21 Day Fix Extreme

I've been working out almost daily for about a year and a half. I do a little bit of everything-- running, kettlebells, HIIT, zumba, weight lifting, yoga, spin, barre, and whatever else comes along that looks like a good workout. In that time, I've built up a lot of endurance, changed my attitude toward fitness, built a bit of muscle, and managed to lose some weight.

Here's the thing, this whole time, I've been eating WHATEVER I WANT. All the donuts, all the chocolate, whole bags of twizzlers, ALL THE BEERS, all the boxes of wine. I mean it. I would start the day fine, but once my kids would lay down for their nap and I started to feel sluggish at 2pm, I'd grab the BAG of twizzlers from the cabinet and go through the entire thing. I used to justify this kind of eating because I worked out REALLY hard, but the truth is, I have gained back a solid 8 pounds and despite how much time I spend working out, the scale won't budge.

Finally, I realized that I need to change the way I'm eating. I know that my affinity for sugar is terrible for my body and I can see that my sugar addiction is being passed on to my kids. As it turns out, I am not good at doing things in moderation. Some people can have a bite of chocolate and feel satisfied. I'll  eat all of the chocolate in my house and then go out and buy more for the next day. SERIOUSLY. So I decided to try a program that does not allow any 'cheats or treats' because like a true addict, even a tiny bit of a treat could send me off the deep end. That's how I ended up choosing 21 Day Fix Extreme. It's a BeachBody program by Autumn Calabrese and since I've had success with a lot of their workout programs, I decided to go for it. She has the original 21 Day Fix, but I chose the Extreme version because the workouts are harder and it's better for someone like me who is already into fitness and exercise but needs to push past a plateau.

 

The idea is that you calculate your calorie bracket (they walk you through this, easy peasy) and then you are allotted a certain amount of proteins, veggies, fruits, grains, healthy fats, nuts/dressings, and oils/nut butters. You're given little color coded containers to help you portion out your food and as long as it fits in the container, you can eat it. Obviously, you can't fill one with twizzlers and call it a day, but they give you recipe ideas and lists of healthy foods to plan your meals.  You also get 2 discs with daily workouts on them which include combinations of cardio, weights, yoga, and pilates.

Sunday I spent a LOT of time planning out my meals for the week. It was kind of tricky to get each day balanced out to include all of the food that I was supposed to eat. Then I went to the grocery store, bought all my supplies and started prepping. I made a few items on Sunday night to keep in my fridge for easy meals, but I mostly will just make things as I go. I am also trying Shakeology for the first time, which I will write about at another time.

Yesterday was my first official day on the program. It went surprisingly well. In fact, the only downfall I had was that I was so full by the end of the day that I didn't get in my last container of veggies. I think today might be better because I know what to expect for the day. The only time I was actually hungry where I could have found myself in a mindset to reach for treat was right before dinner time when I was cooking, but I knew dinner would be ready soon and I was able to push past that.

Even ONE day without processed sugar is a HUGE accomplishment for me. I know that some days are going to be REALLY hard. Especially because Easter falls within the next 21 days and I know I will be strongly tempted by all of the treats around me. However, I'm trying to set myself up for success by focusing on each day at a time. I'm also going to try to document this whole process on here so that I might feel more accountable and hopefully help anyone else who is trying the program. I can't promise to post daily, but I'll at least try to check in regularly.