If you have been following my posts this week, you saw that I took on one of my biggest challenges yet, the 3-Day Refresh. This past June at Summit, Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler announced a new product that was about to launch called the 3-Day Refresh. It was in response to the Shakeology cleanse many had started doing, but that was never endorsed by Beachbody. You could consider the 3-Day Refresh a mini version of the Ultimate Reset, the 21 day cleanse and body reset system that is offered by Beachbody that has helped numerous people regain control of their lives and health in just 3 weeks. However, many felt they just needed a quick boost to refocus their efforts and that is why they developed the 3-Day Refresh. Just after Summit as coaches were returning from their week of sinful eating in Las Vegas, the results started coming in from those that had already completed their Refresh. In just three short days, people were losing up to 7 pounds, and even more in some cases, and were doing this through shakes and real food. This isn't a juice cleanse and it isn't a fast. It is simply a way to break some unhealthy habits you may have picked up, a way to drop a few pounds for an upcoming event or a way to kick start your metabolism if you've hit a plateau in your weight loss journey.
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| 3-Day Refresh Kit |
I quickly ordered mine so that I could hopefully bust through my current plateau as well as refocus on my healthy lifestyle. I was enjoying too much yummy, but unhealthy food recently. I also have a trip coming up and just wanted to look and feel my best when I got there. I admit, I was a little nervous about this. I don't usually do well with little amounts of food and calories and in the past with other "kick starts" or detox diets, I failed miserably. This time I knew I'd have support from not only my Beachbody family, but luckily one of my best friends was going to take this ride with me.
Monday was day 1. I went to the store the previous day, but failed myself in that I didn't get everything laid out and ready to go like I should. I also didn't sleep well the night before so that didn't help with my energy level. The morning was pretty similar to most of my mornings, except I decided to skip my workout since I don't like to workout without a small snack in the morning plus since I was only allowed a certain amount of calories for the day, I thought I should see how I do and then if I felt up to it, I would workout when I got home. You are allowed to do light-moderate exercise while doing the refresh so staying on my PiYo journey was fine. When you first wake up, you are supposed to drink 8 oz of water. Then, for breakfast, I had a tropical strawberry Shakeology with half of a banana blended with ice and water. Later that morning I had my usual green tea that I have most mornings and then about another hour or so after that I had the Fiber Sweep shake that comes in the kit. I am going to give it to you straight that this can be a hard drink to swallow if you have texture issues. It is thick and grainy, but luckily has a light lemon flavor. I just chugged it as soon as I could and then downed some water afterwards. Throughout the day, it is advised to drink half of your body weight in water, which really isn't too much more than what I normally drink so that was fine. Just a few more trips to the restroom which means more exercise, right? For lunch, you get your first Vanilla Fresh protein shake of the day along with a vegetable, healthy fat and fruit option of your choice. I actually felt pretty full after that and thought, I got this. I was pretty tired, but wasn't sure if that was to be attributed to the body doing it's thing or just from a bad night's sleep and no exercise. A few hours after lunch, you get a snack that consists of a vegetable and healthy fat of your choice. I wasn't too hungry throughout the day for the most part, but by the time I got home I was starving which made me cranky. The Refresh guide comes with dinner recipes that are made up of vegetables so for the first night I chose the stir-fry veggies. I accidentally used balsamic vinegar thinking it was a free food, but it actually turned out quite good so I have a new favorite side dish for the future. You also get another Vanilla Fresh shake and can choose to have a cup of vegetable broth if you'd like, which I did. I went to bed pretty early that night hoping to have a better Tuesday, and I did.
Tuesday was my best day on the Refresh. I had more energy, I felt great and even got my PiYo workout in when I got home from work. I only lost about a pound that first day, but I didn't let that get me down. I had read many other's comments on Facebook about their results and figured I just didn't have a lot to lose and it was only the first day. I enjoyed another light dinner and went to bed, but struggled falling asleep right away because I had worked out in the evening and I don't usually do that anymore. That unfortunately led to a Wednesday that was pretty similar to my Monday. I woke up Wednesday, my final day of the cleanse and was down about 2 more pounds so that had me excited. I just kept telling myself after all the dreams I had about food that I just had one more day to get through and I can do it. I chugged along through the day, downed that last Fiber Sweep begrudgingly and just couldn't wait to get home. I skipped another workout yesterday unfortunately. I was just too exhausted and was getting very cranky again. Right about that time, I found another group of comments on Facebook by others saying they just gave up because it wasn't working for them. I'll get to my thoughts on that shortly. I made my final meal of lemony green beans and Vanilla Fresh shake and vegetable broth and again, went to bed pretty early. I was glad it was over.
Overall, my thoughts on this cleanse are good. I am proud of myself for sticking to it and not cheating. I honestly didn't crave food, especially sweets, during that whole time. Yes, I saw pictures of food and thought how delicious that would be right about now, but I didn't blow it with a piece of chocolate or crackers or some other thing that I could have easily talked myself into. I was hungry, but I wasn't dying of starvation because I got to eat again whenever it got to be at its worst in the stomach growling department. I think because I get up so early, that could have been a factor as well. If I was able to start my day a little later, maybe that would help because my day wouldn't be so long. The Vanilla Fresh shake is actually quite tasty and I added cinnamon to it to give it a little more flavor. I recommend blending it in the blender with ice or at least using a very good shaker with cold water. The Fiber Sweep didn't cause me to have to run to the bathroom, if you know what I mean, which was one of my concerns. I noticed from drinking so much water, that my body temperature lowered a little and at night I wasn't as hot as I usually am so that was nice. And, I loved the recipes they supplied because like I said, I plan to continue using those paired with proteins for meals in the future. My negative thoughts, and these are just for me, are that I was tired, which could have been more from the sleep issues rather than the actual cleanse. I did find it hard to stay focused again during work and with fewer calories consumed and the fact I wasn't able to eat like I normally would, I did get a little cranky towards the end of the day on Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday was my best day and I have seen many people say that same thing about their day 2 and I have seen others say that they had energy the whole time. It really depends on your body. Would I recommend this to a customer or a friend? Absolutely. But I would share with them my experiences so that they can have an idea as to what they could encounter. Will I do it again? Yes. This 3-Day Refresh is safe to do monthly if you'd like. I know August will be a crazy month as it is my birthday month so I am already planning on doing another round in September. Next time, though, I think I'll try it on a weekend. Since I get off early on Fridays, I think I'd like to see how I do with being able to work out in the afternoon after I've eaten and also have the ability to take a nap should I have to. Another time I may try it in the middle of the week and see how my body reacts to it that way.
The thing you have to remember is that there is no quick fix. This isn't going to make you lose 20 pounds in a weekend and it isn't going to eliminate all of your bad habits for you. You still have to put in the work. I will say that even though I was dreaming about my first real meal, I didn't go crazy and have no intentions to. I had my normal strawberry Shakeology for breakfast and avoided the kolaches that were in the kitchen this morning when I got to work. What I am excited about most is that I am refocused on my healthy eating and that feels good to be in that head space again. And that I am not craving sweets. Shakeology helps with that, but I still have my moments. With this though, I can't even think of eating something sweet right now. And now my results. I lost 4 pounds and 7 inches in the 3 days. I have read that others continue to lose weight afterwards so I am hoping I see that too. If not, I am still proud of myself for taking this challenge head on and getting it done. If you're interested in starting your own 3-Day Refresh, I would be more than happy to help you get started and offer you support.
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