#FuelYourBetter with Vega Sport Performance Protein

I love protein shakes. They were the hardest thing to cut out of my diet when I did Whole30 and even though I continue to try to focus on eating “real food,” I still probably rely on them more than I should.

I’ve tried many different protein blends over the years and I’ve gotten pretty picky with what I like both nutrition and taste-wise. For the most part, I’m open to blends (whey/soy/etc.) but try to keep the carbs, calories and sugar low, which usually means I go to chemical sweeteners.

My go-to lately has been EAS Lean because it’s cheap and meets all of my requirements even though the list of ingredients kind of freaks me out of it I look at it for too long.

I used to have a protein shake every morning as quick breakfast whether I did a morning workout or not, but now I save them for what they were intended for: post-workout recovery. I’ve been training extra hard lately between the the upcoming triathlon and trying to lose weight for the web series in general, and it’s definitely taking a toll. My muscles seem to be taking extra long to recover and I just don’t have that kind of time.

Enter: Vega Sport Performance Protein a.k.a. what you need to Fuel Your Better.

I was semi-familiar with Vega mostly from seeing them in Whole Foods (and sitting next to their team at our lunch stop during Ragnar in April) but I’d never really looked into it too much. When I was vegan, I would have been all over their plant-based line of pre- and post- workout products. When I had the opportunity to review one of their products as a SweatPink ambassador, I was immediately intrigued by their recovery protein. The protein blend includes: pea protein, SaviSeed (sachi inchi), brown rice and alfalfa. Noticeably missing: soy. I have mixed feelings about soy and its effect on hormones, particularly in how it affects my bipolar mood shifts. As I said above, EAS does contain soy and I haven’t noticed any negative effects, but it’s still nice that Vega doesn’t rely on it.

Another great aspect of Vega is that they use stevia as their sweetener – no scary chemicals here. I will say, it does leave you with the expected stevia aftertaste, but if you’re someone that uses stevia on the reg, you probably won’t notice. I find that if you blend it with a little PB2, the taste is masked.

The best part: 26 grams of protein. Crazy, right?! It makes it SO MUCH EASIER to hit my daily protein goal with this stuff.

I’ve used it after a couple particularly hard workouts and I’m definitely noticing a difference in my recovery, especially compared to days where I forwent any kind of post-workout recovery at all and tried to wait until dinner. Not only did it speed physical recovery, but it helped with the mental aspect as well – something that can be attributed to their inclusion of Tryptophan to boost Seratonin levels…

So not only do you feel better after your workout, you’re more motivated to workout AGAIN when the time comes.

Overall, I recommend Vega Sport Performance Protein whether you’re a CrossFit athlete looking to recovery faster after heavy lifting, a hardcore runner training to PR your next race, or a newbie training for a triathlete like me.

While you can easily mix the power with water or your favorite milk, I like turning it into a true “shake” with a few extra ingredients. My go to recipe:

• Vega Sport Performance Protein
• 2 Cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 small, mostly green banana
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 T PB2
• handful of ice

Just blend and enjoy!

What’s your favorite protein shake blend? How do you fuel your better?

Disclaimer: I received a free pack of Vega Sport Performance Protein in exchange for an honest review as part of the Fit Approach SweatPink Ambassador program. All opinions expressed are my own.

Train and Recover

So… I did it. I registered for the Hansen Dam Sprint Triathlon on August 17th. It definitely changed my workout plan for the next 5 weeks, and fitting everything in between shooting the web series I was cast in and our trip to PA/NYC will be a little tricky, but I’m committed.

I went to the pool on Thursday after work to see where my swimming endurance is at. I psyched myself up, politely asked a clearly focused young man if he would mind sharing a lane with me, kicked off from the wall… and my swim top completely came down. Laps were out of the question. Instead I did some technique work with the kick board, alternating between just using my legs making sure to force my hips down, and arm strokes. After 20 minutes of this, I hopped on a bike and did one of the pre-programmed random hill workouts. I’ve never sweat so much while biking; it was DRIPPING off of me. I was pretty happy with the results of the ride. I averaged 3:20min/mi so I’m hoping to keep the bike portion under 40 minutes during the race. I went for a very hot and sweaty run after my client on Saturday morning, but I don’t think I was properly hydrated before hand and I hit a wall at 2 miles. The first two miles were at 8:15 and 8:34, so it sucked real hard to have that last mile be 9:30, but oh well; I have time.

After my run, I met up with a new friend for brunch at the very trendy Sqirl in Silverlake. The food was INSANE; we shared toast and jam which sounds lame, but they started out by just selling jam and the reason for their success was SUPER apparent in their strawberry thyme jam and incredible flaky, fresh brioche toast. I also had the sorrel pesto rice bowl which was topped with a poached egg and prosciutto… um, YUM.

And then my weekend went kind of downhill…

I was hesitant to write this post, and yet I feel the need to get it out of my system.

I’ve struggled with a number of eating disorders for most of my adult life, and even a little before then. Thanks to the support of my incredible boyfriend and the outlet of this blog, I’m ten months into my ED recovery. I openly share this information. But that vague acknowledgement is about how deep I get into it, especially during an actual conversation that’s not with a shrink or my boyfriend.

And maybe that’s my first mistake; thinking people will take in this information and not make too many assumptions or judgements about what something like that actually means. Just because I no longer force myself to throw up after eating doesn’t mean I don’t deal with the psychological aspects of an ED everyday. Even though I now exercise a healthy amount doesn’t mean I don’t obsess over each inch of my body. The ability to eat multiple meals in a day, including desserts didn’t come with some magic wand to erase the guilt that sometimes creeps in to my food choices.

Like many addictions, recovery doesn’t mean fully recovered. Especially in a society when we are so aware of our bodies and the bodies around us, and ESPECIALLY for me in an industry where the majority of your success is based on what you look like.

I got away with having an ED for a long time without anyone noticing. Because it never made me skinny. Yes, I was the chubby girl with an ED, who when I finally confided in my then-boyfriend about it, he asked if I was “just making an excuse for all the bad food choices I’d been making.” No one was ever worried I was sick, or told me I looked too thin, or joked that I should eat a cheeseburger. I wanted them to; I dreamed of the day someone might ask me if I was okay because I was looking skinnier than usual.

Instead, I beat myself up in silence. Not only was I not good enough because of how I looked, I wasn’t good enough because I couldn’t even have an eating disorder properly. So I started to convince myself I didn’t actually have a problem. Only skinny girls have EDs and I wasn’t one of them.

It took a long time for me to accept that even though my ED wasn’t affecting me outwardly like I hoped it would, it was clearly messing me up inside, and I’m still suffering from some of the effects. I’m pretty convinced my poor digestive issues have years of not eating, and over eating, and self-inducing vomiting to blame. My gums have receded. My skin is terrible. You could never see my ribs, but you could see the dark circles under my eyes.

I’m still chubby. I’m strong, but I’m chubby. I still struggle with my relationship with food. I still have negative self-talk and hate my body. I still assume people will judge me for “not being good at having an ED” because I never lost enough weight doing it to cause alarm.

When people who don’t know me make a flippant comment about eating disorders, I say nothing. How could they possibly know who EDs affect, and how they deal with them not only physically, but emotionally? They don’t, and I would never hold that against them.

But when people who DO know, people in whom I’ve confided this part of my history of self, try to tell me how I should emotionally react to situations… it’s deeply hurtful.

I’ve come a long way since my first stint with anorexia when I was 15. Hell, I’ve come a long way in the past 10 months. Still, I’m not as strong emotionally as I am physically, and I think that sometimes people confuse the two. I’ve come a long way… but I’ve still got a long way to go.

September

I’m gonna be honest… I haven’t really set goals for myself in a while.

I’ve been mostly focused on “getting stronger” by doing CrossFit (whatever that means) and trying to get everything on some kind of roll at work. Basically I’ve been shoving protein in my face while still being a nazi about calories and trying to plan and promote a million events and training programs. Oh, and still find the time to train my clients and spend time with my boyfriend.

While it’s been semi-nice to take a break from my type A, OCD lists, I find myself floundering a bit back to a place where it’s really easy to fall deep into the depths of despair. Dramatic, I know.

When I do throw a goal at myself, it’s usually just a passing reminder to “lose weight,” “be skinnier” or, most times “suck less.” Yes, I’m still quite a bully to myself.

So for September, I’m joining my friend Martha (who’s BACK from her blogging hiatus!) in Self Love September.

What really resonated with me about her challenge was:

It’s time to feel like a human again, and not just a “work in progress.”

I’m tired of being another “project” to take on. I’m sick of obsessing over what I eat and when I can work out and will I ever be attractive enough.

Well, I’ve got a boyfriend who loves me so clearly I’m already attractive “enough.”

I will bike more to save money and stay active. I will CrossFit when I have time and it doesn’t make me stress out over other things I need to do.

I will eat what makes me feel good, in reasonable amounts, without feeling guilty.

So I’m not joining in the Whole Life Challenge group that CrossFit High Voltage is participating in. And why I’m not putting up numbers or percentages or sizes.

My focus for the month will be loving myself and promoting myself. Not myself the blogger, but myself the actor. I’m getting new headshots. I’m revamping my website and my casting profiles. I’ve got to make something happen this year. No time like the present.

Join in! For daily #selfloveseptember updates, like or follow Running into 30.