|   Real food vs. supplements - Comments? | mtnbkaz
Mar 7, 2002 9:39 PM | | I read a lot of posts about "How do you like xx recovery/energy/carb-loaded drink/gu/bar/whatever". While I've read a lot of the science behind these substances and believe that they do work, I don't believe that they're necessary and that you can find the same nutrients and whatnot from eating the right foods (with the proper amounts of carb/protein) for much cheaper. I personally believe that most of the athletic supplements are just a more convenient (but expensive) way to get the right nutrition. I'm not anti-supplement but many times I prefer the taste of real food and I'm too cheap to spend the money on many of these products.
Here's some "food for thought". It's an interesting article about Ed Burke that ran in Outside magazine last year where he advocated eating real food: http://www.outsidemag.com/magazine/200105/200105body1.html
Just curious as to how everyone manages their nutrition in relation to your workouts and competitions. |
| supplements can be cheap... | up_hiller
Mar 8, 2002 5:44 AM | | esp. if you buy them online. many people don't realize that all supplement manufacturers are subject to the same federal guidelines. there really is little or no difference between a budget creatine powder and the stuff from twinlab or another big-name company. some of the big-name formulas dissolve easier, but that's not that big a deal. plus, a 3-4 month supply of creatine powder only costs about $10.
protein can be cheap too. there is all sorts of hype about "microfiltered" and "ultra-blahblahblah", but the truth is that you probably won't be able to tell the difference in results. you can buy budget whey protein powders for $0.02/gm protein or less. that ain't bad. try getting that sort of price from meat at the grocery store. plus real meat comes with lots of saturated fat. the whey is the same type of animal protein, so why not use it? soy supplements are a lot cheaper than whey, but they really don't work as well for muscle gain (one part of all the mumbo-jumbo that actually isn't hype). however, soy does have lots of other health benefits, so for some it may be the best choice.
I agree with your statement that lots of supplements are expensive. the vast majority are just not worth the money. i have never used anything but creatine and protein powders for that very reason. all the meal replacement powders, amino acids, etc. are just too damn expensive, and i seriously doubt that i would really see great benefits from them. and buying any sort of product already mixed in a can, or buying them in single serving packets is just nuts. they are SO much cheaper bought in bulk, and it is no trouble at all to just mix them yourself (not to mention you can control just how much of something you get that way).
do what you like. just make sure you do plenty of research (try www.supplementwatch.com) before you decide to start taking any sort of supplement. some of those things can really do some damage if you are not careful.
happy trails!
matt |
| Agreed... | MTBRchick
Mar 8, 2002 10:26 AM | | I think many people forget (or don't realize) that a supplement is meant to be just that...a supplement to a well-balanced diet. Sure, they can make life easier when it comes to "supporting" your training and recovery with proper nutrition. I, personally, use Endurox R4 (Burke's invention), PowerBars, Gu and some Meal Replacement Powders. But, I don't think they are NECCESSARY, by any means... |
| re: Real food vs. supplements - Comments? | Darren
Mar 8, 2002 10:46 AM | | I agree with MTBR Chick's comments...a supplement is just that, a supplement. However, since I finished grad school in December, I have had much more time to workout, and for the first time I invested in some supplements: some whey protein (ProPlan Advanced Whey) and Creatine. It costs me about $25 a month, but the results have been outstanding thus far: in roughly 3 months, I have lost 15 lbs (from 222 to 207), but more importantly my strength has gone up dramatically in both lower and upper body exercises.
I feel that a protein shake once in the morning, and once after my daily workout, adds about 100 grams of protein that I normally would have missed. Last night I ran the treadmill at 7.5 speed for 40 minutes, and then hit a SPIN class immediately afterwards for another 45 minutes. I don't think this would have been possible 3 months ago, because the protein helps your muscles recover. Also, it's important your muscles are given protein within an hour after working out, which is hard to do when you are preparing a meal.
Any thoughts? |
| some more thoughts | up_hiller
Mar 8, 2002 11:55 AM | | agree with you on the immediate protein intake thing. i have not been using a protein powder for the last couple of weeks after my workouts (just haven't felt like buying any more since i am riding more now and working out less than before). but when i was, my protein shake (with creatine poder mixed in) was the first thing i did when i got home from the gym. Then i could fix a real meal a little later.
sorry if i gave the impression that i live on supplements before. not the case at all. as i said, i haven't been using it any for a while now. they do call them supplements for a reason... i think one of the best things i have done to this point in my life was cleaning up my diet about a year ago. since then, i really haven't gotten sick. i even skipped my annual cold last fall. up till then i had had one that lasted a few weeks every single year in memory. and i doubt that i could have gotten half the results i have from my exercise "program" without proper diet.
I think i am rambling. I just wanna go ride!!! back to my own little cubicle world now.
happy trails!
matt |
| re: Real food vs. supplements - Comments? | Walt
Mar 8, 2002 1:38 PM | | 100g of protein is far and away more than you need for an entire day! Unless you're vegetarian/vegan, supplements like that are pretty much just like flushing your money down the toilet. I love hearing stories like "I graduated and now have more time to work out, and started taking this protein powder, and it's made dramatic results!" DUH! You're working out more! Talk about your mother of all placebo effects - you're actually _ignoring_ a VERY significant variable in the equation - namely more time and inclination to work out. It is indeed good to get some food in you for recovery after training, but massive infusions of protein shakes will not help you recover any better than a normal meal, or a handful of peanuts and some good old H20. Or a hardboiled egg. Both are healthy and complete sources of protein, and are easily transported and consumed without undue effort. If you really want to determine whether these supplements are helping, you need to keep EVERYTHING else in your workouts/life pretty constant while you experiment. |
| protein not so much for RECOVERY as GROWTH | up_hiller
Mar 11, 2002 6:18 AM | | there are plenty of supplements formulated just to aid in recovery, but protein powders are designed to promote creation or NEW muscle tissue. sure you can recover just fine without supplements (although something designed just for that purpose might be able to speed it up a bit), but the idea behind packing in a lot of protein is to make sure you have plenty on hand for your body to use in building new muscle. a single hardboiled egg and a handful of peanuts is not really a lot of protein. fine if you are not really trying to add weight quickly, but if you want to pack on muscle as fast as possible, chugging down 50 grams of protein after a workout sure won't hurt.
happy trails!
matt |
| re: Real food vs. supplements - Comments? | spudroy
Mar 8, 2002 11:14 AM | | There is nothing wrong with using "real" food, as long as you understand what the food/drink should do and use a viable substitute.
For a recovery drink, you want something with lots of high-glycemic carbs, a little fructose, some easy to digest protein, and very low or no fat and fiber. I'm not sure this food exists in nature, but you can make it cheaper than you can buy it pre-made.
Double-strength Gatorade with a scoop of whey protein will give you most of the benefits of Endurox-R4 at a fraction of the cost. I've also used chocolate protein powder with a couple of scoops of dextrose and 12 oz. of water added.
You can buy big cans of powdered Gatorade at Sam's Club, and it's cheap enough that I doubt it's worth the effort to make your own energy drink.
I'm not that fond of Gu, nor fond of paying $1.00 for a shot of sugar, so I usually eat Smarties or some other dextrose based candy on my ride if I need an energy boost.
Before all of these commercial foods came to market, bikers used defizzed coke, fig newtons, bananas and bagels for energy food. |
| I'm a big fan of Hammer Gel... | Metroid
Mar 8, 2002 11:25 AM | | and a multi-vitamin per day. That's about all of the supplements I use. While neither is needed per se, but I don't I could get the same results without them. I can go ride for 3 hours or so no problem with nothing but water and Hammer Gel (equivalent to Gu). I usually eat (real food) 1-2 hours before I ride and soon after (I like post-ride Fried Chicken idea). Carbs are easy to get with regular food but complex carbs without simple sugars aren't. I've tried dried fruit, balacnce/cliff bars, etc and the Hammergel just flat out works. Nobody's diet is perfect so a multi-vitamin helps round it out. The human body is truely amazing. I see what some people eat and am complete amazed that they can continue to function.
I'll print out the article and check it out though. |
| re: I agree. | SJ
Mar 9, 2002 5:29 PM | | I too feel that supps can be a plus. I'm an advocate of eating greens, yellers, grains/nuts (quonoia, barley, long brown, etc), and legumes.
Notwithstanding that it's truly difficult to get what you need out of the abouve when you're race pace alot during the week, months on end.
Im a biggie on Whey Protien by thepowerstore.com, glutamine, E, C, choline, selenium, VBcomplex, kava kava, salt water minerals. I have a homemade concoction that gives me super recovery and is great for training and dirt cheap.
Doesnt Ed Burke also advocate E-Caps? |
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