For me, getting in touch with the WHY behind doing things for health helps keep me focused. I’ve had several people ask me “Why are you doing this?” and honestly, it made me stop and question myself. After all, it’s not super-fun. Last time, I was “hangry” and irritable by day two (check out my first blog post: My Experience with 3-Day Refresh). I don’t really need to lose weight or get over a plateau – so what is motivating me?
The next three days are all about strenghtening my “I can do it” muscle when it comes to eating. This summer has been more of a free-for-all than I care to admit. Doing something tough like this makes the regular day-to-day much easier when it’s over. Success is mental. If I can wrap my brain around being more in control of my eating – if only for three days – it’s going to kickstart longer-lasting habits.
Getting in touch with my WHY is also helping me tweak my process according to my needs a little bit. While I have the 3-Day Refresh on hand, I may substitute some other Beachbody products as I go. My modifications for this round may include:
Instead of the Fiber Sweep Drink, I am going to be adding a heaping scoop of the Shakeology Digestive Health Boost to my shake. I find that it’s just as effective but a little bit more palatable.- I am also going to be practicing intermittent fasting during the cleanse. All of my food/shakes will be consumed within an 8-hour period. For me, it will probably be 11 am – 7 pm.
- I am going to allow myself unlimited veggies. I get HANGRY without solid food, so I don’t want to limit the nutrient-dense, low-calorie good stuff. Bring on the greens!
- I will be working out. Part of developing my inner mental BADASS includes staying on track with fitness. I’ll be doing a Recharge shake from the Performance Line instead of the Vanilla Fresh shake in the evening. Recharge is designed to promote lean muscle synthesis, prevent soreness and reduce muscle breakdown.
- No coffee, but I am also allowing myself to have unlimited green tea – especially in the morning when I typically get the caffeine rolling.
Come join me as I document the next three days…. the good, bad, and the ugly. I promise full disclosure. Cheats and all.
DAY ONE:
5:00 a.m. Wake up. Weigh-in. I normally don’t weigh myself. I have hang-ups with the scale, plus I don’t feel it is a good indicator of health. But, for the sake of documenting my three days, I felt it was necessary. 110.8.
No coffee for me these days, but I am allowing myself green tea. Time to get more of that.
9:36 a.m. First shake. Jacked up Vanilla Shakeology with frozen fruit and Digestive Health Boost. YUM.
2:00 p.m. Lunch – super hungry, haven’t had time to sit down and eat until now. I admit to having a handful of cashews (technically not on the list) to tide my hunger over until now. I had a delicious salad of spring greens, tomato from our garden, drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar and oil.
DAY TWO: This was by far the toughest day for me. I was hungry, irritable, and by the time I got home in the afternoon my desire for Triscuit crackers outweighed my desire to stay on track. I also had a beer. In the height of summer sweet corn season here in Minnesota, so I also had two ears of corn on the cob with REAL butter. Heavenly, and not too unhealthy – but not part of the plan.
DAY THREE: It must have either been my guilt from the night before or my fear or weighing in the next day that got me back on track today. I was completely badass. I skipped one of my shakes (for me, it’s hard to get them all in) and basically just had salad.
WEIGH-IN: Surprisingly, even with one day of full-blown cheats, I was down two pounds in three days. For me, doing these challenges isn’t about weight loss. It’s about getting back on track. I continued eating primarily vegan for the three days following the Refresh. Five days post-Refresh, I’m actually down 3.8 pounds and at my goal weight of 107.