Supplements for Marathon Training Workload

BKWDR

Ok, I have done a search on both this forum and the Diet and Nutrition forum and found a couple of posts but just wanted to start a new thread to see what people recommend but more importantly what people use that is tried and tested.

I know that there are some who don’t require the use of supplements but I would like to say from the outset that I do not have a well balanced diet. I don’t eat veg and do try and stay on track as much as possible calorie wise Mon – Fri and less so at the weekend.

But for upping the mileage and starting a marathon programme I want to give myself the best chance of avoiding injury and inflammation

At the moment I am taking

• MorEPA Omega3 – one a day
• ZMA – two a day at sleep
• Have held off taking a

multivitamin because of the level of Magnesium I was taking in the ZMA

I also take an Actimel Fruit & Veg Cultured Shot daily.

I would appreciate any feed back anyone could give for supplements they take or reccomend to aid recovery and to avoid fatigue and general well-being when training for a marathon or equivalent.
Thks

KSU

BKWDR wrote: »

I know that there are some who don’t require the use of supplements but I would like to say from the outset that I do not have a well balanced diet. I don’t eat veg and do try and stay on track as much as possible calorie wise Mon – Fri and less so at the weekend.

When you say you don't eat veg do you mean any at all? What about fruit. Is there a particular reason.

Realistically you are going to find it very hard to supplement everything without addressing your diet. It's effectively like trying to bucket water out of sinking boat

BKWDR

KSU wrote: »

When you say you don't eat veg do you mean any at all? What about fruit. Is there a particular reason.

Realistically you are going to find it very hard to supplement everything without addressing your diet. It's effectively like trying to bucket water out of sinking boat

Thanks for the reply. Besides potato, i dont eat any veg.
Stubborn enough growing up, didnt like the texture of any veg. Tried salad there a while back and again, the texture. Im in my 30s and have taken a few cracks at it but am not on the vegetable bandwagon.
In the last week or so i have taken to trying soup so figuring out ways to get veg into me.

Fruit, in the last couple months, since i have been paying closer attention to my calorie input have been eating a banana in the morning but other than that i would rarely eat fruit. I will look to increase that in coming weeks by probably introducing a smoothie or two

rainbow kirby

KSU wrote: »

Realistically you are going to find it very hard to supplement everything without addressing your diet. It's effectively like trying to bucket water out of sinking boat

Agree with this. I would start taking the multivitamin anyway and actually learn to cook vegetables well. OP probably grew up eating vegetables boiled to death. It's worth, even for some ideas, looking at some veggie cookbooks. Vegetable soup and Indian food are good places to start.

If you find it easier to drink your fruit, homemade smoothies are a good start.

Miklos

Vegetables are not a bandwagon, I'm afraid. They're pretty essential.

BKWDR

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Agree with this. I would start taking the multivitamin anyway and actually learn to cook vegetables well. OP probably grew up eating vegetables boiled to death. It's worth, even for some ideas, looking at some veggie cookbooks. Vegetable soup and Indian food are good places to start.

If you find it easier to drink your fruit, homemade smoothies are a good start.

Miklos wrote: »

Vegetables are not a bandwagon, I'm afraid. They're pretty essential.

First of all, appreciate your replying and your thoughts. And i am trying to implement some form of veg intake, sauces blended for pasta dishes, trying soups, i have bought cook books as recent as 2 weeks ago to scour looking for a hint of a recipe that i can tolerate or the veg isnt too chunky or prominent.
I didnt get to my mid 30s not wanting to eat veg out of a off the wall choice. If you eat veg and enjoy it, more power to you. But i mentioned the veg intake at the original post to be honest about *me* and my level.

I just want to know, for an increase in training levels you would do for a marathon, what supplements are people taking for both well-being , avoiding inflamation or injury. I know plenty of veg-eating triathletes who take an increased level of magnesium for instance. This is what i was asking.

Miklos

Sorry, I didn't mean that to come across the wrong way. I personally have yet to train for a marathon, my main sport is bike racing, but it's similar in that it's a hard endurance sport, the only thing I ever supplemented was protein post race/hard workout as I found it left me less sore the next day. Everything else I was getting through my normal diet.

Matt Fitzgerald's book 'The Endurance Diet' might be worth a look for you.

py

The more colour you can get on to your plate the better... and I don't mean skittles.

I'd hold off on the cookbooks till you understand the why/how/when of fueling your body for endurance performance.

Karl Henry has covered his topic from a bunch of different angles. It would be worthwhile listening to the episodes focused on food/nutrition.

Kissy Lips

In so far as supplements go I found Wellman taken with the main meal to be great.

BKWDR

py wrote: »

The more colour you can get on to your plate the better... and I don't mean skittles.

I'd hold off on the cookbooks till you understand the why/how/when of fueling your body for endurance performance.

Karl Henry has covered his topic from a bunch of different angles. It would be worthwhile listening to the episodes focused on food/nutrition.

Ive recently started to listen to his podcast, will scroll back and find some nutrition based ones.

Thanks for your response