In January 2015, my 21 Day Fix

One night before bed in January, my husband told me about one of his Facebook friends posting a picture of meal prep and containers for something called the 21 Day Fix. I went to bed curious about it, so decided to start my research the next morning, pouring over Google and reviews and articles. In a nutshell, here were my top reasons to give it a try:

– No omitted food groups. Carbs are allowed. Chocolate is allowed.

– No artificial sweeteners. Note: Sugar free jello is NOT a food and should never be allowed on any meal plan ever. (In my ever-so-humble opinion).

– Weight loss achieved through portion control and clean eating.

– No food scales. Simplified measuring.

– 30 minute workouts, including a combo of cardio and strength training.

Sold! I placed my order and waited for my box to arrive.

Here’s what I got:

Containers

Nutrition Guide

DVD set

Shaker bottle

At first glance, I took one look at the containers and thought about how small they were. They were kidding, right? I truly thought I was going to starve! This is sooo not good. However, I went ahead and read through the nutrition guide, and decided to start my journey the next day.

Here were my starting stats:

Weight: 223.8 Inches: 245

Here was my plan of execution:

1) Workouts – the workout guide gave a daily schedule based on the day of the week. I decided to use this approach, since it was easier for me to assign a workout to day of the week rather than remembering where I was in the 21 Day Fix Schedule. So every Wednesday was Lower Fix, every Thursday was Pilates Fix, etc. This was really nice because Yoga Fix is on Sundays, which I like to have as an active recovery day.

2) Container Tracking – I use my phone a lot, and found an app in the AppStore to track my containers. (The iOS app store has a free app by Beachbody. You can learn more about it HERE).

3) Meals – For snacks I planned ahead and portioned them out and put into baggies. In the beginning, I would use a sharpie to label the bags/containers with the corresponding color. I tried to space my containers throughout the day so I wouldn’t be hungry.

4) Water – This is an area I always struggle with. I have a 16 oz cup, and worked on drinking my water in 16 oz increments every 2 hours. I found that having a water plan was helpful in setting me up for successful. On the days without a water plan, I failed, so I always tried to start my day on the right track.

5) Accountability – I made a plan to post my progress on social media. Knowing other people were watching my progress was greatly helpful in keeping me on track. I ordered Shakeology and joined a challenge group.

So I had a plan, and I had some goals. I thought that if I could lose 7 pounds over the course of 21 Days, I could consider it a great success!! Dieting and exercising on my own hadn’t yielded as much results, so I thought this would be a reasonable and attainable goal.

Here’s the execution.

1. Workouts – For the next 21 Days, I stuck to the plan. In addition to the workouts on DVD, I utilized my gym membership for Zumba class twice a week. This was somewhat spotty because it was directly depended on whether or not I had childcare available. So I was thankful to have my DVDs at home! In December, I started having hip pain (my dr had prescribed PT), and was having to do a LOT of modifications at first. Even though I had a cardio base, the workouts were a challenge because I hadn’t done any weight training in over a month. Little by little, they got easier, and by the end of the first 21 Days, my hip pain had mostly gone away. (UPDATE: Hip pain completely gone after two cycles).

2) Container Tracking – Tracking was easy using the app.

3) Meals – I’m probably a boring eater. I don’t mind eating the same thing over and over for awhile. That being said, I did eat a lot of eggs as a protein throughout the day. Carrot sticks were a go-to veggie that I could pack and bring with me on the mornings my son had preschool. In addition, having Shakeology as my breakfast was a HUGE time-saver, as I was able to drink it while I helped to get my kids ready for school.

4) Water – for most of the days, I did great! I noticed that if I started drinking water early in the day, it helped to keep me on track for the rest of the day.

5) Accountability – This was HUGE for me.  Being part of a challenge group has helped to keep me in check! Knowing that there were other people going through the same journey as me was very motivating. There were numerous incidents when I would mindlessly put a (insert toddler snack here) piece of food in my mouth, and immediately would take it right back out and throw it away. Snacking on toddler food had become such a habit that it took awhile to break that habit. Knowing that the snacking would affect my progress (and that people were watching my progress!) really was a huge factor in keeping me accoutable!

Round 1 Results

Weight 212.2 Inches: 231

 

Here it is in one picture:

I immediately went back and complete a second round:

Weight 205.8 Inches 225.5

 

So overall, in two rounds of 21 Day Fix, I lost a total of 18 pounds and 19.5 inches! 18 pounds in 42 days! Here are some of my overall thoughts on the experience:

1) Hunger was never an issue. I felt like even though I was eating at a reduced calorie amount, I was eating the right foods in the right portions (read: a lot of veggies). Especially on the days where my water intake was on point, I never felt like I was being deprived of food.

2) Cravings. Once I started fueling my body with the right foods, I began to crave the junk food less. I have also found that junk food doesn’t taste as good as it used to! I do have a bit of a sweet tooth, so drinking Shakeology helped to keep that sweet tooth at bay because I was able to make so many different recipes and options that it made my mornings exciting!

3) Energy levels. My energy levels increased when I started eating the right foods combined with exercise. I actually didn’t start Shakeology until week 2, and after the first day of Shakeology I felt a remarkable difference in my energy levels. Before 21 Day Fix, I was extremely fatigued. I was working out, but I always blamed it on toddler mom life. Since I’ve started Shakeology the fatigue has been rare.

4) The containers got a lot easier after the first week. I found it to be so much easier to dump food into a container and then dump it on a plate, as opposed to turning on the kitchen scale, waiting for it to be ready, then meticulously weighing my portioned food, then adding it to MyFitnessPal.

5) Results. I calorie counted for several years before turning to 21 Day Fix. I have not logged a single calorie, and have lost 19 lbs in 7 weeks. In addition, the inches lost on my body are awesome!! My clothes are fitting much better (it’s almost time for new clothes!), and I feel stronger than I have before.

 

How about you? Would you like to join me on this journey?You can click HERE to order (Amazon).