Don't worry my dears. I will spare you with my before and after pictures.
You won't see those here.
plus there's really not much of a difference externally. so no bathing suit pictures here of me frowning on the left and smiling on the right side.
full disclosure: this post is in no way a sponsored post. I just want to share my journey so far. journey of loosing all those shakes and icecream I ate everyday during my fourth pregnancy. I shared last week that I started exercising regularly in the morning.
I have been looking for an exercise program to jumpstart my workouts. I need something to start anew. I have never been excited with a program, since 2008 when zumba became all the craze. I have been following
jenna's feed and was encouraged by her experience as a beachbody coach. I decided to follow suit. I bought the
21day fix package after delivery. At 4 weeks postpartum, I chose a date to start eating mindfully and healthily. That means no ice cream everyday!
first impression: yes those containers are small. But once you start packing your veggies and fruit and meat ~ you can have an entire meal that will fill you up.
confession: I am not following the containers strictly. I am breastfeeding and per my OB and BB coach (who is
Jenna) that I need to add 300-500 calories on top of the recommended calorie intake per my current weight. It's not much of a difference by adding that extra 300-500 calories. You will be surprised. It's basically just adding another green container (veggie) plus/minus another red container (proteins).
I needed the portion control aspect of the
21 day fix. I
used to be a healthy and mindful eater. Then I started having babies and I reward myself with ice cream or sweet Moscato wine after a long day at home or a long day at work. That had to stop.
The diet portion also focuses on eating whole foods and whole grains. Just mentally doing a checklist helps me make the right decisions. If it's processed, stay away from it. if it's whole foods, as long as it's within my allotted container, then I can have it.
Right away, I realized I could not fit all green containers in one day. It's a lot of veggies.
So I finally asked Derrick to get me a
Blendtec.
y'all, the
blendtec is amazing! My sis and bff did not lie! it's an awesome product. I can make sweet smoothies using the following recipe, no sugar added! and it's yummy.
I follow the 60/40 rule. 60% fruit and 40% veggies so it won't be too bitter or awful in the morning.
3 cups of frozen mango/peach + 2 cups of kale and spinach + 2 cups of water = 32 oz or 2 servings
3 cups of frozen strawberry/banana + 2 cups of kale and spinach + 1 cup of water + 1 cup of OJ = 32 oz or 2 servings
I did not order the Shakeology sampler so i cannot make a comment about that yet. Maybe someday. Shakeology is a dense food nutrition promoted by BeachBody. But for now I am happy I am eating (or drinking) veggies in the morning!
Now the workouts: they are only 30 minutes! for busy folks, specially moms like me, this one is perfect! 30 minutes of hard work then you're done. I love that part! That's why I have not been doing Zumba much because I really need 55-60 minutes of hard core dancing to get a good workout. Most days, I do not have an hour. So getting workouts done in 30 minutes is a BIG PLUS for me.
I did not start the workouts till I was cleared by my OB at 6 weeks. So from 4-6 weeks postpartum, I just did some light Zumba and started counting my containers. Then 6 weeks on, i started the DVDs that came with the package. The fix program recommends working out everyday. There is a rotating schedule of cardio, upper, lower body, pilates, yoga, plyo in there so it's not too repetitive.
as I have mentioned last week, I get up early in the morning before kids wake up and work out. Derrick has been working out with me.
Having a workout partner really helps. I was not alone in the dark doing squat jumps for 60 seconds and dying. Somebody else is feeling the burn with me!
So for the results: these are my results, yours may vary specially if you follow the diet strictly. I did not.
the first 2 weeks of following the diet loosely - i lost 2 lbs. I chucked it off to water weight shedding off. But internally, if I eat half a slice of cheesecake or ask for ice cream (yes, I did have ice cream...) then I do not feel so good with the sudden rush of sugar.
week 1-1.5 of loosely following diet + working out with the DVDs: total weight loss of 5 lbs. It was a miniscule number compared to what I have yet to loose but when my mom and sis asked me about my progress, they were so impressed that I already lost 5 lbs! I guess I should not be too hard on myself.
week 2: total weight loss of 6 lbs.
internally, i can feel I am getting stronger and able to do more reps during the weight lifting or HIIT workouts. I sleep better. I don't tire easily. I was able to fit into my BIG jeans. I own a couple types of jeans: my pre-pregnancy jeans -- which are my goal jeans and my BIG jeans, bought 1-2 sizes up. I still have a long ways to go.
week 3: total weight loss of 7 lbs
Am I plateuing? I know why. We still go out and I still give in to those ice cream, pasta and soups which we know are laden with salt and fats.
week 4: total weight loss of 8 lbs. That's where I am right now... I am still going strong with the workouts and meal prepping. We order take out less. We eat out less. I cannot give up date night though. Friday night is something I look forward to because I get to dress up for hubs and we go out. I just have to make better choices when out... which is tough. (the cheesecake is calling... that yummy creamy pasta is calling).
My recommendations:
Two thumbs up for
this program.
The best thing I am taking away from it is changing bad habits and replacing them with good ones. When the food I eat at restaurants is too salty or too greasy, I do not feel good afterwards. Hence, I stay away from them or eat less when we are out.
I like that I can work out and see results in 30 minutes per day. It's doable!
The circuits are not too repetitive. The modifiers are doable. Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate or even advanced fitness addict looking for a change of workouts,
this program will work for you.
Someday, I will follow the diet strictly. But for my sanity/mental well being, I cannot just cut out all the stuff I like. Having an ice cream scoop once a week won't mess up my diet. What messes up my healthy eating is ice cream everyday + greasy fries for lunch + chicken nuggets + tons of carbs + smoothies when out and 1 cup of veggies per day. Only one cup. yikes... That was my diet before.... so embarrassing!
If you end up committing to the
21 day fix, please share your results! I would love to follow your progress and meal prep tips.
Thank you for reading!
I can be found on:
