These are one on of the biggest marketing con-tricks of the last decade.
The number of people who I see in the gym with a sports energy drink whilst plodding away on a treadmill trying to lose weight is scary. All of those calories that they are burning will be replaced immediately when they drink that sugary, flavoured muck that’s contained within the bottle of ‘Something-or-other-ade’.
In fairness, some aren’t too bad. They contain essential electrolytes that our body needs in order to re-hydrate itself during and after exercise.
There are actually three types of ‘sports’ drink; Hypotonic, Isotonic and Hypertonic. Unfortunately, the sports drink industry makes the most of the fact that most people, understandably, don’t know the difference between the three.
Fortunately, after reading this section, this will not include you!
Hypotonic: Contain fluids, electrolytes and a low level of sugar.
Isotonic: Contain fluids, electrolytes and 6 – 8% of sugar.
Hypertonic: Contain fluids, little of no electrolytes and high levels of sugar.
Obviously, if you’re running a half-marathon or doing a weight training session, you may need a hypertonic drink in order to maintain your energy levels. For those of us trying to lose body fat, however, the last thing that we want is to ingest nutritionally dead calories.
The best options are to drink either water or, if you must have a sports drink, a hypotonic drink followed by a milk based drink post workout. This can be in the form of a protein shake or just plain old-fashioned fresh milk.
Milk contains electrolytes, natural sugars, protein, calcium and a huge variety of other minerals and vitamins. The perfect post-workout drink, in fact!
