Pure Protein Chewy Chocolate Chip Protein Bar

Today I am going to be reviewing Pure Protein’s Chewy Chocolate Chip High Protein Bar.

Taste:

While it doesn’t taste exactly like a chocolate chip cookie, it is pretty good.  It’s also a unique flavor for a protein bar.  With most every bar being based on peanut butter in some way, it’s nice to have something to mix things up.

Protein & Nutrition:

Loaded with 20 grams of protein, it’s hard to go wrong here.  The vitamins and minerals are just an added bonus.  For a bar of this size, it packs a lot of punch so I highly recommend it as a meal replacement or just a way to work some more protein into your diet.

Servings:

These come in a box or individually wrapped.  Regardless of if one uses these as a meal replacement or a snack (depending on your goals), these are an inexpensive and healthy addition to your day.

Zone Perfect Strawberry Yogurt Nutrition Bar

Today I am going to be reviewing Zone Perfect’s Strawberry Yogurt Nutrition Bar

Taste:
I really like the taste of this Strawberry Yogurt bar.  It’s not just the standard flavors put into every protein/nutrition bar (chocolate, peanut butter, etc).  It’s nice to have some variety and this bar certainly offers that.

Protein & Nutrition:
This nutrition bar contains 14 grams of protein and 18 vitamins and minerals.  It is also all-natural.  It’s hard to go wrong with any of that.  One of the biggest problems with most protein shakes and bars is that they have artificial sweeteners in them, so it’s nice to find a product free of those types of things.

Servings:
These come in a box or individually wrapped.  Regardless of if one uses these as a meal replacement or a snack (depending on your goals), these are an inexpensive and healthy addition to your day.

Strawberry Muscle Milk Product Review

Today I will be reviewing the Srawberry flavor of Muscle Milk by CytoSport.

Taste:
This product tastes pretty good.  It’s maybe a little sweet but I would put it somewhere in between the Vanilla and Chocolate flavors from Muscle Milk.  This is 1 of the top 2 protein shakes I have ever had as far as taste goes.  Taste is pretty important to me because if something tastes so bad I can’t drink it, I’m not going to stick with it no matter how healthy it is.  It does have a very slight artificial sweetener taste, it’s almost unnoticeable most of the time.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein (and vitamins & minerals):
This is why most people are drinking these shakes in the first place so it’s an important category.  Muscle Milk has 16 grams of protein per serving and is also loaded with about 15-20% of 20 vitamins & minerals.  This isn’t the most protein I have ever seen in a shake (most have about 24 grams) but it does have the vitamins and minerals many other shakes do not have.  I drink mine mixed with 1 cup of milk so I take in 24 grams of protein.  You could also mix this with other ingredients if you wish, like a banana or peanut butter, whatever you like.  It isn’t necessary though, because as I said before, it tastes great.  The serving size is 35 grams, only 16 grams of that is protein, meaning the rest is made up of other ingredients (carbs and fat -2 grams of fiber which is a carb, etc).  This product gets a 8 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
1 container has 25 servings.   This breaks down to less than $1 per serving.  I eat 5 times a day so having 1 of my meals cost less than $1 (plus the cost of 1 cup of milk) is pretty nice.  Usually with protein shakes, buying in bulk lowers the cost per serving but I bought a smaller container (1.93lbs) just to try it out and see if I liked it.  It’s also nice when a container has about a months supply, so even if you buy the smaller container you only have to buy it once a month.  8.5 out of 10

Artificial ingredients:
In our culture, unless you grow all of your own food, it’s impossible to avoid artificial sweeteners and the like 100%.  That said, I try to avoid them as much as possible.  This product does have a few of them in it, namely acesulfame potassium and sucralose (splenda) but they are among the last ingredients listed, meaning they are the least out of everything in it.  Unfortunately, 95% of protein shakes have at least some of these ingredients in them.  7 out of 10

So overall I like this product and I can actually drink it because it tastes wonderful.  Mixing it with milk I get 24 grams of protein (you don’t want to take in to much at a time anyway since you can only digest so much at once).  For the price it’s good.  I would buy this product again but because I want to avoid artificial sweeteners I will rotate this in with other drinks from time to time instead of just always drinking it.

Overall Score: 8.4 out of 10

Muscle Milk Light Chocolate Peanut Caramel Bar

Today I am going to be reviewing Muscle Milk's chocolate peanut caramel protein bar (light version)

Taste:

This protein bar tastes okay, but it's certainly not the best on out there.  It uses the standard flavors for a protein bar, chocolate, peanuts, caramel.  This isn't a bad thing, it just isn't unique.  Taste = 7.8 out of 10.

Protein & Nutrition:

This protein bar is 45 grams, only 15 of which is protein.  It does have 4 grams of fiber but next to 0% of your daily vitamins and minerals.  Protein & Nutrition =  7.5 out of 10

Servings:

These come in a box or individually wrapped.  The price can vary but you are probably looking at a little over $1 per bar.  This is a pretty good price but I like to keep my meal replacements below $1 per meal since I eat a lot.  Servings = 8.2

Artificial ingredients:

It doesn't look to terrible, but it does have sucralose in it (which is in a lot of protein supplements).  Artificial ingredients = 9 out of 10

 At only 170 calories, it is a good bar for those trying to lose weight, using this as a meal replacement.  It's not terrible but there are other bars out there that are just as good or better.  Personally I will be sticking with those other protein bars for the most part but I might cycle these in from time to time just to break up eating the same things all the time.  Overall score=  8.1 out of 10.

Pure Protein's Strawberry Shortcake bars

I tried a new protein bar recently that is pretty unique.  Pure Protein's Strawberry Shortcake bar.

Taste:

This protein bar has a unique flavor to it, which is a plus since most protein bars are some variation of chocolate and peanut butter.  Just having some different options to mix things up goes a long way.  If you like the taste of strawberries and yogurt, this protein bar is for you. Taste = 9.5 out of 10.

Protein & Nutrition:

For how small it is, this protein bar is packed with protein.  19 grams of protein to be exact.  There are some other bars out there with a lot of protein in them but they tend to be huge, this one is not.  It has a very small amount of sugar (3 grams) and 18 carbs total.  It also has 15%  of your daily recommended amount for several vitamins and minerals.  Protein & Nutrition = 9.2 out of 10

Servings:

These come in a box or individually wrapped.  The price can vary but you are probably looking at a little over $1 per bar.  This is a pretty good price but I like to keep my meal replacements below $1 per meal since I eat a lot.  Servings = 8

Artificial ingredients:

Made with natural ingredients, including real fruit, it's hard to go wrong here.    Artificial ingredients = 10 out of 10

Overall, this is a good tasting protein bar that can be used as a meal replacement or a snack.  It breaks up the same old flavors typically used for protein bars and has a large amount of protein in it for its size.  Pure Protein's Strawberry Shortcake bars receive a score of 9.2 out of 10. 

Excuses

How many times have you said one of these to yourself?  Just because we feel like giving up doesn't mean we should.  Get out of bed, train hard, put in the work regardless of if you feel like it or not.  Change yourself for the better, starting today!

Focus Mitts

If you are looking for an excellent cardiovascular workout that also builds some power and skill (and you have a partner), look into getting a pair of focus mitts.  These mitts are designed like gloves but with a striking pad on the front of them.

How to use focus mitts

If you don't have any martial arts training you can still use focus mitts to workout (just learn how to punch correctly first).  Just start simply.  Throw single punches like a jab, cross, hook or uppercut.  Once you master these you can start putting them together in combos.  Mitts are an excellent tool for getting into shape and will get you very tired, very quickly.  You don't have to try to kill the mitts when your strike, just be accurate and give them a little pop.

To punch correctly and not hurt your wrists, hold your arm straight out in front of you.  Turn your fist slightly to the outside so that your first 2 knuckles will be what make contact with the pad.  You want there to be a straight line running up your arm from your first 2 knuckle through your forearm.  This allows the impact to travel straight through your body.  If your wrist isn't straight the impact will cause your wrist to bend one way or the other. 

Exercise benefits

Guys, losing weight and getting into shape is a great benefit of exercise but that is merely the tip of the iceberg.  The health benefits of exercise are numerous! 

Vanilla Muscle Milk Product Review

Today I will be reviewing the Vanilla flavor of Muscle Milk by CytoSport.   

Taste:
This product tastes a lot of cake batter.  This is 1 of the top 2 protein shakes I have ever had as far as taste goes.  This is pretty important to me because if something tastes so bad you can't drink it, your not going to stick with it no matter how healthy it is.  It does have a very slight artificial sweetener taste, it's almost unnoticeable most of the time.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein (and vitamins & minerals):
This is why most people are drinking these shakes in the first place so it's an important category.  Muscle Milk has 16 grams of protein per serving and is also loaded with about 15-20% of around 20 vitamins & minerals.  This isn't the most protein I have ever seen in a shake (most have about 24 grams) but it does have the vitamins and minerals many other shakes do not have.  I drink mine mixed with 1 cup of milk so I take in 24 grams of protein.  You could also mix this with other ingredients if you wish, like a banana or peanut butter, whatever you like.  It isn't necessary though, because as I said before, it tastes great.  The serving size is 35 grams, only 16 grams of that is protein, meaning the rest is made up of other ingredients (carbs and fat but this has the good kind mostly-2 grams of fiber which is a carb, etc).  This product gets a 8 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
1 container has 25 servings.   This breaks down less than $1 per serving.  I eat 5 times a day so having 1 of my meals cost less than $1 (plus the cost of 1 cup of milk) is pretty nice.  Usually with protein shakes, buying in bulk lowers the cost per serving but I bought a smaller container (1.93lbs) just to try it out and see if I liked it.  It's also nice when a container has about a months supply, so even if you buy the smaller container you only have to buy it once a month.  8.5 out of 10

Artificial ingredients:
In our culture, unless you grow all of your own food, it's impossible to avoid artificial sweeteners and the like 100%.  That said, I try to avoid them as much as possible.  This product does have a few of them in it, namely acesulfame potassium and sucralose (splenda) but they are among the last ingredients listed, meaning they are the least out of everything in it.  Unfortunately, 95% of protein shakes have at least some of these ingredients in them.  7 out of 10 

So overall I like this product and I can actually drink it because it tastes wonderful.  Mixing it with milk I get 24 grams of protein (you don't want to take in to much at a time anyway since you can only digest so much at once).  For the price it's good.  I would buy this product again but because I want to avoid artificial sweeteners I will rotate this in with other drinks from time to time instead of just always drinking it. 

Overall Score: 8.4 out of 10

Motivation

It's never to late to get started.  Even if you are so out of shape so can't do any hard exercise, just start by taking a walk everyday.  You can make that harder as you progress by mixing in some walks up hill and/or holding hand weights.  Even the greatest had to start at the beginning.  The important thing is that you start. 

Pure Protein's Peanut Marshmallow Eclipse Bar Review

Welcome to my review of Pure Protein's Peanut Marshmallow Eclipse Bar.

Taste:
This protein bar tastes great.  I would almost eat this for a snack even if it wasn't a supplement.  Taste is important, because if you can't eat it (because it tastes so bad) you won't stick with it.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein: (and vitamins & minerals):
This bar is 50 grams, 19 of those grams are protein.  This bar is a good snack or meal replacement, depending on your goals, and it isn't a huge protein bar so it's nice to get so much protein from it.  The rest of the grams come from fat and carbs (which isn't necessarily bad).  Sugar is what people really need to be looking out for and this product has next to none.  It also contains 25% of many of your daily vitamins and minerals.  This product gets an 8.5 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
This varies on if you buy a box of them or buy it as a single protein bar.   The price per bar also varies depending on if you buy it in a box or single.  Protein bars cost a little more per serving than protein shakes typically but they are nice to break up the same old thing all the time, and you can carry it with you.  This product gets a 7.5 out of 10 on servings.

Artificial ingredients:
As always I try to avoid these whenever possible.  Overall this protein bar isn't bad.  It's biggest offender is Sucralose (Splenda) and it's the last product on the list (meaning it contains this in a smaller amount than anything else in it).  This product gets a 9 out of 10 on Artificial ingredients.

Overall this is a great product and an easy way to get 19 grams of protein.  It's handy and you can take it with you anywhere you go.

I give this product an 8.6 out of 10.

Sugar is the enemy

One of the best things you can do to lose weight and improve your health in many other ways is to severely limit your sugar intake.

All weight is not created equal

This is why it's important to find out your body fat percentage.  Sometimes people lose weight and think they are doing good, but they have lost muscle.  Sometimes people gain weight and think they are doing good but it's fat.

Total Gym Review

We have all seen the infomercials with Chuck Norris, Christie Brinkley and several other celebrities.  So the question is, is the Total Gym all it's cracked up to be?  In my review we will explore just that question.  There are many different versions of the Total Gym, the largest difference between them is on some versions you can add weight resistance while on others you can't. 

The good:

The Total Gym has a LARGE variety of exercises that can be performed on it, so it's hard to get bored.  This alone makes the Total Gym worth because if you get bored with equipment and stop using it, it's not going to do you any good.  

Since you will not be lifting any actual weights with the Total Gym, you do not have to worry about dropping one on your foot or any other weight lifting related problems.  The Total Gym also has a board to lay on so even if you have back problems you are supported for most exercises.

Because you are only using a percentage of your body weight, exercises like the pull up, which most people can't do, are doable on the Total Gym.  The Total Gym has several adjustable resistance levels that use a different percentage of your body weight so you can continue to work your way up as you get stronger.  This also makes it a machine that both men and women of all fitness levels can use. 

The bad:

There really isn't much to say here.  The leg exercises are perhaps the thing that are lacking the most but you still have plenty to select from.  If you are a bodybuilder and looking to use massive amounts of weight, the Total Gym is probably not for you (though if you have a version that allows you to add weight resistance, that helps).  Though you can get around that by doing things like a 1 arm pull up, it just takes a little longer. 

The price can be a little high depending on the model you get but there are various models that cover all budgets. 

Final verdict:

With it's wide range of exercises (including Pilates for the ladies), back support and various levels of resistance, the Total Gym is a great piece of equipment that 95% of people from all age ranges can use.  I highly recommend it. 

  

Motivation

I have noticed most people have the wrong motivation when it comes to working out.  They typically just want to lose 20lbs or fit into a certain size of clothes.  This is one of the main reasons so many people quit working out as soon as they meet their goals (or fail to meet their unrealistic goals).  While there is nothing wrong with setting short term goals, these short term goals shouldn't be your primary motivation for exercise.

Your primary reason to exercise should be to be healthy.  If you are working towards that goal it will never end.  Now you have a motivation that will drive you for your entire life.  You can set small goals like lose 5lbs or gain 5lbs of muscle, whatever it might be, but those are just short term goals on your path to being healthy.  Change the way you think and you can succeed!

Weight loss tip

Don't radically change your diet or jump on some kind of fad diet.  Simply change 1 meal a day to a healthier choice or a slightly smaller portion.  AFTER you get used to that and work it into your life, you can change another meal to a healthier choice.

People generally make these huge changes that are impossible to maintain and end up falling off the wagon over and over again.  It doesn't work so don't waste your time on a flawed game plan.  Make small changes over time.