General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade? Rss Feed  
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2015-06-11 8:01 AM

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Subject: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Hello BT! Quick back-story and then my question. I had my gallbladder taken out in January, and since then have been very careful with my diet, cutting a lot of bad foods, sodas, sugary drinks, etc., simply in response to it all. I have not felt this good and healthy in a long time! When I finished my run this morning, I grabbed a Powerade out of the fridge, poured some in a glass, took a drink...and ended up spitting it all back out. It was too sweet / sugary!

During the day, my liquid intake is a cup of green tea and honey, and a glass of juice in the morning and then water for the rest of the day. It's worked well so far, but as my distances increase in the run and as the weather gets hotter / more humid, I know I will need more than water.

Can you recommend a good recovery drink that isn't as sugary sweet as Powerade or Gatorade? Or do I need HTFU and just get used to it again? I am sure there is something better available - what is it?

Thanks!


2015-06-11 9:00 AM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
There is no need to HTFU at this point - just keep trying things until you find what works for you. You have lots of options:
> Try watering down your Gatorade
> Use a powdered drink mix and tailor the powder to water ratio to suit your taste
> Make your own. I have used this before: http://runnersfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Homemade-Sports-D...
> Get your nutrition from food and use electrolyte tablets (like NUUN) in your liquids.


2015-06-11 9:27 AM
in reply to: RockTractor

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Originally posted by RockTractor

There is no need to HTFU at this point - just keep trying things until you find what works for you. You have lots of options:
> Try watering down your Gatorade
> Use a powdered drink mix and tailor the powder to water ratio to suit your taste
> Make your own. I have used this before: http://runnersfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Homemade-Sports-D...
> Get your nutrition from food and use electrolyte tablets (like NUUN) in your liquids.


Thank you! I'll give these suggestions a try!
2015-06-11 12:13 PM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
I know Infinit :https://www.infinitnutrition.us/ lets you customize your flavor. You can dial it up or down, and in fact I believe you can dial it down to nothing at all. That way you can get all the calories/electrolytes you're looking for, but don't have to deal with the flavor.
2015-06-13 2:28 AM
in reply to: RockTractor

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
I also find the sweet taste of most sports drinks really repulsive, and they tend to upset my stomach at race intensity. The color of some of the Gatorade products is also truly scary! One solution, as others have said, is to dilute the drinks, but you might be shortchanging yourself of electrolytes then. A better solution, particularly for recovery, is to use drinks like Nuun (which is sugar-free, and most flavors aren't that sweet) for electrolyte replacement, and actual food for refueling. Fruit juice diluted with plain water or soda water is also refreshing and gives you some quick carbs after a hard workout. I sometimes even drink this during the workout, such as between the bike and run on a brick workout, when I come into the house to put away my bike. There are a lot of "recovery" drinks out there marketed to athletes, but there's nothing wrong with something basic like chocolate milk, a fruit and yogurt smoothie, juice and nuts, or (my favorite) toast with peanut butter and bananas. All will give you a good mix of protein and carbs.
2015-06-15 10:01 PM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?


SKRATCH Labs!!!! Never Fails!!!!!


2015-06-18 6:51 PM
in reply to: strykergt

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Originally posted by strykergt



SKRATCH Labs!!!! Never Fails!!!!!


+1

Love my Skratch hydration mix!
2015-06-30 11:36 PM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Originally posted by robertChiefsFan

Originally posted by RockTractor

There is no need to HTFU at this point - just keep trying things until you find what works for you. You have lots of options:
> Try watering down your Gatorade
> Use a powdered drink mix and tailor the powder to water ratio to suit your taste
> Make your own. I have used this before: http://runnersfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Homemade-Sports-D...
> Get your nutrition from food and use electrolyte tablets (like NUUN) in your liquids.


Thank you! I'll give these suggestions a try!


I'm definitely no expert but I've been doing some googling so I'm armed and dangerous...

I hear the terms "sports drink" and "recovery drink" being used interchangeably. But aren't sports drinks that are full of sugar intended to be consumed while you are active? The sugar is intended to be a readily available source of fuel. Protein is a no-no because it's harder to digest and less useful for immediate energy.

And aren't recovery drinks supposed to contain protein for muscle building? (Courtesy of chocolate milk - I just read that 3:1 is a good carb to protein ratio.)

I don't see the point of consuming something that is mainly sugar when I have finished my activity. Maybe I am missing something but I usually try to have water and snack that contains some protein.
Don
2015-07-11 7:37 PM
in reply to: donw

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Carbo Pro if you are looking for the energy and calories during workouts. Essentially no taste at all. I often just mix with water.
2015-07-12 6:06 PM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
I was using Gatorade Endurance powder but the sugary taste was killing me. 80 Calories and 21 g of sugar. I switched to Heed which has 100 calories and only 2 g of sugar. I like the taste much better. They do have an unflavored one which I have not tried but like the lemon-lime and strawberry.

2015-07-25 3:42 PM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan


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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Maybe try Vitalyte Electrolyte Replacement drink mix? I haven't tasted all of the flavors they offer, but they use less sugar and claim to be the "best-tasting." I think it's a lot more bearable than the sugary drinks typically offered at events.


2015-08-06 5:33 AM
in reply to: SwimBikeRun136

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Another vote for Skratch Labs!
2015-08-17 10:56 AM
in reply to: jarvy01

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
I like coconut water.
2015-08-21 6:40 PM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
I'm having a similar issue now, except with sodium. I bought some Heed by Hammer, which has one third the sugar and one eighth the sodium.
2015-08-22 7:09 AM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
If you are looking for not just low sugar but zero sugar with your electrolytes, Hammer makes another product called Endurolyte Fizz, which are sugar-free tablets that dissolve in water and make a (very slightly) fizzy sports drink. The lemon flavor is notably not sweet--pretty much like drinking lemonade. Very similar to Nuun, but the latter is preferable if you use a Camelback as sometimes the Hammer product leaves a slight residue that can be hard to get out of the bladder and tube. For some reason my stomach has never dealt very well with sweetened drinks like Gatorade and including Heed, so I generally separate my nutrition from my hydration, especially considering the crazy amounts of fluid I need to drink here to stay hydrated.

If too much sodium is an issue for medical reasons then you might do well with diluted fruit juice rather than sports drinks, since most of them are designed to replace sodium lost in sweat.

Edited by Hot Runner 2015-08-22 7:12 AM
2015-09-04 2:01 PM
in reply to: Hot Runner

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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?

I'm only going to mention it to mention it, not to argue.  BUT, I have been working with a sports nutritionist and have been basically convinced that the "recovery" meal/drink is bunk.  That whole "eat within 30 minutes?" wrong.  ALSO, sugar is basically poison so drinking a sports drink or chocolate milk laden with sugar?  Useless.  Your blood sugar spikes and your body goes into overdrive trying to get it lower (again, high blood sugar is DANGEROUS for people - that's why the body spikes insulin to get rid of it).

I actually like to avoid eating/calories after a workout for a while.  Only because you have burned available glucose so the body has to turn to body fat to keep blood sugars normal (also what the body does well - low blood sugar?  It makes it's own to normalize levels) you DON'T have to ingest sugar or eat to do it IF your body is working normal.  Diabetics might need to because their body doesn't react well to blood sugar anymore.  Either genetically or it was damaged from making it get rid of too much sugar, too many times.

 

What I like now (if it's not just a lot of water)  - or if I want something with some taste, is about a quart of water with a couple tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of Stevia (all natural, non sugar, sweetener).  Obviously adjust all to taste.  To ME, it's kind of like a nice apple cider with some "spice/kick" but it's not nearly as sweet.  I might also add just a pinch of pink Himalayan salt (not enough to even taste it).  I usually make it on the spot but you can pre-make as well.



2015-09-09 9:58 AM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan


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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
Hi Rob, there are a few options you could take with Gatorade and Powerade. You could always add water to the drinks to try and distill the amount of sweetness. Another option which I prefer is to buy energy drink powder. This allows me to add just a little bit of flavor to my water as I like drinking water better than energy drinks. That is just what I found works for me. But as a couple others have said it is all about finding what works best for you. We are all different and the way we train, eat, and hydrate are going to be different as well. I hope this helps.
2015-09-09 10:51 AM
in reply to: robertChiefsFan


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Subject: RE: Replacements for Gatorade / Powerade?
The following is the World Health organization rehydration solution recipe:
sodium chloride (table salt) 1/2 teaspoon
potassium chloride (Morton Salt Substitute®) 1/4 teaspoon
sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) 1/2 teaspoon
sucrose (table sugar) 2 Tablespoons
tap water add to make one liter

You should be able to tweak the amount of sucrose to your liking. Add lime/lemon juice for flavor. The drawback to this is that it doesn't provide as much carbohydrate as some would like, but you can add maltodextrin powder (easily purchasable OTC). It's tasteless and incorporates well into most liquids. This is the same long-chain carbohydrate that you find in products like perpetuem.
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