June 6, 2013

#PoweredByBits? What Does it Mean?

Recently I saw the hashtag #PoweredByBits popping up all over my Twitter feed, but what the heck did it mean? I soon found out it was the hashtag used by @energybits to promote their new line of bits.

That’s great Summer, but what ARE bits you ask? Well, your in luck because I am going to tell you. Simply put they are algae. Yes, like that green stuff that grows in your fish tank if you don’t clean it, but don’t worry this algae was not grown in a fish tank. I promise.

energybits_with_bits_best_small_

But Summer, why would I want to eat algae?

Good question. If you were to do a quick internet search for spirulina, the algae used in energybits, you would quickly find that it is a super food packed with all kinds of good for you stuff like protein, vitamins, minerals, Omega 3, and antioxidants. It has also been used as a food source in many Asian countries for quite some time now. If you would like to know more of the science-y stuff (that’s the technical term) you can check out the Energybits website to find out everything you could possibly want to know and then some. 

Still not enough to convince you? How about you go and grab one of your favorite Gu, Gel, or whatever it is you use to fuel your runs. What are the ingredients in them? I’ll make it easy for you, I happen to have 2 different brands in my pantry right now. Both have caffeine added to them. Brand A has: organic maltodextrin,organic cane syrup, water, organic cocoa, coffee extract, sea salt, green tea extract and potassium citrate. While Brand B has: maltodextrin, fructose, water, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, potassium chloride, citric acid, green tea extract and caffeine from tea, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. On the other hand these are the ingredients in Energybits.

20130605_190938 
Which would you rather put in your body?

I was quite intrigued by these little bits of food so you can imagine how excited I was to be given a sample to review. I will say I was quite skeptical, as I usually am, since they make some pretty big claims. Once my bits arrived in the mail I couldn’t wait to try them out. I really wanted to test them out on a run, but since I am on a self imposed running hiatus that didn’t happen. Instead I used them to get me through a pretty standard day as a Stay at Home Mom to 4.
things-people-say

It was the night before Disneyland Half Marathon volunteer registration opened and I had seen conflicting reports of when it would open up. One said 11pm PT and another said 6am PT. Those who know me know I am a night owl so the 11 pm would be no problem, but that 6am would be killer. Of course 11pm rolled around and registration was not open so I went to bed about midnight, which is pretty typical for me. Come 4:30 in the morning The Boy finds his way into my bed. I toss and turn, unable to go back to sleep and then 6am rolls around. Well since I was awake anyway I figured I might as well see if I can sign up, and I could! Good news I was able to sign up for the exact shifts I wanted to work, the bad news? I now had to face the day and my kids with 4:30 hours of sleep. Normally I would just lay around like a slug and complain about how tired I was, but not this time. Bits to the rescue!! I popped my bits mid morning and not only did I get through the day with energy to spare, I also completed my workout for that day that I would have otherwise skipped. That was enough to turn my skepticism right around and become a bits believer!
 
The only downside I found was the price. With me home teaching the kids our family of 6 is living on Officer P’s “officer” salary. I have to plan ahead and save up for any and every race I want to run so increasing our grocery budget by $100+ a  month is just not doable for us at this time.

While Energybits is their name those are not the only bits they offer. They also have skinnybits to eliminate hunger and fatigue, recoverybits to prevent colds and vitalitybits to promote longevity, so really they have a bit for everyone.

Great story Summer, but how I can I try these bits for myself?

I’m glad you asked! Since my sample came with more than one serving of bits I have decided to pass the love along and do a giveaway that will allow one of my readers the opportunity to try Energybits for their self.

If you don’t want to wait for the giveaway, or are like me and never win them anyway you can use the code “ BLOG “ to get 10% off your order on the Energybits website. 

20130605_191111
a Rafflecopter giveaway

9 comments:

  1. Ive been wondering what these are - like you I see them exploding all over twitter. I'm curious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was too! Before I looked into them I always thought of them like the power bar granola clusters for some reason. I don't want to be chewing while I run. Makes it hard to breathe.

      Delete
  2. I'm curious to try these before a run - but I'm a mom too so I could probably use them every day - LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LoL Yes you could! I'm working on a discount. If that works out I will definitely be taking them pretty regularly.

      Delete
  3. Great review, I've tried them... swallowing 30 of them is rather challenging but otherwise they're pretty cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes 30 of them seems a bit much. I swallowed them a few at a time and spread them out over 15-20 minutes, but I am not a great pill swallower. I have a horrible gag reflex.

      Delete
  4. I'm training for my 1st full marathon!
    Patty
    theenglins@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome!! I'm not that darning yet! I say 2015 is the year I do a full!

      Delete
  5. I'd love to have these for my first marathon on June 22!!

    ReplyDelete