Before I start waffling on about protein, it feels like such a long time since I’ve mentioned fitness on the blog. So it seems apt to be waffling about it on the day I’ve paid for my GPC GB membership.
So, where are we up to?
Since the broken foot incident of 2016, we’re much, much better. Though I had to say goodbye to my PT of five years, who went off, got engaged and moved to the Ribble Valley, I gained a new Personal Trainer, my foot healed well, and I began running again.
I’m back to a comfortable 12km distance, with plenty of time ahead of my first half marathon of year, in May and my foot has healed enough for me to wear heels regularly.
So, so far, so good.
Encouraged by my new PT, I’ve also started powerlifting. Yes, I know, not what I expected of myself either, but apparently (I have this from more than one source) my form is excellent, I just need to build in the weights. And I’m PB-ing all over the shop currently. I hit a Personal Best deadlift (90KG), my bench press is increasing every week, and my squat is deeper than it’s ever been.
And though it’s not really a consideration for me, whilst my weight has comfortably plateaued, inches have been slowly coming off. So much so, that over Christmas my waist dropped nearly two full inches. Yes, over Christmas, the traditional season of eating far too much food and drinking too much.
Yay for lifting.
And lifting brings me nicely around to today’s subject. Love them or hate them, there’s one thing that’s prolific in every gym – the sound of someone shaking a protein shake.
They’re everywhere – post workout – particularly after a weights session, snack, meal replacement. I’m more likely to use them post weights, but even I’ve used them as a breakfast option when I’m pushed for time, being lazy, or travelling. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a particular diet plan for your training, getting on a train and realising that your only options are train company sandwiches, crisps or a sausage roll.
But the taste can be offputting. If you don’t want a lot of sugar, you can end up with an artificial, powdery, gritty shake, or something that’s so sweet it makes your eyes water. Whilst the exotic flavours can make things more interesting, they soon get incredibly boring, and you still find yourself necking it, rather than enjoying it. Nobody should have to get bored of a chocolate anything.
And please don’t get me started with what’s in them. Some are just as full of artificial crap as junk food.
So let me introduce you to Purition.
Purition protein shakes contain all natural ingredients – nuts, seeds, whey protein. Simple ingredients designed to give you the best nutritional content, good protein and no added extras. I was sent a trial box to play with, which includes six servings from their range (strawberry, pistachio, chocolate, almond, macadamia and vanilla, and coconut). They also have a completely vegan range too which uses hemp protein as a base.
Each shake contains just under 200 calories, and as I’m all about keeping my calories high enough (oddly I now keep a gentle eye on my intake not to ensure it’s low, but high enough for my lifting) I made mine up with soya milk.
From a flavour perspective, I really love these. My favourites were the strawberry and coconut. Creamy, not overly sweet and lots of nutty flavour in there too. I love that there’s no added sugar, so it’s not sweet and sickly, but it still tastes good! There’s no weird sweet after taste, no powdery mouthfeel.
The texture could be something that you need to get used to. It’s quite a grainy mix and if it settles in your shaker, it can get a little clumped in the bottom as the contents swell with moisture and continue to do so the longer you leave it. Whilst this means a thicker, richer textured shake (and will leave you feeling fuller for longer), this became my biggest challenge – shaking it hard enough to dislodge everything and mix it thoroughly.
If you think you’ll struggle with it being grainy, there’s an easy solution. Just chuck it in a blender and whizz it up. It’ll be smoother, but just as thick and creamy.
Grumbles that I do have are around it being marketed for weight loss, and the use of the word ‘cleanse’. I have no issue with you using it to control your calories if that’s what you want to do. But I do have worries about it being used as a meal replacement without education. You need to understand food, making food, what’s good for you, and your relationship with food too. That’s just as important as monitoring your intake.
And I’ve also come across friends using meal replacement shakes only for a goal and then being stuck unable to eat proper food on their wedding day because their bodies are unused to real food.
As for the word cleanse – as with detox, your body cleanses you. Yes, the nutrients in Purition will help you body to that, and enable it to function properly (hurrah!), but it’s a word used incorrectly throughout the diet industry and I’d like to see both it and ‘detox’ retired. Your body is an incredible machine, let’s stop punishing it for working effectively.
Overall? Yeah, I’m in.
I’m off to buy a big tub of the strawberry and I’m going to quietly ditch the overly sweet bag of vanilla whey I have stashed away that I just can’t bear to consume.
The trial box was received free of charge.