Courtenay Brown

Despite all my unhappiness about Greg’s trip to Tiburon Summer Camp last week, I have actually decided I am glad he went because he came back with a box full of Nutrition53 product for me to try. I had sampled their Neuro1 product before and really liked it, so I was excited to try out their other products and some new flavours as well. They make 3 drinks: Neuro1, a mental energy drink, Lean1, a meal-replacement (or in my case, snack-replacement ) drink, and Sleep1, a natural sleep-aid drink. The Neuro1 drink has caffeine, one serving is the equivalent of 1 cup of coffee, and right now I only use caffeine for races and for dire emergencies of tiredness. So I’ll have to report on that product later in the week, probably after I do the Pacific Crest Half Iron race on Saturday.

I have to say, I am pretty stoked on Sleep1. Sleep is sometimes a problem for me, I am prone to nightmares and to overthinking/stressing at night so it can take *forever* for me to fall asleep, and if I wake up in the middle of the night I tend to stay awake for at least an hour, plus if this happens even once I am doomed to waking up at the same time in subsequent days, also for an hour or more. I use melatonin sometimes, but only when I get desperate because it leaves me groggy in the morning. I occasionally use Ambien, but it’s expensive and if I want more than 8 hours (which is pretty often) it’s not a good choice because its formulation makes me wake up after about 8 hours. So, I was hoping that Sleep1 would be a better alternative and so far it is! I fall asleep smoothly, my sleep has been good and restful (i.e. no nightmares), I have ranged from 8 – 9+ hours each night, I don’t feel groggy when the alarm goes off (SO key for those morning swim workouts), and when I wake up in the middle of the night it doesn’t take long to fall back asleep. Oh and I have tried 2 flavours, Root Beer Float and Chocolate Malt. I can’t decide which I like better.

As for Lean1, I am pretty happy with that too. As its name indicates, it is formulated to help build lean muscle mass. For me this would be a good side-bonus, especially throughout the summer when it would be nice to lean up for my last few races of the year. However right now I am more interested in Lean1′s capacity as a meal-replacement. I have used it as a mid-day snack at work, and I think it’s great in this role for 3 reasons. First being portability – the powder takes minimal room in my lunch bag and doesn’t take a while to prepare, unlike a sandwich or a yogurt-parfait concoction. Second is that I like the composition of nutrients and vitamins and calories, it has prevented energy-dips and hunger pangs and after work I feel ready for the afternoon’s workouts rather than ready for a nap and some easy TV watching. Third (and this can apply to Sleep1 too), I really like the fact that it helps me drink more fluids. Staying hydrated can feel like a constant battle sometimes, especially at altitude, so I am really happy that I can get much-needed fluids while also getting good tasty nutrients! Speaking of tasty, so far I really like the Cookies n’ Cream and the Banana Cream flavours.

OK, that’s it for now, but I look forward to reporting back about Neuro1 after this weekend!

*ALSO* if you enter the coupon code “Triathlete” when you order online, you will get 50% off your first order!