The 3 Day Refresh

I decided to complete the three day refresh during Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week. I just needed a kickstart (even though I'm in the midst of the 21 day fix again) after Easter in order to fully cleanse myself out! PLUS. I have a super huge goal of losing 10 MORE pounds by my birthday, which is Friday, April 10...I'm almost there!!

I did a breakdown of each day, what I had as part of the cleanse, and how I was feeling. This is definitely new for me. Something else to consider is this...this is the second time I've attempted the cleanse! The first time, I gave up at the end of Day 2 because I was so cranky and irritable. I'm hoping that now, since I've been clean eating for awhile, my body will be able to handle this cleanse ALOT easier.

What's the 3 day Refresh, you ask??
The 3 day refresh description, taken directly from my beachbody website : "If you're looking for a way to lose weight, feel lighter and more energized, and jump-start a new healthy-eating lifestyle, then the 3-Day Refresh is for you. This 3-day program of specially formulated shakes, easy-to-prepare clean meals, and healthy snacks has been scientifically designed to help you break the cycle of bad eating habits, lose weight, detoxify your body, and dramatically improve the way you feel—without starving."

What do you get with it?

There are two kits you can get. The complete kit - which comes with Shakeology packets for those customers that don't drink Shakeology daily. Orrrrrrr, you can purchase the kit without Shakeology for those of us that already have Shakeology on hand. Each kit comes with a fiber sweep shake, 2 vanilla fresh shakes, and a recipe guide for each day.

How much?
For the average customer, The 3 Day Refresh is $70. If you become a coach, simply for the discount, it's around $40! Totally worth it! I plan on doing one of these once a month. Even if I hate them. Because I'll clean out my system and lose 3 pounds :) In one year - I could lose 36 pounds!

Daily Eating Plan Schedule
Morning: 1 glass of water, Shakeology, Fruit
AM Snack: Herbal Tea
Mid-Morning: Fiber Sweep
Lunch: 1 veggie option, 1 fruit option, 1 healthy fat option
PM Snack: Herbal Tea, 1 veggie option, 1 healthy fat option
Supper: A supper meal from the recipe book
Nighttime Snack: Herbal Tea

(Because I am working out along with this cleanse (you are allowed to but it's supposed to be low impact since the diet isn't proteiny, I added a protein at night with my supper because my workouts are high impact. So I follow the entire cleanse during the day, and add a meat/carb. So for example, tonight I had spaghetti - with a recipe from the book.)

MONDAY/DAY #1:
Dear Diary, oh my dear lordy, I kinda want to die. I've been fine all morning, but this fiber sweep thing might make me gag. I'm not really good with chugging weird textured liquids that taste like orange medicine. ...okay, I'm being slightly dramatic. It's not that bad, but honestly this is probably the worst part of the day. I think this is what made me quit it the last time! But I'm pushing through. All day has been a breeze - it helps that I've been busy! I specifically picked to put this on week days because I'm busy throughout the week and I knew it'd help to keep my mind off of food and I wouldn't crave much of anything. I had Spaghetti at dinner (healthy!) as an added carb/protein simply because I am working out along with this cleanse! You technically aren't supposed too, but I'm making sure to add the right stuff in so I can still work along with my 21 day fix group. Right now, it's 7:30 pm and I'm getting ready to clean up the dishes, close the kitchen, and get my workout onnnnnn. Cause this girl has a goal to reach by Friday! HERE WE GO! As far as feelings go, I'm not hungry, I have no headaches, and I feel like I have energy. I can't fall asleep!! 
TUESDAY/DAY #2:
Dear Diary, I snuck a weigh in this morning. I'm down 2.2 pounds! WHOHOO. Even though it's not all about the number on the scale, it's good to know that I'm cleaning out my system. I hardly pooped at all yesterday...which is really weird for me. But that fiber sweep must do it's magic overnight because dear Lordy, this morning, I POOPED. Which probably contributes to my weightloss so far! haha! AND I woke up a half hour early this morning ready(ish) to start the day. I think I know why you aren't supposed to workout during the refresh (because you'll get tired faster with less calories in your diet) but I'm also glad I added in a carb/protein and plan on doing that tonight as well so I can keep up my workouts with my 21 day fix group. I still can't stand the Fiber Sweep...gah. It's the most dreaded part of my day. But I gulped that sucker down today because I know it'll go by fast! My stomach has been gurgly all day today though, and I have a weird taste in my mouth too. It's like metallicy. My stomach keeps making weird noises and I just keep pretending that I don't hear them ;) That's how it works, right? I've been so gassy and bloated - all day today. My tummy kinda aches and I just want to crawl into bed. But I'm not hungry...so maybe I just have to take a poop. Update: no poops...awkward diarrhea cloud poops. If you know what I mean. I feel bloated and sick in my stomach, but I worked out anyways! Hoping for good results tomorrow!
WEDNESDAY/DAY #3:
Dear Diary, I weighed myself again this morning - especially after I woke up not feeling bloated or sick in the stomach. I'm down another 1.3 pounds! Making the total so far 3.5 pounds and I'm not even done with Day 3 yet. This is definitely cleansing and refreshing! Even when I'm adding a protein at dinner time! I LOVE drinking my Shakeology and eating fresh strawberries every morning. I think I might keep up some of the habits of this cleanse! Peeing lots and lots has me cleaned out for the week. Today went SO MUCH BETTER than the past two days. It felt normal to just go through the routine - and it was honestly annoying to me because I knew it was the last day! hah! I'm looking forward to seeing my results tomorrow and hoping the scale really shows the changes (especially since I didn't take measurements!) My tummy wasn't grumbly or gassy at all and it felt great. I definitely took a HUGE poop (sorry, TMI) today, but I'd been waiting forever to take that poop and it was awesome.





RESULTS: I lost 3.8 pounds (and even more in inches...silly me didn't measure...but if this helps, even my underwear is baggy!)


REVIEW: I definitely want to do this every month from now on! I want to clean out my system and good news is - this cleanse can be shipped home direct every month without ever thinking about it! (Done AND Done!) I lost a total of 3.8 pounds! WHAT A DEAL! It was mostly delicious - minus the fiber sweep! (gag) but I think I could drink it down three times a month to get these results. I'm getting closer and closer to my goal. Was I hungry? No! I felt fine all three days! Side affects? A gassy and bloated tummy on day 2. IT WAS SO ANNOYING. mainly, because I hadn't felt bloated in so long. But working out helped and then when I woke up on Day 3 it was fine! I'm tempted to continue the eating habits, lightening my lunch, downing liquids, etc. Watching how many carbs I am consuming - but also still allowing carbs to be a part of my diet. I'm really excited for the results this has brought me and I'm really hoping to have a challenge group start soon where we do this again! YIPPEE! Would I have lost more if I hadn't added a protein in at supper time? Probably! But I still wanted to be able to stick with my 21 day fix workouts :)

The 21 Day Fix Review

 On this post, Jared and I are going to share our opinions on the 21 day fix..consider it an insider review of how it really goes down, what it's really like, and how you'll really feel!

Jared and I blogged EACH day of our entire 21 day fix journey. So, if you'd like a day to day breakdown, you can definitely check out my previous blogs in February for an exclusive look at what it's like. I tagged those posts down below for you to click on later. However, this post will be largely an overall view of the Fix and what it can do for you. I'll also be posting my before and after pics so you can see how much it changes your body!

FIRST: Our results
 --> Jared lost 16. 2 pounds and 23 inches
--> Me - I lost 12.2 pounds and 11 inches

Obviously, we saw amazing results in 21 days!  It took a lot of getting used too but once Week 1 was down it became a normal routine. That would be my first piece of advice - consistency, dedication, and planning are the 3 things you need to do in order to make this successful. Jared and I think this quite possibly the most amazing program out their on the market. (oh, they made an extreme one too by the way..like extreme.) It will COMPLETELY CHANGE the way you eat, it will COMPLETELY CHANGE the way you look at food, the way you prepare food, and the decisions you make before you insert food in your mouths. I think the thing we love the most is that we can still follow our plan (making tweaks here and there if we want to go out) and we can pair this with whatever workout we want to do! This ensures that we are clean eating AND working out. To help you: below I've answered a lot of questions (mostly ones that I had before I started the program)

How much does it cost?
      The 21 Day Fix program itself costs $60.00 and comes with the nutrition containers and the workout DVDs. You can get the Challenge Pack (with Shakeology - normally $130 alone) for $140. Honestly, worth it for the life changing effects it'll bring for you. If you need to know more about Shakeology (which I recommend TO ANYONE!) you can check out my page here.

What were the results?
  Obviously you saw our inches and pounds lost below. But check out my pics! (Jared refused pics but I wish he wouldn't have, because he looks awesome..and super hott, but I'm biased.)

It's day to say but in those before pictures on the left, I looked almost pregnant. I felt extremely bloated all of the time! My after pictures show WAY less bloat. Am I where I want to be? Heck no! I've got a ways to go! BUT...seeing visual progress is always helpful, also having my pants continuously fall down because I've lost so much weight is EXTREMELY annoying and inspiring at the same time.

How does it work?
  You'll get a book with easy to follow instructions. I will be making a YouTube video that describes exactly how it works and how to set it up. Breakdown...1) do a math equation to figure out your calorie needs 2) correspond that to the chart to find out how many of each colored container you get 3)look at the lists of food that go into each container 4)decide what you like and make a plan on how you'll spread out your containers throughout the day 5)make a meal plan calendar (you can see mine on my blog posts tagged below) 6)Your meal plan calendar acts as your grocery list!
See my video on YouTube in a few days for extra help!

Was it easy?
  Honestly? No! I mean, would changing the entire way you eat be easy? Heck no! But it got easier each day and by week 3 it was a breeze. The first 3 days were the hardest days that I ever had to deal with food and nutrition wise, but after that it became more of a habit. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit and that's why this program is 21 days. Habits are hard to form and hard to break! So it wasn't easy, but it got better!

What was preparation like/where do I even begin?
  This was kinda answered in the "How does it work"/YouTube video area. However, the best place to begin is in the math equation! It's in the directions book, this helps determine what you need and how much. The Saturday before I started the 21 Day Fix (I started on a Monday) I sat down and calculated our containers. This took me double the time because I was doing it for me AND Jared. I spent about an hour calculating, looking at containers, trying to find foods that Jared liked, planning it all out. Once you spend the time and plan this hour, the rest of your planning will take 5 minutes! No lie! It's always that first ice breaker that takes the longest and then you'll be a pro.


How did you go shopping and make food?
  I just took our meal plan calendar! I did NOT buy anything else than what was on our meal plan. Even if I thought I needed it! Our first week, we kinda went overboard and spent WAY TOO MUCH money on fruits and veggies. But after our first week, we figured it out and we were able to determine how much and what we liked to eat most. After the first week, I researched a bunch of meals on pinterest so instead of making individual things, I was able to make whole meals that would last us two suppers. That saved us money too!

How much time did this take?
  So, on average, I planned every Saturday morning for 5 to 10 minutes. I went grocery shopping each week and that took a 1/2 hour. Each morning, I'd pack my lunch and snacks which took maybe 15 minutes, probably less. Then suppers never took more than 40 minutes, which is normal for me! There was a 30 minutes workout too for each day I mean...that's what...9.5 hours a week. and 1 hour and 30 minutes a day. not even. :) It's easy! You probably spend more time (and money) eating the way you do now!

If you'd like to see details, go here for Week 1
or to this post for Week 2
and finally to this post for Week 3!! and our final results :)