21 Day Fix

This is a pretty long, detailed post.  If you hate hearing about people's diets and exercise programs, skip this one.  This post is for my friends out there who wanted to know a little more about what I've been doing...

So, I finally made up my mind that I'm tired of packing around all of this excess baby weight.

I'm done having babies, so why not suck it up and get rid of it.

Get rid of the fat clothes.

And get on with my life.

In October, I started exercising.

Consistently.

It felt great to be back in an exercise routine.

I started with Beachbody's T25.

Love, LoVe, LOVE this workout.

Twenty-five intense minutes, 5 days a week, in my living room.

So, I was working out, feeling great, but...still eating out.of.control.

So no surprise, but no real weight loss.

OK, fast forward to February, my Beachbody coach {yes, I have a coach and yes, she's awesome} started talking about a new program coming out called 21 Day Fix.

I started thinking, hey, maybe this is for me.

Then she added that she would be facilitating a competitive group.

Um, you got me.

That's just what I needed!

So, I signed up...and completed my first 21 days yesterday...

 

Not bad for three weeks, right?!

My goal was 10 pounds, but I pretty much fell off the wagon right in the middle of my 21 days and consumed large amounts of cake, cookies, ice cream and punch for three days straight.

Something about a special 4-year-old's Frozen party...

Oh well, no regrets, but I'm pretty confident that I would have reached my goal, had this not happened.

So, more about The Fix.

It's all about portion control.

The box arrives, I anxiously rip it open to find...the itty bitty containers.

My inner fat kid freaks out...I am going to starve to death.

You get over it and start planning and prepping your meals.

{This was key for me, to have a week's worth of menus planned out, shopped for and prepped in advance.}

Then you have your first day and you realize, oh my goodness, I was not hungry, once.

Sure, I wanted a candy bar at 3PM, but not because I was hungry, but because I like chocolate at 3PM.

Check out the containers:

Green = vegetables {3 a day}

Purple = fruit {2 a day}

Red = protein {4 a day}

Yellow = carbs {2 a day}

Blue = healthy fats/cheeses {1 a day}

Orange = seeds/oils {1 a day}

And then the shaker cup is for Shakeology

  

So, here's an example of a day on The Fix:

Breakfast:  Shakeology {Beachbody's super yummy meal shake} blended with water and frozen fruit

Honestly, I LOVE this stuff; when you do it in the blender, it's like a milkshake.

Strawberry Shakeology with frozen strawberries; Chocolate Shakeology with frozen cherries, and Chocolate Shakeology with a spoonful of peanut or almond butter and ice cubes, are my favorite combos.

Morning Snack: Carrots

Lunch:  Whole wheat tortilla, turkey, cheddar cheese and mustard wrap

Cucumbers

Afternoon Snack:  Apple with sunflower seeds

Dinner:  Steak, green beans and roasted sweet potatoes

 

 

The meals are real food, with endless possibilities.

Here are a couple of our favorite Fix meals...

Breakfast for dinner: whole grain waffle with mixed berries, scrambled eggs with salsa and turkey bacon {don't knock it 'til you've tried it}

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas with black beans

SO stinking simple and so yummy.

Frozen chicken breasts or tenders in bottom of crock pot, top with a bag of frozen tri-colored peppers and onions, cover with a half cup of salsa mixed with a packet of Mrs. Dash fajita seasoning.

I made mine the night before and put it in the fridge, so it only took between 3-4 hours on high {I don't remember for sure, John Wayne handled it for me while I was at work}.

Shredded it up and wallah, super yummy!

Fat Tuesday...you have to have jambalaya.

This was SO good!!!

You can have coffee on The Fix, but recently I've cut down my coffee anyways {because I load it up with calories}.

So, I've been having Advocare Spark after I workout in the morning and then green tea with honey when I get to the office {mostly because I want something hot to drink, not because I love the green tea}.

Other than that, I've probably drank more water in the past three weeks, than I have in the past three years, but it's amazing how good that's made me feel.

You know me, not a water fan, so mine always has either lemons and limes or a couple of frozen strawberries in it.

So, eating is only the half of it, then there's the exercise portion.

You exercise seven days a week for 30 minutes.

The exercises include several different weighted cardio sessions {killer, but SO awesome!}, an upper-focus day, a lower-focus day, pilates, yoga, abs.

And I'm happy to say that I actually really LOVE these workouts.

The trainer, Autumn Calabrese, is a competitive bikini model.

For reals, she is.

But you end up liking her, like wanting to be friends with her, not hating her.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooo, I can't believe I'm sharing these, because they're far from impressive, honestly, they're still a little scary, but here you are, my before/after pictures.

 

Obviously, I'm still not where I want to be.

That's why I started another 21 days today.

But I am pretty pumped with these results.

This is a very real life plan; there was cheating, there were skipped workouts, but it still worked!

After 21 days, sure I'm 8 pounds lighter and 11 inches smaller, but most importantly, I feel amazing.
My cravings are greatly reduced, I eat less and feel full faster and I "get" correct portions now.

Oh yeh, and the most awesome of all...

John Wayne did it with me.

He lost 11 pounds and 11 inches.

His caloric intake needs allowed for him to have one more fruit container and one more carb container each day. 

For that, I hated him!

If you want to know more, let me know and I'll hook you up with my coach!