Recovery drink query

[rousseau]

For these best five months of the year we're currently in I'm riding every day if I can, otherwise 5 or 6 days a week. Some days hard, some days not. I'm not too systematic about it, but I do intervals sometimes, and hard efforts sometimes, and on days when I wake up "feeling it" I take it easy.

This has served me well. I'm 51. And after a lifetime of eating crap food like a teenager, this January I gave up all junk food and extraneous liquids, and concentrated on having good home-cooked meals. It's amazing what whole, healthy food will do for your day-to-day sense of well-being! I don't miss Doritos or Wendy's at all. I've lost two notches on the belt.

I think I'm lucky, actually. Because I had no cravings when I quit smoking ten years ago, and I have no cravings for junk food now. It's a new stage of life for me, and I just feel a sense of detached curiosity at how I used to eat.

But I do enjoy the reward of a recovery drink after riding. Here's what I've currently been doing:



Thing is, I want to fine tune this. I'm thinking I'd like to try a smoothie like this:



This is pretty much a slam dunk, isn't it? Less sugar, bit more protein, closer to a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein? I mean, is there any possible reason why I shouldn't go from the first option to the second one?

[mtechnica]

Ever thought of chocolate milk? 1 - 1.5 glass of chocolate milk actually breaks down pretty close to your current options and it doesn't take any time to prepare. Could save money as well.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

Ever thought of chocolate milk? 1 - 1.5 glass of chocolate milk actually breaks down pretty close to your current options and it doesn't take any time to prepare. Could save money as well.

I've done chocolate milk, but I've always been sensitive to dairy, and now in my old age I've found that I can't tolerate chocolate at all (acid reflux, probably low-level irritable bowel syndrome), so after a few days chocolate milk throws my guts out of whack.

So that's out. My understanding is that whey protein, while dairy, doesn't tend to be so bad for some people who are otherwise lactose intolerant. Plus it gets absorbed more quickly than milk.

[mtechnica]

Fair enough. Your second drink sounds really tasty though, the berries are a nice touch.

[weisan]

Costco Specials.

[MagicHour]

I make a similar recovery shake, no formal recipe but is basically this blended and adjusted to desired thickness:

• Almond milk unsweetened (~1/2 cup)
• 1 Scoop vanilla whey (I use Tera's pretty low sugar)
• Yogurt plain (~1/2 cup)
• Frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 Banana

Delicious and tastes like a Pina colada.

If I do a really hard session or long ride, I add 2500mg of L-glutamine powder. No exact science behind this but same amount is in a serving of a commercial brand recovery mix that seems to work for me, so I add it too.

[ptourkin]

Unless there is a reason that you can't, registered dieticians will tell you that you (and your wallet) are better off just eating food. There's nothing in there that food cannot provide and it will have the additional benefit of satiating you. After shakes and smoothies you are usually hungry right after. If you really want to do protein mix, whey or other dairy products are no longer in the mix for high level endurance athletes. There are plenty of inexpensive plant-based powders that you can get anywhere.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

Unless there is a reason that you can't, registered dieticians will tell you that you (and your wallet) are better off just eating food. There's nothing in there that food cannot provide and it will have the additional benefit of satiating you. After shakes and smoothies you are usually hungry right after.

In my second option bananas and berries are food. Though whey powder and almond milk are both highly processed. Do they still count as food?

I personally haven't experienced hunger after my recovery drink, though.

Originally Posted by ptourkin

If you really want to do protein mix, whey or other dairy products are no longer in the mix for high level endurance athletes.

I wouldn't call myself a "high level endurance athlete," though I'm not tootling along an MUP on a hybrid, either. But I really do find that I feel better the next day if I have a recovery drink.

So you're saying that cyclists are not recommended to have whey protein for recovery? Got any links for further reading on this?

[ptourkin]

Originally Posted by rousseau

In my second option bananas and berries are food. Though whey powder and almond milk are both highly processed. Do they still count as food?

I personally haven't experienced hunger after my recovery drink, though.


I wouldn't call myself a "high level endurance athlete," though I'm not tootling along an MUP on a hybrid, either. But I really do find that I feel better the next day if I have a recovery drink.

So you're saying that cyclists are not recommended to have whey protein for recovery? Got any links for further reading on this?

I find and the literature confirms that shakes and smoothies are not as satiating as food you chew. YMMV

Whey is a dairy product and many endurance athletes believe it produces phlegm. While this may or may not be true, they avoid it during intense training. The chocolate milk as a recovery drink trope was started by the dairy industry to boost flagging sales. It has way more fat and sugar than a professional would recommend. If you read the actual study that the industry paid for to support these commercials, you'll see that a fluid recovery drink that was basically Gatorade was actually more effective. What the study said was that chocolate milk was almost as good as drinking fluid with electrolytes.

[rousseau]

Going out on a ride now, so no further replies from me for a while. Not meaning to be contentious or argumentative at all, as my knowledge about these things is extremely basic, but isn't the recovery drink supposed to give you some carbs and protein, optimally in a 4:1 ratio, in order to replenish glycogen?

I'd always thought that Gatorade was essentially for electrolyte recovery while on a ride, not after?

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Going out on a ride now, so no further replies from me for a while. Not meaning to be contentious or argumentative at all, as my knowledge about these things is extremely basic, but isn't the recovery drink supposed to give you some carbs and protein, optimally in a 4:1 ratio, in order to replenish glycogen?

Yes. That, and food.

[peanutgallery]

Every 1.5 hours on the MTB => 1 beer, but 2 hours => 2 beers

For 4 hours => 3 beers and I eat whatever I want

[joosttx]

Liter of beer. Now that I am living the beta-lifestyle.

[nmrt]

you're still hung up on that beta crap?
heck, if it makes someone feel better, i'm a delta. which is below theta, which is itself below beta. and we all know that beta is below the king -- alpha.


btw, my post ride food is a good meal.

Originally Posted by joosttx

Liter of beer. Now that I am living the beta-lifestyle.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by nmrt

you're still hung up on that beta crap?
heck, if it makes someone feel better, i'm a delta. which is below theta, which is itself below beta. and we all know that beta is below the king -- alpha.


btw, my post ride food is a good meal.

No. I am living my dream. In that thread someone said don't start day drinking. It was a poke at that.