do you remember to take your supplements?

By yula December 4, 2009 - 3:34pm

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I need B12, I remember to take a pill maybe once a week, even less.
for calcium and Vitamin D I use BonSweet as my sweetener- it gets me my calcium and vitamin D because I anyhow drink few cups of coffee/ tea a day, and anyhow use sweetener- so why not use a fortified one?
I even forget to give my kids their vitamins daily- but like I use BonSweet for calcium- they consume General Mills cereals, and I hope they get their vitamins and minerals through that.
what do you do? any specific idea for B12?

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Diane Porter

Hi, Yula!

Welcome to EmpowHer, and thank you for your question!

I have ADD, so I often am forgetting things I need to do. Taking supplements is just one of them! What I find works best is to tie the thing you are trying to remember to an activity you do every day.

For instance, breakfast. B-12 starts with B, and so does breakfast. Do you eat breakfast every day? Can you put the bottle of B-12 right in front of the box of breakfast cereal? Or brushing your teeth -- can you practice taking your B-12 when you brush in the morning? Or bedtime -- can the bottle of B-12 sit on the nightstand to remind you to take it?

You can even do something that MAKES you notice the bottle at first. Tie a ribbon around it to be sure you see it. Or put a sticky note on the bathroom mirror that says "B-12 today?"

The trick is to keep the effort front and center for a few days. Make it even more of a priority than you think it should be. The amazing thing is is that after a week or two, it will become much more of a natural motion for you to reach for the B-12 bottle; and after 21 days, it's an official habit.

Good luck! Will you come back and let us know how you do?

December 7, 2009 - 8:12am

Empowered

Pat Elliott Expert HERWriter Guide Blogger

Hi Yula and welcome to EmpowHer!
You seem to be asking a couple of questions, so let me see if I can help you.
First, you said you remember to take a Vitamin B12 supplement about once a week, and need help to remember to take it more often. One of the easiest ways to do that is to use a pill container as a reminder. These are typically plastic containers with labeled slots for each day of the week, and available at most drug stores. You simply fill the container with a week's supply of your pill, place the container in a place where you will see it every day so it reminds you to look to see if you've taken the pill, and it helps you keep a regular schedule.

You may also be wondering if there are foods you can eat to get Vitamin B12. According to the Mayo Clinic, a day's supply of vitamin B12 can be obtained by eating 1 chicken breast plus 1 hard-boiled egg plus 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt, or 1 cup milk plus 1 cup raisin bran. You can read more about this here:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-B12/NS_patient-vitaminb12/DSECTION=synonyms

Does that address all of your questions? Let us know how you do, and good luck!
Pat

December 4, 2009 - 5:54pm