Question about hydration and minimum weight standards

[Monsoon65]

Originally Posted by Eagle5US

--Something we cannot seem to get into these guys heads from the medical side....ripped fuel, hydroxycut, niOx, and everything in between is BAD. SIMILARLY - RIPITS, Caffeine drinks, Red Bull, and the like are also VERY BAD in this environment. We consistently see the line guys coming into the DFAC or little shoppette we have and literally putting CASES of these caffeine drinks into their 1114's to take to their COP or Patrol Base. These drinks dehydrate the men and screw relentlessly with their metabolism of electrolytes. Not because they drink one, but because they are only 6 or 8 ounces, they will drink 4-6 of them at a clip.

Last year, my wife did a seminar in Mexico for Hershey Company. One of her fellow speakers was a former nutritionist for the Steelers.

She said the drinks weren't energy drinks, but stimulant drinks, and she hated them with a passion. A player came into her office saying he was having a heart attack because his heart was racing.

He was 26 and had just guzzled 6 Red Bulls. Not the smartest tool in the shed.

I hate the taste of water after about the first week, but my wife sent me some of those little packets of lemonade that were the right size for the smaller water bottles that really hit the spot. I think they were Crystal Lite brand.

[KSC]

Dehydration is one of the top killers of Iraqis. Living on an IA FOB where resupply is sometimes slow to come, or missed because of missions, we fall victim to their food constantly. About 50% of the time, we eat MREs, fresh baked bread, or have to go to the Iraqi DFAC. Once every two or three trips to the Iraqi DFAC, someone is down for 24 hours with the runs and dehydration. Tuna and crackers, gatorade mix, and meal replacement bars and protein shakes are a lifesaver.

On that subject, anyone know of good meal replacement powder that won't cost an arm and a leg?

[Onuma]

May be a little late for a timely reply, but my friend's daughter was losing a lot of weight and water for whatever reason, while he and I were deployed. She was only 8 y/o at the time, so I don't think it was a bulimia or anorexia type of situation - details aren't for me to know though.

What they did to help maintain her weight was use Carnation Instant Breakfast. It's not the best, but it's easy calories and nutrients. It's also relatively inexpensive, especially compared to some of the other "powdered meals". There was another type of powdered meal that the doctors recommended, but that averaged out to over $300/month, which pushed my buddy's wallet over his limits. TRICARE wouldn't cover the costs of that one.

[mdb23]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

This supplement problem is endemic in our society today.

Want to be thinner, faster, stronger, better looking? Take a pill or get surgery. What are the best supplements, fastest boots, best shooting pistol, etc.? How many times do we see that question here? Forget practice, hard work, exercise; I just want to take a pill, buy a piece of gear, or find the easy way out. We all know that the real answer is not found in a bottle, but is in your heart, head, and in hard work it takes to be better. Unfortunately, far too many American kids today do not get it and look for their immediate gratification in throwing money at problems, taking supplements or pills, getting sugical enhancement, etc.

When someone asks me how to do more push-ups, I explain to them that doing more push-ups is how you get better at doing push-ups.

Every time someone asks if they can wear the latest zero-G boot at SFAS, I want to hit them in the head.

TR

So it's not just a problem at PDs then?

Seriously, every dude that I work with is on some form of chemical cocktail. Crazy stuff that they can only cycle on for 2 weeks, then have to get off of for 2 or their kidneys will explode or some crap. I just don't get it.... many of them are spending hundreds of buckls a month on weight gainers, cutting agents, protein powder, nitrous explode, etc...

A young cop asked me the other day what suppliments I was on. I told him that I didn't take any... nevr have, never will. He said, "why not, you think it's cheating or something?" I told him no, I just don't feel like having my kidneys fall out of my arse when I hit 40.

Nobody knows the long term effects of this crap on people. It kills me that these dudes are putting all of these unknown substances into their bodies.... Unreal.

[Doczilla]

To echo mdb23's comments, there is so much weight room voodoo out there that is propagated without any input from legitimate medical folks that it comes as no surprise that our officers and operators are using this shit. If a study comes out showing potential benefit of a supplement in one narrow area of performance, then these snake oil salesmen are more than happy to extrapolate that to all areas of performance. The magazines propagate the myths through articles on the supplements from authors with supposedly neutral interest in the topic, while raking in the advertising dollars.

It's up to us as team docs and medics to give them GOOD information, based on sound evidence, that allows them to maximize performance and minimize risk of illness or injury as a result of improper training supplement use.

Regarding meal replacement powders/etc to maintain or gain weight, there are plenty of nutritionally balanced and well-studied supplements. Carnation Instant Breakfast (milk based) is just fine. Ensure (corn), Boost, Jevity, and Glucerna (for diabetics) are all equally good; balanced sources of protein, carbohydrate, and fats without unnecessary crap supplements in them. Several have fiber, increased protein, or fructoligosaccharides as well for specific dietary needs.

Slim Fast powders are also a good balanced source of calories. I was wary of them at first, fearing some stimulant or appetite suppressant additives, but after detailed review of their ingredients, as well as conversations with the company, they have none.

'zilla

[Philkilla]

Originally Posted by mdb23

It kills me that these dudes are putting all of these unknown substances into their bodies.... Unreal.

My sentiments exactly. I work security at a hospital, and I see all the different types of patients here and am left only to wonder what the hell they did to get here.

[MtnGoat]

Hipshot

For me drinking water was a need so I did it. Easy enough.

What kept me drink and to keep nut up was drinking meal replacement powders into my water. Buy the ones that are mainly just protein. Like SS and Eagle said.

He is "eating" up him intake of calories. Meal or protein bars really do help. Most of them have everything that is need within them. When he is at a TCP or standing on Duty he can eat one. 5 mins he just took in around 200 calories, which isn't a lot but to stop and "fix" up a MRE. It would take him long and more of a "mess".

Also get him a Walmart Nalgen bottle. They work great and are easily carried in most day packs. He eats a protein bar and drinks a protein drink while on patrol he just up his water intake and eat one BS meal. Real solid food is the best, but out on patrol the powders and bars help out big time.

Say SS said.. Need plenty of fluids with excess protein intake to act as a catalyst. All of these bar and protein he must drink water.

Like everyone has said.. power fruit drinks really help out. You remember what they did for you in Nam.

My .02

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Doczilla

Ensure (corn), Boost, Jevity, and Glucerna (for diabetics) are all equally good...

Doc, how about we say Ensure is 'effective' instead of 'good'? Having had to drink 16oz of it a day over a month-long period a while back makes me hesitant to use the word 'good' to describe Ensure.

[Doczilla]

Originally Posted by Razor

Doc, how about we say Ensure is 'effective' instead of 'good'? Having had to drink 16oz of it a day over a month-long period a while back makes me hesitant to use the word 'good' to describe Ensure.

I can't argue with that. We'll say "well balanced" and "nutritious" and "effective".

8oz of ensure blended with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream, +/- some Hershey's syrup helps it go down easier.

This reminds me of one of the presentations at SOMA this year regarding SOF nutrition. The presenter (I believe she was a dietician that had worked with NAVSPECWARCOM) said that once problem she had seen was operators on deployment taking in too many of the high-calorie supplements like the Gatorade shakes, and they were gaining unwanted weight. Contributing to this was the decreased activity level compared with stateside training, where the increased caloric intake balanced with a lot more PT.

'zilla