Yesterday, I walked into my step and sculpt class, got my bench and weights, and checked out who was in the class. I noticed a middle aged lady close to the back with not one, not two, but three Gatorades for our hour class! Of course I immediately wanted to run up to her and tell her she may be drinking more calories than she is burning and mention the outrageous sugar content.
I held it together and kept my thoughts to myself, but I hope she is reading this today. I am sure you are thinking Gatorades and sports drinks are supposed to be good work out fuels, but they really can sabotage your weight loss by adding calories and sugar.
Sports Drinks, The Hard Truth…
Gatorade has fifty calories per serving and fourteen grams of sugar per serving. The average Gatorade bottle is 20 which calculates to 130 calories per bottle and 30g of sugar (or 7 teaspoons.)The recommended intake for an adult is 40g of sugar. A twenty ounce sport drink would account for over 90 percent of your daily sugar intake! Sports drinks are recommended for high intensity endurance work outs lasting longer then ninety minutes.
The average woman completing a 60 minute strength or cardio work out does not need electrolyte and carbohydrate replacement. Gatorade or other sports drinks will not increase performance in any strength program. You may want to argue that you need sports drink during your work out to replenish electrolytes such as sodium and potassium.
It takes on average three to five hours to deplete sufficient amounts of electrolytes in the body, again restating sports drink only help and aide those who are training for marathons, triathlons, or other high intensity endurance exercises.
How much water do you need?
The amount of water needed before, during, and after exercise varies by person and exercise routine but a good rule of thumb is:
- 20-30 fl oz at least an hour before exercise
- 8-10 fl oz every fifteen minutes during exercise
- 20-24 fl oz after exercise
Don’t like the taste of water? Brita and PUR water filtration systems now have flavored water filters. Crystal Light also offers “on the go” flavored powders, low in calories that add a crisp flavor (lemon, kiwi strawberry, raspberry, etc.) Don’t let sports drink sabotage your hard working results!
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As a Noob, I am always seeking online for articles that can help me. Thank you
This is really what i was looking for. best wishes for the insightful post and keep up the very good work! My kind regards, Francina.