PhD Woman Meal Replacement Shake - The Review

I've been drinking protein shakes for about a year now since I started getting properly into using free weights and discovering that they help massively in reducing DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness. A neccessity particularly after leg day - ouch!

This is probably the second or third different type of protein powder that I've used and I thought that since I've started getting into writing more about health and fitness that I would give you all a little lowdown on it as well as my thoughts.

I actually bought this brand of protein as PhD Woman were running a special offer where if you spent over a certain amount you got a free hoodie and shaker bottle - winner!

I opted to get the Vanilla Creme flavour as it came highly recommended from Lydia Elise Millen as she said it tastes like custard...pretty close actually.  It is recommended that when making up this shake you add 2 scoops (about 55g) of powder to 250ml of cold water and shake well.  Because of the amount of carbohydrates in this shake I decided to only use one scoop and found that I actually needed to use closer to 300ml of water as only using 250ml left a slight powdery feeling in my mouth which wasn't very pleasant.

Other than that I really like this protein supplement.  It contains "added vitamins and minerals to help maintain a healthy immune system, healthy bones, healthy skin and hair, and healthy hormonal activity" with each 55g recommended serving containing 204 calories, 25.4g of protein, 19.5g of carbohydrate, and 2.3g of fat.

Something I found it worked really well in is my protein pancakes (I'll be doing a breakfast recipe post soon so keep a weathered eye) as it gave the pancakes a really rich vanilla flavour and mixed well with the other ingredients.  I also really enjoy mixing it into my oats - it's like dessert for breakfast.

Overall it is a very balanced supplement but I never used it purely as a meal replacement because I feel that protein shakes should be supplements and not the main way to increase your protein intake.  Due to me now being on a lower carb intake by following a flexible dieting macronutrient plan I have just started using a protein supplement with a lower carb content which I'll review once I've had a proper test of it.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to start taking protein supplements as the taste and texture are really nice, especially if you don't have a carb limit to try and stick to i.e. you are doing lots of endurance or HIIT cardio.

What's your favourite way to workout?
Do you have a protein supplement that you like or good high protein recipes you would recommend?

Favourite Workouts

I've decided to incorporate a bit of fitness and healthy food into my blog alongside beauty and interiors to make ESJ a full lifestyle blog.

I've been regularly exercising for about 2 years now and over that time I've been the 'cardio bunny', the 'compensatory exerciser', the 'weightlifter', the 'home exerciser' and now the 'if I don't feel like I'm going to throw up I'm not doing it right' exerciser.  So I decided I'd give you all a taste of some my favourite workouts.

New Week...New Schedule

So I've decided for the next couple of weeks I'm going to try out a new schedule of blog posts.  On Mondays it'll be a personal post kind of summing up the past week for me.  Wednesdays will be a product review, and Fridays will be a lifestyle or interiors post. I'll still be doing my monthly favourites and Birchbox reviews every month aswell.

So onto the past week...

The first half of last week was mostly taken up with the fallout from my weekend in London and mugginess and exhaustion was the general theme until Wednesday.  My London trip was amazing! Lots of tasty food, alcohol, laughs and of course I went shopping...probably my quickest ever session in the city but I still managed to burn a hole in my purse.

Tiny salt and pepper pots at Bill's

Bill's Super Green Smoothie

Scrambled Eggs and Bacon on Toasted Soda Bread

Last week was also the last week of my current module at uni.  I'll now be on an 8 week placement in a combined antenatal and postnatal ward.  I've been getting super obsessed with getting organised over the last week and spent a small fortune on stationery and Filofax supplies.  Also, no one ever tells you how expensive/messy it is to get organised in the first place!

I might do a video or post about how I organise my Filofax if it's something people are interested in so let me know.  Also if you want to see what I bought in London I could do a post on that aswell.

On Thursday night I went out for a boogie with some uni friends which was great fun. I don't think I've laughed that much in a long time. Anyways, I had decided I wouldn't drink that much because I had a training session at the gym the next morning - of course that went right out the window the minute I was out...bad vodka!  The next mornings gym session was pretty rough as I was so dehydrated and it was my last one for 3 weeks because my trainer is on holiday in New Zealand or that time.  I have as such vowed to be stronger and fitter by the time he gets back so on my days off from placement I am doing morning cardio workouts and strength workouts in the afternoon/evening.  I feel like I've also finally got my healthy eating head on so watch out world...ripped Gillian is on her way!

Hope you all have a great week and remember I'll have a product review on Wednesday and an interiors post on Friday!