One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to start getting healthy and fit. I hated the way I felt. I didn’t necessarily want to lose weight but start feeling better and I knew that it started with eating right and working out. My co-worker has been on the Beach Body 21 Day Fix plan for several rounds and she is what got me started. I didn’t have much faith in the program because it just didn’t seem like it would work. I mean, a 30 minute workout DVD at home and eating up to 1,500-1,799 calories a day to maintain my weight seemed very suspicious. I knew the only way to know is to give it a go!
Getting started:
https://flic.kr/p/Dt6EZN
I got my DVD’s and eating plan book in the mail and I was really excited…actually! I liked that I was in an accountability group on Facebook and everyone was so positive and motivating. It really helps keep you going. We were getting ready to start the program and the day before it started I sat down and made a grocery list and meal plan for the week! Yes, it took awhile since it was brand new but it is way easier than you think when you get the hang of it. I got the following containers to eat daily:
4 green (veggies), 3 purple (fruit), 4 red (protein), 3 yellow (carbs), 1 blue (healthy fats), 2 orange (seeds & dressings), and 4 teaspoons (nut butters & oils).
It really is so much food. Usually I didn’t eat all my containers (which you are supposed to).
Day 1: It is hard at first not eating whatever you want but I liked that I had a meal plan to keep me on track. This is an example of what my daily meal plan looked liked. (I usually kept it the same but my salads had different veggies in them and my dinners were different.)
Breakfast: Protein shake (1 red), banana (1 purple), and Peanut Butter (1 tsp.)
Snack: almonds (1 blue)
Lunch: Mixed veggies salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, banana peppers and seasoned Tuna (2 greens & 1 red) It’s that good you don’t even need salad dressing!
Snack: apple (1 purple) I usually ate this on the way home from work so that I wouldn’t be tempted to snack when I got home. I would get home and immediately work out.
Dinner: Chicken Stir Fry (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 tsp.)
Snack: Peanut Butter (1 tsp.)
As you can see I didn’t use all my containers everyday and I felt so satisfied not to mention…HEALTHY!!
Now the (dreaded) workouts…
Everyday you do a different workout: Total Body Cardio, Upper Fix, Lower Fix, Pilates Fix, Cardio Fix, Dirty 30, and Yoga Fix.
As you know I was very suspicious I just didn’t think an at home workout DVD would really be a workout. Boy was I wrong! I was sweating like a pig and I usually don’t even sweat on a treadmill. They are really great workouts! They are hard at first but when I woke up the next day to sore to even put on my riding boots I was happy and wanted to continue.
Week 1: lost almost 1.6 lbs.
Week 2: lost 2.2 lbs.
Week 3: lost 1.2 lbs.
Total 5 lbs. and I wasn’t even trying to lose. I felt great and all my clothes fit better. Most importantly I felt happier, less stressed, and had more energy! 🙂