General Fitness & Nutrition: Benefits of Gels & Supplement Bars over Regular Granola Bars?

I tell my customers that they should just stick with whatever works for them. The supplement bars are great post run snacks, but then again so are granola bars or bananas. If you are using it on the run currently and it is not giving you any problems, stick with it. In other words, it really just depends on the individual

As for the gels, they are more easily absorbed thus making the energy more readily available. Not to mention since they are not really whole food, your body uses less to break them down, which means you have more energy (and blood flow) for your legs.

I won't lie though, runner specific nutrition is really expensive when compared to normal food.

I have been running long runs of 10-15 miles almost every weekend for a few years.

I feel that the only benefit of these "suppliments" is psycological (and I have seen this in my training) so I don't use any processed food, and very little sugary things in my diet at all.

You need slow-burn food, not sugar spikes.

Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh vegetables, and you wont need this.

As for the psycological "crutch" - think positive thoughts while you run - and you will feel much better afterwards.

The reason these are expensive, is to pay for all the "research" and the marketing BS they bombard you with. :)

The main advantage to the gels vs the Granola bars is being able to eat them.   I don't mean flavor.  I mean being able to squirt the gel into my mouth and rinsing it down with water.  If you are not having
 any issues with the granola bars, I'd stick with those.  

My experience is more cycling than running, but I  if I am out for an 'easy' ride then real food is not an issue.  If I am out pushing the pace (e.g. trying to keep up with a group) enough that I have trouble whistling or singing, then I also have problem trying to chew and swallow between breaths.  That is when gels become useful for me.

Ims1122,

I am no expert, and can only talk from personal experience. Personally I can't eat while running.

I think what I ate the day before is pretty important. Typically, if I want to go on a long run, I feel an ideal (for me) would have something like...

Night before 19:00 - bowl or 2 of organic pasta and veg with a homemade tomato sauce.

breakfast 08:00 - 2 fruits, apple/pear/banana, small bowl potatoes & veg, several pints of water (some times I have eaten just 1 mango, cut up, with greek yogurt, that seemed pretty good energy-wise "mango power")

Wait 1.5 hours - sipping the water

Run - but don't drink unless its hot (not hot this year in UK!)

Then... get home pretty hungry, so usually have 2 lunches a couple of hours apart. Doesn't really matter what this is as long as it has some carbs (pasta, rice, potatoes, breads/cakes) veg, some salt, some sugars (fruits) I have been known to mix a fruits/salad/pasta in the same bowl, and eat it in a cold bath, but not for everyone I guess ;o)

I do experiment, especially with what I eat before, as some things can irritate the first hour of running (bouncing up and down, or acid) for example I would not now eat oranges before running, and try not to eat too much for breakfast.

Generally I am mostly veggie, but will eat meat.

My wife has recently started making home-made bread. I was amazed by how easy it is to make, and how much better it tasted than shop-bread!

like rpetreccajr, I think I am ok eating on a bike.

A couple of small bananas or apples might be good to take (?)

Fruits come in biodegradeable packaging , so if you are off-road, you can just throw the banana "wrapper" in the hedge.