Go big or go…… To the ER?

I'll be honest this week was not the best week. You know the saying go big or go home? Well I went big and then I went home or more specifically to the ER. I was at the gym Monday evening and was doing my normal routine when I decided to switch to a different body part because the machine that I wanted to use was being used, I sat down and began to do seated rows with 150 pounds, everything was going fine when all of a sudden my chest started to hurt, I stopped what I was doing and stood up and begin to feel extremely dizzy. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack so I left the gym and headed to the emergency room. After a few minutes I was rushed into a side room because when you tell the front desk you're having chest pain they immediately get you back to perform an EKG to determine if you have had a heart attack. 

Once the EKG was performed I was left alone in the room to wait for the next available room in the ER, they didn't even bother to ask me to take off my shoes or pants because I was so dizzy and it was hard enough to try and take off my top and sports bra, every time I tried to sit up I felt more dizzy and nauseated, the worst part was sitting up to look for a vomit bag and not be able to find one in time causing me to vomit all over the floor. Normally I wouldn't bother the front desk and I would simply clean it up myself but being as dizzy as I was trying to stand wasn't working out very well so I imagine the embarrassment of having to watch housekeeping come in and clean up your vomit off of the floor.  Cut to 2 1/2 hours later and I was finally brought back to my room where an IV was started and I was given medication for my nausea after vomiting several more times. I'm thankful that my nurse was a woman because I was so dizzy that I didn't even notice that my boob was hanging out of my gown when she went to uncover me to attach me to the blood pressure cuff, I quickly apologized and she let me know that it was nothing she hadn't seen before but she just wasn't expecting it. (Well duh I wasn't expecting to have a single boob hanging out of my gown let alone that It would be on display for her) She probably thinks that I meant to flash her with the one boob out but I assure you I didn't 😐😳 

Anyways as if that wasn't embarrassing enough, I let her know that I really had to go to the bathroom since I've been holding it for almost 3 hours and she told me if I could wait the doctor would be in shortly so I waited another 20 minutes and finally decided I couldn't wait anymore, I page the nurse and ask her to come in and let her know I was a little bit dizzy so she may have to walk with me to the bathroom but after walking only two steps she said nope you're going to use a bedside commode. I looked at her with horror, as if it wasn't embarrassing enough to accidentally flashed her I now have to go to the bathroom in front of her. I sighed and said OK and sat back down, a few minutes later the initial nurse who brought me back to my room came in with the bedside commode and saw the look of embarrassment on my face and said that she would give me privacy and step out, needless to say I was completely relieved but that lasted shortly when I almost overfilled the hat that was inside the bedside commode, you never know sheer panic until you start to go to the bathroom and realize you had to go a lot more than you thought you did and you almost overfill the hat which would've then caused your urine to be spilled all over the floor, as if having to call housekeeping to clean up your vomit off of the floor wasn't enough now I'm asking them to come clean up my pee. Thankfully I stopped just in time and additional embarrassments did not ensue.

Finally my doctor comes in and begins to examine me and let's me know what we are going to do. First round of meds come through my IV and do nothing. 45 minutes go by and I let my nurse know they didn't help, cue the second round of meds.....by now I can successfully tell you how many holes are in the ceiling panels because although my nausea is gone I'm still super dizzy and I've been flat on my back for approximately 3 1/2 hours. 

And THEN the super cute radiology tech comes to take me for my chest X-ray......awesome I now look like complete crap because I'm sweaty, my breath probably smells like vomit, I can't sit up, my hair is a sweaty disheveled mess and I'm pretty sure my mascara is all over my face like I just came from a heavy metal concert. He proceeds to wheel me down the hall to X-ray and I do my best to try to act like I'm not wanting to burst into tears from the pain but when he tells me I need to stand up all logic goes out the window and I start sobbing. Once I get control he helps me stand up but thanks to my dizziness I pretty much end up looking like a drunk person and end up giving him a full body type awkward hug because he has to keep me from falling....again I have no bra on so cue the embarrassment. Thankfully he is very kind and professional and we get through the X-rays and I manage to get back onto the stretcher with some of my dignity left....

By now it's around 1:15am and my nurse has a surprise for me...dilaudid. It's sad when you are excited to finally get medication you know will help when the other 3 medications failed...... This brings my pain from an 8 to a 5 and I'm finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I've been here almost 5 hours and have yet to find out what is going on. And then my doctor comes in and drops a bomb on me....he's not 100% sure but it looks like there is a fracture on my clavicle... I'm like WHAT? He asked what I was doing when the pain started and I told him. He then goes yep that can cause it. He says he is still waiting for the radiologist to confirm but he did show another doctor and he also said that's what it looks like but he'll let me know soon ........I'm praying the entire time he's gone for it to be anything but......and then the door opens and I see it.....A SLING.......and not even a cool sling, it's a plain, ugly blue sling, at least make it different colors so I can coordinate! Come on people! Lol anyways for those of you who have never fractured your collarbone a.k.a. your clavicle it takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal and the first 2 to 3 weeks are the worst, so for the next three months I will not be allowed to do any weightlifting regarding the upper left side of my body. Now does that mean oh I'll just work out my right side him know I'm not going to be lopsided. Needless to say my lower body including my booty will be getting a lot of attention for the next three months, I will be seeing orthopedic surgeon soon and I do need to ask them about possibly doing crunches or other ab exercises and if I could possibly affect my clavicle because I am moving my arm which is attached to the muscles which is attached the tendons attached to my clavicle. But either way this is not going to stop me from going to the gym! So for now just be jealous of my awesome new accessory and by the way in case you were wondering what it looks like when you fractured your clavicle I'm attaching a picture hope youcan spot the difference between the right side and the left side PS I fractured my left side in case you were wondering. Until next time.

The Grass Is Not Greener....Words to live by

Sometimes life gets the better of us, let's face it, only the best photos make it to Instagram, for every one status posted on Facebook five get deleted. If you were to look at my Instagram right now it would be all gym, food and happy moments, it doesn't show the broken heart, the sore muscles, the sleepless nights and the daily struggles to find my purpose and make my mark. All of this is necessary for change, and sure if you were to look at anyone else's Facebook or Instagram you would see the same thing. You want their body, their marriage, their relationship......whatever it is they have and you don't. But here's a secret they won't tell you. The grass is greenest where you water it. It's personally taken me 6 long years to realize this. There is no easy road to weightloss or success in life. I see so many quick solutions to weightloss, waist slimmers (which btw did you ever look at the Victorians once they stopped wearing corsets? It's not pretty #smooshedorgans) the detox teas ( and yes I drink them but not in the hopes of quickly dropping 10lbs like the military diet, yes I've tried that too) 

Now back to the grass. Like I said, greenest where you water it. For a long long long time my grass was brown and I blamed everyone else. It was everyone else's fault that I ate poorly, didn't workout, made goals and plans and never followed through, I wanted someone else to pay my way, pay for rewards for goals I didn't achieve and I made so many scenarios about how I was gonna accomplish my weightloss goals your head would spin, I made deadlines and watched them creep by, I always said the next Monday, next week, next month I would start, I would change, I would be serious about my weightloss journey and guess what I lied to myself. Here I am a few months shy of my 31st birthday and although I've made some changes there is always more I could do to help my fitness journey and help inspire others, the only thing I'm inspiring right now is women to expand their workout wardrobes (lol) so what's the difference now you are asking? Well I've started watering my own grass. 

At the end of the day there may be one person out there reading this, struggling with their own weightloss journey, noticing how much greener everyone else's grass is. And I'm here to tell you what you see on Facebook and Instagram is a highlight reel you are comparing to your own behind the scenes. That 20lb weight loss didn't happen overnight and if it did I guarantee its water weight and it will come back. So just remember it's a marathon not a sprint and focus on your own grass and pretty soon people will be wondering how your grass is so much greener then theirs. 😉

Carb Schmarbs Part 2

Okay here it is, part 2, in this blog I'm gonna be talking about lipids or fats. There are three types of lipids: triglycerides, phospholipids and sterols. 

Triglycerides are the most common type found in foods and about 95% of the fats we eat contain tryglicerides. These are also the fats you want to consume in the least amount as they can lead to high cholesterol 

Phospholipids are similar to tryglicerides however they are your bodies main emulsifier I.E. They keep the fat and water in foods from separating. Without these food would seem oily and have a sandy/rough texture 

The last lipid is called sterols, cholesterol is the most well known sterol and can be found in foods from animals such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. We get about 1/3 from food we eat and the rest is manufactured by our body to replenish bile and make hormones.

The institute of medicine has recommendations regarding daily fat intake: 

Total dietary fat should be approximately 20 to 35% of daily calories

Saturated, trans, and unsaturated fat should be as low as possible 

Omega 6 should be 5% of calories

Omega 3 should be 0.6 to 1.2% of calories 

And cholesterol should be as low as possible 

Did you know that 3oz of beef brains (gross) contain 2,635mg of cholesterol?? Wow just wow. 

Let's face it, you aren't always gonna know the fat content of everything you eat, do what do you do if you are trying to watch your fat intake? There are a couple options, first is download one of the many apps available that will help you not only log your food but give you nutritional facts as well. My favorite app is MyFitnessPal but there are tons of apps out there to help, the second but lengthy option is to grab yourself some paperback books, my personal favs are the complete book of food counts by Corinne T. Netzer or eat this not that 2011 edition by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding ( I really like this one because it basically gives you healthier options at your favorite restaurants and at home without sacrificing your cravings) now that doesn't mean you have to swap things out but if you are trying to lose simple swaps like this add up and can really help!

Carbs Schmarbs Part 1

I don't know about you but I suck when it comes to nutrition, sure I look at the label and think okay this looks good, I think? I do the normal steps, how many calories, how much far, how many servings are actually in the box (I used to think that an entire box of cookies was only 390 calories,  but then then after actually smarting up I realized only 3 cookies were a serving so instead of 390 it was like 3.9 million calories.....yeah)  it's true that abs are made in the kitchen, eat the fries and you ONLY have to do 524 burpees to burn them off! (Not that I eat fries but we all have our vices) I see so many people on Instagram who make it look so easy to always eat healthy and meal prep and plan but I have to remember that is THEIR job, that's all they do, their job is to look good, eat right and exercise. I wish the gym was my office, the kitchen was my home and that meal prepping would be easy and sure I'm sure once you get the hang of it it is but I'm the type of girl who HATES leftovers unless it's one of 3 things, 1. Chinese food, 2. Pizza or 3. An Omlette from Shari's. I don't know what it is, I see tons of people who constantly eat leftovers and I always make extra so I can have leftovers or "partial meal prep" as I call it hahaha, but it never fails, I'm not in the mood, it doesn't sound good, or whatever random excuse I come up with. So imagine now basically eating leftovers for a week straight, that's how I view meal prepping. But.....that's a whole other issue, so back to the nutrition label problem I was talking about, and for those of you who haven't and aren't required to take a nutrition course consider this your crash course, this will be the 1st of 5 blogs dedicated to breaking down the complex art of nutrition and putting it in terms we can all understand including myself because let me tell you I took it twice and I still don't fully understand the difference between complex carbs, trans fat, fat fat and so on and so on. Now correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like this is where people get confused and just give up. I know firsthand how that feels, my workouts are on point I'm proud to say but I struggle hardcore with nutrition and you've heard me talk about it before so you know it's a real struggle if I continually talk about it. Anyways here we go!

First we are gonna talk about nutritionally dense food, think of it this way, the more dense the food the more you need to fill full, the less dense the less you need. I know what your thinking, if it's high density why wouldn't I feel fuller? Well it's basically like eating empty calories. 

Low density foods contain a lot of water which makes them weigh a lot nut contain only s few calories, like fruits and vegetables. These can help keep calorie intake under control because you feel fuller with less calories.

High density foods are those that are HIGH in calories but weight very little I.E. Nuts, cookies fried foods and snack foods. These are good if you are trying to maintain or gain weight.

And in case you were wondering, chocolate is under the high energy density scale....sorry 😑 

Now for those of you who don't have a nutrition book handy with lists of low-high density foods there are a number of databases to find out the amounts of nutrients and calories you are consuming from your favorite foods www.calorieking.com is a great example and also shows you how you can work off the calories in the foods. And FYI here is how you figure out on your own how dense of a food it is:

Very Low Energy Density: less than 0.6kcal/g (1 kcal is equal to 1000 calories but it's confusing)

Low Energy Density: 0.6-1.5kcal/g

Medium Energy Density: 1.5-4kcal/g

High Energy Density: greater than 4kcal/g

So for example lettuce is on the VLED list because it only has around 0.1g of fat, graham crackers on the other hand are on the HED list and they contain 4.1g of fat with 138 calories and each gram of fat is equal to 9 calories so JUST including the fat calories each graham cracker you put in your mouth is 17.25 calories ( just sayin) just like if something has 15g of carbs in a serving of 3 each one has 5g of carbs. (Makes you think about what you are putting in your mouth doesn't it. If you aren't sure how to figure it out for other things you simply divide calories by grams so a bagel has 245 calories and weighs 98g, 245/98 equals a density of 2.5 which puts it in the medium density category.  So if you can figure out how much something is in grams (labels) usually tell you too you can figure out if it's something that will make you full or make you hungry again in a short amount of time.... This certainly changes things doesn't it? Well that's all for tonight! Stay tuned! Next post we will discuss portion sizes!

      

Starbucks & Situps

                                     

Okay so it's been a week since my gallbladder surgery, The first few days were rough and I mean rough, I haven't taken that much pain medication in awhile, a long while. So you're probably wondering what i'm doing blogging in a starbucks, we all know I'm not the sit and drink my coffee blogger type, But today I just happen to have two appointments that are far apart, The last one is my surgeon appointment. I am hoping to find out why after so long I am still having pain at one of my incision sites. It's no Bueno, bending, sitting up, laying down, trying to tie my shoes, or god forbid having to sneeze? Yeah don't do it. One good thing is i'm still able to eat most things ( well most things I was eating before) without complications, those of you who have had your gallbladder out know exactly what complications i'm referring to. Now since I cannot go to the gym until who knows when, (can't I work out other body parts and just avoid my abs? They weren't that great to begin with so  I can skip them for a while longer) i'm stuck really hampering down on what I eat since i'm laying around like a vegetable for another 3 days before I return to work. I am bored out of my mind. thankfully since I've been keeping my diet in check I've managed to lose weight instead of gaining it or maintaining it. Then again sleeping a lot and not really eating due to nausea from my meds could also be a contributing factor. That being said what I do eat is stuck in my 21 day fix containers that I purchased a few weeks ago, It's a lot easier then I thought it would be. We all know i'm not the type to premeasure things out unless its meat into ziplock bags so I can pull them out later to eat for dinner. After careful consideration I won't be doing the workouts that came with it simply because A. I don't have the space B. I have a gym membership and C. I don no wan to LOL. My coach is probably gonna be like what the heck Kerisa! It's a package!!!! (Sorry Lisa) Lisa Mohager who is one of my favorite reality stars (no judgement) now turned Beachbody Legend. Is my coach BOOM awesomeness overflowing in your mind right??? I know I know but you need to calm yourself.  Well my friends its time for me to leave this starbucks and go see my Surgeon so I can find out when I can hit the gym again because lets face it my workout clothes need their oxygen and by oxygen I mean the gym. I cannot disappoint them. Toodles!

We all have a choice

The title says it all, we all have a choice. It doesn't matter whether it's your life, fitness, career, or any other type of decision the choice is yours whether you choose to be positive or negative about it. For years I made excuses about not making my decisions correctly, I don't have gas, I don't have a gym membership, I have nobody to work out with, all of the excuses under the sun you could think of I gave for not taking my fitness journey seriously. Not only that but I chose day after day to have a poor me attitude about my fitness journey and about life in general. We all have that type of friend who no matter how many times you tell them they don't look fat, they are pretty or whatever else they always have something to complain about, they're having a bad day, a bad week, or a bad life. 

I am lucky enough to have a mirror of a friend to show me the truth about how I was behaving. But for years I chose to be oblivious,nto how I was behaving, I chose to not look into the "mirror" and it wasn't until recently that I got a dose of my own medicine where it hit me that we have a choice to either live each day positively or negatively. you know the saying you're only one work out away from a good mood? I firmly believe this  is true, sure I still have days where I'm tired from work or I've had problems with patients or with family or anything else that seems to go wrong in a day, everyone has bad days, everyone has problems that that they are faced with every single day it's how you choose to react to these problems that really defines you. LOL it's like Reese Witherspoon says: exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people don't just shoot their husbands. 

Now in order to lead a more positive life by choice you have to choose to eliminate the negativity and drama from your life, it's not always easy. I recently had to make a choice to remove certain friends from not only my  Facebook but my life completely. It's something that I've struggled with but if you are serious about living a positive life and incorporating that into your fitness journey it's a sacrifice that needs to be made. One thing I'm trying to do is make sure I see the positive in every situation, It's not always easy but I found that it makes my life a lot better and genuinely makes me a happy person, and when you are happy you you attract positivity. You get back what you put out as I say. I'm sad it took me this long to really grasp the concept but now that I have it I don't intend to go back to negativity land. 

So back to the daily choice, not everyone has time for the gym, I have days where I don't get off in time and I know the gym is going to be packed, so instead of just saying screw it, I will just do my workout at home. Maybe I won't be able to do the exact workout but some workout is better than no workout at all. I mean think about it, they recommend 30 minutes a day of exercise, that still leaves you with 23 hours and 30 minutes to do whatever you want! Personally I love vegging out watching food nextwork and going through my Instagram feed for new makeup, hair, recipe or workout ideas. That's my ideal wind down after a long day. 

So what can you do if you feel the negativity bug creeping up on you after a day filled with problems and no solutions? It's simple really. Close your eyes and focus on a positive thought, it can be anything you want, a cheat meal, a memory, a person, whatever! While your focusing on that happy thought and letting the warmth wash over you take a deep breath in through your nose while counting to three (I know I know a non multitaskers nightmare 😉 but you can do it) and then blow it out through your mouth slowly. You will do this 3x. This action helps reset your system and essentially puts you into your higher brain function or third brain as my friend Ann teaches ( this technique is used in heart mapping, and is actually taught to high level people at Redken where she worked and she was kind enough to teach it to me during one of our sessions, I was hooked up to s heart monitor and everything and you could see on the screen my levels, it was pretty cool to see the changes after doing this exercise) I can't explain it but you can actually feel stress leaving your body and you instantly feel better, calmer and more focused.  So in closing if the only thing you get from this is the knowledge that you have a choice to be happy everyday then my mission is complete!! 

This is showing how your emotions effect your heart rate and brain function, the top is someone who is stressed and not thinking clearly, the. Bottom is someone who is currently functioning at a higher level and are currently using their 3rd brain

Showing how the signals of stress apply to our brains and our thought process

And finally showing the levels work and what they do.

Goals Goals Goals

I've been asked a lot recently how I stay motivated. The truth is there is no concrete method to keep your motivation in check, and I'm definitely not the strongest willed person, just the other day I had a huge elephant ear, (I did share it with 3 people so I didn't eat it all myself) there are days when I get off work and I've had a crappy day and the last thing I wanna do is go to a crowded gym and work out. But the truth is I know what works for me, it's about small steps, telling myself I'll go workout for 15 minutes if I still feel like I don't wanna work out after that time I will leave, 9 times out of 10 I end up staying for at least an hour and I feel better, and that 1 time I don't stay? I walk away knowing I gave it a shot. I also have a movationsl board to help me keep focus of my goals, I'm a visual person so having lists and boards and goals like that really help me. Pinterest and Instagram also keep me motivated by following fitness type boards and people because all I have to do is scroll through either of them when I feel a binge coming on and it gets me right back into check. Not to mention it's great for new exercises, recipes or just visual quotes and motivation. My biggest obstacle will always be food, I eat too much, I eat to little, I don't eat the right stuff, I eat the right stuff but them I am still hungry so I eat way more then I should, portions are wrong, too much sodium, too many carbs, the list goes on and on, I know all the excuses people give for not eating right because I've used them myself. I'm starting to get better but everyday is a challenge, not to just grab subway after a long day, skip lunch and breakfast because I'm in a hurry. I've realized just how important some or any form of meal prepping is, whether it's creating a drawer of go to healthy snacks or portioning out meat so when you need to make dinner you can just defrost it and cook it quickly, fitness really is a lifestyle not just s quick fix. One of my goals for my fitness group is to have a meal prep swap night where everyone brings on of their healthy meals they've already prepped and can swap them for others along with recipes and ideas. I'm also hoping to host a healthy recipe swap where every time I make a new healthy/tasty alternative for people to make at home, however I need to find a place to host these events because right now my house is definitely not a good meeting point. 2015 may have started off rough but that doesn't mean it will have to end the same way! What are some of you goals and motivational tools that help you? I love hearing everyone's ideas!

Gym Rat Lifestyle

You know its funny.......I used to wonder how on earth people could spend hours upon hours in the gym, I mean really? I used to think I hit maximum when I would be at the gym between an hour fourty five and two hours, and keep in mind I spent an hour on the elipitcal. So really I only spent 45 or so minutes doing actual weighted workouts. Most times I spent more time doing Cardio because I would end up taking a Kwando Class when I was a member at LA Fitness (formerly Ballys when I went there) I have only taken a couple classes at 24 but i'm debating on whether or not I should start taking more, truth be told I feel most of them are strictly cardio and call me crazy but I like going at my own pace on the treadmill and eliptical, of course nothing beats cardio outside but well it is Oregon and although the weather has been nice I've been doing weights/cardio and the gym has the weights so its in the gym I go. However as soon as the weather continues to stay nice I will be going hiking. Anyways back to what I was saying, I find myself staying longer and longer in the gym, today for example I was there for three and a half hours, (yes I said that correct) I'm sure you are probably wondering to yourself...what were you doing??? I would be bored out of my mind! Well here how it was broken down: 20 minutes in the sauna, 25 minutes on the treadmill, an hour and 30 minutes doing my legs, an hour and 10 minutes doing my abs and then I finished my workout with a 5 minute cardio cooldown. Tomorrow it starts all over again. However I have to work in the morning so I probably will not spend another 3.5 hours but i'll definitely be spending atleast 2 hours there tomorrow. I spend atleast 5 days a week at the gym, 6 if i'm feeling really lucky. It's been 3 weeks and I can tell a small difference, sure the scale has gone up but I also have to remember i'm lifting weights and it is true that muscle does weigh more than fat. You are probably asking how do I become a gym rat? I barely have time to function let alone commit to 2 hours or more at the gym. Well here is the thing, you can workout ANYWHERE and I do mean ANYWHERE. You don't even need weights, you can do body weight routines, and if you want weights check out craigslist. There are TONS and I mean TONS of different workout equipment options on there.

All the gym time in the world will not make a bit of difference unless you control your diet. I myself am a binge eater, both healthy and unhealthy foods. I haven't had soda in 11 days but I can tell you it hasn't been easy. I work in the food industry, I have unlimited access to soda everyday I work, as well as french fries, desserts etc. It's so easy to just walk up to the soda machine and pour some Dr. Pepper or Sprite (my favorites) and fill up my cup. But it was funny, one day I walked up the machine like I normally do and for a split second paused under the sprite fountain and then I moved my cup over and pushed the water button. And from then on it's been easy. I have 10 more days to go and then not drinking soda will be a habit, now does that mean I won't have soda ever again? Probably not. I love Soda, I love chinese food, I love pizza and pasta and candy and CHOCOLATE. However having recently found that I suffer from acid reflux...(the only symptoms I was having was I felt as if I was always and I mean always swallowing some type of phlegm.) It wasn't until I finally went to an ENT that he told me that is a symptom of acid reflux. But I don't have any other symptoms besides that. Anyways he then told me the bad news: No coffee, soda, fatty foods, acidic foods, alcohol and spicy foods....I took to instragram with a photo and jokingly asked how I would nourish myself????? Now I rarely, and I mean rarely drink alcohol, my last beverage was on my birthday in January and before that, it was in August. But acidic foods??? I love pineapple and tomatoes and lemonade, chocolate (yes chocolate not only has caffeine but it tends to cause reflux more than any other food). Fried foods I understand and I rarely eat anything fried anymore although I will say it again how much I love chinese food which of course is fried......But caffeine??????? I love my coffee, I look forward to PSL all year long and I cry when it's over (okay well maybe not really cry but still I am sad, what white girl doesn't love her pumpkin everything LOL)  The soda is definitely not a problem anymore but if I hadn't already stopped cold turkey I could tell you it would be a big problem.

So what else contributes to being a gym rat you ask, well supplements, supplements, supplements. I not only incorporate protein shakes (which I do not recommend as meal replacements unless you are working out because they will simply make you gain weight.) My favorite right now is Cellucor Whey Protein in Peanut Butter Marshmellow it tastes just like peanut butter crunch!!!!! I like to mix it up with banana's, honey, and a little bit of chocolate syrup. (Yes I drink chocolate milk after working out and I use a little bit in my protein shakes, I live right on the edge lol). Along with my protein shakes I also use C4 which is a workout boosting supplement with Niacin to give you energy and I am happy to report it works well and there are no side effects. My personal favorites are Blue Razz and Watermelon. I also occasionally drink some of Brian's recovery drink that he brings but it's sooooo nasty, its fruit punch. However if you like fruit punch it's fantastic! The only thing you have to make sure you do is drink more water if you take C4, It actually takes water and puts it into your muscles more so unless you drink more water it can wreck your kidneys. But that's only if you don't like drinking water when you work out and who doesn't do that.... It's funny, I remember working at SunsUp Tanning forever ago and our trainer at the time used to constantly take C4 and he was like on crack it was hilarious. He always offered to give us some and I was like noooo I don't take energy drinks (I thought it was like a redbull at the time. I can now say I was wrong) Although Brian was a little overamped when he first started taking it....But now he's calmed down. It was again hilarious to witness. Me? Well I just feel a tingly/burning sensation in my body for a couple minutes and then I go about my workout. Maybe I could say my metabolism is too high for it to have a big effect on me....hahahahah right.......Well thats all for this week, if you would like to see more updates follow me on instagram :) @kerisa21 or hashtag #kerisamode and show me how you work out!