Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway there, my friends!
To be totally honest, I’m actually sort of dreading today. I have at least an 11-hour work day ahead of me and a whole lotta presents that still need to be wrapped. Heck, who am I kidding…I still have presents to buy. Hopefully the day goes by pretty quickly!
So by the time I got home last night, I was starving. I had a doctor’s appointment after work so thank goodness that my lovely hubby took care of making some dinner for us. On the menu? Loaded baked potatoes!
This thing was heaven. The only thing that could have made it better was if it was a sweet potato (since they’re my favorite). But other than that, it was a dream.
Jay baked the potatoes in the oven while I was gone and I topped mine with some vegetarian chili with beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a dollop of plain Chobani. It was amazing.
After dinner, I had to quickly whip up a batch of Chocolate Raspberry Bars for Jay to bring into work for his holiday party today.
Can I just tell ya how hard it was NOT to snag a bite of one? (Work boys, if you’re reading, you can thank me later). 
*****
Workout
Up ‘n at ‘em bright and early this morning for a date with the treadmill. Today’s plan of choice was my Sweaty Mess Incline Intervals Workout. I don’t know what the deal was with me today, but I sorta wanted to die for at least 75% the workout. Good lord it was a tough one today!
Breakfast
Today’s morning meal was filled with some hits and misses…
First, I made myself an egg, cheese, and jam English muffin sandwich. I’m out of my usual provolone, so I wound up using a shredded cheese blend of cheddar, American, and Swiss cheeses. Did not like that one. Not at all. The rest of the sandwich, however, was yummy…especially with the extra raspberry jam.
Another miss for me…this persimmon. I felt like I had been seeing quite a bit of them lately so I decided to pick one up at the store the other day. Turns out, they’re not for me. And I don’t know if it was just me or not, but it left a strange feeling/aftertaste in my mouth afterward. Booo.
Thank god my coffee was okay.
And I still got my vitamins in!
I’ve actually been taking vitamins for about a week, but haven’t mentioned it until now. The vitamins came along with a few different products that I was sent to review through FitFluential from GNC.
The vitamins I was sent to try are the Women’s Ultra Mega Active Vitapaks.
Each pack contains 7 vitamins (to read more about each of them, click here):
- (2) Women’s Ultra Mega® Active without Iron
- (2) Energy Enhancer
- (1) Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
- (1) L-Carnitine
- (1) Calcium 600
I’ve only been taking them for about a week so honestly, I haven’t noticed much of a difference. I’ve really been interested in trying to figure out which vitamins would be best for me to take, and I’m not sure that these are it.
I’ve actually been talking to wonderful woman named Kelly, from GNC, and she has given me some great tips on how to pick which vitamins would be best for me. There are certain vitamins in this particular pack that I just don’t think are necessary for me, but I’ll keep you updated on what I decide!
The second product I was sent to review was the GNC Total Lean – Lean Shake in Swiss Chocolate.
The Lean Shake is sold as a meal replacement shake, but when I looked at the nutrition facts, I knew that 180 calories was not gonna cut it for me as a meal. Plus, I would have liked to see a little more protein (it has 9 grams per serving). I gave the shake a go a couple nights ago after getting out of work (not as a meal replacement) and while the flavor tasted great, it almost immediately had my stomach blown up like a balloon.
Unfortunately this is a product that just does not agree with me, but Jay, on the other hand, has been loving it. He’s been using about 1-1/2 scoops after his afternoon workouts and he thinks it’s great.
The last product I was sent to try pretty much had me doing cartwheels throughout my living room when I opened the box. Just check out all those chia seeds, baby!
You guys know I’m a huge fan of chia; the chia seeds I was sent were from The Chia Co., which I actually mentioned a couple of weeks ago with their Chia Shots. These chia seeds are ONLY available at GNC.com, and I’ve been using them on peanut butter & banana English muffins, in yogurt bowls, in oatmeal, and even in my water. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m going to turn into a chia head one of these days. They’re definitely one of my favorite products…
Hint, hint…
Okay, I think I’ve talked your ears off enough this morning. Time to prepare for the never-ending work day. Feel free to leave me comments to make me smile. 
Question for the Morning:
Do you take vitamins? Which kinds do you take?
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I don’t take any vitamins, but I definitely should. If nothing else, I need to find a good calcium supplement. I just have a hard time remembering to take them! Any suggestions on how to remember them every single day?
I baked for my husband’s job last night too. I bought vegetable oil spread instead of what the recipe called for which was margarine! It was not pretty lol. Luckily my mom saved me!
I’m really bad about taking vitamins no matter how many times my mother hounds me about it. I end up buying an exorbitantly priced multivitamin bottle at least once a year with good intentions and then fizzle out like a month later at best. They usually make me nauseous unless I take them right in the middle of a meal too which doesn’t help.
PArt of me doesn’t understand why we really need them. If we eat well and balanced I just feel like they’re a waste and a marketing gimmick at times.
That potato looks so good! I am definitely going to try that sometime next week. :)
I take a women’s one a day, calcium, and vitamin d.
I take gummy vitamins. I’ve had a hard time keeping down regular vitamins since I was pregnant and gummy vitamins seem to do the trick, and they’re just fun to take.
I’ve tried the GNC lean shakes before and wasn’t crazy about them either.
I do! I take a multi-vitamin (in gummy form), calcium, vitamin D, and Macca.
Thanks for the great supper idea, we always have leftover chili and that is the perfect way to use it up in another way :)
Have a great day!
I take a multivitamin every day, but I also drink a packet of EmergenC, take 2 grams of L-lysine (vitamin c and lysine together are said to be a cancer preventing combo) , astragalus (similar to echinachea to boost the immune system) and a probiotic. I definitely think it helps to keep me healthy.
In regards to the persimmon, they do a unique texture, but I think they are SO good! Kind of like a cross between a pear and a mango… mmmm
mmm i love loaded baked potatoes! i forget about them sometimes when i’m planning meals… i think i need to throw them back into the rotation!
i just take a women’s multivitamin and that’s it. i find that if i take too many vitamins, my stomach feels a little weird.
I’m also a little leery of prepackaged vitamins like those. Do we REALLY need all of them? That said, I take a Whole Foods brand food-based multivitamin (they’re actually quite reasonably priced); since they are made from real food, they’re absorbed best. I also take fish oil, a chewable calcium supplement, vitamin D in the winter, and vitamin C. Trader Joe’s makes a Super Green drink which is a green powder packed with veggies, and I take that too. I swear by it! It gives me so much energy and keeps me from getting sick.
I don’t really take vitamins like I should either. I used to take a folic acid supplement and a B vitamin and noticed that they helped with my energy levels. The folic acid also helped immensely with hair and nail growth after about 6months of continuous usage. I keep saying I need to get back into taking them, but for some reason it’s hard for me to remember to take them!
I use to take a multivitamin but didn’t see any different and I figured since it was making me nauseous why take it. I took a B complex for a while but that wasn’t doing much either. Turns out I had riboflavin deficiency so now I take B2 everyday which has made a big difference. I also take a small amount of vitamin D.
I take Biotin (for my hair) and it is FANTASTIC!
I’ve just been taking a generic multi-vitamin for women because there’s so many out there! I have no idea which ones to pick. Hopefully you can pass along some helpful tips once you figure out which ones work for you.
I really should take some kind of vitamin, but it seems like they all give me that “stuck in my throat” sensation and I burp them up for hours afterwards/ feel nauseous! (sorry if TMI)!! Does this happen to anyone else? Courtney do your GNC vitamins do that at all? Anybody find a good alternative?
I don’t regularly take vitamins but know I should! My friends recommended prenatal (even when not pregnant) b/c It makes hair and nails grow haha but I’m pretty sure something like you mentioned would be better since we’re not baby-making yet!
that is the most intense/delicious loaded baked potato ever!!! Yum!
I don’t take vitamins right now, but I’ve been meaning to go get some. I think I’ll probably try and fine a one-a-day, folic acid and a calcium supplement!
Vitamins overwhelm me (and tend to make me nauseous!), so I stick with children’s gummy vitamins.
I did the sweaty mess interval for the first time Monday and it was no joke!! Thanks so much for sharing I love all your workouts :)
I never take vitamins! I’m so bad…
I am in love with that coffee mug!
I am so horrible when it comes to taking vitamins, but when I do it’s just a multi-vitamin. Heck yeah on the chia seeds!! :)
The raspberry bars look amazing….I might have to do a little more baking!
Have a great day!
i never take them! ill probably start eventually…
good luck with all your stuff today! i have quite a bit on the to-do list as well: get thru the workday, bake for the company holiday party tomorrow, order last minute gifts, and squeeze a workout in! yikes!
Aw, darn. I love persimmons!
I eat a lot of ground flax seeds but I think I need to try Chia seeds! I take a multi vitamin with iron, an omega-3, and vitamin D3 every day…I live in MA and I’m very fair skinned so my Doctor said all that extra vitamin D was important for me!
I take a gummy multi vitamin from Target (their brand to be exact) and sometimes some Gingko Biloba and of course I enjoy getting my calcium from my Adora disks!!! Other than that I have to be careful b/c vitamins can make a belly feel yucky! Dont want to over do it! Also it takes 2 weeks to see or feel a difference so maybe give your vitamin packs another week or so!
Other than a monthly vitamin B shot, no vitamins for me! I am lazy about remembering to take them daily- whoops!
I love taking my vitamins! Feels so good :)
I also love Chia seeds–tasty!
I do take a bunch of vitamins, but not necessarily a multivitamin. My holistic doctor that I go to changes my supplements based on how I am feeling (ie: energy levels, etc.). I usually take something for iron, calcium, and energy (b6), as well as a few others to support female reproductive health!
That loaded baked potato looks Amazing!
And the vitapaks… I was just telling someone how I need to start taking a supplement because Calcium is an important one to load up on. Especially now that I am getting older. Thanks for the review! Glad to see the pak is loaded w/ Calcium.
i take a daily women’s vitamin, but that’s about it. i keep thinking about adding in some calcium, but i haven’t got around to it yet! i need to get my hands on some chia.
Oooooohhhh, chocolate raspberry brownies. Sounds yummy. :)
i take gummy vitamins from costco. i’m such a kid!
but i hated taking those one-a-day horse pills that i would just stop taking them…the gummy ones are like candy and i look forward to it everyday. whatever works, right?
try fuyu persimmons! They don’t have the same weird aftertaste as the heart shape ones you tried. Costco sells them right now and I also see them at the bodegas around me. Give them another chance, the fuyus are so tasty
I take my vitamins everyday. I get the packets from Visalus. I love them. The yellow pack is for morning and blue for evening so i just throw them in my purse and take them with me. I have so much more energy when I take these vbitamins and they don’t upset my stomach like most do.
Bleh I hate that lean shake stuff. I’ve tried it too & I am not a fan. Have you ever tried Shakeology? I drink it everyday now & I LOVE IT. I like mixing it w/Almond Milk & usually some peanut butter. Sometimes some cold coffee. 70 health ingredients you should have daily & it taste yummy. Sooooo much better than Lean Shake. I feel bad, I ended up throwing a lot of it away. :/
I take 2 adult gummy vitamins a day (look for the ones that use beet juice etc instead of food coloring – Target brand is decent), a b12 (for energy and an uplifted mood), and occasionally a “viactiv” chocolate calcium chew.
I just don’t like swallowing pills and I can’t believe you could take all of those everyday. I disagree with prepackaged vitamins, I think your best bet is to analyze yourself and what you could maybe use a little extra of and go from there.