60 yrs and up

This is a discussion about energy drinks. Are they bad in general, particularly for us 60+ people?

A 60+ friend and I have done two big day hikes for the past 2 weekends. It's been very fun and challenging. Both were ~10 miles with 3000ft of total ascent.

These hikes are also a 2 - 2.5h drive from home, so we like to start early and not stop on the road in either direction such that we get back home as early as possible. We pack breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I like to have hot sweet tea and a banana for breakfast. I eat a couple of snacks on the trail (typically a few dates) and then a big lunch at the top. Another big snack when I get to the car at about 3.

But, I like to have something with caffeine as well. I hunted all around the grocery store for options that could stay in the car all day. I landed on Monster Zero Ultra (which I've had perhaps once before). It was very pleasant and left me feeling rather good, powering me even to go out to dinner with my wife when I got home. She was surprised I was up for it!

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Erythritol, Taurine, Sodium Citrate, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Panax Ginseng Flavor, L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, Caffeine, Sucralose, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Benzoic Acid (Preservative), Niacinamide (Vit. B3), D-Calcium Pantothenate (Vit. B5), Acesulfame Potassium, Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6), Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12).

Of those, the one identified as possibly dangerous is erythritol, which is added as a sweetener. There is a very recent association of elevated erythritol blood level and stroke risk, but the implication is that you'd need to consume it daily and at a fairly high level. Something to consider in choosing sugar over artificial sweeteners, and it depends a lot on which artificial sweetener you choose!

Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with energy drinks in reasonable moderation, at any age, as long as not allergic or sensitive to any ingredient.

I often see things like this demonized as "chemicals" or "ultra processed". I've seen any of the artificial sweeteners in that one demonized in that way - not just erythritol but also sucrose and Acesulfame Potassium (a.k.a. Ace K).

I honestly don't see a problem with them: They're allowed as safe in food in most of the big developed countries, with limits set far below any level of realistic concern. Most things are dangerous at a "way too much" intake, and these aren't unique in that way. Dosage matters: DHMO is deadly, right? (See https://dhmo.org/ .) 😉😆

That said, I don't drink them. I don't much like sweet beverages of any type, and rarely drink tany of them: Soda pop, juice, sweet coffee drinks, sweet tea, sports drinks, sweet varieties of wine, energy drinks, etc. That's true whether sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened. In a typical year, I don't drink any of those things more than a handful of times. I do drink coffee, tea, sparkling water (with or without bitters added), and occasionally alcohol. Alcohol actually IS poison, so I can't think why I'd rule out energy drinks as too unhealthful if they sounded remotely appealing to me. In general, too, I find artificial sweeteners to have an off taste, so I don't each/drink much of anything that includes those.

I do expect to be drinking some apple juice, Gatorade or similar, and maybe others in the next few days, though . . . and I'll choose ones with sugar explicitly for the calories. Why? Clear fluids phase of colonoscopy prep coming up soon. (Ugh.) The range of options is expecially limited when vegetarian, since no jello or similar, no meat broth, limited types of popsicles, etc.

As an aside, I was dismayed to find that my pre-procedure instructions tell me that starting 5 days ahead, I need to eat no nuts, seeds, or corn until after the procedure. Skipping corn is only mildly annoying, but I'm used to eating several portions of nuts/seeds routinely every single day. Both my standard breakfasts are disrupted, and some frequent salad toppings or snacks.

@AnnPT77 @Jthanmyfitnesspal I've had colonoscopies every 5 years since I was 30 (colon cancer runs in my family). Eating a low residue diet for 3-4 days prior to the prep significantly makes the cleansing easier. Colon cancer is preventable but only detectable with a colonoscopy so Congratulations for having one! I'm glad to see your prep starts 5 days ahead! The prep may be an annoyance but it's far easier than actually battling colon cancer.

As far as sweeteners, I have found that sugar alcohols cause stomach issues for me, so I steer clear of them. When I do a strenuous activity (such as hiking or running) I drink Gatorade zero. My doctor advised me to drink that, so I replenish the electrolytes I lose through sweating.

I was stressed out about having to radically change my diet for my colonoscopy prep.But I had no choice, so I made the adaptations and planned my diet for those days and the day after, following their designated food plan to the T. It was an emotional reaction; my body was fine with a few days of deprivation from my food plan, and I got right back into it. And no cancer or polyps were found, thanks to a clean procedure.

@lionessroar1 : You are so right about the cost. Those things are $2.50 each at a place like Target and more at a convenience store. I mean, you can get it for less if you buy in bulk, but geeze.

@BigDfromNJ : I'm sure Gatorade Zero is fine. When I'm exercising in the heat, I use Nuun tabs in my water bottle. There are lots of different electrolyte choices.

@BigDfromNJ : Such a good question! Right now I have the challenge that my wife is travelling to console a friend that just lost her husband. Among other things, this leaves me to care for the dog, which makes my workday a bit complicated as he needs to go out about every 5 hours max. I live very near work, so I can run home for lunch, and I can work from home within reason. Also, my workplace features a small corporate gym, which I used last night, getting home just in time to relieve the dog. I can also work out at home, after a fashion (not quite as well as at the gym). And, I walk the dog, which gives me a few extra steps.

The fall is my hardest time. As it gets darker, my desire to workout wanes. This year I'd like to do something different in November, and I'm considering doing some personal training to get better at lifting. So, maybe my recommendation is to mix it up every once in a while to keep things interesting.

In Spring through Fall, I don't need motivation, mostly. I love my rowing, and most summers I bike on rowing off days and enjoy that, too.

So "do exercise that's so fun I'd do it even if it weren't good for me" is my main thing.

There are rare days when I didn't sleep well or something and might be tempted to skip rowing, but I coordinate a group of people who row together 4 days a week. The participants change because of their schedules and wishes, but there are always some, and I'm there unless there's a BIG reason not to be.

So "appointment exercise with a commitment to others involved" is another tactic.

Winter is tougher, not gonna lie.

Most years, starting on US Thanksgiving, I participate in the Concept 2 Holiday Challenge, which requires that between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, I get in 200k on my Concept 2 rowing machine, 400k on my Concept 2 bike, or a proportional combination of the two. Since buying the bike during the pandemic, I generally do 6 days a week alternating rowing and biking. When I row, I work on technique. When I bike, I usually watch videos for the visual journaling year-long class I've been signing up for these last few years. It generally takes around 55 minutes on the 6 days.

I do some small, manageable Concept 2 challenges at other points during the Winter, but that one gets me out of my moody Fall sense of denial that on-water season is truly over, and it's time to work out indoors (which is way less fun).

I guess that tactic is "participate in a challenge, or set a compliance-type exercise goal".

Things get a little sloppier the rest of the Winter, realistically. Many years, I start to add in some strength training, keeping some machine/rowing cycling in the mix at a lower duration/frequency, still getting in workouts 6 days when possible. Sometimes - though I've been bad at this since the pandemic - I do some swimming in the Winter. (I strongly dislike swimming, but rowers gotta swim!)

In a squishy sense, my motivation to keep working out is not wanting to start conditioning over from zero come Spring, but instead be in decent cardio/strength shape from the get-go when on-water season starts. But that's pretty vague, as a practical motivator. Sometimes I do sign up for a class, then that becomes an instance of the "appointment exercise" idea. This past Winter, I took a "Bulletproof Knees" class, for example.

But generally, my post-Holiday-Challenge tactic is to make an exercise plan, then - when the day comes - treat the exercise not as something I make a decision about, but rather as something I Just Do. It's kind of like "it's Tuesday, so now I ride my bike for an hour" . . . kind of like doing the laundry or something, a thing that just needs to be done.

So, I'd call that tactic "Exercise isn't a decision, it's a thing I do", I guess.

Motivation, in the "how to be enthusiastic" or "how to be disciplined" sense, isn't one of my strong points. I try not to rely on it.

I found the secret to weight loss! I dropped 2.8 pounds - more than a kilogram - in just one day!

Colonoscopy prep. The secret to weight loss is colonoscopy prep.

🤣🤣🤣

Just for fun, I roughly calorie-counted my day: 1350 calories consumed, so probably around a 650 calorie deficit plus or minus a bit.

All that weight will be back tomorrow, maybe plus a little? Yeah, but who wants to be a downer? 😉🤣

Further amusement, from my BIA scale: My muscle mass allegedly dropped a full pound. Yeah, no.

Thankfully, the whole process - so far anyway - hasn't been as unpleasant as I'd remembered from past rounds.

(Still not seriously recommending this as a weight loss method. 😉)

If this is an example - and based on other trial-type experiences in the more distant past - fasting makes me feel kind of miserable. I did consume calories, quite a few, so more like a juice fast scenario on the first day of prep. Even making it a point to get some electrolytes (and a normal amount of caffeine) in, I got headache-y, brain fogged, atypically cold, and periodically shaky. In more mundane situations, I also do poorly if I try to work out fasted, at least if the exercise is more than trivial in duration or intensity.

I'm not arguring with people who feel differently when they fast/prep or like to work out fasted, because I wouldn't be surprised if these were things with a lot of individual variability. I'm just saying my individual experience differs.

As an aside, the 2.8 "lost" pounds did come back with friends as I predicted. I ate a big comfort-food meal after the late afternoon colonoscopy. It was a restaurant meal, and unusual enough that I didn't try to calorie count it, but it was high calorie, high fat, high carb, high salt - all the things that add water weight.

Today, Saturday, I was up 4 pounds from the weight on Friday (the morning after the first "clear liquids" prep day). Today's weight was also 1.2 pounds higher than Thursday morning's normal weigh-in.

I'm predicting I'll be up even more tomorrow, since today was a heavy eating day, and also high in carbs/salt. This eating wasn't a reaction to the colonoscopy prep "deprivation", just a day with planned eating-centric social activities. I may have a small net fat gain from this time period, but it won't amount to much. The water/waste fluctuations will be more dramatic-looking for a while, though. For me, this is normal maintenance stuff.

@springlering62 Sounds like you had a blast!

As I've already said, I like 16h fasting— to a point. If I've done a lot of exercise the day before I eat breakfast. If I'm distracted by hunger, I eat something (usually a banana or apple). There's absolutely no point in sitting around on your hands waiting for a meal.

More case study report.

So far, AM weigh-in swing of 5.5 pounds from Friday to Sunday, I think heading back to recent normal which is in between the low (127.5 pounds) and the high (133 pounds). Back to 130.1 today. I won't be surprised if there's a little up-tick over the next few days in body fat, since Friday and Saturday were kind of food-fests. Right now, Libra has the trendline up a few tenths, but that's distorted by the big swing, and it sometimes takes time for the fat level changes to show up realistically. (FWIW, I have Libra's smoothing and forecast days set at 7, the default.)

Scale app:

Libra weight trending app:

History repeats itself:

https://www.wired.com/story/sonos-admits-its-recent-app-update-was-a-colossal-mistake/

@springlering62 : It has definitely changed quite markedly on IOS (iPhone). But, not through a browser— yet, anyway. Among other things, the IOS App doesn't display your weight trend: you have to dig for it. Also, the "Copy to/from" option on the diary is gone.

In place of the diary tab, they have a "dig into meal planner" tab. There you start by declaring your "goals." There is no goal for "maintain weight." I guess they never heard of such a thing!