#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 4 Update

Week 4 was a week of progress.

On Monday I had my first post-op appointment and the stitches came out of my knee. I also got the go-ahead to start PT and had my first session on Wednesday. I was surprised by how much I got to do and didn't even mind the 15 minutes of NMES (neuromuscular reeducation electrical stimulation). Apparently my quad muscle has atrophied quite a bit in the two weeks post-surgery. Most of the exercises I can do at home every other day.

I was surprised that I was doing wall squats, even with support, on my first day of PT. The foam roller makes moving up and down much easier as I'm not pushing against the wall. The hardest part for me is making sure my right leg isn't doing all of the work.

Heel press seems like no big deal, but my knee had a little pain after each 8 second hold. Dr. Bri said it was a normal pain, so I will keep doing them. This one is all about the hamstrings and mine felt the work.

Throughout the week I also had fun mixing in some of the PUREDGE product I was sent to review (post here) from GNC to boost my fruit and veggie smoothies. It also inspired me to try some new recipes. My favorite so far has been a Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie.

With the help of the Plant Nanny app that I mentioned in my last update, I met my daily water goal EVERY DAY!! My first plant, befittingly named Water Baby, grew so much that I was able to move it to the "garden" and start a new plant named Dandy Baby.

Week 4 of the challenge also offered bonus points for doing yoga. Now, I'm all about using yoga to stretch, so I did what I could with my knee and it felt so good!

Overall, it was a good week for me.

How was your week?

GNC PUREDGE: Chocolate Protein Mug Cake

The following post is written on behalf of GNC through my relationship with Linqia. All opinions are my own.

Over the past few months I have been coping with running injuries, recovering from knee surgery, dealing with digestive issues and overcoming fatigue. It hasn't been easy, to say the least.

However, the GNC PUREDGE line is easy to integrate into your every day life. The line includes a variety of products to meet several different needs: amino, energy, bars, and protein.

The GNC PUREDGE line is whole-food based and promises:

- No Gluten-added ingredients

- No GMO-added ingredients

- No banned substances

- No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners

- No preservatives

- No wheat, yeast, fish, or egg

- No sugar alcohols 

GNC Complete Amino includes glutamine, so it was the first product I tried. Glutamine is known to help muscle recovery, fight illness, and improve digestion. It was recently recommended to me by a running friend. When I mixed with water it tasted a lot like the tropical punch Kool-Aid I drank as a kid. I have been blending it into my morning smoothies The tropical punch flavor overpowers the fruits and vegetables, but it is still good.

GNC Daily Energy is recommended to jumpstart your day or your workout. After days of hauling myself around school on a crutch, I was running on empty at the end of the day. Adding a scoop of cherry limeade to my smoothie gave me a boost, but the flavor didn't overpower my freggies.

GNC Complete Protein Bars are easy to toss into your lunch bag as I like to do. As much as I wanted to love these, both flavors tasted a little too much like vitamins to me. I'm very picky about my protein bars though.

GNC Complete Protein was my favorite product...maybe because it was chocolate! I had been looking for an excuse to make some sort of dessert and this product gave me a great excuse.

Inspired by an awesome recipe from Julie for chocolate mug cake, I made some modifications to make it gluten-free and protein packed so it can be a delicious post-workout indulgence!

I can't believe how easy it was to make cake…and in the microwave.

How do you use your chocolate protein?

Don't forget to check out all the GNC PUREDGE products here.

This post is also part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen