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.

Review: Costco.com 4X Pro-B Probiotic

Did you know my sister's getting married in May? She is, and I'm in the wedding. Yay me. Why am I mentioning this? Trust me, it has something to do with a short, strapless, yellow satin bridesmaid dress I will be wearing (yes, there's a post coming on that, too). Satin is not my friend, so I'm doing my best to ensure that I look as little like Tweety Bird as possible that night.

I'm doing what I can now to take care of myself, and that includes my inside as well as my outside. When there was a shoppertunity as part of Collective Bias for Costco.com (one of my favorite places ever) to try out a probiotic, I jumped on it. The wee ones take probiotics daily, but - as usual - I'd neglected myself. And yes, my digestive health will absolutely make a different in how I look in that satin yellow dress come May 19.

I talked a bit about my shopping experience for the 4X Pro-B probiotic on Google+ earlier, but let me reiterate that shopping on Costco.com is easy - and fun. I always find something new, and when I'm searching for something in particular, it's easy as pie - especially knowing that shipping is included in the price of the vast majority of items.

The Costco.com site includes all the information about 4X Pro-B that I wanted to know, from what strains are included to what allergens it might contain to why I should take a probiotic. Did you know why you should take a probiotic?

As part of my effort to work on my digestive care, there are some things that I'm doing differently - or at least focusing on more than I was previously. I love projects like this that remind me of the things I should be doing already.

First, I'm taking the 4X Pro-B probiotic daily. It hasn't been that long since I started taking it, so I can't comment on its longer term benefits, but already I'm feeling a little more energized, possibly because there has been some more movement if you know what I mean (and for your sake and mine, I'm saying no more on that topic for the moment). I'm looking forward to the differences I see in my digestive health in the coming weeks.

Part of my changes are the things that I'm not doing. For example, I have a standing weekly meeting for the gala at my son's school (ironically, also on May 19 but we won't discuss that conflict now either). It's right after dropoff, so I usually stop and pick myself up a cup of coffee. Except that I happen to not like the taste of coffee, so I get something that has lots of other ingredients in it making it taste yummy, but unfortunately also adding a ton of empty calories that do nothing good for me. And that's breakfast. This is one of those things that I'm not doing now. Instead, I'm filling up my 40 ounce water bottle and bringing along a bowl of homemade granola or some Greek yogurt with fruit preserves. My barista misses me, I'm sure.

Other things I'm cutting out? Well, I have to admit that I spent last week at Blissdom. Everything I ate wasn't the most healthy. I was pretty good at breakfast eating granola and fruit, and I filled up on veggies when they were offered (loved the Lorax party where all the offerings were either fruit or veggies). But it wasn't all good. We'll pretend like the potato bar incident didn't happen. And every night and party had drinks - but I didn't use all my drink tickets, so that's good. Gorgeous vodka drink? I won't be seeing you very often anymore!

Then there's the plus side. The Costco probiotic isn't - and can't be - the only addition to what I'm putting in my body. Rather than adding supplement after supplement, I'm trying to actually get my daily dose of veggies and fiber via my food. Fruit has never been a problem for me, but much as I love veggies, I don't tend to be good about preparing them. Now? This is a focus. The other night I had a tiny cheeseburger and a massive plate of homemade sweet potato fries that was probably twice as big as the cheeseburger. And the other night? I made roasted brussel sprouts. They're one of my favorite vegetables, but I rarely make them because I can't convince the wee ones that they're yummy. New attitude? That's more for me. The day I got home from Blissdom, I ate an entire bowl of brussel sprouts all by myself. And I was happy.

I'm also focused on getting my exercise. While I'm pretty good about going to the gym two to three times a week, it's what I don't do regularly the other four to five times a week that I'm working on. I have a Kinect and several games that make me sweat. And I'm using them - even if it's only for ten or fifteen minutes. I also have a group of friends who go walking with me. Though it's winter in Chicago and we can't go on our trail right now, we've decided to find an alternative rather than meeting for breakfast instead of our weekly walks. So my new Dr. Scholl's shoes? They're getting use. Can you see that the label inside is already being worn away because I've been putting the miles on them?

I'm also making sure that I'm not being lazy about my cooking. I'm not using the excuse that I'm running here, there, and everywhere with the wee ones to "cheat" with dinner. While we don't eat out or order out often, I will do a quick chicken salad with canned chicken or PB&J sandwiches for dinner. Instead, I'm using my crockpot for the nights when I know I won't be home until the tiny tummies are screaming for food. And I'm making a lot more soups where my base is grated onion, carrots and celery - even when it isn't necessarily called for, knowing that as my soup starts cooking, I can and will puree the veggies, getting all of us lots more fiber and taste.

What kinds of changes are you inspired to make when you start taking your first baby steps?

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.