I’m thinking ambitiously by referring to this as “round 1”. But in truth, most of the before-and-after photos that showed the best results were those participants who did multiple rounds of the program.  I’m looking for amazing results so hence, I will say I’m in the midst of Round One.

Anyway, I just completed my first week of the 21 Day Fix program, which I started coming off of the 3 Day Refresh program.  So far, no amazing weight loss results but I’m already noticeably stronger and I don’t feel crappy.

What is the 21 Day Fix?
The 21 Day Fix is a program from Beachbody and celebrity trainer Autumn Calabrese that focuses on simple fitness and simple eating.  There are seven workouts and each one is about 30 minutes in length. The workouts include moves that target multiple muscle groups to make the most of those 30 minutes. Along with weight-lifting and cardio, there are also two active recovery workouts (Pilates and Yoga). You repeat the seven workouts each week for three weeks (7×3=21!)

What 21 Day Fix is probably most well-known for are its colored containers.  The nutrition guide that comes with the program tells you what foods go in which containers along with how many of each you should consume each day.  There isn’t a detailed menu telling you what to eat for each meal each day; you choose your meals based on the containers.  You eat fewer when you are looking to lose weight and the program also gives you information on how much to eat to maintain the healthy weight you’ve worked hard to achieve.

My First Week
I think it helped that I was coming off of the Refresh program into this program because I was just happy to be able to eat three solid food meals again, even if they were healthy foods!  For me, I like having a menu and knowing what I’m going to eat so I started out Sunday night planning for the week ahead.  Here’s a sample that I came up with for my first day:

What I found, for me, was that the menu prep took a lot longer than I was hoping it would.  I’m glad I spent the time Sunday night doing it because it would’ve made Monday more challenging to try to do it as I went along.  I can appreciate that the program offers users a lot of choice by not offering a strict plan to follow…but for those like me, I would’ve prefered that it came with one listing breakfast, lunch and dinner choices.  I find that I stick with these programs better when I exert as little thought as possible.  Once I slow down to think about something, I’ve lost it…

The workouts definitely kicked my butt in this first week, and that’s even with modifying some of the moves.  On Day 3, my butt was sore in the maximum, medius, and minimus places.  And I was really feeling those side lifts from Dirty 30 on Day 7!  I like that the workouts are consistently 30 minutes. Thirty minutes feels manageable in the morning (that’s when I prefer to get my workouts done). The upside of working multiple muscle groups at once is that you can get a whole body workout in a shorter amount of time – even if it really hurts while you go through it! Each workout shows someone modifying all of the moves, which is great for beginners and removes that feeling of intimidation. Autumn also shows you how to make moves harder, which I hope to use in a few weeks. One week later, I can already see ways in which I’ve gotten stronger.

Final Words…
While I started this program with the hopes that I would lose 10 pounds of squishy bits in my mid-section, I’m looking at it with a more realistic vision.  I’m not looking to deprive myself of things in the hopes that the restrictions will help my fit back into my size 2 pants for one afternoon.  I’m looking for clean eating and fitness to be a part of my day-to-day life.  That said, I will allow myself an indulgence here and there and I will not make myself feel bad about it.  I’ve allowed myself too many indulgences over the last couple years and you know what happens when you do that? It’s not an indulgence anymore. Having a cupcake as a treat every once in a while makes that cupcake taste divine. But when you have one every week, it’s just a part of your regular diet and might taste good in those couple minutes you spend devouring it but, truth is, it isn’t as enjoyable as it could be.  We tend to indulge too often and I believe that it’s time we, as responsible people, need to take some accountability for the choices we make. If your health isn’t up to par, you need to look at the choices you make around nutrition and exercise. Take back control of your body – stop making excuses and placing blame outside of yourself. The big food companies care about your money, not your health.  The only one who can change how you feel and look is you. I’m taking back control of my health…one decision at a time. Week one is in the books!