Summer 2014
It's pretty easy to eat clean when there's no outside temptation. My small town has about 0 options for eating out (McDonald's, Subway, Hardee's, DQ, and 3 pizza places) so my husband and I rarely eat out. My hometown, on the other hand, has just about every restaurant you can think of- one of the perks of living in the 'burbs of Chicago...but is it really a perk? I stayed with my parents for 3 weeks in August 2014. I love my husband and am so grateful that he works so hard for me to be a stay at home mom and that he lets me take extended trips to see my family a couple times a year.
I was doing great at working out while at my parents' house, but I'm only human, and i couldn't resist the temptations of all of my favorite restaurants I never get to eat at where I live. I did have healthy meals at home, and watched my portions when we ate out, but the difference in my diet was making a difference in how I felt. It's really amazing how your body responds to the fuel you put in it. A couple days before I was due to end my trip was my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe I've been out of high school for 10 years already! It doesn't feel like that long because I've focused on smaller chunks of time: 4 years of college, 2 years of grad school, and now 4 years living in Iowa. But I digress.
I wanted to look my best for my reunion, but I also wanted to refresh my system and break away from eating out before I went back to Iowa. Beachbody came out with the 3 Day Refresh to serve a few purposes: a clean break from bad habits, a jumpstart to weight loss, or to break a plateau. I was most interested because it was a "cleanse" but you still got to eat real food! Since it only lasts for 3 days, I figured it would be easy to stick too as well. Each day on the 3 Day Refresh you drink 2 Vanilla Fresh protein shakes, 1 Fiber Sweep shake, 1 Shakeology, as well as several snacks and small meals of real food from an approved list/recipes.
Many people, myself included, have done a 3 day "Shakeology cleanse", but Shakeology wasn't meant to be used as a sole means of nutrition. The Vanilla Fresh has extra protein and nutrients, and tastes much like vanilla Shakeology. The Fiber Sweep must be drunk quickly or it gets chunky/thick because of the fiber. I drank it quickly and found it tasted like lemon and only had some slight gas and an extra bathroom trip right away on day 1. I was very pleasantly surprised about that because when you think "cleanse" and hear "fiber sweep" you might think you'll be on the toilet the whole time and feel terrible. I found this to not be the case!
Because I am very picky and do not like most vegetables, I did not follow the eating plan- I didn't cheat, but instead actually didn't eat all of what I was allowed! I recommend following the meal plan correctly, BUT I did not have any issues with low blood sugar, feeling weak, jittery, or lacking energy. (I do suffer from hypoglycemia so I was definitely on the lookout for symptoms of that with the low calorie intake of these 3 days.) On the contrary, I felt so energized and literally refreshed on the 3 Day Refresh! The recommendation is for light activity or to take a break from your usual workouts- again, because of the low daily calorie intake (just under 1,000), but I didn't quite follow that either. These are MY experiences, but I will tell you to stick to the program as it is laid out! I did PiYo 2 of the days but the other I went to a live Body Attack class taught by a friend. I took a break near the end, but I had the stamina for an hour-long intense cardio workout while doing the Refresh. I had SO MUCH energy, but not the crazy jittery caffeine kind: the kind you get from putting amazing fuel in your body!
I could not have had a more positive experience with the 3 Day Refresh. I also lost 4 pounds and 1.25"...all in 3 days!! Belly bloat be gone, and just in time for my reunion. 💟 I will definitely be doing the 3 Day Refresh again as a quarterly or bi-annual thing, or after my next long stay with my parents.
