Anyone tried Vega?

[loveliberate]

Well, if 2 VF people didn't care for it!

I assume that you are referring to the taste of the meal replacement powder Fruitbat, is that correct? Do you know what flavor they had & what they mixed it with?

Personally, I didn't care for the powders taste the first couple of times myself, primarily due to the stevia aftertaste. After having drank it a few times I now like the taste & barely even notice the stevia. I drink it mixed with cool water. I recommend trying the shakes a few times with just water to see if you have the same experience. Otherwise, mixing the powders with juice or into a smoothie does the trick for most folks.

I've done several Vega demo's now, with all 3 flavors of the bars & powders. Most folks who try it say they like it. The berry flavored bars & the chocolate powders are generally most people's favorites.

[Fruitbat]

they both had the chocolate powder

i happily down bucket loads of pea protein so i am sure mixed into a smoothie of mine i wont notice it at all but doesnt bode well.

[ultra_whippet]

Yeah I was definitely not too keen on the chocolate flavour! There's no doubting the quality of the ingredients, but only 290 calories per serving means it's not a lot of bang for your buck, so I tended to mix it up with some fruit and other stuff to bulk it up, and also to disguise the taste a little.

[loveliberate]

Fruity:

Taste is an odd thing...
Some people love how Vega tastes from the start -some folks wont even give it a second try. One of my kids loves the bars, one refuses them entirely & the third finally tried & now LOVES the Berry flavor.

Whippy:
From what I've read, Brendan definitely focused on nutritional quality when he developed Vega and prefers / suggests a fairly low calorie diet.

[ultra_whippet]

From what I've read, Brendan definitely focused on nutritional quality when he developed Vega and prefers / suggests a fairly low calorie diet.

Yeah that's a fair point LL, it's just I always feel the need to ram down a fair few calories after a long run

[fredrikw]

From what I've read, Brendan definitely focused on nutritional quality when he developed Vega and prefers / suggests a fairly low calorie diet.

low calorie diet seems weird when you're into endurance sports, you burn crazy amounts of calories and if you don't replentish them you won't grow stronger... are you sure this is what he's doing himself? or is it perhaps what he suggests for people in general?

[loveliberate]

Good points & questions.

I cant remember the exact details of what Brendan suggests but the general idea is to focus on supplying your body with high-quality, nutrient dense, primarily raw foods and that by doing this you will have more strength/energy/health than a much higher calorie, but less nutrient dense diet.

From what I've read/heard Brendan's diet is primarily based around Vega, with a lot of banana's & green salads mixed in. I think that he takes in a ton of calories when training/racing - just a lot less than most other similar athletes.

Isn't Brendan on VF? I'm sure that he could give us more details of his diet, etc than I can!

[Trivegelete]

I could be wrong, but I don't think it was necessarily a low calorie diet that Brendan suggests in his book. My recollection is that he used to be constantly hungry due to the huge amounts of training that he does, and the fact that the foods he was eating weren't all high quality and nutrient dense. So, his body was craving more food to meet it's needs. When he switched over to a primarily raw diet, he wasn't hungry all the time anymore and he felt it was due to the fact that the foods he was eating were supplying his body with all the nutrients that it needed. Again, I could be wrong, but I think that's what he meant.

[loveliberate]

That sounds right to me! I stand corrected - having looked through Brendan's book "Thrive" over the last couple of minutes, it seems that having a lower calorie diet is less a recommendation & more of a by-product of eating better foods. That said, it looks like Brendan suggests that even too much good food is to be avoided, in order not to negatively stress the body, etc.

[Fruitbat]

no matter HOW nutrient-dense a meal is - calories is still calories. Nutrients cant compensate though I grant you that a lack of nutrients may cause an increased food intake as your body tries to get those missing nutrients. But calories is calories and you cant eat less of them just because you eat more nutrients. You can only reduce calories and increase nutrients if you diet had an excess of calories before to ensure adequate nutrients.

[Dave Noisy]

I like Vega a lot too. Since it is so expensive, I save it for after long and/or hard workouts and after big races. I think it really helps with recovery.

Exactly, which is why i use it after training, so i recover better, and can train better! =)

[Dave Noisy]

no matter HOW nutrient-dense a meal is - calories is still calories.

I think his focus is also on quality calories - ones that are easily absorbed (rather than hard-to-digest foods..)

If your body is working hard to digest your meal, you're obviously burning calories... But if you can eat less, and it digests quickly and easily, then i'm pretty sure a balance can occur.

Case in point - Brendan won a 50km Ultra Marathon back in May, i believe he ate a Vega bar 45mins before start, and then raced for 3hrs..and didn't eat anything during the run.

No freakin' way i could race for 3hrs and not be eating constantly! No idea what's going on with him tho, quite a feat, imo..

[fredrikw]

hmm, all this Vega praise just makes me suspicious, and the last thing that a vega bar 45 minutes prior to a three hour race would overthrow all we know about glygocen storage just seems too good to be true. but it sure is a fascinating achievement.

[pelicanAndrew]

Just a Vega gas update.

Totally gave me gas, but not bloating or anything. Just gassy. It's still good once a week as a meal replacer.

[Fruitbat]

anyway why replace meals unless you are in a situation where you cannot have a meal? a REAL meal will always be better for you than a powder...