2 Free Quest Protein Bars!

I'm going to be out of town in Chicago for the next few days so I decided to post a link for a free sample of 2 Quest Protein Bars!


I normally don't buy or use protein bars but I did get chance to try out the Quest Protein Bars I have to admit, these are indeed the best protein bars I've ever had!

Get your free samples!

They also have a great nutritional profile and isn't made out of a long list of ingredients like other bars. Also, no soy protein! (which many bars seem to have for some reason). It's a high protein, high fiber, low carb bar that tastes delicious!


From their website:
"Quest bars have the best nutritional profile of any protein bar on the market – bar none. We’ve got 20g of protein, 4g non-fiber carbs, and no sugar alcohols or other junk. And most importantly, our bars taste better than any other bar. We’re so confident that you’ll agree that we let people order a single bar to try without having to commit to buying an entire box."


(As an added note: many people recommend microwaving the bars  for 10 seconds before consuming.)

Fish Oil Order from Bodybuilding.com

So upon researching the different options for fish oil currently available, I decided to buy the Now Foods Ultra Omega-3 from Bodybuilding.com.


Since my order for the fish oil was so close to the amount I needed to reach for a free gift ($75), I decided to buy some other things as well. 


My package came today with everything BUT the fish oil since it was back ordered. I did receive a shipping confirmation yesterday though, and I should be receiving the fish oil on Wednesday. So thumbs up to Bodybuilding.com for quick replenishment of the back order.

Package received from Bodybuilding.com order!

Pictured above are the extra items I decided to buy:

• MRM Creatine Monohydrate, 1000 grams for $19.99 - I was running low on creatine monohydrate and I wanted to make sure I had plenty for my upcoming bulk. $20 bucks for 1,000 grams is about the lowest price you'll find for creatine so I decided to get this at this time.
• Nature's Science Vitamin C, 1000mg/100 Capsules for $5.98 - This was a great deal because this was actually a Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer so I got 200 of Vitamin C 1,000 mg capsules for $5.98! Vitamin C may slightly blunt cortisol so I take it in the mornings when cortisol is highest.
• BSN Syntha-6 Decadence Bar, Chocolate Caramel Pretzel, $2.49 - My main reason for buying this was that I still needed a small dollar amount added to reach $75 dollars for the free gift, after the discounts were applied for the fish oil and Vitamin C. Another reason though is that Syntha-6 makes delicious protein shakes so I've been wanting to try their bars too. (I'll write a review on this bar once I try it!)

Mmmm...looks so delicious!

You'll also notice in the picture that I received other some items as well:

• Free sample of Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion Chocolate - I already know what Myofusion tastes like...I just wanted more protein :)
• Free sample of Optimum Nutrition Essential AmiN.O. Energy - My friend said he sampled this as preworkout/energy product and liked it so I wanted to try it also. 
• MetaCal BodyFat Calipers - This was my free gift which is a $3.99 value. I played with it a little today and its very difficult to do the pinching by myself and measuring. I know I'm doing it wrong because it says I am 2-3% body fat which I know is impossible. I will have to get my girlfriend to do this for me :)

The total cost for this order was $81.89. I think I got a good deal on the fish oils and the Vitamin C. The fish oils will last me 4 1/2 months, the Vitamin C will last 200 days, and the Creatine will last 200 days as well. So I think I did good finding the best value in these items.

*Don't forget to use code LIFTLIFE for an additional 10% off if you order from Bodybuilding.com*

Fish Oil Increases Muscle Protein Synthesis

There was a fairly recent study done by the Washington University School of Medicine, which concluded that fish oil increased the rate of muscle protein synthesis.

Based upon the results of this study, I'd like to experiment with the higher dosages they used in the study to see if I will notice any differences in my training, recovery, and/or body composition. 

I know there's some concern with high dose fishoil, but being that I'm only going to experiment with the higher dosages for a month or two...I think I'll be okay.

EPA/DHA Dosage

The omega-3 dosages they used in the study were 1.86 grams of EPA and 1.5 grams of DHA. 

The current fish oil I am using provides the common 180 mg EPA/120 mg DHA. I normally take 6 of these each day which would provide a total of 1.08 grams EPA/720 mg DHA, which is far short of the dosage used in the study.

For me to get the same amount of EPA as used in the study I would need to take a little over 10 softgels of my current fish oil product! (Since I can't split the fish oil capsule, I'll need to round up to 11 capsules)

I'm running low on fish oil anyway so I started looking today for what would be the best buy in order for me to get 1.9-2 grams of EPA per day.

Here are a few of the products I came across in searching for fish oil:

• GNC Triple Strength Fishoil: $9.99, 60 softgels, 647 mg EPA/253 mg DHA
• True Protein Fish Oil: $24.49, 1000 softgels, 180 mg EPA/120 mg DHA
• Now Foods Ultra Omega 3: 22.51, 180 softgels, 500 mg EPA/250 mg DHA 

Cost per Day

To decide which one would be the best buy I had to include shipping in the prices and any discounts/coupons that I could find. Here's what I found:

In searching for fish oil, I saw GNC had a deal of the day for triple strength fishoil for $9.99 for 60 capsules. I would only need to take 3 per day to get the 1.9 grams of EPA. This product also came with free shipping so cost per day is .499.

The True Protein fish oils only cost $24.49 for 1,000 softgels and even at 11 per day it would last me 90 days. However, the shipping at this site is not so cheap and costs an additional $11.26! Even with the discount code I found ,"THESWOLE", this only reduces the total by $1.22 so the total cost is still $34.53. This amounts to .379 cents per day.

The NOW Foods Ultra Omega 3 costs $22.51(this includes shipping) for 180 softgels. Since these contain 500 mg EPA per softgel, I would only need to take 4 a day. This would last me 45 days so the cost per day would be .500 cents per day. 

Fish Oil for Sale plus Coupon Code!

However, I found on Bodybuilding.com, they are having a sale right now on the NOW Foods Ultra Omega 3. I can get 3 bottles of the 180 softgels for a total of $56.35 (use discount code LIFTLIFE for 10% off and choose standard shipping of $5.98)

The cost per day for this discounted price would be .417 cents per day.

Even though this is still more expensive then the True Protein option, I am choosing to go with the NOW Foods Ultra Omega 3 from Bodybuilding.com since I only have to take 4 softgels per day instead of 11.

*Note* You can make the True Protein option even cheaper if you buy more than 1 bottle. If you buy 2, it brings the cost down to .325 cents per day, but you would still need to take 11 softgels of this per day. I would rather pay a little bit more so I don't need to swallow so many softgels.

($24.49 * 2) + $12.59 shipping = $59.12

2,000 softgels / 11 per day = 181.81 day supply

$59.12 / 181.81 = .325http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/now/ultra3.html

I'm very interested in seeing how my body will react to higher dosing of omega-3's. I'm already thinking that I may not notice anything at all, since fish oil isn't really a supplement that you'll really "feel". 

I'm hoping that maybe the high fish oil dosage taken post workout combined with the Intermittent Fasting eating schedule will somehow provide an even greater anabolic response than what was seen in the study :)


I haven't actually ordered the fish oil yet...so has anybody else out there found a better deal on a high EPA fish oil than the NOW Ultra Omega-3?

***Edit 08/04/11 7:28 PM***
I decided to go with the Ultra Omega-3 from Bodybuilding.com. Even though its on back order, they still let you order it to get this discounted price :)
I didn't look into liquid fish oil at all and I will have to include those in my search next time.