It seems protein mixes and shakes are becoming more and more popular, even in a small Midwest town. On countless occasions, I have seen men and women with big containers of protein mixes in their shopping carts.

Anyhow, in early October I was sent a 12 lbs bag of Super Mass Gainer: Chocolate Cake Batter from DYMATIZE Nutrition. The 12 lb bag retails for $51.44 on Amazon.com. It's also available in 6 lb bags, and a several different flavors (chocolate mint, cookie & cream, rich chocolate, sugar cookie, vanilla, gourmet vanilla, and strawberry.).

Each serving (2 heaping scoops) contains 1,900 calories, 83 grams of protein, 17 grams of BCAAs, and 7.7 grams of Leucine. You can either mix it with 24 to 32 ounces of water or milk.

It's basically meant to be a meal replacement, but you can decrease the serving amount to one scoop if the 1,900 calories are too much for you.

Whether your bodybuilding, training for an athletic event, or if your just trying to get into shape, herbal supplements can come in handy, especially the ones that can help decrease recovery time and aid in muscle building.

Recently, I was sent a 7.25oz container of VasogenXT Powder from VMI Sports (retails at $38.99). It's currently available in three flavors: Tigers Blood, Hawaiian Pump, and Mali-Blu Berry Breeze.

Unlike other vasodilator products, VasogenXT doesn't contain Arginine, but instead it has clinically studied herbal compounds. It's meant to hydrate your muscles, give a Nitric Oxide boost, and make your muscles swell while you're pumping iron. It will also increase blood flow and increase strength and endurance.


Each serving (30 servings per container) contains:

• Carbohydrates 1g

• Vitamin B3 10mg

• Chloride 61mg

• Sodium 39mg

• L-Taurine 2g

• Vasogen Swell Matrix Blend 1.15g

• Hawthrone Berry Powder
• Schizandra Berry Powder
• AgmaPure (Argmatine Sulfate) 
• Pine Bark Extract
• ViNitrox

One of the reasons why people quit exercising is because there body just gets too sore from their workouts. What is happening is that they aren't giving their body the proper length of time for their muscles to heal before they exercise again. There are some dietary supplements that can reduce your recovery time.

Last month, I was sent a container of BCAA Powder from Vitality Max Labs to test out and review. The retail price for one #BCAAPOWDER container costs $99, but it is currently listed for $26.99 on Amazon.com. Each 5.6oz container contains 30 servings (1 scoop).


The ingredients include:

L-Leucine - a dietary amino acid that stimulates muscle protein synthesis.

L-IsoLeucine -  an amino acid that only works when it is combined with L-Leucine or L-Valine.

L-Valine - an essential amino acid.

Tox-Sick: From Toxic to Not Sick
by Suzanne Summers
Publisher: Harmony
Pub. Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0385347723
Pages: 384
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

While many people know Suzanne Summers as Chrissy Snow from the 70s' television series Three's Company and as Carol Foster-Lambert from the 90s' television series Step-by-Step, a few might not be aware that she is also a bestselling author of many nonfiction books. Her newest novel Tox-Sick: From Toxic to Not Sick just hit bookstores last month and has been featured on many programs, including The O'Reilly Factor.

Sadly, many people don't pay attention to what ingredients that are in the food that they digest as this can be a big factor to many healthy problems, such as allergies, sinuses, weight gain, headaches, depression, fatigue, heartburn, etc.. Most of the aliments are caused by the harmful toxins that we put into our bodies.

Suzanne Summers interviews six doctors (Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, Dr. Sherry Rogers, Dr. Richie Shoemaker, Dr. Walter Crinnion, Dr. Stephen Sinatra and Dr. Garry Gordon), asking them all tough questions of why we're all having health issues and how we can prevent them.

Strong Is The New Skinny
by Jennifer Cohen & Stacey Colino
Publisher: Harmony Books
Pub. Date: September 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0804140515
Pages: 240
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Wow! I can hardly believe that it is already April 1st today! I guess time flew by while I've been busy with life. I recall receiving the book Strong Is The New Skinny by Jennifer Cohen & Stacey Colino back in December, but it got shoved aside and I'm just now writing the review for it.

Yes, I'm well aware that there are a slew of fitness books on the market that all claim to help you lose weight. I tend to avoid these types of books, but since I'm in a fitness kick this year, I decided to give this book a try.

While this books is intended for woman, there is plenty of great fitness information and exercises that men (like me) can also benefit from. There is a great diet plan that focuses on the best food that will give you the correct amount of nutrients and protein. The book features over 100-pages of exercise routines with pictures and descriptions, which mixes in light-weight lifting, aerobics, yoga and Pilates.

Hopefully, everybody who had weight loss or getting into shape as their New Year's Resolution hasn't given up yet and is still working out several times a week, if not daily like I am. Actually, I'm ready to start Block 3 of P90X3 tomorrow. No matter what exercising routine (walking, jogging, etc.) or workout program you are currently doing, you need to make sure you get the proper nutrients, as your muscles are going be sore after any type of workout.

Protein is important for yours muscles to recover after an exercise. It is a scientific fact that muscle burns fat. So the faster your muscles recovers, the faster it can burn fat. Of course this doesn't occur over the night, but with a great workout routine and a healthy diet, protein and other supplements can help in achieving faster results.

There are many different brands of protein powders on the market, but I heard good things about BSN products, so I contacted the company and they nicely sent me a few complementary samples to review. The samples sent to me are: Syntha-6 - an ultra premium muscle protein powder (2.91 lb), N.O.-Xplode - advanced strength (2.48 lb), Amino-X - endurance & recovery agent (15.3oz) and a shaker.

Hello! I hope everyone is having a Happy Christmas. I noticed in a few department store ads that they're already having a sale on fitness equipment and fitness DVDs, though they don't normally do this until around the first of year to tie into the New Year's Resolution theme, but I guess they wanted  to start earlier this year. I thought I would tie into the whole fitness theme by posting this article written by a fellow writer. 


Sometimes a diet program just isn't right for you and you can't go forward one more day. When this happens to you and you're on the Nutrisystem plan, there are some definite steps you should take to cancel your automatic shipments, return old food, and get some money back. Below will be a few simple steps that will get you started. Thank goodness Nutrisystem does make it easy to cancel Auto-Delivery at any time, but please make sure you hold onto your confirmation number just in case there is a glitch and your cancellation does not go through.

With the Auto-Delivery plan your credit card is charged once a month for 4-weeks of food. Many people prefer Auto-Delivery because it comes with a great discount. For example, currently, this plan saves you 20% (about $82). In addition, other discount offers that Nutrisystem gives occasionally, like the “save 40% Plus 1 Week of Food Free” (or others—see weightlostriumph.com) apply only if you choose Auto-Delivery. However, keep in mind, if you cancel your Auto Delivery plan before the second consecutive payment, then you will be charged the amount of these discounts.

First things first, you cannot cancel the program online. You have to call in to talk to a customer care specialist. This is not as convenient as just pressing a button online, but at least you can talk to a person and ask them any questions about your cancellation. The toll-free number is 877-338-8446.


Some information that they'll ask of you over the phone is your name, and most importantly your membership number which should be clearly marked on your billing material. If you do not have this number it's going to take much more time to have the operator help you, so make sure you find this number before making the call. You then simply tell the operator that you wish to cancel your membership and stop the recurring shipment of food.

Kenya Moore's, from Bravo’s hit show The Real Housewives of Atlanta and former Miss USA, workout DVD "Booty Boot Camp was released on DVD from Acacia on March 5, 2013 to online stories. It will be released to retail stores in May. The DVD has three 20-minutes workouts. There is also a bonus ab-flattening workout.

Check out the DVD trailer below:

On my quest for a better me in 2013, I have teamed up NuShape (NuSirt Sciences) for a review and giveaway. I will be trying out a 30 days supply of their weight management dietary supplement, containing Vitamin B6 and L-leucine, starting today for the next 30 days. During this time I will be exercising daily and staying on a healthy diet.

I'm excited about starting this challenge. I'll be taking the tablets twice a day  and it is suppose to help increase the amount of fat I will burn off during exercising. Fifteen minutes of exercise is suppose to equal sixty minutes of fat burning, which can make you drop one pant size in a month. The supplement can help your lean muscles to use fat as energy without any unwanted side-effects.

Giveaway Details:

21: 2 Experts 1 Goal: 21 Days to Transform Your Body
By Daniel Loigerot and Elina Kaminsky Rph. C.N.C. N.D.
Publisher: DL FIT
Pub. Date: August 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615680019
ASIN: B009GQGKMQ
Pages: 250

Review:

2013 is upon us and that means people are starting (or attempting) their New Years Resolutions, so basically everyone has regrets of overeating during the holidays and wants to try work off those extra ten pounds in January. Recently I had the chance to review the fitness book 21 Days to Transform Your Body from DL FIT in exchange for my honest review.

Can a person really get into shape in 21 days?