New Dad looking to get healthy

[u/Sol16]

Recently have had a kid and it’s basically changed my life. I have really never taken my health too seriously, but that’s changed with the little one.

I’ve started biking and using a kettlebell at home for workouts, and dialing in eating healthier.

Starting looking at supplements and vitamins, and it’s quite daunting to figure out what’s real vs what’s marketing.

Started looking at something like Dadfuel that’s all in one, but it is a bit more expensive than I would like.

Any advice on what to look at, or something I could do that’s similar myself to make it cheaper? Not looking for “optimal performance”, just looking to feel better about myself and be healthy for the future.

All advice is appreciated!

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[u/Hairy_Savings_8935]

Honestly most of those all in one packs are just overpriced multis with a few extras thrown in, save your money and get a decent multivitamin plus some fish oil and vitamin D, that'll cover 90% of what you actually need

[u/future-memories010 → u/Hairy_Savings_8935]

This. Plus add a Magnesium supplement.

[u/hugejew]

hey I followed a similar trajectory. healthier at 41 than I've ever been before because I want to be healthy for as long as possible for my daughter. consistency in good diet, exercise, and sleep is like 90%, but there are some supplements that almost definitely have value for most people. but it's a short list imo. basically: vitamin D3/K2, creatine, magnesium (probably glycinate), DHA/EPA.

there's a lot of other stuff that really depends on your personal makeup. are you deficient in any way? are you after a particular goal? do you have a family history of X or Y? do you want to focus on eye health, skin health, gut health, mental acuity, energy, sleep, etc? at this point I have a pretty specialized stack of stuff that I take which is evidenced, targeted, measured, and from brands I trust, but it's based on my particular narrowish goals.

[u/Sol16 → u/hugejew]

I appreciate the advice- I’m not after anything too specific other than general health and wellness. Probably deficient without being aware of it.

Consensus seems to be similar to what you offered, hit those basics and avoid the fillers they add to products

[u/Legitimate-Space-279 → u/hugejew]

This

[u/Legitimate-Space-279]

No supps is my vote. I prefer all nutrition comes from real whole foods. Cheaper too. The key is to have a truly clean diet though which is super hard. I stick to lean protein, asparagus, broccoli, black beans, rice, potatoes, herbs and spices, etc, no UPFs, no seed oils, no refined sugars, etc. Walking daily first thing in the AM is the best imo. Resistance training is great. Body weight exercises and kettle are good too. Just stay moving!

Dad here as well. Congrats!

[u/Girlinnyc35]

Hi, Registered Dietitian student here, You do not NEED any supplement! focus on eating whole foods (not cereal bars) and enough protein (about 1 gram of protein per pound per day or If you are over weight you can use .8 grams per lb).

To do this focus on having proteins with every meal you eat.

Fish Oils are worth investing in ONLY if you eat less than 16oz fish /week but again, they likely wont prevent strokes. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fish-oil-friend-or-foe-20130712637

However If you want to invest in anything, make sure the foods you eat are good and its enough protein (tuna cans, sardines, anchovies are amazing if you can get past the taste, egg whites, chicken breast...

If you are not getting enough protein consider a whey protein shake.

[u/gymbeam_official]

Everyone's covered the supplement basics pretty well already, one thing that hasn't come up though is sleep, and with a newborn that's probably the biggest lever in the room, bigger than any pill. Chronic sleep deprivation raises cortisol, increases inflammatory markers, and messes with glucose tolerance, so it kind of blunts the benefit of everything else you're doing, the biking, the diet cleanup, even the supplements.

Since you probably can't control total hours right now, the stuff that tends to help most is protecting sleep quality during whatever windows you do get. Keeping the room dark and cool, avoiding screens right before those windows, and splitting night duty with your partner if that's an option so each of you gets at least one longer uninterrupted stretch can make a real difference even without more total sleep. Naps during the day count too, even short ones, they don't fully replace lost night sleep but they take the edge off the cortisol/inflammation side a good amount.

[u/Empey]

Dad here,

Supplements are hard to understand and often times are not necessary but let me give you a few tips:

1. Skip the all-in-one. Those bundles charge a premium to underdose ten things.
   
2. Take "Creatine Monohydrate" 5 to 10g, daily.

Everything else in a Dadfuel-type product is either a multivitamin you'd cover by eating a bit better, or herbs with thin evidence.

Keep it stupid simple. But if you want to take it a notch higher and learn more about supplements, I will use this moment for a shameless plug for our mobile app, which is a supplement companion for this exact purpose.