Is the “21 Day Fix” Really a Fix?

For the past 15 or so days I’ve been working on feeding my body the good stuff! I’ve always been known to love food and not be able to turn down a cookie, ice cream, or brownie, but in the last couple months I hadn’t been feeling “well”. I use “well” because I wasn’t sick and I wasn’t unhealthy, but I wasn’t feeling the best that I knew I could. Enter my friend Shannon (from Shannon Ambroson Wellness) and the 21 Day Fix! At first the 21 Day Fix scared the bageebers out of me because I thought, “I can’t live on spinach”. Well, it turns out I don’t have to! It also turns out that the 21 Day Fix isn’t about not eating, it’s about eating the good stuff! Good stuff being whole, unprocessed foods! And, that’s what I’ve done!

Following the 21 Day Fix is as simple (and I use that term loosely) as determining which caloric category you fall

under (what your target calorie intake is) and following the plan they lay out for you!  Now, when I say plan, I mean the number of servings of each food “group” that they’ve outlined and set for you.  For example in my plan, I get: 3 greens (vegetables), 2 purples (fruit), 4 red (proteins), 2 yellows (carbs), 1 blue (healthy fats like cheese), 2 orange (sauces, nuts, etc), and 2 tablespoons (olive oil type stuff).  They provide you with list of approved or acceptable foods in each of those categories!  What are there not containers for?  Chips, chocolate, cookies have all been forgotten! 😉

So, how is it?  Well, it definitely takes some adjusting, I’m not going to lie about that!  It takes a little bit more of thinking (you have to get a bit more creative) instead of just grabbing a boxed or frozen convenience food!  But, once you “get it”, you feel so much better!  I noticed the first seven days how much better my belly felt and looked!  I was no longer always feeling bloated.  The fact that I lost 3 pounds the first week was just a happy side affect and honestly, I attribute most of that to NOT being bloated and retaining water or any other substance!  But, I’ve also found a lot of pleasure in combining foods together to create meals and being more creative on how to make basic meals healthier for all of us!  Shh…don’t tell T! 😉

So, what do I miss?  Honestly…I miss carbs! I miss eating bread more!  (1 slice of wheat bread is one serving of yellow.)  I miss cereal!  I LOVE cold cereal and used to have a bowl a day and I haven’t had one in over 2 weeks!  I would so go for one right now!  Every once in awhile I miss sweets, but I can easily combat those with some creations that I’ve developed (they’ll be appearing here soon)!

So, is the 21 Day Fix really a fix?  I don’t truly think anything is a 100% fool proof fix ( to our unhealthy lifestyles), but I will say that my gut has already adjusted to eating whole clean foods and when I “cheat” or veer off the path (during family Christmas dinners right now), I can tell!  Oh, can I tell!  Usually my gut is in pain or I feel (and appear) very bloated!  Anymore it’s almost not worth it!  Ice cream, I don’t crave anymore.  That’s been the first thing to go!  So, while I know it hasn’t fixed things all the way for me, it truly has taught me how to eat better and how much better I feel when I do!  So, that being said, I really can’t wait to give the 21 days another “go” after the New Year!

If you think you’d like the 21 Day Fix, get a hold of Shannon.  She is a fantastic coach who provides us with recipes, files, and a support group!  It’s helped a ton!  So, thanks Shannon!! ( I forgot to mention that the “system” also comes with some workout DVD’s, but I’ll admit that I haven’t been doing those because I run and take POUND from Jennifer Gruelke Studio!

Follow along my Facebook page and Instagram profile for constant ideas of how to eat better whole foods!