Reddit mentions: The best sports drinks

Just got my box in, here's my review:

1. Love the chewiness. If you're doing a mostly liquid diet, having something to chew (Soylent Square, Vite-Ramen, etc.) is surprisingly nice.
   
2. I'm with you on the oil; you have to pinch the wrapper as you eat it not to get on your hands. It's like that cheap dollar-store hand lotion that never comes off, haha.
   
3. The caramel was my favorite flavor. Someone said the chocolate one has hints of Tootsie Roll, I can see that. The citrus one is like, vaguely Starburst-ish, like that artificial sweetness is there in the background, like when you drink water after eating Skittles.
   
4. The yellow color on the citrus threw me off a little, lol.
   
5. I thought the citrus one was a little too salty, but I also ate all 3 of them together, so I'll have to try them separately to check haha
   
6. Price vs. performance...I mean, they're small, but they're really chewy, so you feel like you're getting something out of them. For 99 cents a pop or whatever, they're not bad. They can live in my desk drawer when I need a snack hit, and are chewy enough to work on for a minute to get rid of the urge to eat, I guess. They're probably better for you than a 100-calorie Snickers, at any rate, especially with the probiotics!
   
   Will I order another box? Maybe...to be determined. Pretty much, I tried them just to try them. I have 90 packets right now (one 30-pack box of each flavor, minus what I've eaten so far), so I guess I'll see in a month or so how I feel about them. I mean, the enriched-snack market is getting pretty saturated. Just a few picks off Amazon: (prices are sometimes vastly cheaper locally at B&M stores, FYI)
   
   

• "That's It!" probitioc fruit bars
  
• Prebiotic & Protein vegan gummies
  
• Snickers Protein bars
  
• Epic bison & bacon meat bar
  
• Fairlife protein chocolate milk
  
• Shrewd protein cheese puffs
  
  Also, at 100 calories, it's not hard to make your own bite-size snack bars. With a DIY 'lent, it's a little more work because you have to get a lot of ingredients, but for a 100-calorie snack with a bit of protein & some probiotics, there are a variety of options for quickly & easily making a large, inexpensive batch of macro & micronutrient-laced snacks in your kitchen at home. For example, I make a new recipe off ProteinPOW on just about a weekly basis, which are dessert & snack recipes based off protein powder. I also make a variety of energy-bites, bliss-balls, and fat-bombs, which you can do in everything from a classic granola bar flavor to a pumpkin-pie flavor, as well as different kinds of energy & snack bars (knockoff Clif's bars, Lara bars, homemade granola bars, etc.). The Soylent Squares seem to have 4 primary benefits:
  
  

1. 99 cents a pop
   
2. Designed for healthy snacking (probiotics & protein)
   
3. Probably a long shelf life
   
4. Really chewy, which is nice if you're on a majority-liquid diet & want something to work your jaw

I'm here and I've got the answers!!!!

http://i.imgur.com/CQENgM4.jpg

The first product was the one I was looking for. Sport Shake, produced by Dairy Farmers of America. It was like drinking a milkshake in a can. A small can. Good news is it is in a bigger can now! Bad news, it's down to 3 dairy farms in Missouri to make the product. Dairy Farmers of America can provide you with contact information for those farms. If you live in the area you can find out where the product is stocked. Otherwise, it's online shopping for you. Use your Google Fu to look for "Sport Shake". Here are a few of the half-dozen places to get this product:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sport-Shake-Strawberry-Power-11/dp/B00B6CX3ZK/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1367479616&sr=1-1

Key Food: http://www.keyfood.com/pd/Sport-Shake/Vanilla-Energy-Drink/7-50-fl-oz/070801101114/

Trujilloandsons.com: http://www.trujilloandsons.com/shop/milk/vanilla-shake-1.html

I'd order a few and if you like it, contact one of the dairy farmers and ask them to ship it to you or get the info for the store where it is stocked, and arrange shipping from them.

At the same time this product was on shelves in the 70s, a pharmaceutical firm wanted to create a healthy drink for those needing liquid nutrition. They licensed the original recipe and made some changes - opting for lower fat milk, less sugar, etc... It's changed hands a time or two, but is still available today as Nutrament, from Nestlé Nutrition: http://www.nestlenutritionstore.com/departments/supplemental-nutrition/calories/nutrament-drink?PROMOCODE=PDSS10&gclid=CKPiqpb09rYCFRSVMgodMlEA1g

It's not quite as thick and yummy as the original, but it's a good alternative. You can buy it from Nestlé, through Amazon, or a ton of health/medical food places. It isn't cheap. Beware: auto-correct loves to change the spelling of this one.

I have a case of Nutrament (Vanilla) and don't mind shipping a can or two to you (my expense) if you want to try it. I couldn't find single cans of the stuff anywhere. Glad to help.

Sorry for the formatting. It's late and I'm super tired. Hope this helps. I talked with the folks at Dairy Farmers of America myself. They have departments that "manage" foods they produce through the dairies. You can call them and ask for the Sport Shake Group and they would love to hear your stories about this drink. Unfortunately, if you want the original, you're going to have to work for it a bit. :-(

Ninja Edit: they have several different favors of the original, including eggnog, which has good reviews.

So for both whey and casein, I prefer Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard or Dymatize Elite / Iso 100. My favorite flavors are:

Whey:

• Optimum's Cake Batter -- 5lb tub for under $60.
  
  
• Dymatize Iso 100's Birthday Cake -- 5lbs for under $65 more expensive than Optimum because it is Iso 100
  
  Casein:
  
  
• Dymatize Elite's Cinnamon Bun -- looks like Amazon is out of the 4lb tub, but I can usually get a 4lb tub for less than $50 and it is tasty AF.
  
  
• Optimum's Chocolate Peanut Butter -- slightly more expensive than Dymatize, but still a 4lb tub for $55.
  
  One thing to keep in mind with respect to whey and casein protein powder tubs is that although $45-65 seems like a lot of money, gram for gram it is still generally a way cheaper protein source than even chicken breast. It is just a larger cost up front.
  
  With respect to pre-made protein shakes, I love Core Power and Muscle Milk:
  
  
• Core Power with 26g protein and 26g carbs -- I like this mostly for when I am drinking only this as a pre or post-workout thing.
  
  
• Core Power with 42g protein and 13g carbs -- I prefer this as a pre- or post-workout when I am mixing with another carb source (like pouring it over sugary cereal).
  
  
• Muscle Milk Protein Smoothie -- I love the creamy texture of this, and macros are pretty good at 25g protein and 25g carbs for 230 cals.
  
  Premade protein shakes are definitely more expensive gram for gram than chicken breast, etc. But you pay for the convenience.

Oh no I forgot to take the spoke reflectors off. And they aren't uniform. Noooooo

Anyway I'm pretty slow but I've seen some improvement. Todays stats: 2h 43m. 40.3 miles. Avg Speed 14.8 mph. I live in a very hilly city I might add but I still feel like 14.8 is slow.

I would love some input on my diet before/during todays ride.

Breakfast was a packet of instant oatmeal. Lunch was a caesar salad with 4-5ish ounces of cubed ham. Then probably 300 calories of just random snacks.

During the ride:

• 24oz bottle of water
  
  
• 24oz bottle of Gatorade Zero Berry (4/5 stars in regards to taste)
  
  
• 30 min: 100 calorie GU tri-berry (2.5/5 stars)
  
  
• 1 hour: 220 calorie Clif bar Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter (5/5 stars)
  
  
• 1h 40m: 100 calorie Honey Stinger Gold Gel (1/5 stars but it was unseasonably hot and I let this one warm up too much.)
  
  
• 2 hours: 160 calorie Honey Stinger Fruit Smoothie Energy Chew (5/5 stars)
  
  After I got home I still had legs enough to chase my little ones around for a good 15 minutes but that's pretty much just a cool down. I never felt hungry but I have been made very afraid of the bonk just from trying to learn. Is this too much? Too little? Is this a good pace of calories to get to 100 miles? I don't really have a goal time.... so I'll just throw out 7 hours.
  
  Also does anyone have any good recipies for food to eat during the ride? I hate cooking so it has to be dead simple for me to cook, but I would appreciate reading fancy recipes if someone would like to share.
  
  Thanks!
  
  Edit: Also congrats to Greg LeMond.

Peanut Butter is a big one, there is nothing that will make you feel more at home. I was never a big peanut butter eater, but after 6 months I was craving it.

I made sure to bring Sriracha and peanut butter in my bag. I had a lot of stuff (seasoning salt, ranch dressing mix, curry pastes, and good coffee) sent in a care package. PST is a crazy time - I never once thought about pulling out the food I brought, I just ate whatever was put in front of me. But it's nice to share some American snacks with your host family.

Edit: Gatorade packets are also great. I was able to get them from the PC office, but something like this would have been awesome.

Way late to the discussion but here I am anyway. I went from hating to loving beer. Funny enough it started on my mission in Germany.

I actually learned to like beer through non-alcoholic beer, which I hated at first, but after about my third one it wasn't bad. After my sixth it was okay and after my 8th I started to enjoy it. After that the whole beer world was open to me.

Sidestory: This happened with a bishop in Germany basically forcing me to drink my first one... he loved to see the Americans react and squirm after drinking them. Lots of missionaries ended up drinking them a lot while I was there.

I think it was more about adjusting to new flavor profiles. The non-alcoholic beer especially malt beer is very sweet and it was a good transition. It will introduce the flavor profiles of beer. Some brands are more sweet and some are just nasty. I could never enjoy Mexican malt beer.

For your first alcoholic beer try something like a wheat beer hefeweisen or similar with a lemon wedge. Perfect for the warming weather. It's light and crisp and not bitter compared to the rest of the beer world. My first beer was a bud light lime. It was terrible.

I'm still learning but that's how I went from hating the taste to loving it.

>https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Thirst-Quencher-Powder-Glacier/dp/B0052HV6EU

I know some serious long course triathletes might scoff at Gatorade, but man, I love that stuff. Tastes good, mixes well, you can mix it to your specifications, and it's so cheap it's almost free. As an Oly distance racer, I feel like Gatorade is "good enough" for nearly all my training, and I just need to try out my race nutrition a couple times before the actual race to make sure it sits well.

I've learned the vessel for my beverage influences a lot about its perceived drinkability, if that makes any sense - particularly the lid/drinking edge. It's subtle, seems irrational, and highly individual -- but something to think about.

I like drinking Vitamin Water Zero but I have this sneaky suspicion it isn't as effective on the electrolyte front; my wildly ignorant armchair broscience thought is that the water soluble vitamins (C, etc) have a diuretic effect that counteracts the benefits of drinking it. (That's not really a great endorsement, I guess?)

I've bought a Roar Organics a couple times at the store on sale, but that's going the opposite direction of your affordability question. They are excellent, though -- delicious -and- helpful, and not full of junk.

Have you experimented with coconut water-based drinks?

Almost a year now. I think around 10 months or so. I drink a soylent (400 cal) then have a 1000-1400 cal dinner. Sometimes I'll go a lighter on dinner if I want a snack like a Clif bar (300 cal)

Every once in awhile I'll have a Powerade during the work day if I am feeling a bit dehydrated. One thing I noticed drinking Soylent is I had to up my water consumption. I drink the Cafe Vanilla, and drink water till it comes out within the hour.

The powder helps with the extra electrolytes and cotton mouth. I bought a flat of these and keep them at home or at work, in my car, etc.

I'll also have a whey protein shake occasionally since I try and eat high protein. It helps. I noticed with Soylent and a high protein diet, I have to drink wayyy more water. The high protein diet has been working really well for me energy wise throughout the day. I get around 20g of protein from the Soylent, then I'll try and eat another 160-200g or so with dinner. I eat a lot of chicken breasts and whole grain stuff.

Eating a 2 meals a day seems weird, but it's mostly out of old habit. Since I drink the soylent around 11, I eat dinner around 6 or 7. So that is a 16 hour fast. Sometimes I will fast a bit longer than 16 hours. Sometimes the weekend can workout to be closer to like 20 hours since I like to sleep in on those days.

Haha not really pallet. But I buy Powerade on Amazon constantly and the boxes get really heavy. I feel bad for the people who deliver my mail.

I buy at least 2 of these a month. plus some Gatorade zero here and there to change stuff up.

Last time there were two bottles missing in my mini pallet, and when I contacted Amazon about me they just said keep what I had and gave me a full refund in 24hrs. So I just ordered another mini pallet with the refund. I just ran out because I've had a lot of highs the last 2 weeks do I was drinking more of these than my normal amount. Gotta order more.


I can't seem to find anything but the 32oz bottles of Powerade zero here, and no sugar free Gatorade to be found either. Plus i don't do the shopping my partner does because I'm too bad off at the moment to go out and shop.

I wish the Gatorade zero was a little cheaper because it has better flavors. But there's also the propel fitness water which is made by Gatorade and is basically Gatorade without the coloring.

Incidentally, I accidentally found this place to buy Gatorade products at wholesale prices they sell concentrated Gatorade, which is liquid. Looks like that might be something worth checking into.

You can keep a few Gatorade bottles and wash and reuse them. I do that with these mini apple juice bottles I have, I fill them with juice from a larger cheaper bottle. And usually one has a concentrated Gatorade I made with powdered Gatorade so I can drink less and know my blood sugar will be fine.

If you want liquid carbs and sugars, there's existing options:

http://www.hammernutrition.com/heed-sports-drink/

https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Thirst-Quencher-Powder-Glacier/dp/B0052HV6EU

https://www.amazon.com/Foods-Dextrose-Powder-Pounds-Packaging/dp/B002JNM8YM/

The advantages of gels and standalone carbs is:

• More total water stored on the bike because the bottles volume isn't being taken up by 3 scoops of powder
  
  
• Easier to shift the ratio of water to carbs as the ambient temp changes. Maybe the clouds disappear and now its hotter and you want more water per unit of carbs, if everything is pre-mixed, you don't get that adaptability.
  
  
• Refills are not as simple because you have to have a way to carry extra powder, then pour in the powder without spilling it, then put in the water.
  
  That said, it's not black and white. Liquid carbs might work better for you, I recommend trying it out.

Pickle juice is great as another "sports drink". It is also great for headaches and cramps.

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Bonus 1


In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.

edit: forgot number 3

G2 is currently 40cents/bottle on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Thirst-Quencher-Glacier-Bottles/dp/B01KQLV2EK/

Your recommended BCAA is 82cents/serving on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Scivation-Ripped-Branched-Watermelon-Serving/dp/B075RGGZ7Z

So yeah, I'd consider something that is half the price and addresses OP's issue:

• not "much more expensive" because it's cheaper
  
• more effective because it actual goes to the root issue and not some tangential non-sense

All good advice here. When I exercise I'll have a mid sized (20 ounce) G2 Gatorade. It's not the full sugar Gatorade but the lower calorie variety. It has about 11g of carbs and give me about 45-60 minutes of workout time before I start to crash. By "crash" I mean if I keep working out then I'll crash. If I stop before then I'm fine.

Like other said. Start off easy. You won't want to hit it hard because you'll be so sore the next day you won't want to continue. Plus, you need to see what your body does in reaction to exercise. I've found that when I start exercising after a break (a month or more) that my BG will be higher afterwards.

It takes about a week of regular exercise (3-5 times in the gym) for my BG to stabilize. After that it's more stable than usual and even if I don't get my carb ratio spot on that the spike won't be terrible.

Non exercise days I'll take 16u of Levimir at night (I take 16 in the morning and the same at night) Exercise days I'll lower it to 14-15 at night depending on how hard I worked out. If I run then it's 14u, if it's just a day at the gym, it's 15u at night. I exercise in the afternoon so if you are a morning person you'll need to adjust your long lasting insulin.

Ask your endo if you need specific instructions about dosing. My endo told me to cut back 1-2 units because I was crashing at night.

Exercise is the best thing you can do for your health. It'll be tough to keep to a regime and your BG will be a little wild at first. Stick to it and it'll be for the best. For times when I'm crashing mid run I'll take a GU gel. It's an instant 32g of carbs and works fast.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00N955GTS/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467118527&sr=8-2&keywords=g2+gatorade&pi=SY200_QL40

https://www.amazon.com/GU-Original-Nutrition-Energy-24-Count/dp/B00024CU2K

I'm in the UK so the products will probably be different, but this stuff works great if I have a few glasses of water with it during the day. I also take these in the morning and evening with a large glass of water.

This is in addition to salted food when I break my fast, and a salted bone broth in the morning or afternoon.

I've got my issues with lactose as well. Found these at CVS/Walgreens/etc and they've been a (expensive) blessing. Also, I'd recommend keeping a couple snack packs of peanuts on you. I'm particular to Planters honey roasted. A 1oz package is only a few handfuls and a quick 160 calories. Over the course of a day I try to have two or three, plus one or two shakes.

It's like 50 cents per bottle for the 12 oz bottles, i get this multi pack. i love em.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07MQNF2LL?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Hahahaa. I love how much I trigger him lmao. He knows it's true! Great Rachel guys means less of Jojo's irrelevants. All the reps and steroids in the world can't build a stronger sense of self, sadly. This is when Chad proves to be the gym rat stereotype. Do you lift bro? Do you drink alone during the day bro? Do you have zero friends bro?

Hey Chad remember when you said to me you were not ~goin' anywhere and now you have to cry on social media because you can't go on BIP? "Bu-bu-but but all the girlz be texting me." Spoiler alert: the girls have asked all of you to stop texting them before BIP. Even they have had it with y'alls thirst. Have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Original-Quencher-Variety-Bottles/dp/B00HC767P6

Same advice as others - you probably won't need to snack in the middle of practice unless you've been starving yourself or are going for more than a couple hours. I always keep a Clif bar or trail mix with my gear for snackmergencies, and usually end up giving them to someone else who hasn't eaten all day.

On a related note, my league practices in central Texas throughout the summer (read: 100+ degree days and 90 degree nights) in a warehouse without air conditioning - we keep our freezer stocked with freezy pops (you can even get them with electrolytes!) and it has been a literal life-saver. Easy treats between drills/bouting that cool you down and give you a little burst of sugar energy.

Only $5.85 for 10 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gatorade-Thirst-Quencher-Orange-Ounce/dp/B00N9543MO

I'd be surprised if you could find anywhere much better than that.

I make my own Gatorade for cramps. In the spices section of your grocery store, there should be a salt alternative for people trying to lower their sodium intake called Salt Lite. It's a mixture of salt and potassium which also tastes salty. It's supposed to trick you into thinking that you've added more salt to your food than you actually have, but it's a mixture of the same two ingredients in sports drinks. I put 1/4th a teaspoon of that in a water bottle, add a squirt of the store brand (Kroger) Crystal Lite to make it taste good. They make some with B vitamins in it and one with caffeine and B vitamins. I have some of each. I top it off with water and shake it up. I will also add a 1/2 teaspoon of creatine in there if it's the drink I'm going to take with me after breakfast.

Sqwincher and iXL dou

Sqwincher is what I used to use - can only be ordered online. The cherry flavor is awesome. And I recently found iXL at my local Sam's Club.

I get sick of doing it too, I do two weeks worth at a time with individual dosing into these little red silo cups I have. I'd like to bulk mix as well but have the same concerns as you about distribution in the mix. For flavoring I add a 2g scoop of Gatorade powder to my mix, I got this big old thing of it.

To answer your question :):

• I'd buy these for just plain pork rinds: https://www.amazon.com/Utz-Pork-Rind-Barrel-Quality/dp/B00PKUG72K/ref=sr_1_14_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1483741070&sr=1-14&keywords=pork+rinds
  
  
• This if I need a breading (fried chicken, etc..): https://www.amazon.com/Pork-Dust-Rind-Breadcrumbs-Pack/dp/B00FWW3UAS/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1483741070&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=pork+rinds&psc=1
  
  
• And these if I want spicy pork rinds: https://www.amazon.com/Baken-Ets-Fried-Skins-Spicy-Ounce/dp/B00E3A1DE0/ref=sr_1_10_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1483741070&sr=1-10&keywords=pork+rinds

I really dislike the flavor of regular pork rinds. I like these ones alot though:

http://www.amazon.com/Baken-Ets-Fried-Skins-Spicy-Ounce/dp/B00E3A1DE0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422133174&sr=8-1&keywords=baken+ets

This is the only brand that I really find in my area a lot so I go with it, I've tried local store offbrand as well and they all have a similar taste but I prefer this brand over others. They have some other flavors too but none of them really appeal to me. Crazily enough, I would be interested in a ranch flavor, but I have never seen one.

I have never tried microwaveable ones but that just sounds gross to me.

These ones taste kinda like a spicy chip, and the overwhelming, almost dogfood-like pork quality is muted by the spiciness. They work for me on those occasions when I want something salty to snack on and don't want nuts.

here ya go