Three weeks. 21 days. That's what I told myself when I first decided to try out 21-day Fix -- It's just three weeks. I'm on day nine of the fix and so far, so good. Some of you may remember I started Weight Watchers in January. I gave it a try for two months and it didn't work for me. I tried to figure out a good balance of exercise and following the plan, but after two months, I lost a total of 1.4 pounds. Yes, losing even a small amount of weight is better than gaining or maintaining, but with such small results, it wasn't enough for me to continue following (or paying for!) the plan. I quit after only eight weeks and I am okay with that. I was getting frustrated with both myself and the plan, and it just wasn't worth the stress -- especially since I wasn't really seeing results.
I needed to try something different, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered the 21-day Fix. For those of you who aren't familiar, 21-day Fix is both a fitness and nutrition plan. You follow a 30-minute workout each day, ranging from full body cardio to yoga. You also follow a nutrition "plan". I have plan in quotes as you can eat most anything, but are limited to a number of servings per day (eg four servings of protein, four servings of veggies). I think it is a good way to help eliminate added sugars from your diet and learn portion sizes. You use provided containers as your guide, but I wish they would list the actual serving size as I don't find it realistic to use containers for the rest of your life. There is also a third component, Shakeology.
I am following the workouts and the eating plan, minus Shakeology. I have tried Shakeology in the past and didn't care for the aftertaste (stevia is no good in my book). I will give a full report at the end of the cycle, but I thought I'd share a little about my experience so far.
Workouts
- I followed the workouts for six out of the seven days. I opted out of yoga on Sunday because I just didn't want to do it. I've also decided I hate pilates. :)
- I added a run at the end of two workouts. I wanted to run more, but I was sore and I didn't want to overdo it.
Nutrition
- For the most part, I followed the nutrition plan perfectly. My "cheat" meal (dessert, really) was a sugar sweetened Greek yogurt. Where I normally would have gone for chocolate, I opted for either a cherry or key lime Greek yogurt. I also had some Goldfish here and there as I was craving something salty.
- I was hungry all day for the first three to four days, but am now starting to feel a lot less hungry throughout the day
- I had one alcoholic drink (you're allowed some wine, but I had one 12 oz beer)
I will write up a full recap at the end of the 21 days, but I thought I would fill you in on how things are going so far. I'm hoping this will help me get a good start on some weight loss since I start marathon training in July. Any weight loss will definitely be a good thing!
Have any of you tried 21-day Fix or any similar fitness/nutrition plan? Any tips?Labels: 21 day fix, beachbody, fitness