Holidays are usually surrounded by junk food, large feasts and festive drinks and there is absolutely no shame in indulging in all three of those things. That's life. I know I sure did. I still tried to fuel my body right (for the most part), but added all the goodies in addition to my regular eating. I definitely enjoyed myself, but there there is always the after effects. Sure enough, after a week (and a half) of indulgence I felt groggy, lazy and bloated. I'll be honest I was a little nervous of doing a 3 Day Refresh right after the holidays. I thought that not only would it be tough to go off the goodies cold-turkey, but I didn't know how it would effect my body (ahem.. in the digestive area) So I was a little apprehensive to say the least, but I was eager to get back to feeling energised. On January 4th I am starting a 21 Day Fitness Challenge using a new program that comes with a new meal plan, so I wanted to use the 3 Day Refresh as a kick start.
What is a 3 Day Refresh?
-consists of 3 daily shakes (1 Shakeology, 2 Vanilla Fresh), a fibre drink, plenty of filtered water, plus your choice of fruits, veggies & healthy fats; all which keep you feeling energised and keep your metabolism going. The meal plan is very simple, but gives you lots of alternatives to choose from based on your likes and plenty of healthy ways to add flavour.
Do you workout during the 3 Days?
Mild to moderate is recommended. I opted to ease my way back into physical activity after the holiday break. Throughout the day I would say my lifestyle was a moderate activity level and I did do a little shovelling on Day 2. During the refresh your body is using your energy to help clean up your system so you don't want to over do it.
I am a creature of habit, so to keep it simple I basically ate the same thing for all 3 days. I am not a stickler for following a schedule to the T. I am used to eating smaller portions throughout the day, it is just what my body is used to so I followed the plan, but broke up the snacks and shakes throughout the day. Each day I drank 3-4 cups of organic herbal tea made with filtered water, a litre or more of plain filtered water and all shakes were made with filtered water as well in place of the almond milk I normally use.
MONDAY- Day #1On the first day I slept in a little later than usual (like I said my holiday diet had left me feeling lazy). I drank a glass of water as soon as I woke up and my Shakeology blended with 1 small organic banana within the hour.
Normally I would wake up and have my coffee with stevia and coconut oil first thing. Although it is not a requirement, to get the full benefits it is suggested to not drink coffee during the 3 days, so I opted out on Day 1 and had a small cup of herbal tea instead. Over the holidays I had upped my coffee intake from 1 to 2 cups/day and was expecting a withdrawal headache, but to my surprise, NO headache (Awesome!).
About an hour or so later I had my Fibre Sweep Digestive Drink and went on with my day as usual. Lunch came and I first ate a medium tomato, sliced with 2 tbsp of all natural Guacamole (Avocado with herbs & veggies for a serving of healthy fat) and 1/2 a cup of grapes. About a half an hour later I drank my Vanilla Fresh Shake. It was actually left me quite full and I did not experience any hunger by the time supper rolled around.
Sometime in between lunch & super I had a cup of organic herbal detox tea. In the schedule provided it lists to have a snack in between lunch & supper, however, today, since my time was a little off I switched it around a little and ate supper first. I love veggies, so for supper I had a few handfuls each of organic kale and arugula, one small zucchini sliced, 4 organic shitake mushrooms, minced garlic, an Italian herb blend, a dash of grey sea salt and pepper. I used a small amount of coconut oil to cook over medium heat. This may not sound like much, but it was absolutely delicious, full of flavour and completely satisfying. Shortly after I had my Vanilla Fresh Shake.
A couple hours later I had a half a cup of organic cinnamon applesauce, 5 organic baby carrots and 2 cups of organic herbal "Nighty Night Tea" ( I steeped the same bag twice). I went to sleep early that night and fell asleep very quickly. Most importantly I did not go to bed feeling deprived or hungry. Day 1 was a success. TUESDAY- Day #2
Tuesday was a cold morning in the house so I had my organic detox tea first thing to warm up. About half an hour later I had my Shakeology/banana shake. I got ready to head out to town and then made my Fiber Sweep Digestive Drink to take on the road with me. My original plan was to stay away from coffee for the full 3 days, however I had some work that needed to be done and attempted to go to the library, but it was closed , so I instead went to a local cafe to and ordered a black coffee with some stevia (I didn't drink the whole thing). I went home for lunch and first ate the tomato & Guacamole, then had my Vanilla Fresh Shake a half an hour later and the grapes about an hour later. An hour later I had a snack of two more tbsp of Guacamole (did I mention I love Guac?) and 5 organic baby carrots, an hour later had a cup of Nighty Night Tea, and an hour later ate my supper (same as Day 1) followed by one more cup of tea. As you can see I break it up so I really never even get the chance to begin to feel hungry. Day 2 complete and still free from feeling any sort of detoxing discomfort!
WEDNESDAY- Day #3
Day 3's menu was basically the same as Day 1 and 2, just the timing was a little different (I am not a robot). I skipped the coffee again today and still, no headache! I felt energised, no more holiday "fluff" around my waist and I actually found myself craving healthy foods!
MY RESULTS
I will be honest, I dreaded the thought of doing a cleanse even though I knew my body needed it. I hate the feeling of being restricted, and most importantly I can not stand feeling hungry(that's when it is hardest to resist cravings). I am very happy to say that I have found a cleanse that does not feel like 3 days of torture; the 3 days actually flew by.
I found myself eating(or drinking) something every hour and never had the chance to go hungry. Whether or not this has to do with the cleanse I can't say for sure, but I definitely woke up in a better mood each day. I felt energised throughout the entire day (even on Day 1 & 2 without coffee) I did not experience any bloating, gas, diarrhoea or headaches the entire time. My holiday bloat is gone & I am down 1lb (I am only 4'11 so that is like the equivalent to someones 3-5lbs who is of average height, hehe). I also slept like a baby on Day 1 and Day 3. Day 2 it took me awhile to fall asleep (which I believe had to do with the coffee I had that day as it felt like the caffeine affected me more than it normally does).
All in all I am beyond satisfied with the 3 Day Refresh. It did exactly what I intended; broke some bad habits in preparation for my next 21 Day Fitness Challenge on January 4th. It will make a great addition to my new Health Regimen as a quarterly and/or holiday cleanse. I am feeling ready to take on 2016! How about you?
3 Day Refresh Challenge Pack on Sale now & throughout January!
I was pretty stoked when I saw that January Sales launched early & The 3 Day Refresh Challenge Pack in on sale (3 Day Refresh plus a 30 day supply of Shakeology). If you'd like to kick start a new healthy lifestyle in 2016 or just want to do a little holiday damage control like I did, connect with me!
