A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Robyn, a PR spokesperson for EAS, inviting me to review samples of their products and offering me a chance to interview a triathlete and member of Team EAS: Jen Perez. I want to thank all of those who helped me come up with questions to ask Jen.

Special shout outs to:

• Rose
• Shannon
• Sarah
• Marisa
• K
• Andrea
• Betsy
• Brandi
• Rae
• Emily
• Heather
• Karla
• Michelle

I combined your great ideas with my own to come up with a list that I sent to Miss Jen Perez, who was kind enough to answer them while attending The Arnold Sports Festival last week. Here now are the answers to those questions, followed by my review of the EAS products!

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Hi Jen!

First of all, thank you for taking time out of what I’m sure must be a busy day to answer my questions. As a college student, I know how busy life can get, and I can imagine that your to-do list is magnified when you’re also a member of Team EAS!

I know you’re at The Arnold Sports Festival this week. Can you talk a little bit about what being a member of Team EAS and participating in events like this one is like for you? What do you enjoy most about each?

It is amazing to get the opportunity to go to an event like this. I’m here with some of the greatest athletes in the country. EAS provides a sport like triathlon an opportunity to be put on the same level as other high profile sports such as football and baseball. I really enjoy representing my sport, not only as a triathlete, but a female triathlete.

I read that you have been a professional triathlete since 2005 and are currently competing on the Olympic distance circuit. What are some of the factors that motivated you to begin down this path and ultimately led you to become a professional?

I am motivated by the competition and the idea of getting better and better. It really becomes a competition with yourself and if you focus on that and really want to perform at your best, good things will come.

I also read that you’re a fellow college student. What is your training regimen like during the off-season, and how do you balance that with going to school? Do you have to miss a lot of classes during the season?

It takes a lot of work to plan my schedule ahead of time. I do have help from my coach, to help me plan out key workouts during the week. Ultimately, it’s about making the time and being disciplined enough to follow through with work-outs and classes, even when you are tired. I would miss a lot of classes if I didn’t make all of my classes on Tuesday and Thursday. I have also been lucky in having professors that understand and work with me if need be. During the off-season my training is less intense but for the most part stays the same as far as the time put in.

Are there ever instances during your training where you find your motivation is lacking? If so, how do you deal with those situations and get back to a place where you are working toward your goals?

Of course, we all have ups and downs with motivation. It is almost impossible to be completely motivated all the time, especially when life gets in the way. For the most part, I try to push through and remember why I am doing all of this in the first place, because I love racing. It is also a good idea to talk with someone whom you respect like a fellow athlete that has been in the sport for a while and may have good advice on balancing.

What’s one important lesson you’ve learned about yourself in your career to date?

I have learned that I can’t do it all; all of the time. This means that I had to learn how to really balance my life to be a well rounded person. I think once I figured this out, it actually made me a better athlete and everything got a little easier from there.

What’s your least favorite leg of the tri?

That’s a tough question. It really depends on the course but I think I like the swim the best. It sets you up for the rest of the race!

And finally, since a lot of what I write about on my blog is focused on food and healthy eating, both I and my readers are very interested in knowing what a typical day of eating looks like for you, both during the off-season and regular season.

Well, I usually have something small in the morning like oatmeal and some water before training. During training, I like to drink either water or mix water with EAS Endurathon, which helps fuel muscles during long and strenuous work-outs. My post workout eating changes a lot depending on the workout, but I usually take either EAS Race Recovery (especially after a hard workout) or drink an EAS Myoplex Lite shake or eat a bar. I also incorporate real food between workouts and throughout the day. It is very important to eat consistently and to try and eat clean. This will help you keep your energy level and well as your metabolism consistent.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you nothing but the best going forward and much success!

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I am very happy with the way the interview turned out. Jen is an inspiration, and also seems very down-to-earth and sincere. Thank you to Robyn for the opportunity!

Review: EAS

I also received a sample package of EAS products last week to test out for the blog.

1. Myoplex Lite French Vanilla Ready-to-Drink

Ingredients:

Filtered Water, MyoPro® Protein Blend (Milk Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate And Calcium Caseinate), Corn Maltodextrin, Less Than 2% Of: Fructooligo- saccharides, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Vitamin And Mineral Blend (Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin D3, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Niacinamide, Zinc Gluconate, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Manganese Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Chromium Chloride, Potassium Iodide, Phytonadione, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Cyanocobalamin), Cottonseed Fiber, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium And Carrageenan.

Nutrition Information (per 11 oz. carton):

• 170 calories
• 2g fat
• 390mg sodium
• 20g carbohydrates
• 5g fiber
• 1g sugar
• 20g protein

Review:

I had this recovery drink after one of my P90X workouts. It definitely takes on the typical “protein drink” taste, but is not gritty like some of the powdered options. The consistency is very similar to milk, which I liked because it filled me up without weighing me down. The vanilla flavor was there, but not too overpowering. All in all, I think it makes for a great post-workout snack and you can’t argue with the protein content. My only con would be the long ingredient list, which can sometimes be a little scary. But if we’re just focusing on taste, this drink far surpasses a lot of the recovery beverages that I’ve tried in the past.

2. Myoplex Lite Cinnamon Roll Crisp Nutrition Bar

Ingredients:

MyoPro® Protein Blend (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate), Corn Syrup, Fructose, Polydextrose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Rice Flour, Sugar, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Vitamin And Mineral Blend (Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Chloridze, Ascorbic Acid, Ferric Orthophosphate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Zinc Oxide, Chromium Citrate, Copper Gluconate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Cyanocobalamin), Calcium Caseinate, Nonfat Milk, Water. Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Natural And Artificial Flavors, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Butter (Cream, Natural Flavor), Barley Malt Extract, Milk, Spice, Caramel Color, Guar Gum, Salt, Whey, Soy Lecithin, Nonfat Yogurt Powder (Cultured Nonfat Milk), Corn Maltodextrin.

Nutrition Information (per bar):

• 190 calories
• 4.5g fat
• 220mg sodium
• 28g carbohydrates
• 4g fiber
• 15g sugar
• 15g protein

Review:

I must provide full disclosure and tell you that because of my Subtracting Added Sugar challenge, I did not eat this whole bar in one sitting. (I didn’t want to give up 15g of added sugar by eating one bar!) Therefore, I can’t speak much to the “fullness” factor. But I can tell you that in terms of taste and texture, this bar was alright. The cinnamon flavor was there, but you could also taste the grittiness of the protein in every bite, and it was a bit too strong. The best comparison I can give you is that it was a lot like an Iced Oatmeal Raisin Luna bar, without the raisins. Unfortunately, it has HFCS and fractionated palm kernel oil listed in the ingredients list. Sorry, EAS, this bar was just not for me!

3. Myoplex Lite Chocolate Chocolate Chip Crisp Nutrition Bar

Ingredients:

MyoPro® Protein Blend (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate), Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Polydextrose, Sugar, Tapioca Starch, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Milk Protein Concentrate, Water, Vitamin And Mineral Blend (Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Ferric Orthophosphate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Zinc Oxide, Chromium Citrate, Copper Gluconate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Cyanocobalamin). Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Natural And Artificial Flavors, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa, Dextrose, Cocoa Butter, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Guar Gum, Corn Maltodextrin, Sucralose.

Nutrition Information:

• 190 calories
• 4.5g fat
• 260mg sodium
• 26g carbohydrates
• 4g fiber
• 11g sugar
• 15g protein

Review:

Once again, I did not eat this entire bar in one sitting, so I can’t speak to the “fullness” factor. But in terms of taste, I really liked this one and it was by far my favorite out of all three samples. The little chocolate chips on top were fun and great tasting, and even though the bar still had a protein taste, the grittiness was not as pronounced and the chocolate flavor made the whole thing much more enjoyable. Again, if you are looking for a stellar ingredient list, you may want to watch out for the HFCS listed here. But if you’re focusing just on taste, this bar is great for a post-workout snack and another nice thing about these bars is that they are pretty generously sized. Compared to something like Pure Protein, which has roughly the same amount of calories, these bars have significantly more volume.

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I hope that you were able to get something out of both the interview with Jen Perez and the EAS sample reviews. It was certainly fun to have the opportunity to post about both of them! Thanks again to Robyn and to all of you readers for being so awesome 🙂

I’m off to do some blog catch-up reading. I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!

Blugs (blog hugs – thanks Diana!!),