Update: Costco.com 4X Pro-B Probiotic

I can't believe it's been over a month since I started taking the 4X Pro-B Probiotic from Costco.com. Would you believe that I actually have noticed some differences, even from the last review of 4X Pro-B? I'm continuing to do what I can for myself and my digestive health, and it's paying off.

I've been having fun with this Collective Bias shoppertunity for Costco.com. Combining this with the warmer weather and sun we've been seeing in Chicago (trust me, sun and warm weather are not common in March), and it isn't just my digestive health I can sense changing.

I purchased the 4X Pro-B probiotic from Costco.com, where I had a super easy shopping experience, as I always do with Costco.com. The hardest thing for me with this experience is just remembering to take the probiotic for my digestive care. Fortunately, the wee ones take probiotics, too, so I just got onto a schedule of popping my own probiotic when I placed theirs on the kitchen table in the morning. (Again, kudos to the manufacturer for putting days of the week on the back of the blister pack so I can truly tell and remember if I took one or not!)

And since then? I'm moving. Yes, I'll leave it at that. And no, I wasn't always. And I'll leave that at that, too. Interestingly, even though I haven't gone to the "real" gym much in the past month plus, which means I'm no longer doing the exercises focused on my abs, I've noticed that I'm not bloating, which is great - especially since I'm no longer weighed down under three layers of sweaters and coats in the Chicago winter.

And I'm moving with my friends, too. Now that the trails have dried up just a little bit, we're walking as often as we can. My regular walking group gets together once a week, but I've been inspired to call other friends and convince them to walk with me, too.

And I know maybe it's a little bit silly, but I have an app on my phone for exercise that just makes me happy. Why? Because it tells me how awesome I am when I work out. Cardio Trainer is unfortunately not available on the iPh*ne, but it's great for Andro!d phones. At the end of each workout, it tells me not only how many calories I've burned, but it also shares the equivalent in fruit. Personally, I sometimes would rather see the equivalent in chocolate, but this is probably safer - don't you think?

Once I've saved my workout, it also tells me lots of great stats (and I can access them during my workout, if I choose, too). I have a map showing exactly where I walked - and yes, I spray painted out the names of the streets and roads; call me paranoid - along with details of my average speed and number of steps. This morning's walk was over the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Tell me that doesn't motivate you or make you feel good. It's a handy tool to track what you've done, and yes, you can absolutely input other workouts from hiking to dancing to yard work to track all your exercise. Then you have a little icon at the top of your phone telling you to the nearest 100 calories how many you've burnt in the past 7 days. Right now mine is well over the 2,000 mark, and that makes me happy, too.

I've also noticed a change in what I'm grabbing for a snack. I'll be honest that when I hit a lull in the day where I lose my energy or I'm just hungry and want something now, I tend to grab something ... not so healthy. I may make myself a s'more in the oven (shhh) or grab some pretzels to dip in Nutella. Not the smartest choices, I recognize that. Now that I'm thinking more, I'm grabbing fruit instead. Last night I was hungry at 9pm and got four ginormous organic strawberries I'd picked up at Costco earlier in the day, and that's all I needed. I was happy when they were gone. I forget sometimes how much I love fruit, and how satisfying it is. Now that I remember, my fruit container is stocked and ready for me.

(Yes, that is a papaya. And a pineapple. And some bananas. Apparently the tropical weather in Chicago is influencing me a little more than I'd thought.)

I'm also making more of a concerted effort to eat breakfast. Instead of getting everything done for the wee ones in the morning and then grabbing a rice cake smeared with Nutella (do you sense a Nutella theme yet?) or, worse yet, nothing, I'm scooping myself some Greek yogurt with preserves when I scoop some for Mister Man's breakfast. It's easy to do a second bowl... duh, me. Or I can grab any other yogurt I have hanging out in my fridge to get some protein and calcium and other good stuff.

Did I mention that I'm feeling good? And motivated? While I always get more motivated in the spring, this year feels a little different, and I'm happy for it. I'll gladly give some of the credit to Costco.com and the 4 X Probiotic I've been taking.

Now it's your turn. Have you liked Costco on Facebook yet? With the warmer weather, are you inspired to make some changes?

In the interest of full disclosure, this shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias As always, all opinions are my own.