Ok SO this week I tried my hand at the beach body product 3 day refresh. This is a cleanse system where you drink 3 shakes a day and eat fruits/veggies/healthy fats for 3 days to reboot your system. To start the diet I made sure I had a couple gallons of water and did my scale weight and my body measurements prior to starting the fix.
On day 1 I weighed 103.2 lbs and took measurements of my stomach, waist, and butt.
What I liked:
- The main reason I chose this particular cleanse type product was because it allowed me to still eat fruits and vegetables reasonably. I know all too well my limitations and I just think there would be a public safety concern if I went without any food for days. So needless to say I wasn't going on a shake only or tea only cleanse right off the bat. That was still one of my favorite things about the cleanse. Having food made it WAY more tolerable for me personally.
- The guide was really easy to follow and was pretty up front about the gas issue (more on this later). It let you know if what you could have was in counts (12 strawberries) or cups. It even let you know to chose a medium size item so it was detailed and pretty much a no brainer. It even had lines in the booklet where you could put your choices like a menu to keep you on track and prepared.
- The vanilla refresh shake was actually pretty tasty. It was not as good as the vanilla shakeology I normally use as my 'go to' but after having the awful fiber drinks (read more about that below) it was a welcome change. On day 2 I decided to sprinkle a little cinnamon in there as it was a guilt free flavoring item. It made the shake even tastier. This shake and the shakeoology were good so I didn't mind having to do 1 nasty shake and a tiny bit of food because everything was pretty tolerable. Was it the best most fun I have ever had on a fitness program? Heck no. Was it the worst experience of my life? Heck no.
- The results on average are about 3 pounds lost and they tell everyone that from the start. I thought the booklet really outlined the expectation well. This isn't something thats going to necessarily help you lose 10 pounds but it will get out the excess toxins and crap sitting in your system and just start you off in the right direction. I like when a product knows its limits and lets you know exactly what to expect.
What I did NOT like
- Bloat for DAYs. Reviews do speak of the bloat but they do not all tell you exactly what to expect. The first day I was doing good. My stomach didn't even start making loud noises until about 6pm on day 1. But on day 2, my lower abdominal area was so swollen. It extended similar to a malnourished child. I knew it was my body's way of processing everything and breaking it up/down but it didn't make me feel any less puffy or uncomfortable. This bloat lasted into Thursday (I did the refresh monday-wednesday).
- Consistency of the fiber shake was absolutely terrible. I described it as the bottom of a pulp infused orange juice. My friend described it as drinking water that someone had dissolved a cookie in. Regardless of which comparison you relate to more, it was unappetizing to say the least. The taste itself was not terrible, somewhat fresh in nature. I personally just could not get over the texture and found myself counting down the amount of shakes thinking "oh thank goodness I only have to drink that one more time."
- Gas that would drive away predatory animals--The gas came as I anticipated on day 2 after things had their chance to work their way around my system. At first I was home and Steve hasn't moved in yet so I let them rip. It was at work that I found myself in awkward situations trying desperately to get to the restroom or somewhere abandoned where I wouldn't cause any harm to anyone's nostrils (they were really atrocious!) The gas was not as bad near the end because for lack of a better term it found its way out (a little TMI, I know).
- Not as work friendly as I would have liked. The vanilla refresh shakes were definitely thicker and I didn't want to just mix it with a blender bottle or spoon. This meant I lugged my ninja blender back and forth to work every day just to be able to mix up the refresh shakes properly. So unless you also want to do this---you may want to reserve this program for a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or when there is a day off of work for a long weekend. That way it is a much easier transition with your daily activities (and the gas won't disturb anyone you have to worry about haha).
After day 4 when all my bloat FINALLY subsided and I began to see exactly what the product did. I ended at 99.8 lbs (total loss of 3.4 lbs). The measurement at my belly button went down 2 inches.
What this told me is that those 3 lbs that I was under the impression I was "maintaining" as far as BMI was really just sludge (um, yuck).
One downside I experienced was that I found myself with a cold! The booklet mentions not working out intensely as it overtaxes your body while it is trying to cleanse. I believe that because my body was cleansing and I kept up mild exercise it was lowering my immunities defense against germs. Admittedly I slacked also on taking my airborne and vitamins for the first two days. Alas, I got a cold. But that was more or less an unexpected side effect. If you get sleep, take vitamins, and keep hands clean you should be free and clear.
Now I am focusing on clean eating and trying to up the anti on my protein intake. I want lean muscle but I want to avoid the danger zone weight area of the past so I'd like to increase my weight but while chiseling out my physique. The next beach body product on my bucket list is Hammer & Chisel.
Stay tuned for more tales of my journey through life and fitness and be sure to check my food blog for 'Tasty Tuesday' to see if anything tantalizes you---who knows it could be something new and fun or end up in your regular menu or rotation!
Thanks for reading
Signed,
Tiesha
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