Friday, July 29, 2016

My Thoughts on Protein Powders - A Review

Hi Loves! Happy Friday!!! The weekend is almost here! I've been really enjoying my weekends this summer and have been devoting a lot of my time to fitness, spending quality time with my family, and relaxing. I'm not one for hot weather, so that's been my agenda lately. So I posted recently about a protein powder I've been using and I wanted to post a follow-up. I'm typically not a huge fan of protein powders, as I usually have some issues digesting them. But they are super convenient and when you aren't great at getting protein in (heeeeyyy), they can make an amazing snack option. Since my last post I've been using Bob's Red Mill Protein Boosters almost every day and I really like them! As I had also mentioned in my Hormone post a couple weeks ago, I was going to try carb cycling. Well I did try it and I started that day!!! I just decided to take the plunge and jump right in, and I'm so glad I did. What does this protein powder have to do with my carb cycling? I'm not sure it would be working for me without them. Read on....

I'm sure you're wondering.... "Well is it working so far? Did you lose any weight?!" And the answer is yes. Carb Cycling has absolutely been working for me. I'm still tweaking and playing around with the rotation of days, as well as percentage of macros on said days - but I'm happy to say that I've lost 6lbs since my post almost 3 weeks ago. Which might not seem like a lot to most people, but for someone like me that's been struggling major hormonal issues, and not been able to drop so much as a pound in several months, it's a pretty big deal.

And like I said before, this way of eating would be pretty difficult without a protein powder. I currently get my shake ready in the morning and bring it in a shaker bottle to work. It's my mid-morning snack and I would really struggle without it! It's especially perfect for my higher carb days. And it's especially delicious with a little PB Fit added in for an extra shot of protein & flavor =)



So what have I been doing with it? I have no crazy complicated recipes. Some of my favorite ways to use it are in overnight oats, chia protein pudding, adding fruit like cherries, kiwi, peaches etc, and adjusting the thickness to make my ultimate favorite - protein pudding! I just get creative playing around with flavor combo's - vanilla pb&j anyone?

One thing to keep in mind, this is a slightly higher carb protein powder. It's not bad in the sense that if you drink it on it's own (it's one of the few I've tried that actually tastes great with only filtered water), but that if you add fruit in the mix, it will most certainly make that carb & sugar amount increase.But the amounts of macros in this powder does make it a good option for a pretty balanced meal replacement - just on it's own! Chocolate is still my favorite out of all of them, with Vanilla being a close second.

I did try baking with the protein, but I find that it's difficult to completely replace a flour with the protein, so I just add some to it until I get the batter texture I prefer. I'm so thankful to Bob's Red Mill for sending me that amazing package and allowing me to try it. I'll most definitely continue to purchase my favorite chocolate flavor so that I can keep making my protein pudding post workout snacks =)

Ps - stop by my Instagram - I'm doing a Flash Giveaway where you can win 1 bag of protein. But hurry, there's just a few hours left!!! ps - snag a coupon here!

Enjoy your weekend, babes!!!!

Christy
xoxo