Thursday, September 11, 2014

REVIEW: 21 Day Fix

21 Day Fix Review

If you don't know what the 21 day fix is CLICK HERE

It’s been  over a month since I completed the 21 day fix.  I started it on July 7th (after consuming truckloads of junk over the fourth of July weekend), so my 21 days of torture were complete on July 28th. I lost a total of 10 lbs and got back into my non-maternity clothes! My goal was to lose at least 4 lbs, so my expectations were surpassed! Will I do it again? Yes, I will probably do it again after every baby I have (I plan on having more) and maybe after the holidays and the 100 cookie/desserts/breads I will gladly and joyfully consume. 

Pros:
Makes you really look at what you’re eating in regards to how much vegetables, fruits, proteins, etc.  I realized I wasn't getting enough vegetables or protein in my diet and was eating too much fruit. I mean fruit isn't bad in any way but to meet my daily goals, I had to switch a fruit out for a vegetable and up my protein. I’m not a huge red meat eater so I ate a lot of eggs, chicken, greek yogurt, and veggie burgers for my proteins.

At home workouts are my favorite! If you know anything about me, I LOVE workout dvds or any at home workouts. I've completed P90x and Insanity in the past. The 21 Day Fix workouts are only 30 minutes long. PERFECT! If you’re looking for an “insanity” workout, this isn’t it. They are much toned town compared to Insanity, but still a very good workout. When I did the first workout, I was like “OK this is kind of lame...” but after a couple days I started to love them! I really enjoyed the Pilates and Upper fix workouts. FYI: Autumn reminds me of Miley Cyrus

It really works! If you’re looking to lose some L-Bs that you can’t seem to shake off by doing whatever you've been doing, this will help! I could not for the LIFE of me get the last 3-5 lbs off after having Nelpe. I know that’s not a lot but none of my clothes were really fitting me yet so it was frustrating! 

Nothing is "banned" I was totally expecting to feel very restricted before we started but I didn't really feel that way. I ate a piece of toast almost every morning. Most other diets I've ever done bread is looked at like Satan, which is silly. ;) I know carbs are a wonderful thing and what gives our body the energy and fuel we need. I would not be a very nice person without carbs. So I LOVED that I could still eat bread and oats. Obviously gummy bears or snickers aren't on the fix, but there are some loop holes and negotiating allowed. For example, a cookie or glass of wine would be counted as 2 yellows. I don't recommend eating cookies or drinking wine, but you can if you want in very limited portions. 

Your wallet gains weight, as in you don't spend a lot of money eating out. Our grocery bill also went down by a lot! I was used to spending over $100 a week on groceries, and during these 3 weeks it was about $70. A lot of fruits and vegetables. The main cost was our meat/protein. 

Cons:
Do not attempt to be social during that 21 days, unless the people you are social with are also following the 21 day fix. I had to attend birthday parties and sporting events while on the fix and it was not easy. I think I was actually drooling while singing Happy Birthday and watching people cut birthday cake. Sometimes it felt like torture, but I lived! There’s an out to eat Restaurant guide if needed. We went to eat 2 times during these 21 days. Once was at Chipotle, where I ate chicken, lettuce, beans, and salsa. The other was at J.Alexander’s where I ate rotisserie chicken with steamed veggies. I had to bite my tongue when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert…carrot cake at J.Alexander’s…MMMMM!

Meal Planning and prepping takes time!  Meal Planning is definitely a positive thing but the time it takes can be a head ache. I would prep our meals every Sunday and it would take me about 4 hours. After the first week it was a lot easier since I knew what I could and couldn't have without having to go back to look at the book 10 times. CROCKPOT was key!

You will gain some weight back after not following the fix meal plan.  The weight I was at when I completed the 21 days was not a maintainable weight for me, especially if I was going back to my “normal” relationship with food. I gained about 3 lbs back in the past month but have been maintaining where I want to be. Now my “normal” relationship with food is pretty healthy/clean eating. If you go back to eating junk all the time, well…you’ll probably gain all the weight back and then some. So, just don’t do that.

Tips:

If you’re going to set out to complete the fix, suck it up for 21 days and do it. You’ll feel accomplished and glad you did! 

Do it with a partner!! I did the fix with my husband, sister-in-law, and brother. My sister-in-law and I would text constantly about meal ideas and if I was having a weak moment, she would talk me off the cliff of cascading chocolate. 

If you feel hungry, chug some water and chew some gum.

Search “21 day fix recipes” on Pinterest for ideas. I made a lot of recipes from Pinterest which kept the food interesting

If you have a sweet tooth, make some of the “zing” recipes in the 21 day fix book or make my “brownie batter” dessert recipe. (On pointe! and still a go-to sweet tooth satisfier in mi casa)

I think that's about it. If you have any questions, feel free to email or comment on this post.
Hope this was helpful for some!!

XOXO

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