Anyone use Gatorade G2?

64Paramount said:

G2 was on sale today at the grocery store, 8 20oz bottles for $4.98, so I bought some.

It just has the big G2 logo on the bottle and I didn't realize it was Gatorade till I got home and looked at the sales receipt. I don't normally drink Gatorade because it has a lot of sodium in it.

The nutrition information indicates that the bottle contains electrolytes, 12g of carbs (if I'm looking at it right these are from sugars), 75mg of potassium, and 270mg of sodium.

I don't remember the original Gatorade having any carbs, but maybe it did.

Does anyone use this stuff during rides?

At the NO 70.3 IM they fed us G series Pro 02 Perform gatorade. I use the regular powder stuff when training and I did not have any problem.

I've always stayed away from Gatorade of any kind since I was in high school wrestling, i'm now 30, because of the amount of sugar and carbs. I tend to call it "sugarade" instead of gatorade. I remember a time in Germany was doing a long run with a group of people and one person fell out throwing up. I knew he was drinking gatorade and told him it was because of that, but i'm sure there were other factors involved.

You stated that sodium was the reason why u stay away from the gatorade, but sodium could be the best thing for you in long distance anything. I've taken salt packs in long rucks in pretty hot climated areas and consume saltines any time I feel weezy or light headed and it helps.

Pros & Cons Of Gatorade | LIVESTRONG.COM is something i found about gatorade.

Lately I've been using Powerade Zero - all the electrolytes but sweetened with Splenda instead of sugar so no calories or bloating.

ScottCR1TeaM said:

I've always stayed away from Gatorade of any kind since I was in high school wrestling, i'm now 30, because of the amount of sugar and carbs. I tend to call it "sugarade" instead of gatorade. I remember a time in Germany was doing a long run with a group of people and one person fell out throwing up. I knew he was drinking gatorade and told him it was because of that, but i'm sure there were other factors involved.

You stated that sodium was the reason why u stay away from the gatorade, but sodium could be the best thing for you in long distance anything. I've taken salt packs in long rucks in pretty hot climated areas and consume saltines any time I feel weezy or light headed and it helps.

Pros & Cons Of Gatorade | LIVESTRONG.COM is something i found about gatorade.

Scott, I avoid sodium because because I tend to have high blood pressure. Thanks for the link!

cyberlegend1994 said:

Lately I've been using Powerade Zero - all the electrolytes but sweetened with Splenda instead of sugar so no calories or bloating.

Thanks Cyber, I saw that at the store and I'll have to give it a try.

The Powerade Zero will be better IMHO. My dad even swears by it.

Another thing about sodium - sodium is an electrolyte so your body does actually need some, but the way many of us Americans tend to salt things, we tend to take a lot more sodium in than what we need. The US RDA of sodium is 2500 mg, Powerade Zero has 100 mg of sodium per serving, only 4% of the US RDA.

cyberlegend1994 said:

The Powerade Zero will be better IMHO. My dad even swears by it.

Another thing about sodium - sodium is an electrolyte so your body does actually need some, but the way many of us Americans tend to salt things, we tend to take a lot more sodium in than what we need. The US RDA of sodium is 2500 mg, Powerade Zero has 100 mg of sodium per serving, only 4% of the US RDA.

I try and shoot for 2000 mg or less, that way if I go a little over I'm not worried.

Also, PER SERVING, is the key that you have to watch for on everything. Most bottles of things, have at least 2 servings per bottle, so you have to double everything if you drink the whole thing.

Here's a good explanation on Sodium from Mark Allen.

Sodium

The third and final section to work on right now is whether or not you need to supplement your fuel intake with sodium. The first question to ask about this is whether or not you ever crave something salty during a long ride? If so, you might benefit from having a source of sodium with you during your race. A key note is that if you have any history of hypertension, consult with your primary health care provider before experimenting with this.

Research has shown that after about three hours of maximum sweating, performance begins to drop off if sodium is not taken in. On average, a person loses 350mg of sodium per hour. So after you lose about 1000mg of sodium the performance begins to drop. Keep in mind that this is VERY individual. Some people will sweat out twice this and others only half. Experiment with what you need.

One sign that your sodium intake is not enough to keep up with your sodium sweat rate is that if you are drinking enough and eating enough calories but still feel like you are flat or feel like you are sort of bonking and are having trouble concentrating and are losing motivation, this is a sign that you may be low on sodium. The best source of sodium is buffered sodium tablets that you can get at any pharmacy. There are a lot of electrolyte tablets available, but most of them are in a capsule that makes it impossible for you to taste the salt when you take it. It is very important to be able to have the tablet melt in your mouth. This will enable you to keep it in until your body says “enough” at which point you can spit out any remaining part of the tablet.

Keep track of how much sodium your electrolyte drink is providing. Keep track of how you feel during your workouts, especially after about three hours. Try sucking on a buffered salt tablet and see how your body and energy levels respond. Start conservative and build up until you find the right amount for you, especially during hot and long workouts.

jflongo said:

I try and shoot for 2000 mg or less, that way if I go a little over I'm not worried.

Also, PER SERVING, is the key that you have to watch for on everything. Most bottles of things, have at least 2 servings per bottle, so you have to double everything if you drink the whole thing.

Great point - a quart-sized bottle of Powerade Zero contains 4 servings so one bottle will give you roughly 16% of your recommended daily allowance of sodium.

Another thing I noticed when I was reading the info in the link ScottCR1TeaM provided on Gatorade was that the article claimed that it takes 90 minutes after consumption before the carbs contained in the drink actually provide you with any muscle energy.

That seemed like a long time to me, so I've googled a bit looking to see what foods are mostly quickly digested and converted to energy. I did some more reading today and I'm seeing terms like "Glycemic Index" and "Glycemic Load".

I always thought a banana was a quick energy boost, but if I'm understanding what I'm reading at all, a banana actually takes a while to digest, releasing energy over a longer period of time.

I'm kind of back to the point now where I'm thinking a ride would need to be at least 2 hours long before you would possibly benefit by eating during the ride, and even then you would have to make sure you eat in the first 30 minutes, and eat a food that would be digested and turned into muscle food within 90 min.

Am I missing something?

Gatorade is better than nothing but not ideal as it has dyes, preservatives, fake sugar, etc etc. A good sports drink doesn't need a bunch of fake stuff that your body has to deal with and should contain several sources of carbohydrate and even some protein for longer training or events.

Gatorade bought in bottles is good for something... not sure what that something is.

Gatorade bought in powder form is the 'real deal' Gatorade and does not have high fructose corn syrup in it.

Either way, there are much better things to drink on a bike.

LOL, maybe I should have a party. I could mix that gatorade up with a bottle of rum and call it punch....

What I was originally looking for was something that would be good for carbohydrates on a ride and would also be fairly cheap.

I guess I mistakenly thought that a liquid would digest quicker and provide energy quicker.

I haven't actually used any of the gatorade yet and I don't think I'm going to at this point, at least not for bike rides.

I think I'll stick with a banana or a cereal bar for now...

ScottCR1TeaM said:

I've always stayed away from Gatorade of any kind since I was in high school wrestling, i'm now 30, because of the amount of sugar and carbs. I tend to call it "sugarade" instead of gatorade. I remember a time in Germany was doing a long run with a group of people and one person fell out throwing up. I knew he was drinking gatorade and told him it was because of that, but i'm sure there were other factors involved.

You stated that sodium was the reason why u stay away from the gatorade, but sodium could be the best thing for you in long distance anything. I've taken salt packs in long rucks in pretty hot climated areas and consume saltines any time I feel weezy or light headed and it helps.

Pros & Cons Of Gatorade | LIVESTRONG.COM is something i found about gatorade.

Thanks for the info. I have been using Gatorade though I am mixing it with 1/4 of water.

Most of the information given about Gatorade is ignorant! First off Gatorade in it's straight form is for those who don't exercise and just want a sweet tasting drink. Second powder Gatorade is the more pure form as one poster mentioned, but you don't mix it at 100%, doing so makes the "Pros and Cons of Gatorade" correct; but diluting it by about 66% makes the "Pro and Cons" incorrect. Diluting it by about 66% allows it to be digested easier, will not give you a sweet sticky yucky feeling in your mouth after you've been riding for an hour or more, and is adequate to replace your electrolytes. However drinking a glass of 100% strength Gatorade about 2 hours before a ride is beneficial followed up by a clear water about an hour before the ride.

I drink a lot of Gatorade due to the possibility of cramps if I don't, so I carry it in two of my three water bottles leaving one with just clear water. I also mix it with Hammer's Sustained Energy in my CamelBak on longer rides of more then 50 miles for my primary hydration resource.

I drink 12-18 oz. of tomato juice or V8 at any stop that has them.

I finish up a rest stop with an extra glass of water or Gatorade right before jumping on the bike. I have found that shorter is better at rest stops for cramp elimination as well as keeping the legs from feeling heavy.

Drinking expensive cycling boutique drinks is a waste of money for the most part.

Don't buy Gatorade in bottles. Buy it in the big powder cans - that stuff doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it and is the original formula. It also makes about 4,234,324 bottles worth of drinks for $20.

Cheaper. Better. Not great... just better than any other Gatorade.

G2 could be used in fancy hand blown glass containers with a small light behind it for added ambience... which is all it's useful for.

G2 is the low sugar/calorie version of Gatorade. It has 50 calories per 20 ounce bottle. I prefer it to regular Gatorade for that reason.

Gatorade is full of so much chemicals, it's junk. Coconut water or you can blend dates with water to get your potassium fill. You can even blend those two together, but at least it is healthy.

I tend to use the Powerade Zero as well. However, I'm not a fan of the Splenda in it. Or anyone sugar substitute really. Someone suggested I drink coconut water as well but I'm hoping I can find one without any added sugar. Suggestions?

I have never been a big fan of Gatorade since my x-country days in HS in the 80's. Now I use Accelerade when I cycle or run. Just works for me....that and pickle juice 😉