Transformation Tuesday - 3 Day Refresh

I'm going to do something a little different this week.

Today I'm starting Beachbody's 3-Day Refresh ... My weight loss has slowed a good bit, in part because after five months I've let myself get a little lax with my containers. I've written down yellows that went past my allotment for the day, I've been a bit over generous with some of my favorite containers and eyeballed it.

Funny thing about that ... My green containers tend to get smaller ... reds and yellows and pretty much everything else tend to get a little too big.

So for three days, I'll be taking care of my nutrition with Shakeology (I'm going out on a limb and trying strawberry) valnilla fresh, a fiber sweep, and some fruits and veggies. No meat. No dairy. No sugar.

And frankly I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to treat it as a fast and pray frequently. I'm almost halfway to what I think will be my final goal. I'm less than a pound away from having lost a total of 30 lbs. THIRTY POUNDS.

I found a few blogs describing their experience, but sadly some shared the first couple of days and didn't finish. So I'll be updating this same post every day so that when I'm done you can have a complete picture of the program from my perspective.

Day 1 - 2:16pm

Apparently I'd been eating off the girls' plates/the cutting board again! Those absent-minded bites! No thank you! I didn't even realize it till today when I'm completely 100% sticking to the refresh!

So far so good. I opted to still have my morning cup of coffee, black. I think maybe I like it best that way actually!

Then we did Hammer Conditioning ... but I stuck to my 10s instead of challenging myself.

Strawberry Shakeology isn't bad, but I don't see myself ever opting for a bag of it. That was breakfast along with half a pear.

Green tea mid morning, then the dreaded Fiber Sweep:

I didn't really think it was that bad. But with my IBS I've done psyllium husks this way before (this was MUCH better than that). The frother got pretty bogged down and I helped with a spoon and drank it before it settled.

I was getting hungry by lunch time but having something to sink my teeth into really was satisfying! 2 TBSP of hummus is more than it sounds like.

I just ate raw beets for snack ... can't say that I'm a fan. I'm going to follow with 1 tsp of coconut oil because I'm missing my afternoon Coke Zero. Yep, I had started that up again. Something about naptime makes me want to have something I don't want to share! But I think the coconut will perk me back up.

I packed up everything else but my afternoon tea because I won't be here ... It's a good bit of stuff I have yet to have!

Every time I find myself considering a snack I'm praying ... for someone on our prayer list, needs I know, prayers of gratitude for my health and everything I take for granted...

Day 2 - 7:51am

I thought for sure I would wake up hungry, but I didn't!

I'll admit a bit of gas ... I had forgotten how much I love broccoli, but that also means I had forgotten it tends to make me kinda windy. But not horribly.

I fully expect to start to feel the effects of not having carbs today, though fruit DOES have carbs so I'm hopeful that will help keep my energy up! I had my strawberry Shakeology and half a pear for breakfast within an hour of waking as recommended.

Tim was eating a waffle with peanut butter and chocolate chips and I wasn't drooling over it or feeling jilted! Astounding. If nothing else doing this has shown me some little ways extra calories (and sometimes "unclean" calories!) were sneaking in. Take that, sneaky bad habits! I'm starting to think maybe I should eat MY lunch before preparing theirs ... that seems to be when I'm most likely to nibble something off the cutting board or when cleaning up their plates.

Day 3 - 9:04am

I did actually wake up kinda hungry today, so I had my strawberry Shakeology a bit earlier than I did yesterday. It stayed away for a while, and then it was time for my morning tea. I forgot how excellent tea is!

The worst habit I've "uncovered" (it was kinda out in the open really, but the refresh really made it stand out) is that I had taken to having a Coke Zero every afternoon when the girls went down for nap. That stuff is so ADDICTIVE. I think I may write an entire post next week dedicated to diet soda and why some of us have such a problem with it, and why it is a problem.

So, I'm giving up all diet soda for a month, and my plan (as always, I wonder how many times I've done this?) is not to bring it back into the house again. I'm serious. So serious I went out and videoed myself pouring one on the ground. Looking at it foam up on the ground kinda summed up why I shouldn't be drinking them ... for me at least.

Last night I had the roasted asparagus with almond, SO YUMMY. I'm going to make it again Friday night as I have plenty of asparagus left. It was really simple ... preheat the oven to 400 degrees, wash, snap, and dry your asparagus tips. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of sea salt ... roast for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. The ends were beautifully crispy and tasty.

I've heard some people say that they have, to their surprise, been a little constipated during the refresh but I haven't had that problem. I've been quite regular and (this is way TMI so feel free to skip to the next paragraph now) and a bit surprised by the volume given that I'm not eating that much.

Enough of that.

I'm a little on the tired side, but not horribly. I can see why this would be hard to do while working. I think timing the teas and snacks really helps with staving off the hunger. It made me realize I need to incorporate "snacking" back into my regular habits (rather than "three big meals"). Those three pristine pieces of cheese on Shelby's plate after lunch may not tempt me so. Those little bites add up.

I'll have more to say later I'm sure, and I'll let you know how I go back into normal eating. I wouldn't want to eat like this forever but I must say its been ... well, refreshing. Maybe that's where they got the name? Yes. I laugh at my own jokes.

The Day After
Ok folks, that's a wrap! What are my results?

I lost 3.2 pounds! Wow! And 2 1/4 inches (most of that I believe was from losing the bloat).

It looks like the plateau was broken. I'm down in the 150s for the first time I can remember since undergrad. Back when I would do stupid, dangerous things like take nasal decongestants all the time because I knew some diet pills (which I couldn't afford) contain ephedra. Seriously. They made me crazy. They aren't good for you! I later took the full-on diet pills containing ephedra because a Dr ... of medicine ... with the degree on the wall and everything ... recommended that to me when I expressed concerns about my weight.

I feel fantastic. I started up my Hammer & Chisel again this morning, so while I had my coffee and Bible I also ate a waffle with peanut butter on it.

My takeaways:

I followed the plan to a T and did not get excessively hungry. I did get hungry when it was time, but I wasn't dragging around all day with my tummy growling. I had been following a (mostly) clean eating and portion controlled lifestyle up until then ... it would be a LOT harder coming out of eating whatever. Just know that. I think it is doable but it would be hard.

Soda, even diet soda, has no place in my life. There is a REASON it isn't part of a clean eating lifestyle and I think that little cheat was costing me. I'll go into more about that next Tuesday.

Vanilla Fresh is kinda meh, but it is only three days. But it was rather chalky no matter what I did, even blending the fruit with it. The Fiber Sweep was awesome. I mean, you don't want to sip and savor it ... but my IBS gut was very pleased with it and it tasted much better than straight up psyllium husk powder.

My body seemed to like the Vegan Shakeology, but I love me some chocolate. So I'm going to try the vegan Chocolate for my next bag. I even heard it is RICHER than the regular? Is that possible?

We had migrated to doing more of a "three big meals" lifestyle, and it was leading to some cravings and crankiness. I'm going to spread my portions out more throughout the day (and stop hanging onto those blessed carbs all day). Maybe one day a week I can save them till the evening, or if I know I'll need them for dinner ... but saving them "in case" I want something with Tim may have been costing me. I can always have tea with him.

Tea! So many varieties! I don't know why I had forgotten about tea! Tea is an excellent little treat that isn't a cheat (I think Sagi's habit of rhyming is affecting me).

Feeling so great and having had a few days to reevaluate both my nutrition habits and prayer habits has been truly refreshing and I told Tim I think I'd like to do this once a season or so. Think about joining me this summer! You've got time to plan ahead!

If you have any questions about the 3-Day Refresh (or the other Beachbody programs or supplements I've mentioned) don't hesitate to ask ... I'm a coach! Leave a comment or email me ... I'd love to hear your thoughts/fears/or what you experienced doing a refresh yourself!