Powdered energy drinks

[Mutley]

Planning an extended (40 day) walk in the near future. On shorter walks, nutrition is important but good tasting food is probably the main requirement. Over a longer period though, I need to give serious attention to my KJ intake each day, and what that is comprised of (fats, carbs, protein, sodium).

I'm after something like ovaltine, but low GI, with high carbs and protein, some added vitamins and a very high KJ per gram count. I know, I should just take a bag of sugar and some beroccas, but I was after something more slow release. I have had a quick look at body building and athletic training supplements. Has anyone used such things ? I can use such a powder in the morning to boost by breakfast KJ, have a glass at lunch and hot with milk powder at night. Tasting good is probably another requirement.

Cheers...Mut

[Bluegum Mic]

Sustagen might be a cheaper option than the body building stuff. They do the Sustagen sport in a tin of powder you could put in a snaplock bag etc. It tastes like a choc milkshake. You can get it from the section of coles/woolies where the milo is. It still tastes good made up with water (vs milk). I use a fantastic pea protein, but if you want cheaper with carbs, vitamins etc all rolled into one then Sustagen may be the go.

[Macca81]

Something like this?
http://www.herbalifeww.com/au/products/xml/main_p.asp?loc=en-AU&pid=Id1_129&cid=Id1_2&nids=Id1_2

[forest]

I'm not very familar with the body building protein powders but I'm a fan of taking shotz tablets on my walks.

Get's some goodies back in my system and they seem better than some others. The taste isn't half bad either, much more exciting than.... water.

[Moondog55]

If you are going to use Sustagen the one from the supermarkets will not work over a long period of time, you need Sustagen "HOSPITAL" formula. It is quite a bit more expensive but actually offers a reasonably balanced nutrition package

[Turfa]

On an extended trip like that you may find that your food intake increases enormously & you will start to find it difficult to simply carry enough food to keep hunger at bay, especially if you are going more than 5-6 days between food drops. In this case you really focus on the energy density of food otherwise your food bag is just too heavy & bulky to supply the sheer kJ that you need. Fats are the most energy dense & I will even carry a bottle of olive oil & add some to every meal just to boost the kJ count. How often will you be able to resupply ?
+1 for the Sustagen idea, it does help with vitamins/minerals etc. if you are concerned about that & it does taste good made with just water if you mix it at about 2-3 times the normal strength.

[Miyata610]

I use the Proform equivalent of Sustagen hospital formula, in "neutral" flavour for maximum flexibility....

http://www.proformonline.com.au/Supplem ... g-Can.aspx

It's much cheaper at $17 a kg versus $29 for 900g, and it's made in Australia.

I allow for one "serve" a day when bushwalking, at the end of the walk. In addition to my normal bushwalking meals. I also carry a few extra serves as emergency meals in case I get delayed.

[dee_legg]

Have a look at Endura... www.endura.com.au

I've used their gels a lot (taste better than Gu to me) and their Optimiser is a great recovery drink mix. They also do a Powerade like rehydration powder but it's much better for you, it has magnesium in it which is great for muscle recovery and prevention of cramps.

[Moondog55]

Hi Mutley
just a comment on palatability.
On long trips this is very important, more important than energy needs and nutrient balance.
This is because of the real need to eat everything in the ration to ensure you get enough calories/kilojoules, no point in having food if your palate says "NO Not That stuff AGAIN" and it doesn't get eaten.
Having once run out of every other food and having to subsist on oat porridge for 3 days I can attest to this personally.
This is why army ration packs have those little packets of curry powder and the sachets of Tabasco sauce and mustard these days.
#2 on the olive oil for it's longevity. try dark brown or Black sugar too, a little can make eve porridge edible

[michael_p]

Mutley,

If you go with Sustagen it comes in slightly different formulations. If I remember correctly the regular has the lowest GI of 36, whereas the sport has a GI of around the 40+ mark. Also it is meant to be mixed with milk which has lactose in it which has a GI of around the 30 mark. I have read that the GI rating for milk powder is the same as for "wet" milk. It may be worth consider taking both Sustagen and milk powder.

Also, if you are going to add sugar to bulk up the KJ's it is worth noting that when you mix a low GI food with a high GI food you get an average of the two GI ratings. (My wife has been diabetic for many years and I get this GI stuff drilled into me all the time.)

http://www.proformonline.com.au/Supplement/Proform-Neutral-1kg-Can.aspx

This stuff looks interesting. Thanks Miyata610.

Hi Mutley
just a comment on palatability.
On long trips this is very important, more important than energy needs and nutrient balance.
This is because of the real need to eat everything in the ration to ensure you get enough calories/kilojoules, no point in having food if your palate says "NO Not That stuff AGAIN" and it doesn't get eaten.
Having once run out of every other food and having to subsist on oat porridge for 3 days I can attest to this personally.
This is why army ration packs have those little packets of curry powder and the sachets of Tabasco sauce and mustard these days.
#2 on the olive oil for it's longevity. try dark brown or Black sugar too, a little can make eve porridge edible

Agree. Food has to be worth eating. Sugar left for a few minutes on hot porridge caramelises nicely and does make porridge far more edible.

Cheers,
Michael.

[Stonie]

Maybe not the Kjs you are chasing... but if you want a few extra while you are walking that is not going to make you feel sluggish...
My answer is small container of this on multiday walks:
http://www.musashi.com.au/products/amino-blends/disperse/electrolyte-replacement-formula.aspx

Normally add it straight to a mug of nice tassie creek water, when I’m feeling stuffed while walking. Tastes fine. bit like lemon flavoured sweat. I guess that makes sense.

The main reason I choose this over some of the other products is because of the amino acid content.

[Mutley]

Maybe not the Kjs you are chasing... but if you want a few extra while you are walking that is not going to make you feel sluggish...
My answer is small container of this on multiday walks:
http://www.musashi.com.au/products/amino-blends/disperse/electrolyte-replacement-formula.aspx

Normally add it straight to a mug of nice tassie creek water, when I’m feeling stuffed while walking. Tastes fine. bit like lemon flavoured sweat. I guess that makes sense.

The main reason I choose this over some of the other products is because of the amino acid content.

Cheers stonie. 1440 kj per 100g is a fairly good energy density and will help replace salts.

[sim1oz]

Hi Mutley,

I haven't worried much about kJ when we walk, I just add dessert to every dinner which we can skip if we are full. So my experiences below are mainly based on my ongoing quest for proper nutrition and good health.

We use protein powder on our breakfast every day, mixed in with porridge, muesli or as a milk shake so it definitely comes along when bushwalking. Proteins can be hard to balance out because many of them need refrigeration or are just heavy to carry. Many of the preserved meats are also very high in salt/sodium which has other issues. It is claimed that whey isolate or concentrate is 'better', but there is also a nice pea protein available (mentioned above) for vegetarians. Most brands come in natural, vanilla or chocolate flavours. You can use the natural flavoured powder as a thickener instead of corn starch or Deb mash.

I spoke with a nutritionist about food before we went on our last 8 day walk. When I brought up electrolyte replacements, she suggested we go to a pharmacy and look at the ingredients of any electrolyte replacement to make sure they don't have too much sugar. She specifically said to steer clear of the bottled drink versions like Gatorade which are loaded with sugar - and IMO are way too heavy to carry on a multi-day walk. Generally, if you are eating well you shouldn't need electrolyte replacements unless you are sweating like crazy. They just cost a lot of money when the main thing is keeping hydrated. Having said that, we used Hydralyte Sports (bought at our local pharmacy) in one of our water bottles on high intensity days with a lot of climbing. It comes in 18g sachets which are mixed in water to make a 600mL drink. It's not cheap but we didn't use it that often.

At first glance, the musashi product looks to be pretty high in sugar. A 60g serve has 32.6g sugar. In comparison, a single serve of Hydralyte weighs 17.9g and has 12g sugar. To properly compare, you'd need to see how many serves they recommend per day and then look at the total sugar (and other nutrients) consumed. But if their 'serves' are comparable then that is a huge difference in sugar.

To be honest, I didn't do much research. I just walked into the pharmacy and said I want an electrolyte replacement that is low in sugar and good for intense exercise. If I was going on a longer walk of several weeks I think I would compare a range of products to see what each was offering. BTW, we still have 8 sachets left out of the box of 12. At this rate, the box may last us a year so maybe it is good value for money! FYI, http://www.hydralytesport.com

If you are mainly looking to build kJ intake then these other links might be of interest:

Calorie and Fat Gram Chart http://www.ntwrks.com/~mikev/chart1a.htm
Another list http://www.ultralightbackpackingonline.info/foodfacts2.html
http://andrewskurka.com/2012/food-planning-for-multi-day-hikes-and-thru-hikes/
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=53831
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=55651

Cheers
sim1

[Adricat]

These are new(ish): http://www.sanitarium.com.au/products/o ... nuka-honey and provide 1/3 of your daily intake.

[morrowkarl]

Hi

Not sure if you are still interested but there is a product i have tried and use on longer trips that I have found to be excellent. My wife was sceptical, but she loves it now.

The product is called F.I.R.S.T.

More information can be found at Feed It Global.com

I think it ticks all the boxes for what you are after.

Cheers