Product Review : EnergyBits

Let me first start this review by telling everyone how AWESOME the folks are at Energy Bits.  Their customer service is top notch and their hearts are HUGE.  If you make a purchase now through their website and use the code BOSTONSTRONG at checkout you'll get a 10% discount AND $26.20 goes to the One Fund campaign to support the victims of the tragedy in Boston.

Okay onto the review:  EnergyBits are these tiny little tablets of concentrated protein that have only 30 calories per serving.  They are made of spirulina algae and if you've ever read "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek then I know you are already familiar with spirulina.  For those of you who don't know about this weird sounding food that's understandable too.  It is a nutrient dense food that has one of the highest concentrations of protein, chlorophyll, beta carotene, antioxidants and vitamins.  It's a naturally grown, organic food unlike many other lab created supplements. It is also used worldwide and is a staple for many serious athletes.  So if this super food is so great why aren't we all eating it by the buckets?  

To be honest I don't know.  It does have some very earthy qualities about it (namely the taste and smell).  It also has a limited shelf life and before being introduced to EnergyBits I was only familiar with it as a powder to be used as an additive.  This is where EnergyBits has really changed the availability of spirulina.

The "Bits" are shaped like tablets and a serving size is 30 bits/tablets.  They still should be kept in the fridge once you've opened the pack but they are stable and totable in their travel tin for 3-4 days which means you can easily throw them in your gym bag or lunch box and use them when you're ready.  This is MUCH easier to me than whipping up a shake or meal with the powdered stuff since my day is rarely close to a kitchen or a blender!  

Okay so now that I've raved on about the nutritional awesomeness of these little guys let me share my actual experience: 

I was anticipating some cute little crunchy sweet bits when my package arrived and was very surprised when I opened my travel tin to reveal a bunch of dark green tablets.  Not to mention the very earthy smell that wafted up at me when I opened the tin!  The instructions state to swallow (or chew) 30 tablets 15-30 minutes before a workout.  I was very intimidated by the idea of taking 30 of these little guys especially by swallowing them.  Since the instructions say that it's ok to chew them I thought I'd try 1 this way and with any luck I'd be able 

to pop the additional 29  in my mouth and chew them up like candy!  WRONG!!!  Follow the instructions girls and boys, swallow these little buggers.  DO NOT CHEW THEM!  They taste awful.  I generally have a high tolerance for "earthy" foods and figured this would be fine for me.  Nope.  Not only did they taste bad while chewing them the taste lingered and I was stuck with this dark green/brown sludge in my teeth.  I finally grabbed a piece of gum to get the taste and ick out of my mouth.  So at this point I was a little discouraged.  I decided that 29 more bits were going to be too many for me and I went ahead and swallowed 9 more.  Then I ran.  I put in a good 7 miles and had a great time doing so.  I didn't think much of it at the time but when I got back to the car I realized that I felt strong and alert and just maybe the algae had something to do with it.  Fast-forward a few more days and I decided to give the Bits a legit try.  I swallowed 30 tablets in 3 gulps about 20 minutes before a 90 minute cardio/run session.  Again, after the workout I felt energized and healthy.  So my final test for the Bits was a 5k race.  I took 30 tablets about 20 minutes before race time and although the day was humid and sticky and gross I still took 1st place for my age group and snagged a 23.45 race time which ranks right up there as one of my fastest.  I have to say that I think the EnergyBits just might have helped power me through.

Wonder if Bits of Health has any race gear that says "Powered by Algae" because I'd sure rock it and love the attention!

                         

Go grab your bag of EnergyBits today at www.energybits.com and be sure to use the code BOSTON STRONG to score the 10% discount. Your body will thank you for this purchase.

All thoughts and statements in this review are my own and of my own personal opinion.  Bits of Health supplied me with a sample of their EnergyBits product for this review.

Product Review: Firmoo Glasses

My sunglass kit

I was really excited to be contacted by Firmoo Glasses recently since I've really been looking for a pair of sunglasses to wear when I run.  Firmoo is a really cool service that lets you browse their website of frame designs and then input your prescription and desired lens choice to totally customize your specs....and they are cheap!  Graciously, Firmoo offered me a pair of glasses to try so I could share my experience with you all.  As I mentioned, I really wanted a pair of athletic sunglasses and was a little disappointed when I looked at their sunglasses collection and didn't see anything that was really athletically minded.  BUT, their great customer service support recommended to me that I choose a pair of regular frames and at checkout choose to add a tint to the lenses effectively making them sunglasses.  This was a great hint and broadened the number of choices dramatically, the only downside to doing this is that your prescription cannot be added to the tinted lenses. I ultimately chose the SD2303 frame with charchol lenses.  After placing my order online (super easy by the way) my glasses came in the mail within a week.  They arrived with a bunch of useful sunglass parafanaila like soft and hard cases a cleaning cloth and a eyeglass repair kit.  To be honest, the hard case is too narrow to be useful, but the other items are nice.  The glasses themselves are nice and will certainly work as sunglasses with the tinting I chose.  However, they are too light weight to wear while running and are a little to wide for my small head to be very flattering for me (sorry no pictures of myself with them on since I just had some permanent makeup done on my eyes and I look like I've been crying for weeks).  I think ultimately I will be using these glasses as a backup to my prescription Vera Wang sunglasses.

SD2303 with clear lenses

 I really like the idea behind Firmoo and in the few weeks since I chose my pair of glasses they've expanded their collection and I see tons of new frames I'd love to try out as hip additions to my wardrobe.  So call your Eye Doc and ask for your prescription then head over to www.Firmoo.com and choose a couple pairs of trendy and fun frames for a bargain.  It's lots of fun and easy to do.


Firmoo has provided this link to some FAQ's below for those who might be interested.

I was provided a pair of complimentary glasses from Firmoo for purposes of this review.  This review and it's contents are of my own personal opinion.