recovery and energy drink recommendations

TwinLab makes a powdered mix (or pre-made) drink that they call "UltraFuel"
try it. now. you are going to see an improvement of balance, stamina, and focus. The Carbs sharpen your mind and prevent "bonking" with the natural sugars, the kind found in fruit. (long chain glucose)

this stuff rocks. a 16oz serving has 400 calories and cost about $1.50
Forget that its primarily marketed towards weight lifters and such because in reality its an electrolyte drink. this is what gatorade wished it could be. I get it from Hi-Health but im sure GNC has it too. here's a link to just one of the online markets:
http://musclesurf.com/ultra-fuel.html

Hi Angela,
I've been using Hammer Nutrition's "Perpetuem" as my sole food intake during the day on backpacking trips for the last several years with good results. It comes in either tubs or 2.5 oz packets(my choice for convenience) of 260 calories. It contains 2 gr of fat, 6 gr of protein, and 54 gr of carbs(complex), plus a bunch of minerals/micro nutrients. The idea is to supply the carbs/protein required to support the metabolism of stored body fat. 2 packets/day works fine for me from mid morning to quitting time in the afternoon. YMMV, but worth a try?? In the evening I use 1st Endurance's Ultragen, a recovery drink that comes in powdered form. 3 oz supplies 320 calories, 60 gr of carbs, 20 gr of protein, 19 vitamins and minerals, and 4.5 gr of branched chain amino acids to help in muscle repair. It has made a noticeable difference in how I feel in the morning, after hard days in particular. Again worth a try, IMO. Hammer Nutrition also makes a recovery drink in powdered form called Recoverite. It has a similar nutrient profile, but I couldn't stand the taste. Lots of others out there as well. Check 'em out, experiment, and I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. One parting thought: If you know any tri-athletes or tri-athlete gear shops, ask them. Those guys practically live of these kinds of drinks when on the move. Good luck!

I mix my own now. Whey protein isolate and bulk maltodextrin. Electrolytes added when it's hot, 3 grams L-Glutamine in recovery mixes.

I used to use perpetuem too and I liked it.

Where do you buy the bulk maltodextrin, Christopher? Also, do you have any trouble getting the mix to dissolve in cold water?

Angela,
Try Nunn tablets. 12 to a container and 2 tabs per quart.

Stay away from Nuun's "Kona Cola"… that is unless you enjoy drinking generic soda that lost its "fizz". Flat cola spoils a drink every time.
I like the fruit citrus and lemon/lime though.

CarboGain from Now foods brand is just pure malto, easily found at most Vitamin Cottages. Otherwise you can track it down on other online places or in huge bulk (50lbs) from cooking wholesalers and beer makers if you shop locally.

I use quite a bit and 7lbs jugs of CarboGain last me a long time and cost $20 or so.

Thanks for the beta, Christopher. It's gonna save me some bucks.
Tom

I'll try some stuff out.

Unfortunately I'm not part of an endurance sport community… I don't do races and just haven't really stumbled across anyone in my area. So it makes it tough to figure things out especially since I'm just beginning.

Angela,

If you have more questions email me or post here. I'll gladly share what I use, where I get it, ratios, etc. The biggest thing is to experiment a bit since everyone is different but I'm happy to help where I can.

That would be great and I really appreciate it.

I'm extremely sidelined right now and waiting for physical therapy to begin so I've got plenty of time to experiment with supplements… but not so much of a reason to be taking them! But I've been trying to keep myself occupied and I think a lack of protein and other nutrients is part of the reason why I wasn't bouncing back as well and my performance was suffering. I definitely am mulling over a lot of stuff about conditioning, nutrition etc. so input from others is really helpful.