All about protein!

After posting that I was starting a twelve week female body-building course, I had a few questions asking me If I would be drinking protein shakes and which ones are the best. I thought I'd share with you the protein mix and bars that I usually have.

I also want to start by saying that I don't use protein shakes or bars as a meal replacement. I've only done this occasionally when I'm out and don't have the time to make something or as a back-up in-case there's no food available for me to eat.

Obviously I'm not a personal trainer or had any experience in the industry but this is just what I've found to be my favourite.

The protein bars I use are by aussie bodies and they are the mini-bars. They contain 2 grams of carbs and 9 grams of protein. The flavour range is amazing. Rocky road, peanut butter, cookies and cream, the list goes on. You do need to be careful though since some flavours have more fat then others. The average amount of fat per bar is about 2.5 grams (which is pretty good I think).

They are relatively cheap compared to other bars I've bought previously. I buy mine from chemist warehouse and buy about 50 or so bars on-line once a month. They work out to be around $1.50 each.

My favourite flavour would have to be dark chocolate cherry, it tastes like a cherry ripe and it's SO good.

 There's quite a bit of confusion when it comes to protein powder and I had to do a lot of research to find one that suited me. Some say to take two different shakes at different times like for instance just before exercise you apparently needed Hydroxy citric acid  and then amino acids for post-training to repair muscles. I found that route would be pretty expensive, so I wanted to just have one shake. Vital Strength define for women. Per serve it is 99% fat free, has only 1.9 grams of carbs compared to 28.3 grams for celebrity slim and is 1.3 grams lower in fat and calories. It also contains 19 grams of protein per serve.

Define contains Hydroxy citric acid for pre-training and amino acids for post-training. It combines everything you need in one shake. Which is great  because you don't have bottles everywhere and don't even need to pause to think which mix you have to take.

I take one scoop mixed with one cup of half iced water and half milk.  I find having the liquids cold makes it taste that little bit better. Define is available in four flavours; Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and banana. I've only tried chocolate and strawberry and I've found strawberry to be my favourite. I drink it about an hour before I exercise in the afternoon.

So there you go! Hopefully that answered your questions and gave you a bit of knowledge.

Do you have a favourite protein?

Infinite x's and o's,

Elena ♥