My 3 Day Refresh Results

This month has been a tough one in my journey for health and I don't have a good reason why. It wasn't a busy month of travel or company, there wasn't anything stressful or unusual happening and yet I was craving carbs and sugar more than I have in the entire last year. I wasn't indulging but I was struggling and it was exhausting!!!

I have been reading The Hunger Fix by Dr Pam Peeke and I have learned so much about sugar and food addictions and I thought it would be wise to do a detox and see if that helped me in my struggle.

First, I want to be clear that I did NOT do this to lose weight. I know I am very thin and though I did lose a little weight that wasn't my goal nor do I intend to try and keep it off. I am on a muscle building mission at this point in my life not a weight losing mission. My goal was to get my sugar addiction under control. I am including all the information I gathered in my experience to answer any questions that others may have about this detox and what they might be using it to accomplish. It IS a viable way to shed a few pounds in a healthy manner, but it also serves as a great way to reboot if you have plateaued, to rid your body of toxins, and to help gain control over cravings.

As I have been researching, I was reading about all the processed foods that we eat that are full of chemicals and nonfoods and that our body doesn't know what to do with it, so it stores in our fat cells! You may been working out like mad and yet all those toxins are just hanging out in your fat cells not budging and when you don't see results from your hard work, you give up. This is a great reason to do a detox. It gives your body a break from many of its normal duties and when you flood it with tools like a fiber sweep and simple healthy foods, and LOTS of water, you give your body the ability to flush out those toxins. It's been proven that even completely fasting from everything but water for even up to a week can be beneficial for your health so three days on a limited nutritional plan and 900 calories a day really isn't deprivation, even though it seems like it to our culture.

I've also been getting educated about sugar and how addictive it really is to our bodies. It is actually even more addictive than cocaine, if you can imagine that! It's no wonder that we can't get control over our eating when every processed food is chock full of sugar. Now that I am aware, I have been shocked at how much sugar is in everything! You know when you drink a soda that it's full of sugar but a cereal you have come to think is healthy or a condiment ,like ketchup, you don't really even look at the label. At least I didn't. 

I have been learning how to make my own everything. Seasonings for taco, mayonnaise, salad dressings, you name it! It's been pretty liberating to take control of what is going into my body. I never even questioned buying salad dressing from a store and would've had no idea how to make my own and it's really not a time consuming activity. I promise ;) As I have mentioned before, I hate cooking so if I can do it, anyone can do it!

Ok, I know you are probably tired of my lecture and ready to see my results, but I really wanted you to see my heart behind why I did this and why I would recommend it to you.

So, the 3 Day Refresh is a kit from Beachbody. It contains 3 packets of chocolate vegan Shakeology for breakfasts to be paired with a fruit of your choice from the list, 3 packets of a Fiber Sweep, 3 packets of Vanilla Refresh for lunch that is also paired  with a fruit, a veggie, and a healthy fat from the list, and 3 packets of Vanilla fresh for dinner that is served with a vegetable meal, recipes provided. There is also another veggie and healthy fat snack in the afternoon that is not paired with a shake.

I bought a ton of delicious fruits and veggies and then like I always do I fell into a rut and ate the same things everyday. I thoroughly enjoyed my choices though! My husband is doing the 3 Day Refresh right now and he promised to give you the  "true story" when he is done. ha! He cares much more about variety then I do though so his post should be more colorful ;) Here is what I ate.

Not pictured is the Vanilla Refresh shake at dinner. I know it doesn't look that amazing but the hummus tasted delicious and that vegetable medley was seasoned with coconut oil and Himalayan salt and was incredible! I should note that it does recommend light to moderate exercise, like yoga, but since I felt so tired I rested all three days instead. 

Day 1

The first day I was out the entire day and so I had to plan which is why I was using my containers in the lunch picture. I was super tired but I felt good, I wasn't hungry and actually managed to eat my lunch at Chik-fil-a with others and not be miserable. The Fiber Sweep was my least favorite activity but it wasn't bad. Around 5 pm, I started having pretty intense sugar cravings. I was pretty surprised at the intensity honestly. If I hadn't purchased the product and then told the entire world I was doing it, I might have caved. At 6 pm, I had my vegetable medley and Vanilla Refresh and it tasted so good that my sugar cravings went away. I still felt exhausted though. I'm not sure if it was the detox or just because my kids don't sleep but I went to bed at 9 pm and slept like a rock and so did my kids! 

Day 2

I woke up with a headache. I rarely drink caffeine anymore so it wasn't caffeine related. My wonderful husband took the kids out for breakfast and I drank 8 ounces of water, followed my chocolate banana shake. My headache disappeared without any meds! Day 2 I mixed my Fiber Sweep in my shaker cup. DO NOT DO THIS! It turned into a gelatinous mess and it was really hard to drink it. Trust me, and stir it with a spoon. I felt a little hungrier day 2 than I did the first day but I didn't have the intense sugar cravings. I went to bed early again.

Day 3

Day 3 was Sunday and we serve at our church's 8 am service, so we had to be out of the house by 7:30.  I didn't have a headache when I awoke and I dutifully had my chocolate banana shake while my family had donuts and though they smelled good I wasn't even tempted! ( Full disclosure, I'm not really a donut person but after 2 days with no sugar I was surprised my body wasn't screaming for one) I followed my same boring meal plan through the rest of the day and surprisingly wasn't hungry at all in the evening which is usually when my snack cravings go haywire. 

I woke up today feeling fully of energy, I seriously enjoyed my eggs and fruit and stuck to my normal 21 Day Fix plan with ease. I have been craving water all day which is unusual for me. It's not that I drink unhealthy beverages but I don't feel thirsty and I forget to drink.  I have actually put a water reminder app on my phone to help me! I feel less bloated and my stomach looks much flatter, and I see a lot more muscle definition. I lost 4 pounds. 

All in all, it was a great experience and I do feel like it's given me an edge over my sugar and carb cravings. It's also nice to know that I have a tool at my disposal to help me if I start to struggle in the future! As I mentioned above, my husband started today and I will share his experience as well later this week! 

I would recommend the 3 Day Refresh to anyone that suspects they have a food or sugar addiction that is sabotaging their attempts to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I would also recommend it to anyone that wants to shed a few pounds in a healthy way. I was able to drop 4 pounds in three days without being hungry and without depriving my body. Most importantly though, I recommend it to anyone who is working really hard to lose weight and has plateaued. It may simply be that you have toxins built up in your system that need to be purged! Before you throw in the towel, flush those toxins out of your system! If you have any questions, please post them below and if you would like more info click here!