peanut butter vs gels

worldtraveller321
worldtraveller321 Posts: 150 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I find peanut butter does not give me any problems.
compared to the Gels I use which are perfect in condensed size of 100 cal per packet

I like to figure out on a peanut butter that is comparable in quantity of calories.

I would like to create my own solution. As doing a few 100 milers this year, and like to substitute instead of a gels which cause me problems
maybe try peanut butter

for 7 hour ride. i would do 2 to 3 gels an hour

How much peanut butter would i need? could i get same amount of calories in peanut butter?

I have one of those Hammer Flasks
would filling up the flask with peanut butter be same amt of calories over 6 gels? etc

What brand of peanut butter would be more calories dense but able to consume like a gel?

Thanks Just reason for questions is all of a sudden been getting negative reaction to my gels, so i need a better solution for calories
but something that i can carry easily in a long race. vs a banana or a turkey sandwich. thanks

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Really think that a stomach that has a sub-optimal blood supply due to exercise would struggle to digest all that fat over an extended period of time. Would stick primarily to carbs for ease of digestion - plenty of options that aren't gels.

    As Marie Antoinette (that well known sports nutritionist! :smiley: ) probably never said....
    - "Let them eat cake."
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
    If his diet is mostly fat the it might not be that big of a deal. But even the keto ultra runners I know use more carby fuel during races. Most reach for bars made up mostly or completely of fruit.

    If you want to try PB....I'd suggest Justin's brand. All natural with various flavors and types of nut butter options. They do have small packs that can be used like gels. Make sure you try it out on a short run so you get used to the stickiness in your mouth and what not. That would be my biggest concern.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Really think that a stomach that has a sub-optimal blood supply due to exercise would struggle to digest all that fat over an extended period of time. Would stick primarily to carbs for ease of digestion - plenty of options that aren't gels.

    As Marie Antoinette (that well known sports nutritionist! :smiley: ) probably never said....
    - "Let them eat cake."

    Yup. The fat/protein mixture would take forever to digest in your stomach. That said those Justin peanut butter and honey packets taste amazing. For endurance stuff you might want to stick to something like pure honey if you're opposed to the gels.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    edited June 2016
    a few guys I train with use a combination of honey, molasses and salt in a hammer flask during both the bike and run portion of triathlons. Its a sticky mess if you spill it, but the flask seems to do the job well.

    Edited to add: Thinking more about this, if you're on a bike, have you considered other true endurance fuels that are liquid, such as Hammer Perpeteum, Infinit Performance, First Endurance, UCAN, Naturally Fast, etc? I've had good luck with Perpeteum as my primary nutrition during the bike segment of Half Iron distance events.
  • worldtraveller321
    worldtraveller321 Posts: 150 Member
    used Perpeteum in past, that caused me problems, all the proteins, emergency bathroom breaks into the bush
    so have to avoid things like that
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    worldtraveller321 wrote: »
    used Perpeteum in past, that caused me problems, all the proteins, emergency bathroom breaks into the bush
    so have to avoid things like that

    Ok, got it. You may tolerate other brands better, but assuming they wouldn't work either, then maybe simply water for hydration (or electrolyte drink like HEED, Skratch, etc, if you tolerate it) with something like the Justin's honey/peanut butter mix for more nutrition. I have friends who carry the small peanut butter filled pretzel barrels in a plastic bag on the bento box of their bikes during races. Provides both salt and some calories. Others will cut a PBJ sandwich into bite size cubes and carry in a bento box or one of their bottles and consume while underway.

    Only other things I'm aware of are homemade mixes like a can of chocolate ENSURE mixed with various caffeine style beverages, but I suspect your system might not tolerate that without bathroom breaks. Good luck.
  • worldtraveller321
    worldtraveller321 Posts: 150 Member
    would Would eating these trail mix
    Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bar be good source or recommended source for on the bike nutrition? or any of those chew granolas? i am tihnking they do work better on my system, as i probably wont have to do a number 2 eating lots of them?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,805 Member
    edited June 2016
    On my rides, while I'm riding, I like things like ...

    -- granola bars
    -- oatmeal raisin cookies
    -- bananas
    -- dried apricots (limited amount of these, but they do provide a decent amount of potassium)
    -- salted almonds (great source of electrolytes)

    And if there are stops on the ride, I go with the real food. Some of my favourites have been perogies, french toast, and chicken sandwiches.
  • DTrain351
    DTrain351 Posts: 37 Member
    I used to make packets of honey & PB for playing hockey. I realize it's a totally different type of burn (hockey) but it helped a lot! I could play almost 3 games as long as I kept the fuel goin. Without PB&honey...maybe 2 games but totally gassed! You can also take a simple carb supp. Mixes with water and is almost tasteless. It's bout 200 call per drink.
  • worldtraveller321
    worldtraveller321 Posts: 150 Member
    Just a question do you think consuming Oero cookies during a race would work? anyone try? 2 cookies is 110 calories. i know there is fat there, but more real vs a gel almost? figure i ask before i try in next training ride
  • Vladimirnapkin
    Vladimirnapkin Posts: 299 Member
    edited June 2016
    I don't think I'd recommend peanut butter in place of gels, but if you are having trouble with gels in long events (something I've experienced) then you should definitely experiment with real food. I've had luck with fruit, peanut butter sandwiches, and small amounts of chips, pretzels, and yes, oreos. I can take gels through a couple hours, but after that it can make me yack.

    During my last century ride, I did not eat one single gel. I may have had a couple of shot blocks.
  • worldtraveller321
    worldtraveller321 Posts: 150 Member
    Hi all just an update. I found that a combination of Gummy bears and pretzels seem to be the thing that works for me for the on the bike race energy plan. tried this in a long 6 hour training ride where i was riding hard.
    all goes down better then Gels , no stomach distress or any emergency pooping at all. so far so good. figure i leave an update here since this forum went for some time.
  • narak_lol
    narak_lol Posts: 855 Member
    worldtraveller321 wrote: »
    Hi all just an update. I found that a combination of Gummy bears and pretzels seem to be the thing that works for me for the on the bike race energy plan. tried this in a long 6 hour training ride where i was riding hard.
    all goes down better then Gels , no stomach distress or any emergency pooping at all. so far so good. figure i leave an update here since this forum went for some time.

    Good to know you found something that works for you. I've been following this thread but my food is quite different from peanut butter that you particularly asked - I don't stomach well food with that high fat content on my rides so could not offer any suggestions in that regard.

    Gummy bears & pretzels - sugar/carbs/salt - seems good choices & tasty.

    For ME anything longer than 3 hours my choices are very much like @Machka9 - just not as much as variety as I only have 1 jersey pocket for food, tricky to bring eg bananas (great if you can!). So I often just take granola bars & electrolyte drink tablets for convenience. I like those soft chewy mostly carbs & sugar breakfast bars not those loaded with nuts/very dry.

    Perhaps you can also experiment how much to ingest then your body works optimally - maybe try 30g-60g of carbs per hour - depends on the intensity and your build. 30g-40g works the best for me.

    I am not a gel person neither - hate that it sticks to the tongue and needs to follow with water unless they are isotonic gels. However I will still take one caffeine gel for a particularly long ride - might need it towards the end & need an extra kick.

    Best wishes!

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