therhodeo

Been noticing alot of soreness, fatigue, and slow recovery so I went over my diet and I'm way down on protein. Probably going to go with just a standard protein powder but as I was looking I got to wondering how easy it is to get banned substances without knowing it.

Is there anything that I'm taking or considering taking that should worry me?

Protein powder - I would think this one is pretty low risk if I don't get any freaky max gainer type stuff
Beta Alanine - heard good things about it
Glutamine - take it after rides
NO products - used to take when i was lifting alot and got great results and really helped with recovery
Creatine - popular with alot of the guys I work out with. not sure of the positives in a cycling type sport

qcwtom

Risk of banned products: Low.
Risk of wasting lots of money: high.

therhodeo

I've had good results with supplements in the past for other sports. Not saying there aren't plenty of rip offs out there but they're not all bad.

Brian Ratliff

If you are p/1/2 in an NRC or UCI race, you have to worry about this. Otherwise, just use your common sense.

If you have to look up "NRC" and "UCI" on wikipedia then you don't have to worry.

late

This is the stuff I use, and it's one of the best you can get.
I add no flavors or anything else.

https://proteinfactory.com/shop/produ...5&cat=1&page=3

brianappleby

check out nutrabio.com for pure powders. Getting pure protein is harder than it should be, and their stuff is unflavored and has nothing else added. I use it to mix my own energy drinks (think perpetuem, accelerade, etc.)

kensuf

I just use optimum nutrition on-pro gold whey isolate. 24g per scoop.

pjcampbell

how many people really dont get enough protein?

mattm

Research shows that Americans in general actually eat too much protein..

That said, racers probably don't eat enough in general (see that weight-watching thread) and may not be the same as the general population.

ericm979

Vegetarians and vegans.

therhodeo

I don't eat like most Americans and I'm a hell of a lot more active than the average american.

mattm

Good for you - how many grams of protein you do get daily these days anyway?

I think the suggested value (for fat/lazy people one can only assume) is 50 grams/day.

RacerJRP

Very active people should be consuming roughly 1g protein per pound of body weight..

therhodeo

50-75 grams normally. Sometimes less though. Cycling or crossfit 6 days a week. More crossfit in the winter and more cycling now. Btw I'm 6' 170lbs so not tiny but getting pretty lean.

Enthalpic

The world health organization wants people to consume a minimum of ~1g/Kg/day. That value is minimal for those who don't consume excessive calories; for those who overeat that value is near optimal (remember many amino acids are non essential and can me made endogenously given enough total calories). Iirc for endurance athletes the optimal amount is around 1.6g/Kg/day or 0.73g/lb/day.

brianappleby

And those married to/cooking for vegetarians and vegans.

roundabout

When it comes to protein, the ideal readily-available protein powder source is hemp. Much more whole than whey or soy isolates, contains WAY more aminos and raw (or flash-pasteurized) is the best! Raw, high pH, high bio-availability and low processing.

pjcampbell

are you vegetarian or vegan?

ridethecliche

I don't think I could date a vegetarian again. I would die. And it kills my enjoyment of cooking.

therhodeo

No we just eat very small portions of everything, especially meat. I supplement carbs for long rides with things like pb&j's and clif bars but for protein I sort of forget about it.

GirlAnachronism

How many grams of protein are you getting now?

My diet is similar--very small portions, and not a whole lot of meat, so I thought that my protein levels would be low, but after tracking what I actually ate I was surprised to see how much I was getting. It turned out that what I was really short on was fat.

If you really do need more protein you might just consider eating some real food--fish, lean meat, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, edamame, eggs, etc.

therhodeo

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therhodeo

For me I think a supplement would be easier because I could keep it in my office at work. I could take it in the afternoon before rides but I don't have time to go home and eat between work and rides.

kvnrvn

At $400 / oz, it may be a little pricey!

therhodeo

Thats the other thing too (slightly different than you point but still), protein supplements can be cheaper per gram than real food solutions.