I have been exhausted every day since beginning Insanity, peaking around 3 p.m. (the usual slump time anyway) when I feel the irresistable urge to take a nap. I also fall asleep sooner than I intend in the evenings. I'm re-evaluating my former comments on diet. I'm getting enough sleep (ha! Can't help it.) so in addition to watching my water intake carefully, I clearly need a recovery drink. I'm forcing myself to eat lunch after Insanity but it usually comes more than an hour later and even after I eat lunch, I'm pooped. I know that there's no way I'm going to get through month 2 without restoring my energy levels and productivity, as much as I hate to drink sugar post-workout, and I don't think it's from not eating enough. I'm also not going to spend the money on the official Beach Body recovery formula.
I’ve done some research on the Beach Body Rest and Recovery Formula, what’s in it, and how to make something similar, low-calorie, and low-cost at home. Good news. After lots of reading on various sites for performance athletes, here’s a recipe that provides nearly exactly the 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein that’s in their drink, as well as lost sodium and potassium. Other good news… it is damn tasty. Today, I drank it less than half an hour after finishing the workout. This recipe makes 2 liters (8 servings). Each serving is 1 cup. Shake everything up in a large water bottle. (By the way, I notice the Rest and Recovery Formula serving is bigger, at about 220 calories. You could drink more than 8 ounces to bring it to that, of course, but I am starting with 8 ounces as recommended on this site I found for endurance cyclists. Perhaps next month I will need more.)
Calories: About 75
Carbohydrate: About 14.4 g
Sodium: 104 mg
Potassium: 28.4 mg
Protein: About 3 g
½ cup orange juice or blend of 100% juice
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
3/8 tsp salt
9 TBSP sugar
Water to make 2 liters
Here's a link to the cycling performance site with a full list of homemade energy bars and drinks, plus variations. I added the protein powder, as Beach Body says that 4:1 ratio improves recovery 25% more than an energy drink alone.
Hey, good news. It's 3:04 p.m. right now and I feel normal. I even went for a walk with a friend before lunch less than an hour after the workout. I don't feel like sleeping. So, I think this is what was missing. I'll stick with 8 ounces of my homemade recovery formula each day until I need to re-evaluate (skipping it on Cardio Recovery day, of course).
Some great vegetarian recipes and snack ideas coming soon!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
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I saw your comment over at "The Insanity workout blog" and thought I'd check it out. I was interested in the recovery drink you were talking about.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for my DVD's (Insanity) to come in, and then I will be right behind you. I look forward to reading your experience through this.
Hi Colette,
ReplyDeleteBest of luck! I had been keeping a private diary in Word and just today uploaded everything so far to Blogspot. I hope it will help keep me on track. I think the only thing that will derail me is if my joints literally cannot take it.
It took me too long to take the recovery drink bit seriously. Glad you're preparing and resting up!
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteI just got caught up on all your posts, you are doing great! I like your recovery formula and may try it out. For me, I don't have the tired issues that you have. I think this is because of a couple of things: 1) I am eating a lot more than you 2) I drink a ton of water 3) I do my workouts usually around 5:00pm when I get home from work and 4) I usually drink a mix of Gatorade and water during the workouts.
I also think I may not push as hard as you do (to the point of nausea) partly because my strength is not quite there yet to be able to.
Do you wear a heart rate monitor while doing this? You might just be pushing it a bit too high and over working yourself.
I missed this somehow. Thanks! No, I don't wear a heart rate monitor. Talk test works well for me and sometimes I count bpm during the rests to make sure I'm in the right range. I was only nauseated the one time, I think on day 3. Come on now, isn't that the initiation? And you missed it? Ha!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a homemade recovery drink but I'm surprised at the amount of sugar. Could that be substituted with Agave nectar? Or some other alternative?
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