Eight years ago, if someone had told me the nutrition I reserved solely for racing would one day bleed into my daily nutrition, I probably would have smiled, shrugged my shoulders, and responded with a significant amount of uncertainty and sarcasm. I think back to some of the gels I used to consume, protein powders I used to mix, and hydration products I would drink in my efforts to make it through my bike ride and eventually my run to the finish line. I cringe just thinking about them. Grainy, clumpy, and off-putting. I won’t even begin to describe the stomach upset and indigestion some of these products induced.
When a triathlon team of which I called myself a member introduced me to F2C Nutrition five years ago, I decided they probably could not taste any worse than the products I had grown so accustomed to using. I started using GlycoDurance, and much to my surprise, the more I used it, and the more I experimented with their other products, the more I realized how much my everyday nutrition changed in addition to that of my training and racing.
For instance, I used to drink juice every morning. Now, I drink F2C PharmaGreens. It seemed like an obvious decision to replace an albeit thirst-quenching drink laden with sugar with a much healthier one derived from 20+ vegetables and sweetened lightly with stevia. Where once, upon waking up in the morning, I would first reach for a cup of coffee, I now down eight ounces of vegetables before hopping on my bike or heading out the door for a run. (No, I don’t taste broccoli, brussels sprouts, or spinach.) As a result of consistently incorporating PharmaGreens into my daily diet, I have successfully staved off what once felt like routine, seasonal head colds, chest congestion, and sinus infections.
**My suggestion: Mix PharmaGreens in a pitcher once or twice a week for easy access to a glass of vegetables, which will make you more likely to reach for it when it sits in the refrigerator ready to use.
Like I mentioned above, I first started using GlycoDurance when I transitioned to using F2C. Where once I struggled with gastric “disturbances” on the bike ride and run, I now struggle more with chaffing under my race kit. Flavored and unflavored options allow me to find the right level of sweetness for bottles of nutrition I concentrate to four- to five hundred calories. Because GlycoDurance has successfully met my nutritional needs during my races, I no longer use solids as sources for calories.
**My suggestion: In one sixteen ounce bottle, mix 1:1 ratio of flavored to unflavored GlycoDurance (up to 400 calories) or a 1:2 ratio of flavored to unflavored (up to 800 calories) GlycoDurance. I have had the best luck with mixing these the night before my race or long training day in a blender, pouring the contents into my bottle(s), and then topping them off before I go in the morning. For a hot day of training or racing, I add a couple scoops of ElectroDurance, too.
Finally, one of the staples I am generally craving toward the end of my training involves a blender, frozen fruit, and one of F2C’s protein powder mixes. While F2C has many options, I do not think I have ever regretted any choice I made in which protein powder to mix into my smoothies. Never gritty or off-putting, switching to F2C’s protein mixes has proven to be one of the best decisions I have made, especially when I compare the nutrition labels of other popular protein drinks to those of F2C’s products. I challenge anyone to read the labels of their protein powders and, aside from a few others besides F2C, find a product as clean as F2C. Good luck!
