Don't Be Sabotaged by Sports Drinks

Happy Monday! Did your diet plans "restart" today after all the football foods? ;-) Maybe some exercise? Hopefully you're taking steps for both!

While I don't think of sports drinks as necessary for anyone, really, and I think there are more natural ways of replenishing after a good workout, I know a lot of people still prefer to turn to an easy bottle after getting their sweat on at the gym! But even so, popular sports drinks, such as Gatorade and Powerade, are not usually necessary for the average person! Named after the Florida Gators, Gatorade was originally created to help rehydrate and provide electrolytes for professional athletes who are training intensely for several hours.

If you're a calorie counter, here are some numbers you may want to keep in mind:

1 bottle of a sports drink tends to contain 2.5 8-ounce servings, and packs an average of 150 to 160 calories.

30 minutes of moderate walking (3 mph) burns: 100 calories
30 minutes of elliptical machine: 210 calories
30 minutes of moderate biking (12-13 mph): 250 calories
30 minutes of jogging (6 mph): 310 calories

Replenishing drinks, if you insist on drinking them, are more for workouts that last longer than 30 minutes and if you have been working quite intensely and sweating heavily. If you only workout 30 minutes, water is sufficient for rehydrating. Don’t let the calories of these drinks sabotage your workout. Be label savvy!

And recently, coconut water is being looked at more and more as a more natural way to replenish your electrolyte balance after a long sweat. It has a good balance of potassium, natural sodium, manganese and magnesium; as well as some calcium and copper and other trace minerals! You can find coconut water at most health stores; and I have seen it in some Krogers as well.

I hope you have a great week!

~Katie