Product Review: Designer Whey

Tweet

Pin It

If you've been reading this blog for more than eight seconds you'll know that weight loss has been a struggle. Especially over the last few months.  I mentioned awhile ago that I was increasing, and more importantly  monitoring the amount of,  my lean protein intake.  And then?  The scale started moving again - I lost weight.  It was around this time that I found out that the fabulous Dr. D (who fixed my cranky IT band) was also an expert in nutrition.  When I explained about my protein intake he thought (but couldn't say for sure without further studies) that I was consuming too many grams.  So I backed off and the weight loss stalled again.

I decided to increase the protein again - especially since I am nearing the end of half marathon training I think that my muscles need all the help to recover that they can get.  However, if you've ever tried to increase and monitor your protein intake while also staying under your daily PointsPlus target (or caloric goal) you'll know that this is a very difficult needle to thread.  When I was talking about this with Coach B she suggested that I might need to add a protein powder to my diet.  At first I was skeptical... I mean I know a lot of people do it but I assumed that all protein powders would cost a lot of PointsPlus values.

Box full of deliciousness!

It was also at this point that Dan requested I pick up some chocolate protein powder.  I purchased a can of Designer Whey, as requested, and let him go crazy.  I tried it and thought that it wasn't bad but still assumed that it would be a high PointsPlus value.  Then I took the 18 seconds to calculate and found out that 1 scoop was only 2 PointsPlus.  It was at that moment that Dan and I started fighting over who was making the best protein shakes.

When offered the opportunity to review a whole lot of products from Designer Whey I definitely jumped at it!  When I received the box of (new to me) products I was shocked at all of the products they sent for me to review.  I hadn't had any of these products before so I was definitely intrigued to try them out.

The next morning I cracked open the White Chocolate protein powder and mixed it with coffee and cherries (my usual combo) and it was good but I definitely prefer the chocolate because it has a richer flavor.  The same goes for the Vanilla - it's not that I didn't like them I just prefer the richness of the chocolate.

A few days later Dan and I were planning on hitting the gym at the same time so we chilled the two pre-made shakes and popped them open after that.  They tasted good but I usually end up putting frozen fruit in mine and so I like the texture that my shakes have.  However, I am considering getting more of these to take with me to races so that I know what I'm refueling with.

Another product I received was Protein2Go which are individual packets used to flavor water.  I love having a shake after working out so I mixed the berry flavor Protein2Go with frozen berries and some water and it was AMAZING!!  Each packet contains 10 grams of protein and only 50 calories!  Plus it was fruity and refreshing - perfect for after a hard run.


The protein bars were a surprise to me.  In the box I received 3 varieties, Peanut Butter Crunch, Triple Chocolate Crunch and Chocolate Caramel Crunch.  I'm not generally a big fan of protein bars because they are generally high in PointsPlus value for what you get so I was a little skeptical to try these.  However, when we tried the Peanut Butter Crunch bars I didn't care what the PointsPlus value was - it was DELICIOUS!  Plus each bar has about 160-170 calories and 10 grams of protein!  Dan said it tasted like a crunchy peanut butter cup.  I'm pretty sure I'll be hiding the rest of those bars so that he doesn't eat any of them!

All in all I think this was the best package I've ever gotten.  I mean being able to get in all the protein I need and having it be delicious?  Excellent.  You should go out and get some of these products.  Seriously.  Do it, now.