I’m no newbie to cleanses. I’ve juice cleansed, I’ve master cleansed and I’ve done various food based cleanses including the Standard Process cleanse and an Auyrvedic cleanse. Some with herbs and supplements, some without. Some with food, some all liquid. The longest cleanse I’ve done was 21 days but usually I do 3. Why do I cleanse? It feels good to give the digestive system a break. Whether it’s from bad habits like stress eating that get out of control or a temporary break from your routine like moving or traveling, doing a cleanse can be a great way to get back on track. I recently spent two weeks traveling. A week in Minneapolis for the 2014 National Wellness Institute Conference and a week for our family vacation, visiting some of the hot spots of our home state, Florida. I’ve been very focused on my health goals lately but I knew the traveling would potentially set me back a bit. So, I planned ahead and ordered a new product from Beachbody, the 3-Day Refresh to begin the Monday after our vacation. The 3-Day Refresh, in a nutshell is a vegan food cleanse that is high fiber and high protein, thanks to the shakes and fiber drink that are included. You eat or drink every 2 hours so you never really get hungry. Well, I did get hungry a couple times, but I’ll explain below. What comes with the cleanse is: a guide to the program including recipes, 3 packets of fiber sweep (a fiber drink to help flush toxins and cleanse the digestive system) and 6 packets of Vanilla Fresh (a vegan protein shake). You can order the 3-Day Refresh with or without Shakeology. I ordered without because I already have plenty at home but it is part of the plan. Below I’ll give you a day by day breakdown on what I ate and drank each day, including any small deviations from the plan, how I felt and what my final results were.
Day 1
Starting weight: 153 (weight before leaving on vacation – 150)
Starting measurements: Hips: 42 Waist: 36 Chest: 34 Thigh: 23 Arm: 12
Exercise: 30 min. Cardio Fix video
What I ate:
Starting measurements: Hips: 42 Waist: 36 Chest: 34 Thigh: 23 Arm: 12
Exercise: 30 min. Cardio Fix video
What I ate:
- Chocolate Shakeology blended with frozen cherries, spinach, ice and water
- Decaffeinated Green Tea (you can have caffeinated if you wish)
- Fiber Sweep
- Vanilla Fresh Shake blended with banana, ice, cinnamon and almond butter
- Baby Carrots
- Raw Juice from Squeeze (I love that raw fruit and veggie juice is an option!)
- Decaffeinated Green Tea
- 5 Almonds (Not on the plan, but I was really hungry while prepping dinner)
- Kale blanched with lime, cilantro, sea salt and sesame seeds
- Veggie Broth with cilantro
- Vanilla Fresh blended with ice and frozen berries (whoops, forgot that my dinner shake wasn’t supposed to have fruit in it)
- 70 ounces of water throughout the day
day 2
Weight: 150.6 (you think I lost a little water weight, maybe??)
Exercise: 30 min. Lower Fix video
What I ate:
Exercise: 30 min. Lower Fix video
What I ate:
- Chocolate Shakeology blended with frozen cherries, spinach, ice and water
- Decaffeinated Green Tea
- Fiber Sweep
- Vanilla Fresh Shake blended with banana, ice, cinnamon and almond butter
- Raw Juice from Squeeze
- Baby Carrots
- Decaffeinated Green Tea
- Salad w/ spinach, tomato, cilantro, onion, red peppers, olive oil, basalmic vinegar, sea salt and avocado
- Veggie Broth with cilantro
- Vanilla Fresh blended with ice and brewed decaf chai (yummy!)
- 70 ounces of water throughout the day
day 3
Weight: 149.7
Exercise: 30 min. Upper Fix video
What I ate:
Exercise: 30 min. Upper Fix video
What I ate:
- Chocolate Shakeology blended with frozen cherries, spinach, ice and water
- Decaffeinated Green Tea
- Fiber Sweep
- Vanilla Fresh Shake blended with banana, ice & cinnamon
- Baby Carrots, red peppers and hummus
- Raw Juice from Squeeze
- Decaffeinated Green Tea
- Sauteed kale, onion, garlic and summer squash with olive oil, basalmic vinegar, sea salt and avocado
- Vanilla Fresh blended with ice and brewed decaf chai (this time I added less ice so it was just a nice cold beverage instead of trying to make a shake consistency out of it. I liked it even better.)
- 70 ounces of water throughout the day
day 4
Weight: 149
Measurements: Hips: 39.5 Waist: 33 Chest: 33.5 Thigh: 23 Arm: 12 Total: – 6 inches
My overall impression of the 3-Day Refresh is that this was the best cleanse that I’ve ever done. It took my 3 lb. weight gain from vacation absolutely made it disappear over just a couple days instead of the weeks that it could have taken otherwise. Plus, I lost an additional pound from my pre-vacation weight! Bonus! I was also very satisfied most of the time. I did have a low point in the later afternoons where I’d get a dull headache, but not enough to want to take something for it and it didn’t stop me from getting things done. I had zero cravings and was perfectly content with my food the whole time. It helped that I was working from home those 3 days and didn’t have any social plans. I did however cook my family a typical dinner but this did not tempt me and make me want what they were having. The only inconvenience was trying to prepare two meals at once and being pretty hungry at that time of day. After having to eat a few almonds on Monday to make it through dinner prep, I started preparations earlier the next two nights. I usually eat dinner around 7 but I found that I needed to eat around 5:30 on this plan. I did however stay satisfied until bed time. I had my shake a couple hours after my dinner to ensure that I wouldn’t go to bed hungry. I did got to bed by 10 pm all 3 nights which is a good thing! When day 3 was over, I actually wished that the cleanse was 2 more days. I’d absolutely purchase this in a 5 day plan. Beachbody does make a 21 day cleanse called the Ultimate Reset which I’m sure I’ll do one day.
Measurements: Hips: 39.5 Waist: 33 Chest: 33.5 Thigh: 23 Arm: 12 Total: – 6 inches
My overall impression of the 3-Day Refresh is that this was the best cleanse that I’ve ever done. It took my 3 lb. weight gain from vacation absolutely made it disappear over just a couple days instead of the weeks that it could have taken otherwise. Plus, I lost an additional pound from my pre-vacation weight! Bonus! I was also very satisfied most of the time. I did have a low point in the later afternoons where I’d get a dull headache, but not enough to want to take something for it and it didn’t stop me from getting things done. I had zero cravings and was perfectly content with my food the whole time. It helped that I was working from home those 3 days and didn’t have any social plans. I did however cook my family a typical dinner but this did not tempt me and make me want what they were having. The only inconvenience was trying to prepare two meals at once and being pretty hungry at that time of day. After having to eat a few almonds on Monday to make it through dinner prep, I started preparations earlier the next two nights. I usually eat dinner around 7 but I found that I needed to eat around 5:30 on this plan. I did however stay satisfied until bed time. I had my shake a couple hours after my dinner to ensure that I wouldn’t go to bed hungry. I did got to bed by 10 pm all 3 nights which is a good thing! When day 3 was over, I actually wished that the cleanse was 2 more days. I’d absolutely purchase this in a 5 day plan. Beachbody does make a 21 day cleanse called the Ultimate Reset which I’m sure I’ll do one day.
What’s next? Well, I went back to my 21 Day Fix meal plan, which I love for a daily well balanced diet. The first 2 days I didn’t feel the need to eat all of my portions, so I didn’t. I listened to my body and eased into eating meat and grains again. Now that I’m back up to my normal calorie range, I’m living my super active lifestyle as a working mom while fitting in my workouts! I have started PiYo for a great low-impact strengthening and lengthening workout and I still like to take the kids to the YMCA a couple days a week or find other ways to get a bit of cardio in 3-4 days a week. Vacation was fun, but man, I’m glad to be back in my routine!
Interested in trying a 3-Day Refresh yourself? Or maybe you’d just like a little help figuring our how you can improve your health? I can help. As a coach, I can assist you with achieving your health goals. Contact me for more information: jennifer@enlivenwellnessworks.com or visit my facebook page at: www.facebook.com/getfitwithmamajen.
Interested in trying a 3-Day Refresh yourself? Or maybe you’d just like a little help figuring our how you can improve your health? I can help. As a coach, I can assist you with achieving your health goals. Contact me for more information: jennifer@enlivenwellnessworks.com or visit my facebook page at: www.facebook.com/getfitwithmamajen.
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