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.

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.

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!