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So p90x keeps touting the benefits of their own "recovery drink" but the only place you can buy it is online and it's $50 (not including shipping) for a 30 day supply.
What else can I use instead of their brand? The goal is to gain muscle, lose fat and overall lose weight.
Also, would this replace a meal or snack through the day?
some kind of protein/carb mix would be fine. the difference between plain table sugar and something a little more fancy like waxy maize im sure is insignificant. i just do a scoop of whey protein (80% concentrate/20% isolate) that i buy at costco.
Well, your answer is flawed on both counts. Firstly: the OP was asking about a recovery drink, not a pre-workout drink like the two cups of milk you mentioned before working out. (Also, that's a bit too much liquid to have sloshing aorund in your stomach during a workout, anyway).
Secondly: protein powder is not exactly a waste of money, if used correctly. Whey protein can certainly aid in building and repairing muscles at the cellular level.
Anyway, to address the OP's question about a recovery drink: No--you don'thave to shell-out anywhere near $50. A simple homemade smoothie with milk, an egg or two, some honey, fruit, and protein powder is all ya need! Or you can just opt for a glass of chocolate milk, and maybe a banana or two. Studies have shown that eating or drinking something sweet after a workout is effective at helping rebuild muscle and also helps dissipate lactic acid pooling, which is what makes us sore the next day.
So would a glass of skim milk with Ovaltine mixed in do it? That's what I've been doing but wasn't sure if that was sufficient. The ovaltine has sugar in it but it's got some added vitamins and minerals too.
A recovery drink is only necessary when you do prodigious amounts of exercise in one day. I will drink one after I do a rim to rim at the Grand Canyon, but that's 24 miles in 8 hours with 6200 feet of elevation gain. You might want one after a marathon. But for everyday exercise? No way.
Same with electrolyte drinks. If you're vigorously exercising for 2 hours, then sure. But it's just empty calories for something like an hour on the elliptical.
A recovery drink is only necessary when you do prodigious amounts of exercise in one day. I will drink one after I do a rim to rim at the Grand Canyon, but that's 24 miles in 8 hours with 6200 feet of elevation gain. You might want one after a marathon. But for everyday exercise? No way.
Same with electrolyte drinks. If you're vigorously exercising for 2 hours, then sure. But it's just empty calories for something like an hour on the elliptical.
You are biased from being an endurance athlete, and of course recovery drinks are not a high priority after an everyday workout, but rather after a long rigorous feat like the grand canyon thing.
However when it comes to lifting weights and building muscle you will want something after each session. I'd go for approximatly 25 grams of protein along with 50-150 grams of carbohydrates depending on how your workout sessions looks like. if they last less than an hour about 25 grams of protein and twice that of carbs should do it.
If you get this through milk you'll need to drink almost a third of a US galon.
I'd buy a protein powder and a maltodextrine(fast carbs) powder at bodybuilding.com. basicly you take one scoop of protein and two scoops of maltodextrine when you build muscle and only protein when you are ridding fat.
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