Confession: I'm "that girl" who will sometimes take way too long to figure out what to order from the menu.
And my biggest disappointment comes when I order something, only to realize when it arrives, "Ugh, I ordered the wrong thing! I should have gone with what my instinct - and stomach - told me to order in the first place! I was overthinking again!"
In hindsight, I think this is what happened with me and Muscle Gauge. I ordered the wrong thing. And the thing I ordered is not, based on my research of other blogger reviews, their strongest product. (Insert my inner voice cursing myself: Damn! I did it again! Overthinking the menu!)
Here's the deal: Muscle Gauge sent me a free product in exchange for a product review, an opportunity that came as part of my work as a Fitfluential Ambassador. I was not paid for the review, but was given a chance to choose a free product from among Muscle Gauge's many protein powders, fat burners, multivitamins and other supplements.
I chose the Country Lemonade BCAA because I do so much intense training and teaching, and I regularly take branch-chain amino acids - as they support muscle recovery, the growth of lean muscle, and powerful performance during workouts. I also love all things lemon-flavored! So I figured, what a great chance to try a new brand of BCAAs! I was pumped!
My product arrived, and here's what the label promised: "amazing taste" and "instant mixing." Sweet, I thought.
But here's what my experience with the product was: It did not mix easily. BCAA powders tend to be somewhat clumpy, but this was much moreso than any BCAA's I have tried. No matter how I shook and stirred it with water, it remained clumpy like this:
And even more important, the taste was more cough syrup-y than sweet lemonade. So much so that I could not get this down more than twice - not enough to tell you yet one way or another how much it did or did not aid my performance. That said, I am going to try and mix it this week with some Crystal Light Pure to see if that makes it a better taste. We shall see!
In the meantime, I was on a deadline to post this review. And I am being honest because that's what this blog is about. To be honest, I was disappointed. See, I wanted to love this stuff. I have read fellow fitness bloggers' reviews of the Muscle Gauge protein powders, and they were loving the cake batter and other protein powder flavors. In fact, the only potential downside I had read in a few protein powder reviews was "too sweet," which is a concept this girl doesn't even fathom! ;)
So here I am, yet again, coveting what other fitness bloggers ordered and kicking myself for not going with my gut instinct of: order the protein powder, even if it IS more "primal" than "paleo." #sigh.
I am actually thinking of ordering the powder myself, just because now I am so curious and fixated that I NEED to know. Crazy, right? But I've seen enough blog reviews of the powders - especially the cake batter flavor - to know I could make some mean smoothies, pancakes and other goodies with the stuff!
But in the meantime, I also hope Muscle Gauge continues to work on its formula for the BCAA powder consistency and flavor. Both can use some work. Because the label promise of "amazing taste" and "instant mixing" are a stretch, at least in my experience. In the meantime, I'll work on perfecting my ability to trust my gut when looking at a menu!
PS: Have any of you tried the Muscle Gauge products? Thoughts? Likes and dislikes? I'd love to know!
Coming up: Pumpkin Chocolate Protein brownies so healthy AND delicious, they are Badass-Approved as post-cycling fuel - and result in my students demanding, "I need that recipe!"