How I Plan to Survive Thanksgiving.... WITHOUT Gaining Weight!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow... and we all know what that means!  FOOD!!!  And well, I love food.  But I don't plan on gaining weight this holiday season, so I need to make sure I have a plan in place for tomorrow.

How do I plan on staying on track tomorrow?

My 21 Day Fix containers and my workout!  Tomorrow is Pilates (which I have a love/hate relationship with).  I think I'll also do 10 Minute Abs some time tomorrow.

We have two dinners to go to tomorrow, so there's a lot of potential for disaster.  As I said in my last post, I get 4 proteins/reds, 3 veggies/greens, 2 fruits/purples, 2 carbs/yellows, 1 healthy fat/blues, 1 seeds & dressings/orange, and 2 teaspoons in one day.  I will, of course, have my Shakeology in the morning before I go and I'll probably use some extract in it so that'll count as 1 red and nothing else.

Our first dinner is with my family.  I am going to have 1 red container of turkey, 1 green of veggies (whatever that may be), 1 yellow container of stuffing, and 1 purple and blue apple banana muffin that I am making to take along.  I think I'll also have half of an orange container of gravy to liven up my turkey a bit since I'm not a huge turkey fan.  That'll leave me with 2 reds, 2 greens, 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1/2 of an orange and 2 teaspoons left for the day.

Our next dinner will be with Peter's immediate family.  I plan on having another red container of turkey, a green of asparagus, my last yellow will be sweet potatoes, the other half an orange of gravy, and I'm going to have a sliver of pumpkin pie because it's all about moderation, not deprivation.

The great thing is that I will still have a red, a green, a purple, and 2 teaspoons left after dinner!  Since I'm on this restricted sleep schedule, I'll be able to have a snack around 9pm of yogurt with fruit and celery with peanut butter!  Yum!

So there you have it - how I plan to stay on track for Thanksgiving!  It's totally possible to still enjoy all of the yummy foods available, but not go overboard.  What's important is to do your best to stay on the plan and make sure that your workout gets done.

Have a super good Thanksgiving everyone!

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21 Day Fix

I was first introduced to the 21 Day Fix by my friend, Heather (who also happens to be my coach). She lost 40 lbs by following the program and I just HAD to know how she did it.

So for those of you who don't know much about the program, let me give you the run down.  The 21 Day Fix is all about portion control and clean eating. It comes with containers that equal certain food groups.

Red is protein.
Green is veggies.
Purple is fruits.
Yellow is starches/carbs.
Blue is healthy fats.
Orange is dressings and seeds.

There's a little math equation you do to figure out how many of each container you get to eat each day. So, for example, I'm in the lowest group. I get 4 proteins, 3 veggies, 2 fruits, 2 starches/carbs, 1 healthy fat, and 1 dressing/seeds, plus two teaspoons of nut butters/olive oil. It's really dependent on your weight so as you lose weight, your container amount changes.

It comes with a book that tells you what foods go in which container, so it's really fool proof. See the food list in the graphic below.

It also comes with workouts for every day of the week. They're only 30 minutes which is nice when you're busy and don't have time for more. I like them a lot because there's also a modifier in them so when I started, I followed her instead of everyone else. I'm now able to do pretty much everything without a modifier.  The workouts vary and cover everything from cardio to lower body, upper body, Pilates, yoga, and everything in between.

One of the things that I hear a lot from people is "But I already eat cleanly." That's great! Congratulations! However, that's not everything. It all has to do with portion sizes. You can eat cleanly and still eat a 1,500 calorie salad. What I love about this program is that it teaches you proper portion sizes as well as how to eat cleanly.

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Eating clean means that you get rid of all the processed food that you've been eating.  So all of those easy, quick boxed dinners that we as Americans eat on a regular basis need to go. I know they're quick on a busy night, but trust me, your body will thank you for it.  You'll feel better and have more energy.

I started doing the 21 Day Fix in the beginning of April 2015.  It's now the end of November.  In those few months, I have lost 30 pounds and nearly 20 inches.  Right now, I'm really starting to focus on those inches.  The weight doesn't matter that much to me anymore.  I went from a size 14 pant to a size 8.  My goal size is a 6.  I still have awhile to go until I'm there, but I know I will eventually get there because I will continue to work at it!  You can see the differences in me in my before and afters below.  I can't wait until my transformation is complete (will it ever really be though!?) so I can share them with all of you!

Now I know some of you out there are thinking "Okay, this all sounds great, but it sounds like hard work."  It is.  I'm not going to lie.  Sure, you can go out there and do a wrap or a patch or take a bunch of diet pills.  I will not judge you for it.  To each their own.  In fact, I will support you no matter what!  However, once you stop using those wraps, patches, and pills, the weight will slowly come back on.  There is no quick fix for a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Deciding to do the 21 Day Fix means that you are ready to change your ENTIRE life.  You are ready to start eating healthy and watch portions for every meal that you eat.  Is it hard? Absolutely.  Will you have to find time to meal plan and prep?  Yep, you will.  But is it worth it?  YES!  It is SOOOOOOOO worth it.  Your health is so worth it.

Want to know more?  Comment below or email me at amyocumtbb@gmail.com.

Ready to make a purchase?  Follow these links:
21 Day Fix Challenge Pack (with Shakeology)
21 Day Fix Kickstart Challenge Pack (with Shakeology and 3 Day Refresh)
21 Day Fix (without Shakeology)

Three Day Refresh - An Honest Review

Last week, I did the Beachbody 3 Day Refresh.... and let me tell you - I was a little terrified before I started.  You see, the thing is, you can only eat certain foods and you drink shakes and stuff like that... and well... I really like food.  Like, a lot.  (Hence why I was previously overweight....)

When the box came in the mail, I dug right in to see what it was all about.  I had a general idea because I knew a few people who had done it, but you know how it is, you have to see for yourself.  It comes with a handy little book that tells you what to eat and when.  You're basically eating/drinking something every 1-2 hours, so I felt a little better about after seeing that.  I was scared I was going to starve!  In the back of the book, it gives you a list of exactly what foods are approved and you can choose what you like.

My days generally went like this:

Wake Up - Drink 8 ounces filtered water.
Breakfast - Shakeology + fruit option
Morning Tea - Unsweetened green tea
Mid-Morning - Fiber Sweep
Lunch - Vanilla Fresh + fruit option + vegetable option + healthy fat option
Afternoon Snack - Vegetable option
Afternoon Tea - Unsweetened herbal tea
Dinner - Vanilla Fresh + Dinner Option + 1 cup organic vegetable broth
Evening Tea - Unsweetened herbal tea

Now you're probably wondering what in the world the Fiber Sweep and Vanilla Fresh are like.... so here's my honest opinion of the two:
 *Fiber Sweep - It was really hard to get down. On day 2, I gagged, but I knew I was doing it for good reasons.  Its not like it tasted horrible, it was just a texture thing for me.  It tended to be a little gritty.
*Vanilla Fresh - I liked this!  You're given the option to add pure extracts and things like cinnamon or ginger to it to help liven it up a bit.  I ended up really liking vanilla extract, caramel extract, and cinnamon in mine.  It made it really yummy and I found myself looking forward to having them.  If you like Vanilla Shakeology, this is similar!

What I experienced DURING the 3 Day Refresh:
*I wasn't any more hungry than I normally am.  That being said, I am in the lowest container group for the 21 Day Fix, so if I were in a higher group, I may have been a little more hungry than normal.
*Carb Withdrawal - Listen.  I'm a recovering carb-oholic.  Me & carbs = LOVE!  Lots of people cut out carbs completely when they want to lose weight.... that wasn't even an option for me!  That's why I'm so glad the 21 Day Fix lets me have carbs.... but that's for next weeks' post.  The only thing I REALLY struggled with was not having carbs for 3 whole days.  It got to the point that on Wednesday night, I was telling my friends that I couldn't talk to them anymore because I had to go to sleep so I could wake up and eat carbs.... and I did.  And they were DELICIOUS!
*The book recommends that you do more toned-down exercises and don't push yourself too hard because you're taking in less calories that normal.  2 of the 3 days, I did my normal exercises, one day I skipped because I had a full schedule (shh... don't tell Autumn Calabrese!).  On the days I did the normal exercises, I still felt pretty good and up to it, so that's why I didn't tone anything down

My Results: 
In those 3 days, I lost 2 inches in my hips and a little over 3 pounds.  I was absolutely AMAZED!  I did not expect my results to be THAT GOOD in just three days! 

Would I do it again?
ABSOLUTELY!  It was so worth it.  I actually already have it on auto-ship for every 3 months.  I think it's great for after the holidays or any time that you find that you've indulged in something and need to refresh your health.  Afterall, it is ONLY three days....

Give it a try!  Follow these links to try it yourself.  These will also sign me up as your FREE coach!!
Three Day Refresh Complete Kit
Three Day Refresh without Shakeology - Only use this one if you already have Shakeology.  You DEFINITELY need it to do the Refresh.
Three Day Refresh Challenge Pack - This link will get you an ENTIRE months supply of Shakeology!  You end up saving $40 on the 3 Day Refresh kit by doing this option.