Today marks the start of my journey with the Protein World Weight Loss Collection. I am admittedly one of those people who trolls Instagram for products and fashion inspiration, and after seeing just how many people loved the results they got from Protein World, a UK based wellness company, I couldn’t wait to try! With less than two weeks until our first beach vacation of the summer, it seemed like the perfect time to give it a go. I will be sharing my experience with Protein World over the next 14 days, including a description of everything that I eat in hopes that it will not only inspire other people who are on their own health and fitness journey, but also keep me on track (knowing that people are watching always makes me straighten up!). Check back daily for my food and fitness log and weekly for progress reports.
The Product
The Protein World Weight Loss Collection consists of The Slender Blend, a protein powder that serves as a meal replacement to assist in weight loss, enhances body tone, and improve skin, hair, and nail health, The Slender Blend Capsule, which is a fat melter, and Multi Vitamins to improve overall health and digestion. I also added in their Toner Capsules which are supposed to help you improve your physical performance and body tone. The premise is that you have a shake for breakfast along with your supplements, a health mid-morning snack or cup of green tea, a protein based lunch along with your supplements, a health afternoon snack, and another shake for dinner. Following their plan, Protein World claims that users can lose 2-4 pounds per week. The key to a weight loss plan is finding something that works for you, so I will be changing up aspects of their plan to make it work for my lifestyle. For more information on Protein World, please visit www.ProteinWorld.com.
The Goal
While a lady never shares her weight, I will tell you that my goal is to lose 7 pounds and lower my BMI. Stay tuned for progress reports!
The Commitment
I’m committing to working out 6 days a week for at least 45 minutes a day. I work out with a trainer 3 days a week, and will go in on my own to do cardio on the other days. I also plan on eating healthy. While I won’t say that I’m “dieting,” overall, I’m going to make healthier choices. My goal is that each meal will be less than 400 calories. I will eat healthy 6 days a week and Sundays, which are family dinner days in the Mathis-Jones household, will be my cheat days (because….let’s be real, I have no desire to munch on kale chips while the rest of my family chows down on steaks and baked potatoes or soulfood). Although I’m going to be more lenient on Sundays, I’m going to try to keep it under control and commit to not having dessert and monitoring my portions. I also plan on only drinking on the weekends and monitoring what I drink and how many drinks I have. Pray for me!
The Plan
Overall, I’m planning for my days to look like this food wise:
Toner Capsules and Lyfe Tea Morning Tea* upon waking
Slender Blend shake directly following workout, along with the Slender Blend and Multi Vitamin supplements
Shakeology shake*
Light lunch (i.e. a salad, protein and veggies, or a green smoothie), along with the Slender Blend and Multi Vitamin supplements
Slender Blend shake
Healthy Dinner, along with Multi Vitamin supplement
*There are a couple of other products that I have become absolutely obsessed with in the last few months. Although I’m giving Protein World a try, I’m not willing to give up my Lyfe Tea or my Shakeology. Shakeology is the healthiest meal of the day. I love how these shakes make me feel and I credit them for cutting down my cravings for sweets tremendously. For more information, visit www.Shakeology.com. My experience with the Lyfe Tea teatox is another post for another day, but I will say I had great results with this product. I have implemented their morning tea, which is an all-natural detox that helps with weight loss, into my regular routine. This tea gives me the energy I need to push through even the laziest of days. Find out more at www.LyfeTea.com.
The Results
Week 1:
Given the weekend I had and how lax I was in terms of my diet, I wasn’t really expecting any major results. Still, I somehow managed to lose 2 pounds. Strangely enough, my BMI went up my 2% which I find really odd since I have been working out so much…but I’m not going to worry myself too much about the numbers. Overall, I don’t really see a change in how I look, but I will say that I feel great.
Week 2: I really fell off in week 2, but I am happy to say that I lost another pound. Strangely enough, my BMI went up another 1%. I’m still pretty impressed that I lost 3 pounds in 2 weeks with the Protein World Slender Blend products considering that I wasn’t being as disciplined as I’d hoped to be with my diet plan. I look forward to trying it again at a time when I can really be strict with my healthy eating. Overall, I would recommend the products.
The Experience
Day 1:
Today I got off to a late start so my food plan got a little mixed up. I had my toner capsules and morning tea after I woke up, then post-workout shake and supplements following 45 minutes of cardio as planned. I had a late lunch at Houston’s with my mom and ordered one of their kale salads without the chicken (my husband and I have agreed to do Meatless Monday’s all summer, so no meat for me today), along with my supplements. There wasn’t enough time to get in both my Shakeology and another Slender Blend shake before dinner, so I had my Slender Blend shake before dinner and my Shakeology afterwards for “dessert.” For dinner, I had zucchini ziti with whole wheat pasta (277 calories per serving) and a small side salad. I was pleasantly surprised with just how great the vanilla Slender Blend powder tastes! I just used water and it honestly tastes like a vanilla milkshake. I am also happy to share that I haven’t had any jitters with any of the supplements, which is always one of my biggest concerns. The Slender Blend capsules do give me energy (probably due to the caffeine), but I haven’t had that jittery feeling at all.
Day 2: Today I followed my plan perfectly….until I got home and looked over my dinner recipe and realized that a) we didn’t have any propane for our grill and b) the recipe called for the chicken to be marinated overnight. Luckily, I had leftovers from last night so I was able to go with the flow and have those for dinner. This situation goes to show just how important it is to have healthy options on hand that can just be popped in the microwave. I had my toner capsules and morning tea this morning then worked out for 50 minutes (20 minutes of cardio followed by a 30 minute session with my trainer). I also had my post-workout Slender Blend shake and supplements, as well as my Shakeology for a snack as planned. For lunch, I discovered something that I absolutely love. Cheesecake Factory has a “Skinnylicious” menu on which all items are under 590 calories! I love finding restaurants that offer health conscious dishes for those of us that are trying to reach a goal. I had their lettuce wraps for lunch (since this is technically an appetizer, it was less than 490 calories) along with my supplements, followed by my second Slender Blend shake and my leftovers in the evening. I will say, last night I had trouble sleeping and I’m wondering if it’s due to the caffeine in the Slender Blend capsules. If the same thing happens tonight, tomorrow I will be sure to take them earlier in the day so that hopefully I can get a good night’s rest. More to come tomorrow!
Day 3:
Today was a good day. I had my toner capsules and tea followed by 15 minutes of cardio and a crazy 50 minute long arm and ab workout with my trainer, Herb Guzman over at Titanz Fitness. I enjoyed my post workout Slender Blend shake and supplements and left feeling like super woman. For lunch, I had a spinach salad with grilled shrimp (along with my second set of supplements) and I had my second Slender Blend shake of the day before dinner. My husband sprung a pro-am basketball game on me that started at 9pm, so we had an early dinner before we left home and I decided to save my Shakeology until before bed in case I was feeling snacky (and I’m glad I did). I absolutely loved the grilled chicken and veggie kebabs we had for dinner (which will likely be this week’s healthy eat of the week – only 255 calories for 2 drumsticks!!). I’m also proud to share that I got a great night’s sleep last night, so I guess it wasn’t the supplements keeping me awake. So far so good!
Day 4:
Usually on Thursdays I’m full of energy. Just knowing the weekend is so close gets me pumped up. But not this week. Today there was nothing all the morning tea in the world could do to get me energized. I was physically just exhausted and, as a result, felt “blah” all day. Still, I stuck with the plan and had a pretty good day food wise. I followed my morning regimen perfectly and got in 15 minutes of cardio, as well as 40 minutes with my trainer. I had all my morning drinks and supplements right when I was supposed to. For lunch, I had leftover grilled chicken and veggie skewers from last night’s dinner along with my supplements, followed by my Shakeology as a snack a few hours later. For dinner, I made “zoodles” (noodles made with a veggie spiralizer out of zucchini – my new obsession) topped with sautéed shrimp with sautéed spinach on the side. I just realized that I completely forgot to have my second Slender Blend shake of the day…I’ll do better tomorrow.
Day 5: Monday-Thursday I have no problem being conservative in terms of my diet, but come Friday, it’s a struggle! My husband and I always try to do something fun on the weekends and that usually involves food and alcohol. I don’t want to miss out on the fun just because I’m trying to reach a goal and sometimes it can be pretty challenging. Yesterday, I had my toner capsules and morning tea upon waking up. A couple of hours later, I did 45 minutes of cardio in the gym on my own since on Fridays I don’t work out with my trainer. I had my Slender Blend shake and supplements after my workout and my Shakeology an hour or so later as a snack. For some reason, I was super hungry yesterday, so I had the last of the leftover grilled chicken and vegetable skewers pretty early for lunch (along with my second set of supplements), followed by my second Slender Blend shake. I went out for an early dinner with my mom and forgot to take my multi-vitamin with me so I didn’t have my last vitamin of the day. I had steamed lobster (my favorite) and sautéed spinach for dinner, then my husband and I went to a hookah lounge with some friends. Everyone else was eating, which of course made me hungry. Instead of ordering a huge entree since I had already eaten, I had the appetizer size hummus with carrot sticks and one alcoholic beverage. Weekends are tricky, and this one will be pretty challenging because we literally have plans all weekend (most of which involve food and liquor). Hopefully I can continue to make decent decisions and not get totally off track.
Day 6:
Yesterday started off pretty well! I skipped my toner capsules because I didn’t see the point in taking them on my rest day. I had my first Slender Blend shake and supplements for breakfast and went out to an early lunch with one of my sorority sisters. I had an absolutely delicious Greek salad topped with grilled shrimp. I lounged most of the day and had my Shakeology and supplements for a snack before getting ready for date night with my husband. Date night was catered, so I ate the chicken breast, salad, mixed vegetables, and polenta cake available to me. I may or may not have also had a cupcake and one too many drinks. Like I said, weekends are a struggle! I’m finding it really hard to get in my second Slender Blend shake of the day (probably because I’m also doing a Shakeology), so from here on out, I may only do one a day as opposed to two.
Day 7: Today was cheat day (even though, if i’m completely honest with myself, all weekend has been cheat weekend). I had my toner capsules and Shakeology for breakfast this morning before I headed out to Stone Mountain to hike up to the top for my workout of the day. It was my first time doing it since I was 7 years old and it was really fun and a great workout as well. I had grilled chicken and sautéed veggies for lunch along with my supplements, followed by my Slender Blend shake as a snack. I got hungry again before dinner, so I had a serving of Skinny Pop, which I’m absolutely obsessed with (3.5 cups of white cheddar popcorn for 150 calories)!!! For Sunday dinner, I had beef roast with carrots and potatoes, rice, collard greens, and cornbread (along with my supplements, which was probably pretty pointless considering what I ate lol)…so it was for sure a cheat day…but it was so worth it. This evening, I’ll be drinking my Lyfe Tea Detox Tea to clean out my system of all the bad stuff I ate this weekend. I love how the detox tea relaxes me and helps me sleep, on top of helping me to detox. Even though I got off track this weekend, I’ll still be weighing in tomorrow and posting my results. Wish me luck!
Day 8: My goal for today was to get back on track. I had a great night’s sleep and got in 45 minutes of cardio after I did my grocery shopping for the week. I had my Slender Blend as my post-workout shake with my supplements. I increased my number of Slender Blend capsules from 1 to 2 as per the instructions for week 2. For lunch, my husband and I went to whole foods and had food from their buffet bar. I had a Green Machine juice, along with a salad and a side of butternut squash. For dinner, we had delicious roasted vegetable and black bean burritos (I had my second set of supplements as well). Dinner was a little heavy, so I was too full to have my Shakeology for dessert as I planned.
(real Day 9 skipped….see below)
Day 9: OK guys….I’ve been slacking this week! Yesterday (which should have been day 9) was such a fail, we’re just going to skip it and act like it never happened. I’m having a super busy week (and have an even busier weekend ahead as I prepare to leave town next week), so it’s been a struggle. Today, I did a decent job because I felt so guilty about yesterday. Even though I was in a hurry this morning and didn’t have time for my morning tea and also forgot to take my Slender Blend shake to have after my workout, I did take my toner capsules and do 10 minutes of cardio followed by an hour long session with my trainer. I had leftover roasted veggie and black bean burritos for lunch with my supplements and a mango and banana smoothie midday as a snack. For dinner, I had roasted turkey and sautéed spinach and another set of supplements. I didn’t get in my Slender Blend shake or my Shakeology though, so I’m sure I didn’t do as well as I need to in the protein department. I’m going to do us all a favor and let tomorrow be my last day so that I don’t completely ruin any results I may have by slacking on my diet this weekend. I will weigh in on Friday morning and share my results, and I promise to give Protein World a re-do when I can do a better job sticking to the plan.
Day 10:
This will be my last Protein World post for a while (besides sharing my results tomorrow morning), and I’m glad to say it ended on a good note. I took my toner capsules this morning and got in a great workout this morning consisting of 15 minutes of cardio then a half hour with my trainer. For breakfast, I had Protein World’s cinnamon roll shake recipe (which uses their vanilla Slender Blend powder) and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I wish I had tried it sooner and had it every day. Even my husband loved it. I also had my supplements with the shake. For lunch, I had leftover roasted turkey with brown rice and I had my Shakeokogy for a snack with my second round of supplements. For dinner, I had grilled chicken and asparagus and I topped it off with my Lyfe Tea Evening Deatox Tea. Overall, I’ve had a great experience with the Protein World products and I feel like I’m pretty familiar with the Slender Blend line now. I’m excited to get back on the program once we get back from vacation and I’m able to give the plan more attention. Stay tuned for results tomorrow.
Comments