DIY energy gels

[swaz]

A few years ago whilst racing long course triathlons and being a tight arse triathlete I started to make my own energy gels, that I think were way better than the bought ones. Thought I would start the discussion here as it seems many MTBers suck down their fair share of expensive sugar too.

I bought some Polyjoule powder which is a maltodextrin based powder. I made three difference types. One was a coffee one where I added a double shot of coffee to the mix of about 300 ml. One was an electrolyte mix using my fav brand of powder at the time with a ground up magnesium tablet per flask of about 100ml and the last was an experimental mix where I blended up either banana or blue berries and added it to about a 300ml mix.

I used these

flask things to keep them in whilst running/riding and in my opinion my home made job caused me less tummy upset and gave me the same caloric input as the expensive ones and cost about 1/10 of the brand names.

 

[cinnyis]

I didn't realise these flask things existed. I've always wanted to make my own gels since I'm fructose intolerant and there is only one brand of gel I can use. But even with that brand find I always feel crappy after using gels I guess I'm not used to the sugar.

 

[swaz]

Gu guts, happens to almost everyone. People suck down a lot of gels during a race though.

 

[RB 24]

Hey cinnyis we have a family member with that same issue of being FM. We have tried all sorts but to no avail. We ended up doing a mix of Glucoden and flavoring to suit but to be able to make a 'proper' style gel would be handy. Which gel have you used that was ok?

 

[MudRhino]

Do the home made ones still have the consistency of snot? That's what I am allergic too

I found that there is a energy type thing in the old raspberry lolly format, so they are good.

 

[cinnyis]

Hey cinnyis we have a family member with that same issue of being FM. We have tried all sorts but to no avail. We ended up doing a mix of Glucoden and flavoring to suit but to be able to make a 'proper' style gel would be handy. Which gel have you used that was ok?

Hey RB, I use shotz. They don't contain any fructose.
I'll have to start looking into some homemade recipes, although I suspect most will contain honey which is also full of fructose.

 

[jp80]

I use the hammer nutrition flasks, like the shotz ones shown. My mix is 70% rice malt syrup (can get it from coles, flavourless brown stuff that i think is mainly maltose), 29.5% honey (quicker burning than the maltose) and the last bit salt. Sometimes coffee too, but salty honey coffee can get a bit full on. But yeah, buying gels just gets too expensive if you are going through a lot of em. I can make 700ml or so for about $9, compared to about 20x whatever a gel sachet is costing

 

[RB 24]

I use the hammer nutrition flasks, like the shotz ones shown. My mix is 70% rice malt syrup (can get it from coles, flavourless brown stuff that i think is mainly maltose), 29.5% honey (quicker burning than the maltose) and the last bit salt. Sometimes coffee too, but salty honey coffee can get a bit full on. But yeah, buying gels just gets too expensive if you are going through a lot of em. I can make 700ml or so for about $9, compared to about 20x whatever a gel sachet is costing

got a recipe you wish to share or is it ultra top secret?

Thanks cinnyis. I have yet to look at the shotz. As you say with honey as a main sugar it sort of makes things hard. Unless he can back it off with it mixed in a drink with enough glucose.. but my concern of the load of sugar would not be a benefit.

cheers

 

[cinnyis]

You could make honey work if you added enough glucose. But I agree with your concern around sugar loads.
I try to have a "clean" diet and since adopting this I can't get away with smashing the gels like I used to. I only use them during triathlons now, but I really want to move away from them. I also want to get into mtb races, so I need to work something out.

 

[Pastavore]

I've got FODMAP issues too, and have had success using rice malt syrup. No recipe, just water it down slightly so it's not too thick, and suck it from a flask.

 

[swaz]

You could make honey work if you added enough glucose. But I agree with your concern around sugar loads.
I try to have a "clean" diet and since adopting this I can't get away with smashing the gels like I used to. I only use them during triathlons now, but I really want to move away from them. I also want to get into mtb races, so I need to work something out.

You might want to check out some primal eating info. You can become fat adapted and do away with gels all together

 

[RB 24]

haven't heard much about this.. Can you elaborate?

 

[swaz]

Check out the primal blue print. I can't give links coz I am on my phone and is a PITA to go copying and pasting and googling

 

[cinnyis]

Here ya go: http://www.primalblueprint.com

@swaz: primal / paleo was what I meant by eating clean. It's really helped get my fructose intolerance under control and I've lost 26kg over 2.5yrs.
I'm currently reading "the paleo diet for athletes" since using gels during triathlons is something I haven't quite work out.
I highly recommend checking it out to anyone who doesn't know about it. It's basically no wheat, grains, dairy, processed foods, legumes etc.
It is NOT a low carb diet. You can still get more than enough carbs from your veggies. And you don't have to go overboard with it for results. My diet is probably paleo only 80% of the time.

 

[swaz]

Thanks for doing the hard work for me. Primal 'allows' dairy and that is why I follow it. .. Sometimes! It's also the exercise that I think makes the biggest difference and not doing chronic cardio and increasing functional weight training and 'fun' things.

 

[notime]

I make my own for long rides/training and use endura or hammer flasks. A mate bought 25kg of Maltodextrin powder from his mate that makes chicken nuggets for a living. I just add a pinch of salt, bit of hot water and fruit juice to make a gel/paste, tastes just fine and works great. Also got a big box of Soy isolate powder from him and add a little into a milkshake for recovery. All in all it cost's next to nothing.

 

[RB 24]

thanks guys!

with jnr RB 1 being DF/GF and jnr RB 2 being frucmal it has given me the indication I am heading the right way. Luckily we saw a great dietitian Sue Sheppard a few years ago and she was amazing.

 

[jp80]

got a recipe you wish to share or is it ultra top secret?

that is about as close to a recipe as I follow! Breaking it down to some steps...Buy the rice malt syrup jar (about 500g, in the health food isle of many supermarkets), pur 30% or so out (into another jar so you can make that into gel as well) top back to the top of the jar with honey. Put the jar in a pot of hot water on super low heat til you can mix it all up properly. Add "a bit" of salt if you want (a teaspoon is a good starting point... you can def taste it) then whatever other flavour you like, I've used coffee, a dessert spoon for the 500g jar seems to work. then pour the well mixed result into the little flasks you've purchased, chuck em in the fridge. They keep for a long time... months. I even take the flasks out, eat half, chuck em back in the fridge, dont seem to go macky and havent made me chuck yet. Worth a shot, I reckon.

 

[sukebe]

I've been making my own gels for a while with good success. Similar to above, 3 parts brown rice syrup to one part agave nectar, 1/3 teaspoon of macrobiotic sea salt per 100g. The last bit is important, don't just use table salt. Table salt is refined sodium chloride, macrobiotic sea salt has much higher magnesium and potassium content.

I usually make 3x100g tubes in one go. I usually add a touch of hot water to the salt first to help dissolve it, add the agave and heat a bit again to make sure the salt is dissolved, then mix in the brown rice syrup.

 

[dusty_nz]

One thing that is missing from peoples ingredients

Protein.

My calender is full of endurance MTB events and I usually run waterbottle in the frame full of Energy and a small camelbak with water and electrolytes.

I aim for around 150 cal hour (Max tolerance is about 300cal/hour absorption)
Few shots of coffee from the nespresso machine
1-2 scoops of protein
The above recipe I have managed to squeeze over 1000cal into a single drink bottle however needs overnite to dissolve and def getting that snot texture.

Flavour is a bit like a Dome Frappuccino and can be as thick or thin as you want.

Without protein (Vanilla protein powder) I find after 2 hours I can't stand the mix. With protein I have gone as far as 6 hours with no issues.
Even after the race my stomach is settled and not craving any foods. Also protein helps get glucose back into the muscles during a ride. Also holds off the empty stomach feeling a lot longer.

Just did a 50km race. 3 hr duration. 6 scoops of Malti, 2 protein and 2 coffee. Only needed 3/4 of the bottle and 1 litre of water in the end.

Also with maltidextrin, For your body to break it down you need "lots" of water. I now over hydrate before the race. Nite before start chugging electrolytes and and water bottles. Makes a massive difference with cramps etc and the amount of water needed duiring the race.

Another tip with Gels. Read an article that basically said that if you train only with Gels then your body will stop leveraging other energy sources during a race.
I used to do a 100km race. around 6 hours and around 2000 cal in malti. pushing the 300cal/hour limit hard and around 5 litres of water with cramps etc.

Since then have started training on low GI foods, Jam and cheese sandwiches and bananas. Food sticks in your stomach a lot longer but doesn't have the same punch in energy terms.
Body being on lower calories starts learning how to leverage fat burn. Now down to 60km training ride on two sandwiches. Race requirement for calories and water have more than halved while dropping cramps etc.