Let me say that I a eat very healthy diet, lean proteins and vegetables, with a few treats here and there to keep me sane. But nonetheless, because of the loss of nutrients in today’s food, supplementation is necessary. Even with my healthy diet.  I’m the guy who had a cabinet full of vitamins and minerals. I literally took a handful of capsules and pills everyday, several times a day.  I carried them around in my workout bag, and would take them before and after workouts.  Now I have Pur Pak. I haven’t taken another vitamin or mineral pill in months. Pur Pak fuels my life.

I actually have to admit to using two packets a day.  I know it’s popular with many of my fellow ambassadors to have their Pur Pak in the morning to start off the day.  I’ve found that I prefer my Pur Pak as fuel and recovery. I’ve been taking a single packet and spreading it between two 24 oz water bottles and using that as my hydration during rides and runs.  The only thing not there is the sodium…but like I said…there’s word through the grapevine.  I also like to take a full packet with 24 oz water bottle post-workout.

However, today was a rest day.  Meaning I didn’t train at all.  But I still got my Pur Pak in.  Yup, i found myself in statistics class feeling a little bit sluggish, and what did I do? I turned to my trusty Pur Pak, and that big does of B12 had my mind firing on all pathways in no time.  I love this product.

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We have a song back home that goes, ‘We’re happy little vegemites as bright as bright could be . . . etc’. Maybe we could rebrand that one for the future? Or at least get our own.

There will be more from me in the coming months as I go about life, training, mentoring all powered by Pur Pak.

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ONLY $45!
30 day supply of Pür Pak is provided

Every day:
- Replace one meal with a nutrient filled Pür Pak Smoothie! *we suggest lunch*
- Attend one group ex class OR post a photo to Facebook of you working out with Pür Pak

WIN PRIZES for best picture, best original recipe and most body fat percentage lost!

How do you register?? Call 310.829.2227! Challenge starts March 20!

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One of my healthiest relationships is with beer. I’ve spent many hours seeking out unique brews, revisiting favorites like long-lost friends, and analyzing new beers with like-minded folks in dark bars. This may seem at-odds with an aspiring professional triathlete, but focusing time and energy into this pursuit is just as gratifying as a great training day, and goes far to create some much-needed balance in my life.  Last night, for example, I spent a fabulous few hours at a great local gastropub trying new beer, talking with their beer sommelier about the new taps he is bringing in next week, and catching up with great friends. Sure I didn’t wake up early and train this morning, but in seeking balance, sometimes on side of the seesaw must give a little for the other to rise.

Also seeking balance, I made sure to start the day with a delicious berry Pur Pak smoothie to get some much-needed vitamins and electrolytes into the system to balance out the malts and hops! Mornings never felt so good before!

For more about my beer drinking and training:

Blog: tricraftbeer.tumblr.com

Twitter: @tricraftbeer

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In my late twenties a friend dragged me into a spin class, the concept sounded ridiculous, nothing about it appealed to me but I joined her in the spirit of sisterhood.  That day my life changed.  The class was full of cyclists, swimmers, and triathletes, most of them were training for an upcoming race.  I felt inferior, like I was posing as a cyclist, not a real one, I hid somewhere in the back of class trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.  As weeks turned into months I became addicted to the classes, there was no other place on earth that made me feel like an athlete.  From that class I went on to buy my first heavy, cheap road bike, used cycling shoes, and some other requisite gear.  Fearfully I swam once a week; slowly I started increasing my run mileage.   Although I was a competitive swimmer in my teens I had forgotten how much fun it was to train for a sport.  Don’t get me wrong, the gym felt good, I got the endorphin release, I liked the social aspect, but it was repetitive, monotonous, my workouts were result oriented.  I wanted to look good, and that was my sole purpose of going to the gym, I realized I had no other goal but to look good.

My new found love of training outdoors reminded me of the fun I had as a kid, riding my bike endlessly, without any concept of time, conditions, or space.  Instead of going out on Friday nights I would go to bed early filled with excitement for my long Saturday ride.  Although petrified, I swam in the ocean religiously once per week, I couldn’t keep up with others but I finally I began to ride my bike and run with other triathletes.  About a year later I saw the 1999 Ironman broadcast featuring Dick and Rick Hoyt, on that day I decided that in one year I too would do an Ironman.  It was a year filled with many ups and downs, undoubtedly I bit off more than I could chew, but I completed two races that year, a half Ironman and full Ironman.   Those races taught me more about myself than any formal education or professional job ever has. Triathlon has changed my life in many ways; it has taught me humility, patience, the spirit of camaraderie, above all it has made me realize that anything is achievable.  I stopped worrying about how I looked, my focus turned inward to the physical and mental challenge. Although I was a competitive swimmer my sisters were much better athletes, I was told I was the smart one and should leave the sports to them, “you’re too smart, too delicate to ever be a good athlete”… that mantra reverberated in my brain as an eleven year old and it hasn’t since left.  My insecurities in my athletic abilities have hung over my head like a dark drizzly cloud.  With triathlon I realized that my preconceived physical and mental barriers were not insurmountable, the clouds finally parted and the sun shone brighter than I ever expected.

Each day I encounter people paralyzed with fear of the unknown, they have no idea what their potential is because they are too afraid to expose themselves to failure.  I know because I was that person, I know what it is like to hate running, I remember gazing from a treadmill inside a gym at runners that passed by outside, their faces glowed in the brisk air, the window that separated us was a metaphorical barrier of who I was and who I wanted to become

Today I race a few times a year, I commit to racing at least once a year, even in the years I had each of my children, it brings balance, solitude, and a lot of joy to what has become a pretty crazy life.  I’ve been very sick in a race and last year I won my first race, I learned valuable lessons and something new about myself in both instances.  This year my wish is for the people I know and love to overcome their greatest fears and discover how amazing they can be if they commit fearlessly and wholeheartedly and believe in becoming that person they always wanted to be.  Dream it, Believe it, Live it.

Coming up next, how I turned from dreaming of being a runner, to a girl that can run pretty fast…..

The post My Bumpy Road to Triathlon appeared first on Pur Pak.

Berries and Pur Pak!

The post Berrylicious Smoothie appeared first on Pur Pak.

• 4-5 frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 packet of citrus Pür Pak
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum*

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I am busy throughout the day.  I train, coach, conduct speaking engagements, write, and travel a lot.  I have a basket full of 20 different supplements in my kitchen.  Taking these supplements on the road require another bag which means one more thing to carry through security at the airport and one more thing to remember to pack the night before leaving.  This was all an issue before I started taking Pur Pak daily.

I will admit, I was addicted to popping all of the different pills necessary to complete my “Cocktail of Anti-Wear”(Trademark?).  Upon taking Pur Pak one time I had kicked my addiction.  Why go through all of the hassle of remebering to take 20 different supplements when I can get them all in one drink?  Pur Pak has everything I need to stay fresh, recover quickly, and remain healthy in one easy to drink, delicious tasting beverage.

Not only is Pur Pak easy to take with a delicious taste, but it also works.  I have never felt more fresh and energized before, during, and after my workouts.  Although I am up early training and out late ROCKING, my energy has never been higher.  I attribute this nonstop energy to my new found nutritional weapon, Pur Pak.  RACE HARD!

The post It’s So Easy appeared first on Pur Pak.

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The Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Marketing Service is preparing to renew rules allowing the addition of certain synthetics to organic food. It’s accepting public comments at regulations.gov through Dec. 26.

The rules state that only nutrients the Food and Drug Administration has declared essential for health can be added to organic products. Those include vitamins A, C, D, E, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc and many others. Any nutrient that isn’t “essential” would require special approval.

So far, 24 commenters, including many companies that make organic products, have weighed in to support continuing to allow the addition of synthetic nutrients. Only six – all of whom are consumers – want them out.

Gwendolyn Wyard of the Organic Trade Association says her group favors ‘the rational and safe addition of nutrients to foods in order to preserve a balance of nutrients in the consumer diet. We also support the maximum freedom of choice for organic consumers, and believe that organic products should be nutritionally equal to their conventional counterparts.’

Sean Taylor of the International Association of Color Manufacturers argues that the rules strike a good balance between the need for certain nutrients and the concerns of organic shoppers. ‘These ingredients are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and thus are deemed safe without environmental concerns. They have also been evaluated previously by the National Organic Standards Board. The National Organic Program has deemed them appropriate for use in ‘organic’ and ‘made with organic’ products,’ he writes.

‘If any of these substances were disallowed,’ he adds, ‘the quality, number and types of ‘organic’ and ‘made with organic’ products available could decrease.’

But opponents like Patrick Winters accuse the agency of putting industry profits ahead of consumer interests. ‘For the sake of maintaining integrity and consumer confidence in the term ‘Organic’ no synthetics of any type should be allowed in the content,’ he states. ‘To add vitamins and minerals to fortify an organic product seems to breach the spirit of organic in favor of expanding corporate markets.’

And Alan Greene, who runs the children’s health website DrGreene.com, argues for a middle ground: Allow synthetic nutrients, but label foods accordingly. He cites the example of vitamin D: ‘It’s very well-tolerated by most people, but I’m not aware – yet – of a commercially viable way to make it organically.’

Since many people don’t get enough vitamin D, Greene argues, it should be added to organic milk – but the label should say Organic Milk (plus Vitamin D) rather than Organic Vitamin D Milk, for consumers who might want to seek an alternative without the added nutrient.

Do you think synthetic nutrients belong in organic foods? Share your comment with the Agricultural Marketing Service at regulations.gov - and be sure to copy it into the Comments section below this story, too, so GIMBY readers can see what you think!”

Source: http://gimby.org/blogs/backyard-fence/20121130/should-organic-foods-have-synthetic-vitamins

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