Gatorade alternatives? Salt on a ride?

[ilima]

Payday bars = Awesome.

Second the Payday bars! Yum.

A word about drinks with protein--they make your water bottles a real PITA to clean. If you don't get them cleaned out really, really well mold will grow rather quickly. I don't have a dishwasher and have decided to nix the protein drinks.

One good thing about Gatorade is that just about every race uses it, so you train with what you'll be drinking on race day. If you race, that is.

[Brandy]

I use Accelerade on most of my training rides. If it's hot, if I'm climbing, or if I know I'm going to be out for a long ride, I'll bring along Motortabs or electrolyte caps.

[michelem]

I use Accelerade on most of my training rides. If it's hot, if I'm climbing, or if I know I'm going to be out for a long ride, I'll bring along Motortabs or electrolyte caps.

Brandy,

If you like Accelerade, you might want to check out the REI Outlet. Right now they have it on super-duper discount (around 42 cents/serving):

http://www.rei.com/outlet/search?vca...ery=accelerade

If you have them send it to the store for pick-up, you can save the shipping costs as well.

Unfortunately, for me, I've found that I don't tolerate it well. So, if anyone wants an opened jar with about 20 servings left, let me know and you can have it for the cost of shipping!

[vinbek]

I use Shaklee's Performance - its a maximum endurance sports drink. On long rides, I put extra powder in a baggie and can refill my water bottles with it. It comes in two flavors - Orange, my personal favorite and lime. I would try different products and drinks on shorter rides. I find that all that fancy stuff upsets my stomach. I use shot bloks and Luna moons, but for carbs, protein and salt - I always carry a package of peanut butter crackers. I have been riding for 30 years and do about 5 centuries a year and I always carry my crackers. When I have friends that need something extra to eat - it always helps them. Nothing fancy - just something that works. I have another friend who carries small boiled potatoes with her. Find what works for your body and stick with it! Bekki

[lph]

Maybe I should start a separate thread but anyhoo. I have the opposite experience: drinking a regular sports drink on longer rides my belly swells up which is quite uncomfortable! so I think I'm retaining more water than I need. And I had to stop munching a handful of salted nuts before bedtime (always get the munchies then..) instead of the unsalted ones I usually buy because I'd swell up like a beach ball. I like salt but I rarely crave it. And I sweat a whole lot on my bike but I never notice the salt stains some people have mentioned. Does this mean I'm not a "salty sweater"? And I'm guessing I'm a little sensitive to sodium. Not noticeable during a normal day, but squeezed into tight lycra I do notice the difference.

But I guess I still need the various minerals I lose in my sweat, so I'd better go looking for a sports drink with less sodium.

[Miranda]

Elyte Sport...

http://www.elytesport.com/

The thing I like about this is that doesn't have the calories in it.

No, it doesn't taste all "yum yum", but anything with a sweet taste just makes me sick anyway, so that's ok to me. I have not tried adding anything for taste, but maybe a bit of lemon juice or a sweetner packet might cut it for a try.

I'm not a dainty sweater. Regardless of what I'm doing, I look like someone poured a bucket of water on my head.

EDIT: The web site has a lot of good info, but here's one link from it that has a chart comparing the components to a variety of other drinks. Kinda interesting...

http://www.elytesport.com/sportshealth/comparison.html

[Miranda]

Maybe I should start a separate thread but anyhoo. I have the opposite experience: drinking a regular sports drink on longer rides my belly swells up which is quite uncomfortable! so I think I'm retaining more water than I need. And I had to stop munching a handful of salted nuts before bedtime (always get the munchies then..) instead of the unsalted ones I usually buy because I'd swell up like a beach ball. I like salt but I rarely crave it. And I sweat a whole lot on my bike but I never notice the salt stains some people have mentioned. Does this mean I'm not a "salty sweater"? And I'm guessing I'm a little sensitive to sodium. Not noticeable during a normal day, but squeezed into tight lycra I do notice the difference.

But I guess I still need the various minerals I lose in my sweat, so I'd better go looking for a sports drink with less sodium.

One of our spin instructors at the gym mentioned one day weighing yourself immediately before and after a ride. She had read somewhere that if you lose a pound, drink more water. If you gain a pound, consume less. I know the later doesn't make sense. Usually the push is to drink more. But there is such a thing as water toxification in certain situation. I'm sure how your body processes the fluids has something to do with it too.

[PscyclePath]

I like Gatorade, which is a little beneficial since that's most of the supported long rides use at the rest stops. I like the green kind and the blue kind best (Gatorade doesn't really have flavors... just colors) and buy it in the powdered form both for convenience and to avoid the HFCS that they use to sweeten the liquid version.

Some old school stuff:

John Forester's recipe, Effective Cycling (pp. 216-217)

-- 1 2-quart envelope of powdered Kool-Aid or Wyler's unsweetened lemonade mix
-- 8 tablespoons sugar
-- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix well, and divide into 4 equal portions. Use one portion per water bottle.


Arnie C. Baker, Nutrition for Sports:

-- 16 oz. water
-- 1/2 cup maltodextrin
-- 1-2 tablespoons lemonade or fruit juice concentrate
-- 1/16 teaspoon salt.

This mix provides 200 calories per 16 oz. bottle, and 100 mg of sodium. Baker admits this is a little sodium lite, and recommends that if you need the extra sodium, include salty snacks (potato chips, PayDay bars, peanuts, etc.) in your ride day snacks.

He also recommends 100% fruit juice, cut 50/50 with water as a during or post-ride recovery drink.

Something that I've started using back the middle of the summer, and that's really worked well for me has been these little individual tubes of powdered drink mix that are made up to add to bottled water. Crystal Light is one brand, but what I like is the Kroger generic, in apple flavor. The CL brands in green tea blends are good, as well. They don't really add a lot of caloric value, but then I'm trying to ride off some of the extra insulation. They do make tepid tap water taste a lot better, so that I'll drink more of it.

Tom

[OakLeaf]

If you gain a pound, consume less. I know the later doesn't make sense.

Actually, it makes perfect sense. I wish I had a link to the thing I was just reading about hyponatremia in long distance runners - the number one sign of hyponatremia was weight gain during the run. It was a much stronger correlation than quantity of water consumed or several other factors that were studied.

That said, it's difficult to get into trouble either way in a one-hour gym class unless you're dehydrated or hyponatremic going into it, and weighing yourself before and after the class won't tell you that. In the past - when all my workouts were afternoon gym workouts of short duration - I'd typically gain a couple of pounds during the workout, because of the simple fact that before the class, I'd be dehydrated from being at the office all day (this was before I learned to carry water with me wherever I go).


A lot of people were drinking pickle juice at the rest stops on the Lone Star Ride. That's one way to get your sodium without sugar... but with just as many preservatives and artificial colors as the sugary drinks

[TrekTheKaty]

A word about drinks with protein--they make your water bottles a real PITA to clean. If you don't get them cleaned out really, really well mold will grow rather quickly. I don't have a dishwasher and have decided to nix the protein drinks.
.

This is a a great thread!

I'll have to order some Cytomax Lite.

Darn! Perpeteum is soy based! I just ordered a sample pack. Thanks for warning me. I missed that.

YEP! I have a dishwasher, but it was disforming my polar water bottles tops. Let's just say I've created quite the science experiment in there when I left them for a couple of days. Guess I missed the day in school where they teach you you can also grow mold in liquids.

[TrekTheKaty]

Out of Nancy Clark's "Sports Nutrition Guidebook":
"For a low-cost fluid replacer that has a nutritional profile similar to the more expensive commercial sports drinks, try this simple recipe."

4 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c. boiling water
1/4 c. orange juice (not concentrate) or 2 Tbsp lemon juice
3-3 3/4 c. cold water

1. In the bottom of a pitcher, dissolve the sugar and salt in the hot water.
2. Add the juice and the remaining water; chill.
3. Quench that thirst!

[StressFree]

For some reason I ALWAYS crave salt

[KayAyZee]

In July I started using Enlyten sports strips on a recommendation from a friend. I was really suffering with the heat and humidity and these seemed to actually help. Although I have to admit I think they are easier to use while running than riding.

The Enlyten are electrolyte "strips" that you put between your cheek and your gums (look kind of like those breath freshening strips). Supposedly the electrolytes are absorbed through your cheek lining and go directly into your circulation so they bypass the whole gastric path and work faster.

Can't make any claims on if they work better than any other electrolyte supplement, but they are really convenient to carry so I usually have a pack with me. I got them at GNC. About $5-6 for two packs of 18 strips each.

[firenze11]

I'm so glad you started this thread. I'm having a salt thing going on, too. After every spin class I'm ravenous and really crave salt, despite drinking lots and fueling well before class. I can't find nuun here and they told me to order it from a wholesaler. . .so I'm looking for something else. You'd think a 1 hour spin class wouldn't affect me so much, I'm so hesitant to take in calories for just an hour.

I might have to try that homemade version or play around with what I can find here. Thanks again for this thread, good ideas.

[tulip]

On long rides, I always stop for some potato chips. When I get home, I usually have a pickle spear or two. So far I've had no problems with diluted gatorade, but alot of people prefer other drinks.