Make SIS BETA fuel yourself just a few pence per bottle

From what I’ve read, the percentage of salt in your sweat is largely constant and independent of how much you consume (or don’t). If you sweat more (ie on a hot day) then you lose more water and salt, hence the need to replace more.

Find the any podcast with Andy Blow from Precision Hydration for and in-depth description. AACC 221, others.

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Nope. Not unless you have hypertension and it’s increasing it. But I don’t suspect that’s the case.

Could it be that it’s getting hotter and you’re sweating more? Definitely the case for me in Tucson, AZ, right now.

Me too.

Interesting. 1/2 tsp regular salt vs. 1 tsp sodium citrate is virtually identical sodium amounts, so, seems unlikely that there would be a change in sodium content of sweat as a result of the switch from sodium chloride to sodium citrate.

This is my understanding too, but I’m admittedly not as certain of this understanding as I am on other things. Certainly fitness and heat acclimatization will play a larger role.

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I get gritty salt deposits on my face after hard sessions, indoor or out. Usually when the fans are on full blast indoors or it’s windy outside. I assume it’s the result of sweat evaporating quickly and leaving mineral deposits behind. I’ve never worried about it - rather the sign of having had a good workout!

What are the weight ratios for Carbs and Sodium Citrate? When making batches I throw everything on the scale.
I dont always make the same size batch for drink mix. Kinda just use whatever i have on hand(dextrose/fructose/sucrose) and get the correct ratio with whats avaiable.

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No idea.

I get out the measuring cups every time and do each independently because optimal ratio of carbs:sodium changes day to day based on workout duration, weather, intensity, as well as person to person (2 of us in our house).

Yup, the flavoring is the hard part of these drinks - the rest is just some salt. I also prefer the flavor of the commercial offerings to my own, but it’s ‘good enough’. Also, you’ve found me out - I just want cheap for hydration on the trainer :rofl: Once I added up what commercial hydration products were costing my on the trainer I had to do something.

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Yes! And no name brand grocery store fruit punch powder. It’s pretty much all just 1:1 fructose:glucose with flavoring. You can add extra glucose and some electrolytes if it needs it and you get a good power up for pennies.

I’ll have to give that a try. I am somewhat reluctantly moving to more sugar in my drinks during training, and that opens up more flavoring options than trying to go sugar free. Now to just reduce my off-bike sugar, and I’ll be in good shape :slight_smile:

Homemade recipe I pulled from a magazine or blog years ago. Where am i right or wrong? Goal was to save a little cash and still get the nutrition from stuff found in the kitchen cabinets.
I have only used this on indoor TR workouts. Outdoors I use all SIS products Beta Fuel, Go, and Energy. But as noted it’s expensive. So I’m reading this thread with interest of nutrition and cost savings.
Whats wrong or right with my homemade brew? I have semi thick skin :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: so let me have it. The Good The Bad and The Ugly

In large 750 bottle
Honey 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons
Table Sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons
Lime 1/4 squeezed for added flavor
Table Salt 1/4 teaspoon

Seems to work for all my 1 - 2hr TR indoor workouts I do supplement with some of the more intense workouts with real fruit and or trailmix.
I suspect it’s much less than $1.00 USD a bottle.

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Gel_Recipe.pdf (35.4 KB)

I’ve used this for the last 10 months and love it. Works for cycling and I’m just about to start trialing in on my runs al less than 60grams/hr.
Easy to assemble from 30-100 gram/hr and 30 minutes up to 6 hours

Translation:
Maltodextrin = Maltodextrin
Honig = Honey (prefer the good stuff)
Traubensaft = Grape Juice (not from concentrate ideally)
Zitrone = Lemon juice (from an actual lemon, not a bottle)
Salz = Salt (i used table salt until i ran out, now use an electrolyte powder)

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I use snack size zip lock bags. With the bottle empty or half full of water you can get the entire opening of the bag in the mouth of the bottle and does not make a mess. Fold the bag flat to get all of the air out, zip it shut, then stuff it back into your jersey.

I agree completely that it looks very suspicious carrying around zip lock bags full of fine white powder, though. Less so during a group ride or event, more so when solo. You’d think the bike kit would put bystanders at ease, though …

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Are there any reusable/refillable gel packs on the market? I’m sure someone could design one…

As someone who grew up in the 70s, film canisters full of white power look considerably more suspicious than ziplock bags! Especially with the number of them you would need to fill 2 bottles!

image

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I’ve mistakenly bought some SIS Go Electrolyte powder thinking it was just electrolytes, but it has carbs too:

Is there any way I can still mix this with the malto and fructose I’ve got, or is it impossible to know what the makeup of the SIS stuff is? It doesn’t specifically say on their website.

I picked up some Gatorade and Maltodextrin powder but I am not sure how to mix it. Should I do it by the weight indicated in parentheses for serving size?

If I understand right, the idea is (for 90g carb bottle) I would want 60 grams of glucose from the Gatorade mix and 30 grams from the Malto?

And if I want to start at 60g and work up to 90g to see what my stomach likes do I start light with the glucose or the malto?

Here’s the labels on the two…

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If you have a kitchen scale this is really easy. I use an old container and tare on the scale. Dump in a bunch of gatorade powder…say 500g. Then add 250g of malto (2:1 ratio). I find that the maltodextrin is much lower density so use the weight to be accurate. I add a little extra sodium citrate since I sweat a bunch. Put the lid on, shake, and you’re done.

I’ve been able to handle the 90g / hr just fine. If you’d like, start with the same mixture but only put in 60g /hr for a week and then work up to 90g slowly and monitor how your stomach feels.

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Perfect, thanks!!

Also, I think I read or heard somewhere that one of the two (glucose or maltodextrin) attributes to the GI issues when using more than you can handle but can’t remember which. Anyone know?

Maltodextrin = a chain of strung-together glucose molecules.

Avoiding high osmolarity (high molecule number per volume of fluid) is why folks would use maltodextrin (“malto” for short), in place of glucose in their drinks.

FYI: dextrose = glucose, before you consume it. Just nomenclature difference there. Same molecule.

Turns out, high osmolarity isn’t usually the primary cause of gut distress. It’s usually high total energy density (kcal per volume fluid) or saturation of absorption ability of glucose or fructose because of an overconsumption of either of them (ie… too many grams per hour).

Regarding energy density, I refer to “grams of carbs per hour” because it’s easier math and consuming any kcal outside pure carb is a bad idea.

Direct 1:1 relationship between g/hr and kcal/hr when you’re using straight carbs. (yes, caveats exist here but they’re minutia)

KEY POINT: Malto contributes to saturation of glucose absorption ability identically to glucose.

Dogma states that 60g/hr glucose consumption is the max tolerable. It’s higher. Probalby 70-80g per hour when consumed with fructose and well-hydrated and well-practiced.

Fructose absorption ability dogma states 30g/hr is max. That’s WAY wrong. I suspect it’s much higher, variable, and/or trainable. 60g/hr and maybe more is possible when ingested with glucose, and well-hydrated.

Hope that helps!

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Thanks!

For what it’s worth, N=1 here, but I struggled for years with getting enough calories on the bike. Gatorade, Powerade, Hammer, Skratch, it didn’t matter, I ALWAYS ended up with stomach issues consuming about 1-1.5 bottles at standard dosage per hour. Using Malto:Fructose, I have had zero issues at 60-100g per hour. It’s really been a miracle for my GI issues, and it means I don’t have to carry a bunch of solid food or gels on rides.

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