21 Day Fix

I know I did a full on blog post on maturing and changing in my 20s but I definitely forgot to mention – how significantly your metabolism slows down. 
-____- I used to eat pizza and French fries almost every day when I first started college and didn’t gain an ounce… Now I can smell McDonald's French fries and feel my arms jiggle some more :-O

No matter how hard I've tried to keep on top of the healthy lifestyle I wanted I always found take out on our dinner table the easiest option after long workdays.  Over the last few months I’ve kept my eyes and ears open to so many different workout regimen names that I couldn't even recall names now.  A good friend of mine recently started the 21 day fix - noticed drastic results and instantaneously became a Beach-body coach.  Hesitant at first I would consistently read her blog/Facebook posts on how she was positively changing her life. I reached out to her and the next thing I knew I was ordering my 21 Day Fix Package.  It just arrived last week and I couldn't wait to get started.  I've been talking about starting this since I've purchased it and almost everyone wants to know how it goes... Which is why I've decided to dedicate the next three weeks of my life and this blog to this journey I'm about to take to a healthier me ...

A little disclosure before you begin:   This post is not sponsored by anyone in any way and I am not a beach-body coach. I am just looking to get back into shape and a healthy lifestyle.  

The program is a bit pricey, especially if you include the Shakeology (meal replacement type protein shakes) with your program –  I did not.  I purchased the 21 Day Fix which included the containers, meal plan booklet, and exercise DVDs for about $70.  Shakeology are meal replacement shakes which I find drinks/shakes don’t work so well for me – as I find myself looking for a warm meal regardless of how filling they are.

 When I first opened my package I was really overwhelmed with how hard this diet was going to be looking at the size of the containers… But after day one I have learned that the amount of food I’m allowed to eat with this meal plan is way more than I normally eat.  The problem is I have been eating all the wrong things.  Depending on your weight you get assigned a diet plan that allows you to consume a certain amount of calories/containers.  I’m allowed to have 3 veggie servings, 2 fruit servings, 4 protein servings, 2 carb servings, and 1 healthy fat serving.  {Let me know if you have specific questions in regards to the breakdown of the meal plan} I am definitely struggling to meet the 4 protein servings. 

Purple : Fruit ; Green : Veggies ; Red : Protein ; Yellow : Carbs ; Blue : Healthy Fats ; Orange : Seeds & Dressings

The program encourages you to take pictures and your measurements on Day One of your Twenty One Days and then again on the twenty-first day. I found a cheat sheet to help me keep track of all changes my body takes throughout these three weeks.  As well as a this printable to help track my container intake. 

I've added a checklist to my daily planner to constantly remind myself to monitor what I'm consuming.

The exercises DVDs that come as a part of your 21 day fix program kick your BUTT.  I haven’t been to the gym in over 6 months – I do walk a lot to and from work in the city but obviously this is a whole new level of being active.  I am extremely sore!!

When you sign up for the 21 day fix you’re assigned a beach body coach – who happens to be a great friend of mine.  She has a great accountability group on Facebook where we all post our daily food intake and workouts.  The group really helps with getting up off that couch and doing the workouts… everyone else is seeing results and I want them too!  Watching the other girls make such great progress really helps keep your focus and is a great way to find new meal ideas.  In our accountability group we have a daily goal – 100 squats & 100 ounces of water.  I’m slowly building my way up to both.  All this water intake makes for too many bathroom breaks at work  J

My New Victoria Secret Tumbler - This measures 24 Oz - trying to drink about 4 of these a day. The wings never hurt ;)

Meal Planning

Before I started I had to tackle one of my biggest battles – meal planning.  I skimmed through the recommended meal plans and decided to keep it simple the first week with room for little temptation.  I knew I’d need to cook in bulk so my first thought was – Costco.  Luckily this month they had a special sale for all organic items.  I purchased: organic quinoa, organic veggie patties (they are delish) tons of fruit and vegetables.   From our local butcher I purchased 2 pounds of cold cuts and 3 pounds of boneless chicken breast.  All day Saturday – I spent washing, cutting, and marinating the chicken.  I washed and measured out my fruits and veggies as well.  At the end of the night my dad grilled the entire 3 pounds of marinated chicken for me. Next I made quinoa – not paying attention to how much I actually needed.  I think have enough to last all 21 days! I didn’t want to waste any so I measured out just how much I’d need for week 1 and froze the rest to use for next week.

Smoky Southwestern :: Mediterranean :: Adobo

I marinated the chicken with three different sets of spices [ recipes provided by the 21 day fix meal plan]

I made quinoa two ways.

1.  Just boiled with a couple cloves of garlic.

2.  Simmered in taco seasoning with 1 can of  black beans and 1 can of corn.

Final Product.  [[ Dusts of shoulders ]

Stay Tuned for an update on Day 7 as well as more meal plans through out my 21 day journey. Did you follow my snaps while I was meal planning? [ @thenewmrs4 ]

xo || Happiness Never Goes Out of Style || xo