I wonder....what kind of suppliments everyone else takes. I do a B complex, multi and a calcium. I usually add a scoop of a powdered "green drink" to one of my protein shakes and sometimes drink a liquid ginseng. I wanted to take a Omega 3, but it's fish oil and I'm a vegetarian. I know walnuts and flax have Omega 3 fatty acids, but it's be hard/impossible to eat enough. Does anyone know of a good vegetarian suppliment for this? I also wonder how much is too much and if these suppliments could be hindering and not helping me.
Any ideas about protein shakes? I do 2 a day...usually one soy and one whey. Has anyone found these to be good/bad?

well, soy digestable by your body as whey, so i don't know why you'd mix the two. as far as getting the right mix, you are much better off looking around WorldFitness.com (our sister forum) as there are a lot of personal trainers on there that could really help you out.

there is such debate over this very topic. i can quote straight from my nutrition text in regards to its view as supplements (and that includes vitamins) are rarely needed. being a vegetarian certainly limits your intake in aspects but protein and vitamins are available in an array of food.

in regards to whey/protein shakes...if it is in excess of your true needs then "stores it as body fat...an extra burden on the kidneys to execrete unused nitrogen" per the text.

i dunno. i take calcium and multi vitamin. i do not drink whey but my spouse continues to regardless of what we have learned in a nutrition course as well as through our nursing specific courses. my feelings, as minimally educated as they may be, is that unless you are a power lifter than likely your protein is gained through your dairy, whole grains, legumes and veggies...especially if you are a fellow meat eater.

Thanks for responding. I think I'll check out the other site mentioned. I don't want to get too much protein...but not sure how to determine my specific needs and whether I'm meeting them without other suppliments. I had no idea that whey and soy were not compatible. I've only recently started with the shakes because I was worried about my protein intake without them so I'm new to this particular science. Looks like I have some research to do.

if you are in weight training ... 3+/week, then it is recommended that you have 1g of protein per lb of lean muscle. This means, that if you are 200 lbs and your BF% is 20% (therefor you are 80% lean muscle) then you would need 160g of protein / day. (200 * .80 = 160).