My daughter runs 4 miles 3 times a week. We both read the thread on the need to drink Gatorade, yet she wants to drink the stuff. Problem is, it’s expensive.
Does anyone know how to make a drink like Gatorade from scratch? Part sugar. Part salt–but in what proportions?
Also, where do you get the magnesium and calcium from?
thank you.
From here:
Too bad you’re not in Japan, you could get Pocari Sweat concentrate and just add water. I like Pocari Sweat.
Have you tried buying the powdered mix ? I pick it up at the local wholesale club (BJ’s) for 8.99 for a can that makes 9 gallons, a dollar a gallon. I usually don't drink it at full strength though. I mix it anywhere from a third to half normal strength meaning that it costs me .33 to $.50 for a gallon. Compared to soda or other drinks it is pretty cheap.
I hate to give away training secrets but I found that powdered Tang is about half the price of powdered Gatorade. If you mix it with about twice the amount of water that you’re supposed to and add a pinch of salt you’ll have a pretty good equivalent to Gatorade at a quarter of the cost. In addition, you’ll get some vitamin C that Gatorade doesn’t have.
Re-reading the OP however, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that for a four mile run, water is probably the best choice. (Assuming that she can finish in less than a hour).
Yes, at that level of activity (great as it is), water is all she needs.
I don’t know about the Tang, not having tried it. I’ve always bought the powder Gatorade and dilute it to my likes. Very inexpensive. You can dilute Tang so it has 8% or less glucose, but does it have the electrolytes Gatorade has? Check the ingredients on the label for sodium and potassium.
Sodium is listed at 0% on the Tang label. That’s why a add a pinch of salt. Potassium is not listed at all but I see that potasium citrate is one of the ingredients. (I don’t know if that counts).
At the other end of the cost spectrum is a product called Endurox R4. Though I generally avoid supplements, I’ve been tempted to try it. At $40 for 28 servings, though, it’s a little rich for my blood.
I’ve read so much about Endurox that it turns me off. The running magazines (ALL OF THEM)have had “articles” written by the maker of Endurox. Those “articles” were nothing but plugs for Endurox. It may be of some value, but I’m turned off by the underhanded advertising methods. I wrote to one of the magazines that this guy (I forget his name) sets forth certain “facts,” concerning the efficacy of Endurox but did not substantiate or document his “facts” with any evidence of specific trials or footnotes to them. He replied that he would do so, but to date he has not. That was at least 6 months ago.
For my money, I’ll stick with poweder Gatorade.
The easiest and cheep recipe is as fallows:
One gallon of water
One packet of Cool-aid mix (I just get the Wal-Mart brand stuff, its 10 c.)
3/4 C. Sugar. (you can change this as two how sweet you like it :D)
1 t. unionized salt.
Mix well!
And there you have it a cheep (about 20 c. per gallon) alternative to gator aid! 
I don’t think unionized salt is available in Georgia. It’s a right-to-work state.
There are a lot of homophones in that post.
Just to repeat what was said earlier - for a 4 mile run 3 times a week all your daughter needs is to drink some water and have a snack. There’s really no need for an electrolyte replacement drink for that level of exercise unless it takes place in Death Valley.
You must have missed the part in the OP where she said in reference to her daughter: “she wants to”. Daughter rules the roost over there.
I don’t have a Gatorade substitute recipe (as others do, I buy tubs of the powder cheaply at Costco) but I will second the opinion that there’s probably no need at all for electrolytes on a 4 mile run. She should have some water beforehand (not a lot, don’t want a full stomach) and if it’s hot/humid or she just sweats a lot then she should bring a water bottle along, but Gatorade on a run of that duration won’t do much.
A 4 mile run will burn around 500 calories (over a range of speeds). If she’s slugging back a lot of Gatorade (at 200 calories per 8oz cup) then she’s undoing a lot of her hard work - over 1.5 miles to run off one cup…
I would recommend that she have a small post-run snack available immediately after she gets back, but it should be something healthy (complex carbohydrates, some protein and some water to rehydrate), for example a half sandwich (whole grain bread, little bit of sliced turkey) and some low-fat milk.
Fueling on the go is more of an issue if she’ll be running for an hour or more. I’m a trail runner (marathons and ultras) and food/drink are a source of endless conversation in that crowd.
ETA - I read the OP, I understand that the daughter wants to drink the stuff but I think it’s important to figure out what she’s actually trying to do. If she’s a beginning runner and thinks that she “needs” to drink something special before/during/after her runs, she may be way off base and in fact negating some of the gains she’ll otherwise experience.
When running from zombies I think it is best not to cheap out and just get the real stuff.
Sorry to bring this post back from the dead.
I just bought some Tang at Costco. $5.38 for 4lb 8oz tub = 5.5 gallons = $0.98/gal. I will probably make more than 5.5 gal because I don’t want it too sweet.
1% sodium. But 90 calories per 8 oz. serving (ouch).
I train MMA 1.5 hr 3x/wk and 3 hr 2x/week. This is almost non-stop with 30 sec breaks between 3 min rounds. I’m 5’8" and 165-167 lbs. I can’t get under 160 lbs. I don’t have a strict diet and still eat late at night and snack too much.I go to 158-160 lbs for a fight, but it hurts my strength noticeably. But still, I train 5 days per week and can’t lose this extra 7 lbs. So I think that I need to look into my diet.
How much Gatoraid should I be drinking, if any, during my 1.5hr & 3hr workout?
Weigh yourself before and after a workout. A pint’s a pound the world round.
When well hydrated, your urine will be pale yellow/clear and you should urinate 3-5 times a day.
Have your bodyfat checked, you may already be as lean as is practical.