A Fat Kid's Honest Review About the 3 Day Refresh: Day 3!!

IT.

IS.

FINISHED!

I know, I survived. I lived to tell the tale. You know guys, it's really not that bad. I had a headache last night (presumably from the lack of caffeine) and a brief headache this morning (which was quickly quelled by a black cup of iced coffee), but overall... It really wasn't that bad. In fact, I told the Bearded Wonder already that I'd totally do this again. I generally wasn't hungry unless I missed a snack time waited too long to eat. Everything was really filling.

Though funny story, the last 2 days, every time I drank my Vanilla Refresh shake, I tasted corn. So weird. This afternoon at lunch I was looking at the ingredient list, and what's the 3rd ingredient? MAIZE. It's apparently for protein.

Gross.

Don't get me wrong, I love corn. I have nothing against creamed corn. But my shake with fresh pineapple and coconut extract in it still tasting like corn? Not a fan. It was so weird.

Imagine a shake made out of this. Yum.

As always, here's today's rundown:

8am: ~10 oz. water
9am: Chocolate shakeo with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, 1.25 c. water
10am: Iced black coffee. WITH A SPLASH OF MAPLE SYRUP!! 

I have no regrets. #YoloOrSomething

12pm: Fiber Sweep. Yum.

1:30pm: Vanilla Fresh shake with 1.25 c. of water, 1/2 banana, a LOT of vanilla extract [to mask the corn], spinach salad with strawberry and avocado and this awesome Italian vinaigrette I made. So mad I didn't find it sooner. 

4:30pm: Apple chips from Starbucks. I was hungry and they were literally just dried apples. #WhenInDC

6pm: 1 c. veggie broth with herbs, coconut steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, green beans), and a Corn Vanilla Fresh shake with pineapple and coconut extract.

I had a tiny headache this morning, but the coffee kicked it's butt. Oh and guess what??

I lost 2.8 lbs yesterday. 

That brings my total loss up to 4.8, and my overall weight to 25 lbs lost!! Unfortunately I've been waffling with the same ~4 lbs for the last month or so, so I'm only down 25 instead of 30. It's ok though- it's a crawl not a sprint. Or something. :) 

The 3 Day Refresh has also made me realize that big bowls of vegetables are actually pretty nice for a meal. I haven't felt bloated in 3 days, I haven't actually craved junk food like I was before. This really has seemed to reset my body & my mentality. I'm ready for round 4 of the 21 Day Fix to start tomorrow!

Interested in trying the 3 Day Refresh?? Click HERE to get your own kit!

(Listen, I know it's a bit pricy for 3 days. I am the CHEAPEST of the skates. But it's for your health, it's a one-time investment, and it's a great way to jumpstart your lifestyle journey.)

xo

A Redhead

A Fat Kid's Honest Review About the 3 Day Refresh: Day 2

Day 2 is just about done. Suffice it to say... It was a bit more rough than day 1. I felt pretty good after yesterday so I figured today would be just as easy.

Eeeehhhhhhh..... 

Don't get me wrong- I was super chipper before I drank the Fiber Sweep this morning. See? I took a picture for you guys!

Told you it looks disgusting. Thankfully it doesn't taste like it looks

Here is today's lowdown:

• 8am: ~10 oz. water

• 9am: Cafe latte shakeo with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, 1.25 c. water, ice

• 10am: Fiber Sweep

• 11:30am: Green tea (I ended up sipping this over the next couple of hours just because of my schedule)

• 12:30pm: Vanilla Fresh shake with vanilla extract, cinnamon, 1.25 c. water, and ice, 1/2 banana, spinach/strawberry/avocado salad with vinaigrette. (My shake was so gross today, you guys. So gross.)

• 4:45pm: 1 c. veggie broth with chopped up herbs (I was desperate for food and made this really quick. More on that below)

• 6pm: Vanilla Fresh shake blended with ice, 1.25 c. water, coconut extract (GOD ALMIGHTY WHY DID TODAY'S SHAKES TASTE LIKE CORN?!), coconut steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, smidgen of coconut oil). 

So today was different from yesterday in that my schedule was a bit "off." I went to a LuLaRoe show today which took up a good chunk of my afternoon, so I didn't drink enough water during the day. By the time I was heading home, I had a massive headache and was starving.

Important life tip: make sure to space out your food during the day! I didn't eat an afternoon snack like yesterday, and I didn't drink enough water, so combine the 2 and it was baaaaddd. I feel fine now since I've been drinking more water and had a proper dinner.

Though, I'm not sure what's going on, but my Vanilla Refresh shakes have tasted like corn today. They were awful. Yesterday was fine, nothing special, but today's were just bad. They seriously had a weird corn after taste. 

I promised you an honest review, and you're getting an honest review. =P 

Tomorrow's my last day, so fingers crossed it goes well. I lost 2 lbs yesterday, so that's pretty sweet! 

OH! Here's my dinner from last night. I took a picture and forgot to show you all yesterday. :D 

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

xo

A Redhead

A Fat Kid's Honest Review About the 3 Day Refresh: Day 1

Heeeyyyy friends. It's been awhile. :) We've been off The Fix for about a month now, and suffice it to say I have been in Hog Heaven.

Are you guys familiar with the phrase "Hog Heaven"? It's a very Southern term, and it looks something like this...

Yep. I saw it. I ate it. It's just that simple. OK if I'm totally honest, it wasn't that dramatic. I mean I still tried to not eat EVERYTHING I got my hands on, but overall I had little to no self-control. I think it was because I totally OD'd on brown rice and shredded chicken. I just couldn't do it anymore. The end of the last round of the Fix was really hard for me, because I stopped being able to eat the staples we'd come to rely on.

Enter the 3 Day Refresh. It was a safe but dramatic enough option for me to kick my butt in to gear. It's a bit drastic, but it's also only 3 days, and frankly- I need to undo some of my edible sins before the next round of the fix starting Monday.

SO! Here we go.

I did a lot of researching on this before I started, and everyone could at least agree on one thing: it does work. Whether they liked it or not, everyone lost some weight (I saw anywhere between 3 and 10 lbs!). That appealed to me. I've done some crazy things diet-wise, and 3 days is cake.

Well, not literally. That's counterproductive. 

Anywho. I got my 3 Day Refresh box on Thursday, and once I opened it and started reading... I was terrified. Genuinely terrified.

It seemed almost too drastic for what I thought it'd be, and only ~900 calories a day? And no dairy? WHERE MY CHEESE AT?!

I bought a crap ton of veggies and some fruit at the store (no canned or frozen, per the booklet!), and I started to prep for the scariest looking cleanse I'd ever attempted.

Here's what today looked like:

• 6:45am: Water. You're supposed to start err'day with 8-10 oz. of water. 
• 7:50am: Vanilla shakeology with 1 serving blueberries, 1.25 c. water, cinnamon, and ice. (This was a terrible concoction, btw. Don't do it.)
• 9:30am: Green tea (Which, hallelujah, doesn't taste like green tea. I loathe green tea.)
• 10:40am: Fiber Sweep Drink* (yes, it's supposed to do exactly what you're giggling about)
• 12pm: Vanilla Fresh Shake**, 1/2 banana, 2 c. of spinach with 6 big strawberries cut up, 1/4 avocado, and a lemon vinaigrette I made with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, s&p. 
• 3pm: I wasn't terribly hungry but I felt a bit peckish, so I ate my green pepper and hummus anyway. (I figured I'd be hungry before dinner, so might as well.)
• 6pm: MASSIVE DINNER. Ok, the booklet says you can have an optional cup of veggie broth with herbs in addition to your vanilla fresh shake and veggie dinner. So I did. Because I'm a big girl that likes food. I had the cup of broth, huge plate of veggie stir-fry, and my last Vanilla Refresh Shake.

I'm stuffed y'all. I made the stir-fry with green peppers, shredded carrots, and fresh green beans. Toss in some minced garlic and freshly grated ginger and himalayan pink salt, and it was pretty good!! Thankfully the booklet gives you detailed recipes you can do for dinner. 

*So the Fiber Sweep. It's not too bad, actually. Definitely drink it in FRIGID cold water, but don't use ice because it clumps. Just chug it back really quick; don't sit and savor it. It has a nice citrus flavor, but I won't lie to you- it looks nasty. Like a bunch of wheat germ you threw in water. It's strange. But again, it tastes just fine!

** The Vanilla Fresh shake isn't too shabby, either. I added vanilla extract and cinnamon at lunch, per some other folks' recommendations. I love them for it. It thickened up nicely even with just water and ice (I couldn't blend it at work). I did blend it for dinner, though I added almond extract and cinnamon just to see what would happen. I think tomorrow I'll try 1/2 banana and some coconut extract.

Overall I feel fine! I'm pleasantly surprised that other than this morning I haven't really felt hungry. I do think it's funny that they warn you about "extra" gas while on this (thank you, Fiber Sweep!), but that's because I've got the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy.

I do feel less bloated, which is a definite perk. I ate with reckless abandon last night (see: Hog Heaven) so I felt kind of gross when I woke up. But now I'm feeling pretty good! I can have another optional cup of tea tonight, and of course more water. Hopefully this keeps up for the next 2 days. And hopefully I lose 3-5 lbs. ;)

I'll keep you all posted!

xo
A Redhead

When you have a setback in your fitness journey.

As an almost life-long dieter, it was about time I had a setback in my newish fitness journey.
This blog has always been my glass box to stand in and be honest about my weight loss adventures, and today is especially painful as I admit a few things.

First, I haven't worked out in 5 6 weeks.
Second, I've gained 1.5 lbs this week since we're off the Fix right now and I've eaten with all kinds of reckless abandon.

Are we still friends even though I just told you I really suck at this sometimes?

I have legitimate excuses for some of the time I didn't work out- hubbies had the flu and I was taking care of him, I had a nasty cold, I threw my back out, I hurt my knee... But if I'm completely honest, there's still a solid 3 weeks where I didn't have excuses. I just didn't work out. Sometimes I was busy, sometimes it was pure laziness. I'm not proud of it, and I can't go back and change it, but I can start again.

Which I did today!

Thanks Ron! 

I worked out today and it hurt. I felt weak, and winded, and completely lost some of the progress I'd made (like having to go back to my lighter weights!). It felt like I completely started over. But at least I started over instead of wallowing in my workout failure. I've really learned through everything that I can't make changes by just talking about it. I've got to do something.

About the weight gain... It sucks. It really does. It's only a pound and a half, so in the long run it's not much, but it sucks that it only took a week to bring it back. I like to think that after being on this journey since January, and since I'm a Beachbody coach, that I've got it all down. I know everything, I'm amazing at it, and weight will just continue to fall off my frame!

Who are you kidding?!

Unfortunately that's not the case. 

It's still a journey. It's still a process. I'm going to eat ice cream, I'm going to occasionally have hiccups, but I'll continue to be open and honest about my struggles. I love food. But I'm also an emotional eater. I didn't get my bodacious curves by eating salads when I was going through something! ;)

So that's where I am right now. I had some amazing chocolate cherry shakeo after my workout, and it was kind of like rewarding myself with a milkshake. =P

My next 21 day fix challenge group is starting on May 15th. Let me know if you're interested in a fun, but honest start on your weight loss journey! I don't ask for your weight/measurements (you keep those to yourself), but the group provides some fantastic accountability. I promise fun giveaways, an imperfectly honest coach, some new friends, and if you put the work into it- results. Even if it's not a perfect 21 days, it's a start. That's all that matters- that you start.

xo
A Redhead

It's happened.... It's here...

I'VE LOST 20 POUNDS!!! 

I was going to go for a girl power vibe here, but this was just too good to pass up....

You guys.

YOU. GUYS. 

I'm so pumped. So freaking pumped. I've lost 2.5 lbs since Monday on round 3 of The Fix, which is about what I lost during my entire last round. Granted, I didn't have my whole heart in it that time- I know I didn't. I cheated with my food, I found excuses not to work out... The program's not going to work if I don't work the program, you know? I started to feel sorry for myself, but I'm the one who made the choices to eat junk and not work out. That's unfortunately how this works. 

My dream of eating a bread basket with no calories will never be realized.

Le sigh.

ANYWAY. I've been trying really hard with my food this week, though it's still been tough. The Bearded Wonder was diagnosed with the flu last Thursday, and I developed a nasty cold on Monday. We still ate fix-friendly though! I didn't work out, but I also wasn't eating as many calories as I would if I were working out. So it all balanced out in that regard.

My challenge group also started on Monday, and I have to say that I LOVE it. The folks in the group are funny and honest, and we've gotten great accountability and recipes out of this. I'm doing a giveaway of Autumn Calabrese's FIXATE cookbook on Monday to the most active participant, and at the end of the 3 weeks I'll be doing a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway to whoever loses the highest percentage of body fat. I'm pretty excited. =) 

I love doing this though. I love seeing people support each other, and I love being part of their success story. On a selfish note, I love having even more people around me doing this- there's some serious transparency going on.

Interested in joining us for the next round? Want to just get started on your own in the meantime? You can purchase the 21 day fix set here along with some taaaaaasty Shakeology (cafe latte is my favorite. YUM). Please ask me questions! I've drank the kool-aid Shakeology and love talking about this program! =))) 

OK kids. Everyone have a wonderful weekend, and a wonderful Easter! I'm still not sure why we celebrate Christ's resurrection with a rabbit that brings easter eggs and tons of diabeetus, buuuuut I love Jesus and chocolate so whatevs. 

xo

A Redhead

Round 2 of the Fix is over!

Well we've ended our 2nd round of the 21 day fix! Now, I started this blog with the intent of being honest and accountable with my weight loss journey. So it's in that mindset that I have to tell you my whole heart wasn't in it this last time. I don't know why- maybe I got arrogant from my first round and thought I was all of a sudden a weight losing goddess? Maybe I figured I'd just keep losing weight after such a great round?

I have no clue.

Regardless, I'm the only one that suffered from my empathetic attitude. In 3 weeks I lost 2 pounds, though I did still manage to lose 6 inches from my body.

That brings my final weight loss total in 2 rounds (though technically a round and a half, if we count my laziness =P) to 17 lbs and 16 inches!

Not too shabby, huh!? I mean really, 2 lbs in 3 weeks is still great. 6 inches in 3 weeks is still great. But I constantly found excuses to not work out, or eat "treats" when Heaven knows I don't need them.

Clean eating or not, a treat is still a treat.

SO. In the interest of meeting my 30th birthday goal (you know, to look like I'm wearing Spanx without actually wearing them), I'm starting a challenge group on March 21st!

Oh yeah, I also signed up as a Beachbody coach. Did I tell you guys that?? I seriously love the 21 day fix though and I want other people to do it with me! =) 

Now, back to the challenge group. It's going to run March 21st-April 10th and I basically want everyone to do it with me. =P There'll be giveaways (word on the street is there's a $25 Amazon gift card at stake. I don't know- it's a rumor!), silly inspirational sayings, far too much optimism for any 1 person to handle, tons of recipes, and more importantly- a lifestyle change.

If you're interested in signing up, purchase your challenge pack HERE* and drop me a note so I can add you to the private facebook group! It's completely private, and there will be a "cone of silence" placed on it so everyone has privacy and can speak freely. =)

xo
A Redhead

*Note: I know, $140 is a bit steep. Buuuuut you get a month of Shakeology which in itself is normally $130/month. So you're basically buying a month of Shakeology & getting the 21 day fix program for FREEEEEEE! =) I'm crazy cheap as you all know, so I'm trying to offer perspective. =) 

We lost our dog

OK not really, I wouldn't be blogging if we lost our dog. I'd be sobbing into a pint of ice cream while laying on the floor gnashing my teeth.

Isn't she cuuuuuuuuute??

What I meant to say was that we lost the WEIGHT of our dog between the 2 of us. I know, sneaky. That was mean. #yolonoregrets #Icantbelieveisaidyolo #iapologizeforsayingyolo

Anyway. Today is "weigh-in Monday" a.k.a. "gird your loins and hope for the best Monday". Years of diets have made me fairly pessimistic with weigh-in days, so I always fear the worst when it comes time to step on the scale. Instead, I lost 2 lbs this week! Which brought my total weight loss up to 15.5!!!

Thanks Mashable! And xtina. ;)

Even more impressive? My darling Bearded Wonder. Now, in case you weren't aware, men sneeze and lose 5 lbs. They blink rapidly and lose 8 lbs. It's just a cruel and scientific fact.

Husband has lost 36 lbs. THIRTY. SIX. AS IN 4 LESS THAN 40. AND IS MORE THAN TWICE WHAT I'VE LOST.

THIRTY.

SIX.

Tyra knows what I'm talking about. 

I'm so proud of him. Seriously. I mean naturally I hate him a little bit right now because of the raging jealousy, BUT. I'm so proud and grateful to be doing this with him. I don't think either of us would have been as successful without each other (you know, until he sneezed anyway ;)).

We both have more energy, we sleep better, we don't ever feel bloated and gross... You guys, I hate to sound like I'm drinking the kool-aid, except I'm going to. I drank the whole pitcher. This program really is awesome. We've already decided we'll just keep up with the clean eating and portion control even after we stop the program. It just makes sense.

Also, I'm thinking of signing up as a Beachbody coach. I'm obsessed with this program and we have some ridiculously awesome results. Case and point:

We're each holding the amount of weight we've lost. =) I guess we could've held up our dog to get the same affect. =P

As for food, favorites as of late are... 
Asian turkey burgers
Turkey meatballs
Spaghetti squash with no-sugar-added pasta sauce
Roast chicken that we cut up and eat throughout the week
Parmesan puffs
Buffalo Chicken Dip (O.M.GEEEEEE THIS IS STUPID GOOD.)

How's everyone else doing?? Any recipes to share?? ;)

xo
A Redhead