What a difference 3 days can make!

The Three Day Refresh is DONE!

To start off, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Yes, I wanted cheese and meat really bad. The cravings weren’t terrible, but they were there around dinner time. I like salad and veggies, but I like a nice piece of protein with that salad! I have to admit that I was never hungry, it was just cravings. Knowing how much I adore cheese, I think I might just be stuck with that!

The Fiber Sweep … yeah. Was it delicious? No. Was it terrible? No. It was gritty, which made it a little unpleasant. I have a really weird texture thing with food, so that definitely didn’t help. I can’t eat oranges because of the pulp, but I love the taste of oranges … yeah it’s super weird. Anyway, the Fiber Sweep didn’t “sweep” as vigorously as I had feared. No lie, I was contemplating doing the Refresh over a long weekend because I was worried about being away from home base. I think the Fiber Sweep helped to get rid of bloating more than anything. So Fiber Sweep may be a bit of a misleading name. Granted, this was my experience so if you go through the Refresh it may be different.

There were two other drinks besides the Fiber Sweep, Vanilla Fresh and Shakeology. We all know I LOVE my Shakeology, so I won’t extol the awesomeness of that here. The Vanilla Fresh was pretty good. My biggest issue with that is that I drank it after I ate and was really full. It was almost too much for me to have in one sitting. You would think that I would have learned to have that first, but I didn’t.

So all in all, a pretty good experience. Would I do it again? Possibly. If I hit a plateau or have a big event coming up, I’d definitely consider doing it again.

Now, what we all really want to know … my results. To say I’m happy with the results would be an understatement. I’m THRILLED with the results.

I lost SEVEN pounds and 9 inches! THAT’S CRAZY! Three of those inches came off my waist and 1 ½ came off my hips. So I’d say the Fiber Sweep was pretty darn worth it!

If you have any questions about the Three Day Refresh or Shakeology, let me know! I’ll be starting up the 21 Day Fix soon, so this was a great starting point for that!

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Day 1 of the 3 Day Refresh

I'm not going to lie.  This isn't super fun.  I think anyone can understand that eating whatever you want is more fun than doing a detox.  While it's not fun, it's not terrible.

The good news so far is that I'm not starving.  I was nervous that I'd be really hangry all day.  Luckily, I haven't really been hungry at all.  I was definitely ready for dinner!  I didn't really plan ahead near as much as I should have.  I had a couple of things at home, but not as much as I should have.  I had an apple and chocolate vegan shakeology for breakfast.  That kept me pretty full until time fore the dreaded Fiber Sweep.

I had been fearing the Fiber Sweep since I first read about the refresh!  So it wasn't terrible, but it was gritty and not very tasty.  I basically chugged it down as quick as possible.  I got that done and over with as quick as possible!  Lunch was the Vanilla Fresh, tomatoes and grapes.  I obviously needed to plan better.  I wasn't sure how to get the healthy fat in, so my bright idea was to mix it in with the Vanilla Fresh.  BAD IDEA.  

Dinner was the spinach salad from the recipe book in the kit.  The dinner recipes all look really good.  I did go to the grocery store to get a little better prepared for the next two days.  Hopefully it will go as smoother or even smoother than today did. 

Pre-3 Day Refresh

My mom, aunts, and cousin came to visit this weekend.  It was great!  Most of my family lives about an hour and a half away, so weekends with them are highly entertaining.  We got to do lots of shopping, laughing, and eating out.  Obviously I wasn't eating my best.  I've had ice cream 3 days in a row.

I kept telling myself "you'll start the refresh Monday, don't worry".  So I have my 3-Day Refresh kit ready to go.  I'm nervous.  Not even remotely going to lie.  I mean, wouldn't you be concerned if you were going to be drinking something called a Fiber Sweep?  That just doesn't sound pleasant!

I've been told by other Beachbody coaches and people who have used the 3-Day Refresh that it's not as terrifying as I think!  I'm really hoping they are right.  Fiber Sweep.  They should really come up with a different name!

In other news, I've hit Success Club 5!  That's a designation for Beachbody coaches, which means I've gotten some people to sign up and order challenge packs.  While it's cool to hit that designation, the better thing is that I'm going to get to help them reach their fitness and health goals.  Having people going on this journey with me is fantastic.  I'm so excited for all of us to go on this journey together!

So I'll be sure to update tomorrow to let you know how day one went and to let you know about the fiber sweep.  I need to go measure and weigh myself.  I want to be sure to know how well it worked!

Your Why

When we start new things we usually have some sort of motivation.  A paycheck is your motivation for going to work. Entertainment is why we go to the movies.  Pretty much everything we do has some sort of motivation behind it.

When I started doing Beachbody workouts, I wanted to look good! I had quite a few false starts because it's hard.  I'm not going to lie.  I wanted to lose weight and have a body like Autumn Calabrese, but I didn't really want to do the work.  Everyone dreams of finding that magic pill that allows them to eat whatever they want and lay around and watch tv all day.  Well, that doesn't exist.  And if it does exist, you guys are holding out on me ... not cool.

Starting on Monday, I'll be doing the 3-Day Refresh.  I've never done anything like this before, so I'm nervous.  I'm using it as a springboard into a new round of the 21 Day Fix.  My motivation is still to lose weight and look good, but I just want to feel better.  Since using Shakeology on a regular basis I feel great.  It's helped curb my cravings for sweets (which is HUGE), keeps me feeling full, and it tastes awesome!  Knowing how good Shakeology has made me feel, why would I not want to go all in.  Change my eating habits, work out, and of course keep up with Shakeology.

So here's my fitness WHY(s):  lose weight, have clothes fit better, eat less processed food, be healthy!

What are your fitness WHY(s)?  Is it to lose weight?  Is it to look hot at an upcoming high school reunion?  Is it to lower your blood pressure?  Whatever your WHY is, I would love to hear them and help you reach those goals!

Weekends

So weekends.  We all love them, but surely I'm not the only one who struggles to stay on track!

I was able to keep on track with my workouts, but food wise it wasn't the best.  When the husband says he wants a milkshake, it's REALLY hard to turn that down!  So I didn't make the best food choices, but I'm still pretty proud of some of the choices I did make.

Saturday, I did the Cardio Fix and had my Shakeology.  After that we went to a soccer game.  There was tailgate food, beer, and sporting event food.  Thanks to that Shakeology, I wasn't hungry or craving anything.  I stuck to water and enjoyed a great St. Louis FC game!

Sunday was great and very low-key.  I did some yoga asanas and felt great!  Sunday was the night of milkshakes, so that wasn't super great.  I know that beating myself up over food choices just makes me discouraged, so it's done and over.

Do you do anything special to keep yourself on track for weekends?  Do you keep to your food plan on the weekends or deviate from it?

Again ... if you have any questions about Shakeology or the 21 Day Fix please let me know.  If you're looking for more info on the products, check out my site :  www.beachbodycoach.com/jessiann16

So It Begins ...

Here we are.

Let's start out with a short little bio.  I'm 33 (soon to be 34), married to a wonderful guy (for 3 1/2 years), have 2 cats (Kitty Van  Halen and Roderick), and 2 dogs (Double Doodles, Roland and Cassidy).  I work full time.  I enjoy reading, playing with the dogs, history, and taking naps.

You will notice that I didn't include working out in the list of things I enjoy.  That's because I honestly don't enjoy working out.  I do enjoy cookies, ice cream, steak, and pasta.  Based on that list of food that I enjoy, I have to learn to enjoy working out.

So, that's where this blog comes in.

I'm embarking on a journey to become a healthier version of myself.  I've been half-heartedly doing the 21 Day Fix for a while, but I never really followed it closely.  Basically, I'd eat well for a few days then go get a Rolo Blizzard because "I earned it".  Whatever.  I'm not about depriving myself.  BUT, I'm getting a little to close for comfort to depriving myself of my wardrobe because of the food that "I earned".  Like I said, I've been kinda-sorta doing the 21 Day Fix, I'd throw some Piyo in there too, and for good measure I'd go to a yoga studio for a class.  But none of these things were getting me to my goal of having my clothes fit me the way I would like.

I have had a "Come to Jesus" moment.  OK, it wasn't really a single moment, just a lot of things that have gotten me into this healthy mindset.  First thing: cancer runs in my family.  Earlier this year I had to get an MRI due to a nodule in one of my breasts.  I'm not saying that if you don't eat healthy that you're destined to get cancer, but I'm hoping that it might help a little.  Second thing: I was getting winded climbing two flights of stairs with laundry.  Now I'm not talking a huge basket of towels.  I'm talking about a small basket full of socks.  Third thing: clothes.  I have a lot of clothes.  I shouldn't need to have work clothes in 3 different sizes.  That's crazy pants! Last thing: I just don't feel good.  

So I've become a Beachbody Coach.  I know that the 21 Day Fix works.  Even half-heartedly following it, I saw and felt a difference.  Shakeology is awesome in more ways than I can count.

I hope that you'll come along with me on this journey.  I hope that you'll be inspired by my successes and failures (cause it'll happen).  I hope that you'll join me in starting to become a healthier version of you.

If you're interested in reading up on Shakeology, 21 Day Fix, or any of the Beachbody products check out my site:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/jessiann16