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Tag Archives: Protein

Vital Protein Collagen Water Review

May 24, 2019 By in vital proteins Tags: , , , , , , , 18 Comments
Vital Protein Collagen Water Review

As many people know, I’m a Vital Proteins Ambassador and have been using Vital Proteins Collagen for over a year now.  Vital Proteins sends me products to try, and I share my favorites or answer questions people have.

One of the most common questions I get is: Which is best?

Unflavored peptides?

Whey?

Beauty Greens?

Collagen peptides? 

Like most anything, it depends on your goals. Any quality Collagen can benefit most people.  I like to have it after a run because it’s easy, portable, and I can get protein in.

I’ve written several posts of how it’s personally helped me, including:

Why Collagen Post Run?
Hair and Nail Benefits of Collagen
Skin Benefits from Collagen
Top Benefits of Collagen

Before we Dive into More Different Products, a Few Things About All Vital Protein Products:

  • Free from artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, or additives
  • No added sugars
  • Contain All Real Food
  • Dairy free

Always keep in mind these statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. The products are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure disease.

Recently, I had the privilege to try their new Vital Proteins Collagen Water Flavors. I appreciate that Vital Proteins Collagen Water is easy, packable, and transportable.

If I do a race, or decide to run somewhere away from my house, I don’t have to worry about a source of protein afterward. I can just rehydrate with collagen water.

Before I talk about all of the flavors, here are a few benefits of the collagen boosting water:

  • 10 Grams of Collagen.  I’ve blogged about before, but collagen supports healthy hair, skin, bones, and joints.
  • It’s made with whole food ingredients and real fruit juice.

Vital Proteins Collagen water

They Now Have 5 Different Flavors:

The Vital Proteins Collagen Water Orginal:

The original has the taste of lemon water. It’s refreshing but light and doesn’t feel overpowered in any way. Each serving contains 10g of collagen and 1g of sugar from the juice of real fruit. Refresh your wellness routine with ease, courtesy of collagen.

Vital Proteins Collagen water

The Vital Proteins Collagen Water Blackberry Hibiscus:

This is my favorite flavor. If you like blackberry or fruit drinks, this is a good one to try. The blackberry is mild, and it has a sweet taste to it.

Vital Proteins Collagen water

The Vital Proteins Collagen Water Lemon Ginger:

Of all of the flavors, the lemon ginger has the most zest. If you like something with a little bit of zest or zing, this is your flavor.

Vital Proteins Collagen water

The Vital Proteins Collagen Water Blueberry Mint:

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to think the first time I heard of the flavor. Blueberry+mint seems like an interesting and unique combination. After trying it, I can admit I’m a fan. I think it pairs well and it’s a sweet, refreshing flavor.

Vital Proteins Collagen water

The Vital Proteins Collagen Water Strawberry Lemon:

This reminds me of the staple of most flavors. Who doesn’t love a good strawberry and lemon flavored what option? It tastes exactly like the both combined without being overpowering of either. I don’t enjoy strong lemon drinks.

Vital Proteins Collagen water

I like each of the flavors for different reasons, and I would grab any of them. My favorite is the Vital Proteins Collagen Water Blackberry Hibiscus.

Thank you Vital Proteins for allowing me to try the new flavors.

Questions for you:

What do you have post workout?

Have you tried Vital Proteins before? 

 

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Skin Benefits from Collagen

May 18, 2018 By in vital proteins Tags: , , , , , , 19 Comments
Skin Benefits from Collagen

Last week, I talked about how Vital Proteins has helped with my personal recovery and running.  This week I thought I would talk about skin benefits of collagen.

Keep in mind these statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. Vital Proteins products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

me vital proteins

I’ve mentioned in many random posts, but my skin has never been flawless.  I wasn’t blessed with those genes.  I see a dermatologist frequently.  Through high school and college, my skin went through cycles of being worse than a preteen going through puberty.

After using Vital Proteins Collagen for nearly 6 months, I’ve found it to help with my skin, hair, and nails as well as other issues like joint pain, and joint health.

Keep in mind I’m not a doctor, and this is my personalized experience.  To my knowledge, there are no side effects of taking “too much collagen”.

How do Vital Proteins Help Skin?

Vital Protein dietary supplements are a beauty-specific product to support the skin’s moisture, improve elasticity, tone, and vibrancy.

What Even makes Skin Healthy?

Not breaking out?

Skin pharmacology and physiology is complicated and it is a lot harder to describe as “healthy.”  There isn’t a magic food that makes skin healthier.  You can’t just eat more, and you have healthy skin. There isn’t a magical pill or potion.  Plus everyone has different skin.  There are also plenty of uncontrollable factors such as genetics and age.

As I mentioned last week, collagen is the most abundant protein in the body’s connective tissues.  As we age, our natural collagen production decrease.  This is how wrinkles appear, among many fine lines.

What are some Key Vitamins for Healthier Skin?

Collagen: Since this post is primarily about collagen, we should start there right?  Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and therefore one of the most significant factors in keeping your skin healthy.  Before taking collagen supplements, I had no idea how important and beneficial it was.

Your body naturally produces collagen but Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides are a healthy natural source of hydrolyzed collagen.

Antioxidants: Antioxidants seems like a “power” nutrition word. Merely saying antioxidant makes you sound healthier but what is it? An antioxidant means it can bind to electrons and neutralize free radicals in the body.

Antioxidants are found in many foods but most commonly in both fruits and vegetables.  A few sources of antioxidants include berries, grapes, dark chocolate, and mushrooms.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C supports the production of collagen.  You can find Vitamin C in most citrus fruits like oranges, pineapple, and my favorite: mango.

Vitamin E: Vitamin E has an antioxidant effect too. A few foods high in Vitamin E are avocado, spinach, and seeds such as sunflowers seeds or almonds.

Right now, the Vital Proteins Collagen product I like the most for health benefits for my skin, hair, and nails is the Beauty Greens.

Personally, I like the “greenness” of the drink itself.  I like to add 2 scoops into a glass of milk with ice.  Boring but it tastes good to me.  It’s hard to make a green smoothie look good but I can assure you it is.

Some of the Skin Benefits of Vital Proteins I’ve noticed are: 

  • Promoting collagen formation, affecting hair, skin, and nails
  • Supporting a healthy glow
  • Enhancing skin clarity and smoothness
  • Increasing the body’s natural moisture level, improving hair, skin, and nails
  • Helping to maintain firm skin

Since beginning to take Vital Proteins Collagen about 6 months ago, I’ve seen small changes in my skin.  My skin is a lot smoother.  It does not take the place of going to the dermatologist every few months, but I have had success with it.  While I am an ambassador, I have noticed an improvement beforehand.  My skin is the most radiant it’s been since high school!

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Windy day down the shore.

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on

 

Other Vital Protein and Collagen Posts:

Recovering with Vital Proteins and Collagen

Questions for you:

How do you take care of your skin?

Do you take Collagen or Vital Proteins?  Have you noticed a difference?

Benefits of Adding Protein after Running

June 8, 2017 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments
Benefits of Adding Protein after Running

I have read many articles about the importance of adding protein after running.  However, during many other training cycles, I let life get in the way.  I packed runs in before work or events. Getting the proper nutrition, stretching and “the little things,” fell through the cracks.  Half of the time, I was lucky to make it to where I needed to go on time.

This particular training cycle (what I’m actually training for is TBD), I have made an effort to do the little things like having protein after a run or core work.  Am I perfect?  No, but in the past few weeks, I’ve been more consistent.

As most people know by now, Quest Bars are my favorite protein bars. Recently they released three new bars called Hero Bars.  The Hero Quest Bars are different from their regular protein bars and cereal bars.

 

How so?

Every Quest Hero Protein Bar features a sweet, chocolatey coating, and a gooey filling and with a protein core.  They resemble candy bars versus the typical protein bars.

I tried each one:

quest hero bars

My favorite is the Chocolate Caramel Pecan.  It resembles a candy bar!

quest hero bar chocolate caramel pecan

So how have I been incorporating protein after my diet?

Thinking out loud, it’s actually obvious and I’ve been having a protein bar after each run (no matter the distance) and I seem to be coming back well.  I’m nowhere near PRing shape, but I’ve gone from struggling during 4 mile runs to running 6 miles like no big deal (well, I’ll leave it at running 6 miles).

What are benefits of consuming protein directly after a run?

Protein helps speed muscle repair after hard workouts (right now that is every run) which lead to faster recovery.

It also reduces the response from cortisol.  Cortisol is the stress hormone.  While I have another post about this soon, I recently got blood work done again, and my cortisol is lower than it’s been in a very long time!

Thanks to Quest for sponsoring this post.  All opinions are my own and I find the Quest Hero bars to be my favorite way to consume protein after a run.  They are easy to carry in a bag (when I don’t run from home) and easy to digest.  Since originally trying them, I have bought several boxes and continue to have a bar after each run.

Questions for you:

Do you consume protein after runs?

What are little things you find that help your running?

Protein and Running

March 16, 2017 By in Gear Review, Running, Running Reads Tags: , , , , 7 Comments
Protein and Running

As runners, it’s important to get enough protein while training.  Protein allows us to recover quicker and stay healthy.

As someone who doesn’t always run from home and is constantly on the go, I’m always looking for portable sources of protein.  It’s impossible to just bring a steak around in my pocket.

That’s why when I was contacted to work with two companies I purchase from frequently: Quest Protein and Vitamin Shoppe, I jumped at the opportunity.  I shop with both routinely and have for years.

Thinking out loud, finding a portable protein bar can be tough but finding one that actually tastes good can be tougher!  I’ve pretty much tried every protein bar on the market and some taste like glorified cardboard.

A couple of years ago when staying with good friends Danielle and Amelia, I had several Quest bars in my backpack.  We all went out for dinner.  While we were away, their cats got into my bag and ate several of them.  What can I say, who doesn’t like Quest bars?

Quest cereal bars are just as good as their regular protein bars. The Quest ‘Beyond Cereal’ Bar has all the sweet crunch of a junk food cereal bar, but with the incredible nutritional profile you know you can expect from Quest.  When I’m training, I like to make the most of calories.  While I don’t stress about it, I would rather have a more healthy protein bar versus one with empty calories.

Each bar contains the following:

  • 110 calories and 12g protein
  • 2-3g net carbs
  • 6-7g fiber
  • 8g of Allulose a new naturally occurring sweetener found in figs, raisins & dates.runners and protein

Why do Runners Need Protein?

Protein is made up of essential amino acids.  It does more than help repair muscles after a hard workout. Protein isn’t stored for later use which means unlike fat and carbohydrates, there is a limit your body can use at one time. That’s why it’s important to spread out the amount of protein you get daily, versus having it all in one sitting.

runners and protein

What Does Protein Do?

  • Plays a role in cell repair and production
  • blood clotting
  • fluid balance

How Much Protein Should You Have During Training?

While training, it’s important to have between .55 grams/pound-.75 grams/pound.  Will you hit that every single day?  No.  Should you stress about it? No.  It’s just a guideline.

For comparison, I’m 130 pounds try and get about 70-100 grams of protein daily but I don’t track it everyday.

Personally, I like Quest Cereal Bars because they are quick and taste good. The new cereal bars are chocolate, waffle, and cinnamon.  All three are delicious, but given a choice, my favorite bar is the waffle. I don’t have to worry about storage, and I can pull one out while at work as well.

Questions for you:
Where do you get your protein from?
Do you snack often or are you a three meal a day type of person?

Sponsored Post: GNC PurEdge

December 15, 2014 By in Sponsored Tags: , , , 14 Comments

Thank you, GNC for sending me the newest products: GNC PurEdge to try.

GNC created a new product called PurEdge.  What is GNC PurEdge? It is a high protein supplement.  GNC PurEdge comes in the form of protein powder, amino acid powder, daily energy performance enhancer, and protein bars.

As you can see, GNC PurEdge is very protein orientated.  As a distance runner, I am using the protein after I run.  I waited until I tried everything from GNC PurEdge a few times before actually posting about it.

GNC PurEdge 1

GNC PurEdge Protein Powder: 

They sent me natural chocolate protein powder.  The GNC Puredge protein powder has 190 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 20 grams of protein.  I have been looking for a protein powder for a while (I never found one that I fell in love with.  This one is pretty good.  It doesn’t taste chalky and it mixes well.  I added GNC PurEdge protein to yogurt, made a smoothie with milk (on the one day in the last 2 weeks it’s been warm) and also made a recipe with it.

Apart from the most known protein powder they sent me they sent:

GNC PurEdge Bars: 2 

GNC PurEdge Peanut butter cookie and banana nut muffin. 

GNC PurEdge

I enjoyed both of the GNC PurEdge products at work.  As I’ve mentioned, I’m working in retail in the Holiday season…this means we are on the go for work the entire time.  We don’t have time to stand around and eat.  The bar kept me from not being starving for a few hours and took minimum effort to eat.  The flavor of the GNC PurEdge bars are also good and it didn’t taste like I was eating cardboard or flavored crap.  Plus the nutrition profile of the GNC PurEdge bars is good with 200 calories and 15-20 grams of protein.

I plan to buy more of these GNC PurEdge bars for work.  I was really impressed with the actual chunks of chocolate in the peanut butter cookie bar.  I would recommend GNC PurEdge (right now) over any other bar  I’ve tried.

GNC PurEdge Complete Amino Acids: 

I’ve started taking GNC PurEdge amino acids regularly, but in all honesty, I think I’ll have to go through the entire container to see results.  I have never taken amino acids before so I’m just going to go through the entire container and I’ll check back in a month.

Finally, they sent GNC PurEdge Daily Energy Performance Enhancer.

It is recommended to replace coffee and drink one of GNC PurEdge daily energy performance enhancers instead.  I don’t drink coffee before I run (only after).  I tried the cherry limeade on last week on my rest day to see how I would feel.  I replaced my coffee and had one scoop.  Throughout the day I didn’t notice a difference (energy-wise) between the coffee and the daily energy enhancer.  For someone who doesn’t care for coffee, this is something I would recommend.

Last but not least, 

I was asked to make a recipe using one of the products from GNC PurEdge.  As most people know I’m not that great at cooking.  As a blogger who likes to eat relatively healthy, you assume I can cook…this is false.  A long time ago, my blog was more known for making pancake recipes so I was hoping the protein powder they sent me would translate into that.  Pancakes are easy to make so I went that route.

If the recipe hadn’t worked I was going to add it to yogurt and ice and make a smoothie.

GNC PurEdge Protein Pancakes

Protein pancake cooking on the griddle

GNC PurEdge Protein pancake cooking on the griddle

1 scoop GNC PurEdge protein powder

½ cup flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

Mix and add to the griddle.  I cook my pancakes at 350 degrees.  I hadn’t had protein pancakes in a while and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed them again.  GNC PurEdge protein powder mixes well into the pancakes and them dense.  There have been powders I’ve tried that have simply fallen apart or created thin “crepelike” pancakes.  These were good and I would recommend it.

Protein Pancake with Syrup

Protein Pancake with Syrup

So that’s a wrap.  I am happy to have been able to try the GNC PurEdge.  The GNC PurEdge protein bars and protein powder were my favorite and I’ll check back in after going through the rest of the amino acids and let you know how I feel.  If you are interested in any of the GNC PurEdge products, it’s all online here.

Questions for you:

Have you ever tried amino acids? Have you tried GNC PurEdge? 

What is your favorite bar right now? Have you tried GNC PurEdge bars?

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