Protein: A Muscle Gauge Review
Full Disclosure/Disclaimer: I am not a health professional nor am I otherwise qualified to tell you what you should eat/take. I simply do my own research and try things out to see what works for me and pass that information along. Use your better judgement to decide what is right for you and consult your physician/dietician/coach if you have questions or concerns. I received this product for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Since starting CrossFit and realizing that my husband and I could use more protein in our lives, I’ve been increasingly interested in various kinds of protein supplements. Therefore, I was really excited to have the opportunity to review two supplements from Muscle Gauge Nutrition. They gave me two HUGE containers. Unfortunately, this means my husband believes that we should share. :-/
Muscle Gauge Nutrition Review
I pretty much hate product reviews that copy and paste content from the product’s website; as if I couldn’t go to their website and read it for myself. I want to know what the reviewer thinks! So, I’m going to make an honest effort to paraphrase and explain the product I’m reviewing based on my understanding.
Huge Impact - The container reads “Get Ready to Get Huge!”. It’s hard for me, as a woman, not to giggle at that. But I understand what they’re saying here – this protein formula is intended to make a big difference in a way other protein blends won’t. Why? Because they’ve combined different types of proteins (whey isolate and concentrate, micellar casein, calcium caseinate, and milk protein) into one powder for maximum results. Most of the proteins I’ve seen on the shelves are either one type or the other. If you’re really specific about what type of protein you want to take and when, having them separate is fine. Huge Impact is good for someone like me who doesn’t want all that fuss. This can be used pre- and post-workout and comes in Chocolate or Vanilla.
Micellar Casein – This is just one type of protein (as mentioned above) and I wanted to try this out as a stand alone because I’ve read that it is ideal to take before you sleep. Casein has a really slow absorption rate and can continue to feed your body through the night as it’s repairing itself from the damage you did to it the workout you did that day. This can help keep your body from eating itself drawing on your hard-earned muscles for energy to repair itself. Apparently this is called catabolism…eerily similar to cannibalism. Anyway, casein can slowly ration out amino acids to your resting/restoring body for several hours (some say up to 4, some say even up to 7), which is about right…if you’re truly getting the rest you need. Micellar casein is casein that has been separated out from the whey and is usually a bit more expensive because of it. Muscle Gauge Micellar Casein comes in Chocolate, Vanilla, AND Unflavored…which is very interesting and I want to try that now.
As with most supplements, I believe that only time can tell when it comes to how effective they are. For me, personally, I have a lot of variables going on in my diet right now and it is difficult to identify what change each new choice really brings. All dairy is against the Whole Life Challenge I’m currently doing, so I am deducting points for taking these protein powders. I don’t feel bad about it, though. A protein supplement is hardly equivalent to eating junk food. I digress.
Even though I’ve only recently started using Muscle Gauge Nutrition protein supplements, there are some noticeable “soft” benefits right off the bat.
The first thing I noticed about Muscle Gauge powders is how quickly and easily they dissolved into water – Instant Mix, they call it. At this point I’ve tried several different protein powders and have always been left with a glob of goop in the bottom of the cup, the inside of the spoon, or the blades of my bullet blender (if I had to resort to using one). How do you handle this glob? Well, it either makes for a really unpleasant last lick or it gets wasted down the drain. Having said that, I really appreciate that I don’t have that problem with either of the powders from Muscle Gauge. A basic spoon stirring and it’s completely dissolved and drinkable.
The second thing I noticed is that both the chocolate and vanilla flavors are incredibly sweet and taste like a milk shake. Maybe too sweet (I avoid added sugars usually so I’m pretty sweet sensitive these days). The good thing, though, is that I don’t have to blend or mix in anything else and I can use straight water. This came in real handy on my trip to the Nike Women’s Marathon when I took a plastic baggy of powder with me for a post-race toast. We all know that some supplements can be quite gross. I’ve mixed almond butter, banana, raw cocoa powder, you name it with a variety of protein powders in order to mask the taste or improve the flavor. Both the chocolate and vanilla Muscle Gauge flavors taste good as is, just mixed with water. Maybe too good. My husband is having more than his fair share.
So, these two things are what I consider to be the “soft” benefits of a product. The important thing to remember, though, is that if a supplement is both easy to use and pleasing to take, then I will actually use it consistently. Consistent use is the only way to see the “hard” benefits of a supplement, which in this case would be results in performance and body composition. It doesn’t matter what you take, if you don’t take it regularly, you will not see results anyway.
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