Tag Archives: 3 day refresh

21 Day Fix (Round 1, Week1 recap)

I’m thinking ambitiously by referring to this as “round 1”. But in truth, most of the before-and-after photos that showed the best results were those participants who did multiple rounds of the program.  I’m looking for amazing results so hence, I will say I’m in the midst of Round One.

Anyway, I just completed my first week of the 21 Day Fix program, which I started coming off of the 3 Day Refresh program.  So far, no amazing weight loss results but I’m already noticeably stronger and I don’t feel crappy.

What is the 21 Day Fix?
The 21 Day Fix is a program from Beachbody and celebrity trainer Autumn Calabrese that focuses on simple fitness and simple eating.  There are seven workouts and each one is about 30 minutes in length. The workouts include moves that target multiple muscle groups to make the most of those 30 minutes. Along with weight-lifting and cardio, there are also two active recovery workouts (Pilates and Yoga). You repeat the seven workouts each week for three weeks (7×3=21!)21_Day_Fix_Containers_long

What 21 Day Fix is probably most well-known for are its colored containers.  The nutrition guide that comes with the program tells you what foods go in which containers along with how many of each you should consume each day.  There isn’t a detailed menu telling you what to eat for each meal each day; you choose your meals based on the containers.  You eat fewer when you are looking to lose weight and the program also gives you information on how much to eat to maintain the healthy weight you’ve worked hard to achieve.

My First Week
I think it helped that I was coming off of the Refresh program into this program because I was just happy to be able to eat three solid food meals again, even if they were healthy foods!  For me, I like having a menu and knowing what I’m going to eat so I started out Sunday night planning for the week ahead.  Here’s a sample that I came up with for my first day:

21DF-SampleMenu

What I found, for me, was that the menu prep took a lot longer than I was hoping it would.  I’m glad I spent the time Sunday night doing it because it would’ve made Monday more challenging to try to do it as I went along.  I can appreciate that the program offers users a lot of choice by not offering a strict plan to follow…but for those like me, I would’ve prefered that it came with one listing breakfast, lunch and dinner choices.  I find that I stick with these programs better when I exert as little thought as possible.  Once I slow down to think about something, I’ve lost it…

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The workouts definitely kicked my butt in this first week, and that’s even with modifying some of the moves.  On Day 3, my butt was sore in the maximum, medius, and minimus places.  And I was really feeling those side lifts from Dirty 30 on Day 7!  I like that the workouts are consistently 30 minutes. Thirty minutes feels manageable in the morning (that’s when I prefer to get my workouts done). The upside of working multiple muscle groups at once is that you can get a whole body workout in a shorter amount of time – even if it really hurts while you go through it! Each workout shows someone modifying all of the moves, which is great for beginners and removes that feeling of intimidation. Autumn also shows you how to make moves harder, which I hope to use in a few weeks. One week later, I can already see ways in which I’ve gotten stronger.

Final Words…
While I started this program with the hopes that I would lose 10 pounds of squishy bits in my mid-section, I’m looking at it with a more realistic vision.  I’m not looking to deprive myself of things in the hopes that the restrictions will help my fit back into my size 2 pants for one afternoon.  I’m looking for clean eating and fitness to be a part of my day-to-day life.  That said, I will allow myself an indulgence here and there and I will not make myself feel bad about it.  I’ve allowed myself too many indulgences over the last couple years and you know what happens when you do that? It’s not an indulgence anymore. Having a cupcake as a treat every once in a while makes that cupcake taste divine. But when you have one every week, it’s just a part of your regular diet and might taste good in those couple minutes you spend devouring it but, truth is, it isn’t as enjoyable as it could be.  We tend to indulge too often and I believe that it’s time we, as responsible people, need to take some accountability for the choices we make. If your health isn’t up to par, you need to look at the choices you make around nutrition and exercise. Take back control of your body – stop making excuses and placing blame outside of yourself. The big food companies care about your money, not your health.  The only one who can change how you feel and look is you. I’m taking back control of my health…one decision at a time. Week one is in the books!

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3 Day Refresh

I’ll admit, I buy into the hype that Beachbody touts about its products. It’s how, on an evening of rare insomnia, I ordered Insanity from a 3am infomercial. This time around, my purchase was the 3 Day Refresh program. I’d purchased their Ultimate Reset program several years ago and ended up returning it after struggling to get to Day 2. The supplements were next to impossible for me to stomach; I’m not good at swallowing pills and opening the capsules into water was NOT helpful.  Fortunately, Beachbody offers a very generous return policy. After that experience, I assumed the 3 Day Refresh was a mini-Reset program and was quite hesitant. But after feeling like absolute crap lately, no matter what I consumed, I needed to do something so I ordered the program.

3DayRefresh

What is the 3 Day Refresh?
Beachbody promotes the program as a way to kick-start a weight-loss regimen, develop healthy eating habits, detoxify and cleanse, help your body function more efficiently, improve the way you feel, etc. They show it as a healthy way to fast (fast is a key word; I’ll come back to that…) The sales pitch makes it sound like you would be a complete moron for not buying and using it. I mean, who doesn’t want to feel “more like the happy, confident, fundamentally healthy person you know you can be”?

The program involves 3 days of supplements in powder form, lots of water, and a few veggie and fat foods.  Strenuous exercise is advised against as you won’t be consuming sufficient calories to support that kind of energy level.

My Why
So yes, the sales pitch pulled me in.  But, like with any program that you will successfully stick with, you need to know your personal “why” in order for you to stick with it.  For me, I’ve slowly gained almost 15 lbs since my boyfriend and I started dating back in October 2013.  After coming off training for the NYC marathon in November 2013, I took my usual recover-for-a-few-months stance. We dated through a particularly cold winter that left us little else to do than cook and bake (which we both really enjoy) and, of course, eat our tasty creations as we got to know each other. It gave our relationship a solid foundation…and unfortunately, also our waistlines. Cut to two and a half years later, I’m up 15 pounds.  I’m only 5’2″ so that’s a significant amount of additional weight for me to be lugging around. If I did the math correctly, it’s about 13% of my body weight! Also, I’ve struggled to stick with a fitness program since moving across the country.  I’ve been constantly starting over and then frequently giving up soon after I began.  It’s been taking a mental toll on me because I’m not sure why I’ve been struggling so much.  But I’m at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been. I feel like crap, tired all the time and little enthusiasm for anything. I don’t like what I see in the mirror. I hate that my clothes don’t fit. I hate having pictures taken. I don’t feel attractive. I was in a bit of a negative slump.  Oh, and I’d recently turned 40…

With all of that going on, I tried, yet again, to kick off a healthy eating and workout routine.  I dusted off my Insanity DVDs and set my alarm for 4:30a. On the second day, I had eaten cleanly all day but when I got home from work, I noticed that my belly was so bloated that, not only was it uncomfortable but I looked 5 months pregnant. On the third and fourth days, I noticed how, whatever I ate, my belly bloating continued – so much so that I didn’t want to eat anymore.  Food was the enemy of something in my gut.  Then it clicked in my head: clean the gut out!  Tucked away in the back of my head was the Refresh program. I had a 3 day weekend coming up and it was a 3 day program…perfect!

Except that the program didn’t arrive in time. So that became a 3 day Reboot weekend, which I should write a post on because it did wondrous things for me. That weekend, I juiced for 3 days.  I was nervous to continue it as I went back to school, thinking I’d be out of my mind hungry and not have the energy I’d need to keep up with my students.  But I have to say, it made me feel AH-MAY-ZING!  What I mean by amazing isn’t really that I felt this jolt of energy and joy but rather, it took away all the crappy feelings.  I no longer felt bad.  Juicing didn’t make me bloat.  It took a few pounds away.  I’ve been juicing on and off since Memorial Day weekend, having a juice for breakfast and lunch, fruit for lunch then eating a real dinner. But when school ended last Thursday, I knew this was setting me up perfectly to kick off summer on a refreshed, healthy foot.

My Refresh Experience

The night before I started, I roamed to Internet looking for other people’s experience with the Refresh program. Many Beachbody coaches raved about the product, which is to be expected because they make money if they sell it. I read one that claimed to be the only unbiased one out there and it made me nervous. Clearly, this Refresher did not have a good experience. I wasn’t sure I’d get through Day 1, recalling my Ultimate Reset experience, and hoped that the packaging was still in the recycling bin in case I needed to return it.

That said, aside from feeling hungry (often!), I actually liked the program. I’m not one to share a lot of photos of myself so I didn’t take before and after pics – but according to the scale, I’m down 3.8 lbs since Day 1 (today is the day after Day 3). Again, some reviews say that all weight is put back on soon after – my plan is to jump into the 21 Day Fix program to keep those pounds at bay. It’s really motivating to see a lower number on the scale finally!

So, yes, I was hungry…a lot. If you’re used to eating regularly, this program feels kind of like a fasting program.  So much so that during the night of Day 2, I awoke at 3:00am with a grumbling tummy and seriously contemplated getting up and having a banana.  The only reason I didn’t have it was that I was too damn tired to get out of bed and walk to the kitchen.  Being hungry is not a feeling that I enjoy so that was hard for me.  I kept exercise to a real minimum while I did the Refresh; I don’t think I could’ve done it while continuing to work.  Juicing filled my tummy and I was never hungry; I can’t say the same for the Refresh drinks.

So how did the drinks taste?
Personally, I thought the flavors were tolerable.
Shakeology: You can choose any of the Shakeology flavors and I went for chocolate, which I really like with frozen strawberries so that was my breakfast for the last 3 days.
Vanilla Refresh: I tried a variety of combos with the Vanilla Fresh powder; my favorite was blending it with frozen peaches.
Fiber Sweep: Some reviewers weren’t kind to the Fiber Sweep.  As someone who has consumed Amazing Grass Green Superfood for months, I didn’t mind the flavor of just mixing it with cold water because it had a lemony taste to it.  I did find that 10 ounces of water wasn’t enough as the powder would start to settle to the bottom of the glass quickly.  So each morning, I did add another 3-4 ounces of water and shake it again to as much of it down as I could.

3DR-Dinner

Snacks & Dinners
The meals were tasty but tiny.  I went with the Veggie Stir Fry, Moroccan Carrot Salad, and Roasted Asparagus with Almonds. The carrot salad was a new side dish for me and I really liked it; I’m planning to add it to my recipe book and look forward to enjoying it next time on the side of a piece of baked chicken.

As a cheat on the third day, I did have an apple in my afternoon snack (in place of a vegetable) and 2 tablespoons of almond butter (I misread the measurement). But I was grateful for the added sustenance because there are limited calories in this program.  As someone who loves her unhealthy snacks, I have to laugh at the idea that I cheated by eating an apple. Considering chips, yogurt pretzels, crackers, tater tots, and jelly beans were all within reach, I think I did really well!

Were there any adverse side effects?
Other reviewers commented about the fiber drink giving them digestive issues so I went with options that the program recommends as being more gut-friendly.  I didn’t have any adverse digestive reactions, which surprised me because I usually do when trying a new nutrition program.  Really, the only negative for me was that I often felt hungry.

Would I recommend this program?
Depending on what someone was looking for, I might recommend this program.  With knowing my own body pretty well, the low-calories really concerned me so that would likely be my primary hesitation is recommending this to someone else.  But other than that, I think the meals were tasty, the supplements were easy enough to consume (MUCH easier than the Ultimate Reset!), and the program was easy to follow.  It is a bit pricy for 3 days of supplements – and you still have to buy the fruit and veggies to go along with it.  But it’s wonderful that Beachbody has its generous return policy so if you don’t see any results, you can return it for a refund.  So, for that reason, I’d say it’s definitely worth a try.

My Final Thoughts
It was hard to stick with this initially.  My boyfriend was snacking around me and cooking food, which was a real test of my willpower.  I think having a strong enough reason for doing it helped me to stick with it and it really feels good to see a number on the scale I hadn’t seen in awhile.  Being hungry makes me overthink about food, which was an additional challenge for me.  I’m glad I gave it a shot and feel that I got out of it what I was looking for: starting off my summer on a healthy note!