I’ve never gone on a diet. Not really.
But it turns out, those pregnancy pounds do not just melt away even if you go back to your normal way of eating an exercising. You have to do something extra to make them go away.
Reluctantly, I joined Beachbody and purchased a challenge pack for the 21 Day Fix.
I’ve been hearing about it for awhile and of course Beachbody goes way back to my P90X days. But I’ve never really purchased a diet plan or workout videos (the P90X I got off craigslist for cheap.)
So, Giselle convinced me that joining the 21 Day Fix challenge group would help me feel more motivated when I couldn’t leave the house to workout. There were others in the group, and most of them are stay-at-home moms so I could relate.
The Diet
I broke down and joined. I won’t lie, the color coded containers threw me for a loop. I still feel like that was too much thinking/planning for and didn’t do a thing with them.
However, I read the nutrition booklet and got the basic gist of the eating plan — implemented accordingly.
Things went better than I expected.
Shakeology
I have such a hard time keeping away from sugar, especially my nightly bowl of ice cream. But…then I started drinking Shakeology.
Here’s the thing, I’ve kind of been rolling my eyes at Shakeology for a few years. I thought it was kind of gimmicky and there are SO many protein shakes/powders out there, I wondered how this could be any better than the rest.
Well, turns out, it worked wonders for me.
I kind of looked forward to it like a daily milkshake and the plan comes with about a million different recipes you can make with the chocolate, vanilla and cafe latte flavors.
Without even knowing it was supposed to decrease my cravings, it did. I didn’t want ice cream at night — it was weird.
Additionally, I felt good about what I was putting in my body and got rid of my sugary yogurt habit.
I was also cutting back on white carbs, eating either eggs or oatmeal for breakfast and incorporating veggies at least twice a day.
Snack Attack
Normally, I turn to tortilla chips and salsa when I get a snack attack in the afternoon. But on the diet, I opted for carrot sticks and hummus or almonds — and lots of water.
So my cravings dissipated and I had energy despite getting much less regular sleep than in my past life. I wasn’t even looking for these things to happen — they just did.
The eating side of health living has always been hardest for me — since I enjoy exercise but even that is hard when you are stuck in your living room.
The Fix Workouts
I didn’t think I would like the videos. For one, I can’t jump around too much on the third floor and..they just seem boring compared to a real class.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that I started to enjoy them. Plus, having a schedule where you are told which day to do what helped me want to check it off my list for the day.
And even though 30 minutes doesn’t seem long enough to me, it was also something I could knock out quickly at naptime and feel okay about the activity I got in for the day.
Lastly, they are total body. So I did more ab work that I’ve done in probably 15 years. It brought me back to my CrossFit mentality of working every muscle and not stressing over cardio. I was able to modify the jumping as needed (though I wish I didn’t have to) and was definitely challenged.
And…sometimes I even included this guy:
Conclusion
I’ve now completed the 21 days. I would say I had about 3 kind of disastrous days food-wise, but otherwise pretty good. I know if I had strictly adhered to the eating plan, I would notice better results.
That being said, I don’t like strictness (the ED history & all)…and my pants are a little looser, tummy definitely looking a bit better. I also feel good about myself because I can feel sore muscles from head to toe, meaning I know I did well.
Once you’ve done the Fix, you can rejoin challenge groups (I think), and I know many coaches host them over and over, as Giselle does (get in touch with her if you want to do one.)
I’m not rejoining right away but will probably do it again in a few weeks. And…I’m re-buying a round of Shakeology because I like it so much!
Overall, a good experience to get me back on track and hopefully to pre-baby weight soon.
*I paid for this program myself and was not reimbursed or sponsored