I take it with food.

ruqayyahsmum

I take a breastfeeding multivitamin, vitamin D, calcium and iron prescribed by my gp for deficiencies and vitamin b12 injections as im unable to absorb it
Pretty much keeps me covered and i have blood tests 6 monthly to check my levels

jgnatca

Try the http://www.luckyironfish.com/ @Moxie42

MommyMeggo

Juniper210 wrote: »

MommyMeggo wrote: »

Juniper210 wrote: »

chelseahatch24 wrote: »

Juniper210 wrote: »

I take a women's one a day Active. I mainly take it because it contains caffeine (I cut out the 3-4 energy drinks I was drinking every day) and because my iron has a tendency to be low. I figure if my body needs any of the other stuff in it, well that's a bonus.

Caffeine?! I need to get that one next

It's not a whole lot, about the same as a cup of coffee. I took them mainly to help stave off the side effects from caffeine withdrawal. It definitely did the trick.

https://www.oneaday.com/womens-active-metabolism

Taking caffeine to avoid caffeine withdrawal. Hmmmm....
(said in a mostly joking tone.) =P

LOL Yeah it definitely sounds a little counter intuitive but I wasn't trying to quit caffeine necessarily, I was just trying to quit the minimum of 3 Rockstars I was having every single day. I'm happy with my one cup of coffee equivalent vitamin over the 720 mg of caffeine I was getting from my blue rockstars. My energy level skyrocketed after I quit. I think I was just going through a constant rush/crash cycle all day everyday.

Oh absolutely!! And congrats on quitting the Rockstar!! My hubby had to "quit" Monsters- he drank them too often. Not good for you. So I understand the struggle. Especially for those who dont like coffee.

Ive never been a fan of the energy drinks other than a Noz or a RedBull here and there years ago.

I must have caffeine and consider myself near death without my morning coffee.

Moxie42

jgnatca wrote: »

Try the http://www.luckyironfish.com/ @Moxie42

Thanks! I've never heard of anything like that before- might be worth a shot!

Heart_of_a_lion

Here's the answer that not many will tell you...

If you're on a weight loss diet, you absolutely need to take multi vitamins. This isn't your body's natural state oh homeostasis. A good multivitamin will ensure that while you're loosing weight (which is already doing a number on your system), you're able to do so without hindering your immune system and body as a whole.

The strength of the multi vitamin will largely depend on how extreme your diet is.

Hope this helps.

JeromeBarry1

I take a handful of supplements most days, but not a multivitamin.

@Heart_of_a_lion is even more accurate for women meeting, or worse, failing to meet a 1200 calorie daily intake goal.

AnnPT77

Unless you have a deficiency or unavoidable dietary risk, tuning up nutrition is a better strategy, if your goal is best health. Some vitamins have even been found to be risky in supplement form.

Get enough protein, enough fat (especially fat from healthy sources like nuts, olive oil, avocado, etc.), and a bare minimum of 5 daily servings of varied, multicolored fruits and vegetables (10 is even better).

An affordable, mainstream, reputable brand of multivitamin as insurance won't hurt you, but get the eating dialed in rather than thinking a multivitamin will take care of it. During my lifespan, a good number of essential micro nutrients have been discovered and added to the canon. No reason to believe those discoveries have ended, and any newly-identified vital ones are likely in the foods our ancestors ate for centuries, or we wouldn't be here.

I take D (prescribed), DHA from algae (history of high cholesterol/BP before weight loss, and am vegetarian so don't eat fatty cold-water fish), and a vegetarian multiple (for micros that can be harder to optimize without meat).

WendyLeigh1119

I take "Ritual Women's Multivitamins". I absolutely LOVE them. Online only.

MommyMeggo

Heart_of_a_lion wrote: »

Here's the answer that not many will tell you...

If you're on a weight loss diet, you absolutely need to take multi vitamins. This isn't your body's natural state oh homeostasis. A good multivitamin will ensure that while you're loosing weight (which is already doing a number on your system), you're able to do so without hindering your immune system and body as a whole.

The strength of the multi vitamin will largely depend on how extreme your diet is.

Hope this helps.

Why would eliminating poor nutrition choices and replacing them with healthier alternatives all of a sudden create a need for a multi-vitamin?
Its it not possible to lose weight and eat a well balanced array of foods that meet those needs?
I realize there are a few specific minerals/vitamins that may not be met but those are probably going to be hard to meet for most anyway?
I dunno.
Im interested in this theory. Can you elaborate?

cwolfman13

MommyMeggo wrote: »

Heart_of_a_lion wrote: »

Here's the answer that not many will tell you...

If you're on a weight loss diet, you absolutely need to take multi vitamins. This isn't your body's natural state oh homeostasis. A good multivitamin will ensure that while you're loosing weight (which is already doing a number on your system), you're able to do so without hindering your immune system and body as a whole.

The strength of the multi vitamin will largely depend on how extreme your diet is.

Hope this helps.

Why would eliminating poor nutrition choices and replacing them with healthier alternatives all of a sudden create a need for a multi-vitamin?
Its it not possible to lose weight and eat a well balanced array of foods that meet those needs?
I realize there are a few specific minerals/vitamins that may not be met but those are probably going to be hard to meet for most anyway?
I dunno.
Im interested in this theory. Can you elaborate?

I think what he's saying is that with low calorie targets it is more difficult to meat nutritional requirements...especially the one's who just cannot somehow manage to even eat a measly 1200 calories...or are eating 1200 gross calories and then doing a crap ton of exercise and not fueling that activity.