Nutrition Nook: Infinit Nutrition

'I am a slow adopter of new things in most settings.  Until just a few months ago, I had an iPhone 4 (not 4s, just 4) and I would probably have my 3s if it still would work.  I also struggle with nutrition and fueling.  Specifically, I have a hard time getting a proper fueling plan.   This was the case when I was running and continued into triathlon.   I took advice from what people had done for a long time in the sport and stuck to my ways.   If I found something I liked (such as a particular brand of Gu), it would be pretty hard to get me to change.  

A brief history of my fueling.  I started with sport beans, moved to Gu, moved to Honey Stinger gel and waffles, moved to Hammer gels and this is where I landed.   I actually have been working for about a year with Hammer gels and Salt Stick electrolyte tablets.   My problem came on the bike.  The amount to carry and the stickiness from trying to eat the gels was causing me frustration.  I would yell and scream when I'd open up a gel and it would leak all over my bento box or my hands.  My bars were full of stickiness and I just felt frustrated by having to handle all of the stuff on the bike to fuel.  Plus tons of garbage ended up in my jersey or in my bento because you cannot (and should not) litter on rides.  I needed some sort of help.  

My wife was using Infitnit for a while and I just brushed it off.  In the summer of 2015, I decided to give it a try during my Ironman training.  I knew I would be on the bike for around 7 hours and needed something where I would not have handling issues, especially for the windy course at Maryland.  I reached out first online and looked at the site for Infinit.  I was pretty skeptical about all liquid nutrition.  I know people who mix their gels with water to accomplish the same thing and it is by far the nastiest stuff I have ever seen.  It was early enough to switch without screwing up my training.  

I will say that this was probably the best customer service experience I have had in triathlon from a company.   I scheduled an appointment and talked with someone for nearly a half hour about my training and about my needs.  Infinit has stock blends of powders but they really are a custom nutrition company.   They adjust everything from carbohydrates, flavor level, proteins, and other things into the powder.  You can create something on your own online through their system using sliders that adjust flavor, ingredients, and the like.  But you can also speak with a person to help you figure out what to do.  

I talked with the representative about concentration and servings.  Having this information really helped me figure out what I would need.  The blends are based on what you provide them in terms of how much you sweat, how hungry you typically get during workouts, your intensity, volume, and goals for your race.  In the end, they had a blend created and sent me a bag.  I can view all of my different blends online in their portal.  This is great if you have custom blends for different purposes (running, biking, triathlon, short course, long course, training, etc).  

On to the actual product.  I set the flavor level relatively mild at a 5 or 6  (Gatorade, I'm told is an 8 on their scale).  You can determine how to concentrate it.  Since it is powder, you can put three servings in a bottle and then take it with water from a different source or you can mix the water in at the set concentration so you do not need to concentrate it.  I like the measurability.  I was told that one 20 ounce bottle (mixed properly) per hour was about what I should be doing.  That was great because 7 hours was 7 bottles.  With special needs, I could measure out precisely what I need and do a complete refill on the full.  For the half, I have enough room to carry three servings.  The formula is great tasting and I had no gastrointestinal problems with it.  The blend I created had some whey protein included to curb hunger.  This is ok for the bike but not so good for the run where whey can cause major bloating.  But true to the word, I was not overly hungry.  I decided to keep a small PBJ sandwich every 25 miles just to have something to chew on during the ride.   I really cannot judge how superior or not it is to others in terms of metabolic processes since my performance is dependent on so many other factors.  I can say that I fell adequately fueled and have not had issues on the bike using the product.  

I kept my run nutrition as gel and sport drink combination since I actually like having to open and manipulate the gels while running.   I get bored very easily aand this gives me something to do and concentrate on while running, if only for a little while.  Plus, gels are much easier to run with than liquid, even the concentrated types.  I may try the liquid for a future race under certain circumstances but I think it is much better suited to the bike leg and in transition where you can have a bottle ready and portioned out.  I am just not one for carrying anything extra on the run.  

Overall, I have been impressed with Infinit and have continued to use it through the winter season for my biking.  The biggest problem that I have is me remembering to drink all of what I am supposed to drink.  This is a personal problem and something that will take more discipline.  Because it is portioned out, it is easy to lose track of time and end up with a half or even full serving left over.  I felt this at a few races where I would not take as much and only realize when I had already gone into a deficit.  One other good fact about Infinit is that I find it to be much easier to digest and therefore faster acting than some solid foods.  In the sense, I can come back quicker if I forget to fuel at the proper times.   If you are on the fence about switching to an all liquid fuel package for the bike, give this a try (not for the first time in a race though).  

Thanks for reading.  Upcoming are reviews of a few more of Matt Fitzgerald's books.  See you soon.