21 Day Fix Results & Review

Tyler and I have been working out and eating clean pretty consistently since I was pregnant back in 2013.  Beginning in March, however, we started to backslide and we lost a lot of ground.  Our diet and workout schedule majorly slipped and it was showing on our waistlines and in our confidence.  

By this time, we had attempted to complete the Jamie Eason LiveFit Trainer program 3 times and all 3 times, we didn't make it further than the 2nd month of the 3 month program.  I LOVED the LiveFit Trainer program and we really did get great results, but the demand on our schedule was too much to sustain.  We were spending 60 - 90 minutes in the gym 5-6 nights a week and trying to find time to have a life, keep Levi on a schedule, and have time to sleep.  It's no wonder we kept failing.

In April 2014, we went on a trip to New Orleans for a few days to celebrate our 3rd anniversary.  We had an AMAZING time, but we came back feeling like slugs.  We had lived like a couple of lushes for the past several days, but the vacation was the final straw after months of slacking off and making poor choices.  We were ready to get back on track A.S.A.P!

Standing on the balcony at Muriel's at Jackson Square.

Enter: 21 Day Fix

Our fit friend mentioned that she was doing this new program that had portion control containers, 30 minute workouts, and an easy eating plan.  Tyler told me to order it.  At that time, I kind of thought... "Yuck, a video work out?  How lame."  I pictured Jane Fonda in her leg warmers doing step aerobics.  I had done pregnancy workout videos in the past but I had turned into a little bit of a snob about lifting at the GYM.

Neato...

Around this time, I had a friend who had recently become a Team Beachbody coach, so I ordered the program from her.  When it came in, I had a "come to Jesus" talk with my husband.  I read the book with it and I was so overwhelmed.  I seriously thought I would be spending hours meal prepping every week, so I lovingly told him that if I did ALL THIS WORK prepping this food so we could do this program together, I better not find out he was cheating on the meal plan!  He had to be FULLY committed!  He agreed.  I agreed. ...And so it started!

What IS the 21 Day Fix?  

In my words, it is a simple, clean eating plan, with colored portion control containers to make eating right completely brainless. There is a 30 minute workout for every day which can be modified to be easier or more difficult depending on your fitness level.  The entire program lasts 21 days.  If you want more details than my simple summary, you may view a video or read more about it here.

How did it go?

The first week was really tough.  We weren't used to eating so much food throughout the day.  I was cooking a lot more because I hadn't planned ahead very well, and I was also spending a lot more time washing dishes! We struggled with cravings, but the Shakeology that came with the challenge pack knocked that out for us quickly.  I didn't like the Shakeology the first day I tried it, but after I experimented with the different recipes, I officially became an addict.

Yummy Chocolate Shakeology!

The second week we started to see results on the scale, started to feel stronger, and I was getting the hang of things in the kitchen.  I figured out what meal planning tricks worked for us and what didn't, what foods were easy to make and reheat for quick lunches, what we both actually liked, and we got into a good groove.  I also found this Facebook Group for 21DF recipe ideas!  We had to do the workouts late in the evenings after our son went to bed, but we got used to that too.

The third week I got compliments on my arms and of course, that motivated me to finish strong! Arm compliments fuel my fit-fire like no other! Tyler was also really excited to be very near the weight goal he had set for himself.  The 3 weeks really felt like it flew by!

A friend of mine complimented my arms in this picture! I was elated!

Our Results

It was really hard for me to decide to share these pictures.  The only thing that gave me enough courage was the fact that I was originally inspired to start getting healthy by others who had been brave enough to share theirs. I am not my "before" picture, and I am not frozen in my "after" picture.  I'm always going to be a work in progress, and I'll always be getting a little better.  I hope these results inspire someone to get started, too.  A lot can change in 21 days!

Tyler did not want me to share his before and after pictures at this time, but he lost 9.75 inches and lost 11 lbs!

I lost 7 lbs, gained 1/2 an inch on each bicep (woo! guns!) and lost 7.5 inches everywhere else!

Final Thoughts

I like that the eating plan is flexible on calories and instead makes you focus on WHAT you're eating and HOW MUCH.  I also love that it allows occasional treats (including WINE!)  I think this makes it much more realistic and the results more sustainable.  

We didn't follow the program perfectly.  We had a pretty busy social schedule over the 21 days.  The first weekend we had overnight house guests, the second weekend we had a wedding, and the third weekend was our annual Mother's Day crawfish boil.  We slipped a little for those events, but I'm still happy with the results!  Imagine how awesome our results would have been had we NOT cheated! That's life, though, ya know?  There is always going to be SOME reason to celebrate.  The trick is to learn how to have fun in a moderate and balanced way so that you can still hit your goals.

The book outlines how to continue using the eating plan for maintenance after you've reached your goal weight, and I fully intend to do so!  I feel like Tyler and I have been completely retrained, in a short time, how to eat properly by maintaining a balanced diet and watching portions.  It seems simple, and it is, but sometimes following a plan can help you to stay focused!  

The book with all the answers.

My only criticism would be that the eating plan drops so low in calories for those who have less to lose.  A 750 calorie deficit is huge and will get results, but being in the 1200-1400 calorie bracket was tough.  There were days I went to bed really hungry and sad.  After a few nights of whining about it, I finally just started adding more green boxes to my day if I was still hungry.  I think the book actually suggests this as a solution.  

The workout plan surprised me!  I didn't think that I would be so sore after that first week or that I would have to modify to make it easier on so many of the exercises.  It was tough, but it wasn't so hard that it was intimidating or impossible.  There are workouts every day for 21 days, but there are 2 active rest days each week to look forward to: Pilates and Yoga.  Because of those, my flexibility has increased quite a bit in 3 weeks, which is something that had been neglected heavily when we were lifting weights in the gym.  

Yoga pose "Corpse," or as I called it... "Nap time."

You can make the exercises easier by modifying and following the example of a lovely girl named "Kat" on the video.  I worked out with Kat a LOT that first week, especially coming off of a back injury.  You can make the workouts tougher by increasing the weight of your dumbbells, which is something I will likely do when we go for ROUND 2! Yes... we will be doing this again very soon!

Overall, I really loved this program!  I think it would be great for anyone who is short on time, has trouble with cravings or not eating enough, or anyone just wanting a good place to start their fitness journey! 

I did not join a challenge group with my coach because they did not have one starting when we were ready to start.  I did, however, become a Team Beachbody Coach.  I fell in love with the positivity, the motivation, support, and the opportunity to help others get the same great results.  I had a wonderful experience, made great progress and being a coach has helped to keep me accountable as I share my results with my friends and family (and complete strangers around town.) 

You can read more about my story and see more transformation photos on my Coach Profile or request to join my private Facebook Group, Family Fun Fitness, for motivation, accountability, and support for your fitness journey any time!

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Levi's First Birthday

My son turned 1 on March 31st.  So on March 29th, I did like any rational mother would do and I threw a quaint family gathering... that quickly turned into a Pinterest-induced, monkey-themed, over-celebration (mostly) for the grown-ups... and SOME kids.

I chose the monkey theme because Levi's ears stick out, he is obsessed with bananas, and he climbs all over me and the furniture.  Simple enough.

See... Clearly, a MONKEY!

Once the theme was set, then the hard work began... hours and hours of pinning on Pinterest, without any real commitment to any one idea.  You know how this goes, ladies.  If it's done on Pinterest, it just magically appears in your living room, right?  No... no it doesn't.  But wouldn't that be nice...

About 2 months out, I started really sifting through the many pins for the things I ACTUALLY wanted to do and/or wanted to delegate someone to do for me.  I made a list of the different projects, and then further sifted through those until I had a manageable to-do/to-make list.  I then started making crazy amounts of online purchases, since it's much more convenient than shopping with a 10 month old.  My husband probably got a new grey hair every time he came home and found another 3 Amazon boxes at the door.  I even had a box from a wholesaler shipped to our dental office because shipping to a business was cheaper than a residence!  He was just thrilled to open a huge box of plastic banana split boats and portion cups while at work... I can just see the "What the...?" look on his face.

I decided on a few themed foods:

Monkey Cupcakes

Mod-Monkey Smash Cake

Pineapple palm tree fruit tray!

 

Jungle Dip (Spinach dip) and Fruit Dip

Banana Pudding Cups

Sangria for the BIG monkeys!

There was also an AWESOME banana split bar that you can barely see in the background of the Sangria picture.  I completely forgot to take pictures of it and I could KICK myself!

I ordered some decorations to match:

Super cute birthday boy hat that Levi refused to wear.

I loved this banner with a picture from each of his first 11 months!

I used extra bananas for table decorations.

We had games set up outside (washers, ladder toss, chalk, and bubbles for bigger kids) and I had a playroom set up for the babies inside (ball pit, bouncy balls, random baby toys, etc.)  I forgot to get pictures of the activities.  Each kiddo also got to leave with their own stuffed spider monkey (like the one pictured above) and a small bag of bananas (banana candies) to feed their new monkey!  I also let them take home bubbles and any leftover cupcakes.  I'm sure the mom's hated me for their kids' sugar highs that day!

We opened presents:

And then, of course, THIS happened:

I can just eat this with my FACE, right?

Overall, we all had a wonderful time and I was so happy with the way things turned out!

See links below for craft instructions and vendor links.



All paper art items (banners, food tents, bottle labels, birthday hat) were made by PartyOnPurpose.
"Go Bananas" spoons made by SucreShop. 
Mod Monkey cake made by Debbie's Delights.  
"ONE" shirt made by lilthreadzclothing.
Directions for the Monkey cupcakes can be found here. 
Directions for the pineapple palm tree fruit tray can be found here. 


If you have any questions about where anything was purchased or how anything was made that is NOT listed above, be sure to comment and I will do the best I can to find the answer for you! 

Levi Bryan's Birth Story

As of my last post I was in the throws of the third trimester and hovering around week 31.  Little did I know that Levi was growing more and more impatient as he was physically growing...

On Good Friday, 2013, I took a quick trip to the most loathed destination I could imagine, Wal-Mart.  I intended for this to be a quick trip in to grab an inexpensive, tunic-style dress for laboring at the birth center.  I wanted to wear something comfy but also inexpensive so that if it was ruined in the process, there would be no remorse and I could easily toss it.  I despise Wal-Mart, so I found the dress I was looking for quickly, grabbed a few other essentials (Robin Egg candies are essential, right?) and headed for the registers.  As I was checking out, I felt an unusual gush where and when there should not have been one... I did not panic in front of the other customers and the sweet teenager at the cash register, but I did rush to the restroom as soon as I could.  I assessed the situation and decided it was LIKELY that I had just peed myself.  I had heard so many stories from friends about women peeing themselves in the last trimester.  I had been doing my pelvic floor exercises regularly to help avoid having my own such stories, but sadly, in that bathroom, I thought I was looking at my failed efforts.  I certainly did not want to panic by assuming it was the alternative and that my water had broken at 34 weeks... so I pushed that thought way, way, down... for a moment.

As I walked out of Wal-Mart thinking that I was just some other patron that peed herself in their store (and praying that no one could tell,) I made a quick call to my midwife to update her and the thought that my water had broken crept back into my mind.  As soon as I heard her voice on the phone, I started crying.  I guess I was less convinced that it was pee than I thought.  I had never prayed that I had peed my pants before, but I found myself doing just that at that moment.  After having a detailed discussion with my midwife about what happened, we decided it was likely just pee, and I should go home and relax and keep her posted on any other developments.

I spent the rest of the evening on the couch wondering if I was still peeing myself, constantly.  The "pee" wouldn't stop coming, in small gushes, and I was steadily stress eating my way through that 5 lb bag of Robin Eggs.  My midwife became concerned and told me to go to the ER just to have it checked out and make sure it wasn't in fact amniotic fluid leaking.  I pushed the panic way way down, again.  This was just a precaution, noooo worries!  Happy, happy, positive thoughts!  "Wooooosaaahhhh!"

It was around 9pm when we got to the ER.  I tried to remain positive, even when the nurse in Labor and Delivery advised that we get checked in because I was leaking amniotic fluid and my water had ruptured prematurely.  Our impatient little man was going to be making his debut 6 weeks early!  I was obviously worried.  I hadn't mentally or emotionally prepared myself for complications.  My pregnancy had been super easy, I was in great health, and there were no indications that the remainder of the pregnancy and the delivery would go anything but absolutely perfect.

This was not at all our "birth plan" for Levi.  We had planned to deliver with our midwife group in a birth center, full term, with no meds, no interventions.  I contacted my midwife and she prepared to pack up and head our way to act as a Doula.  She wanted us to deliver in a hospital because a baby this early may need a NICU (panic, GULP.)  We had to come up with a new plan, and quickly, because Levi was ready.

We decided to head to a different hospital to deliver, but not without heading home and packing a couple bags for the hospital. That was one of those checklist items we hadn't quite gotten to yet because we weren't expecting to need it for at least another month!  I also needed a shower, if for no other reason than to just give myself a few minutes to process what was about to happen.  By the time we got to our hospital of choice it was after 2am on Saturday morning.  I knew that I should be exhausted but adrenaline had me amped.  I had no idea how this was going to play out.  Was I going to meet my son today?  Was he healthy? Was he ready?  Could we still deliver naturally?

We got checked in, I was put on an IV with antibiotics and fluids and we were told that the doctor would be in for rounds at 8am and we should sleep.  We should sleep, still not knowing what was happening, when baby Levi was coming, and still full of adrenaline.  Sleeping was a joke.  Sleeping was a chore.  I tried, but there was no sleeping.  I could only try to mentally prepare myself for every scenario we might face in the hours ahead.

The entire next day was a blur or complete fatigue, confusion, and panic.  We met our doctor, who, thankfully, happened to be one of the BEST in our area.  He set my mind at ease as much as he could, and he was respectful of my desire to deliver naturally, with the coaching of my doula, using my Hypnobabies techniques.  I was supposed to be spending this day driving to Louisiana to the second baby shower.  I had my mom notify everyone who had already made the trip in for the shower the night before that Levi had other plans for our weekend and to please enjoy the food and party without us!  I felt awful that my aunts had worked so hard to put together a beautiful shower that I wouldn't get to attend!  I learned later that it turned out to be a great party and family gathering, anyway.

All day, I was visited by nurses non-stop.  I tried to nap but my efforts were futile as the door was always open.  Either a nurse was coming to check vitals, introduce the new shift, or a family member was coming to check in on us.  My poor husband didn't know what to do so he mainly focused on taking care of the financials.  I was advised by my doctor that we would let Levi come on his own in the next day or two, as long as we started laboring naturally at some point.  I was on antibiotics so baby and I were safe from infection.  They did let me stay in my tunic-style Walmart dress (mainly because I simply refused to wear the gown,) and later they did let me walk around the hospital so that I could hopefully get things moving naturally.

Enjoying an evening waddle around the L&D floor at Christus-St.Elizabeth.

Early Sunday morning, the contractions started.  Levi was ready, and whether I liked it or not, I was going to have to be ready too!  As we continued through the morning, new problems arose.  First, during a check for dilation, the doctor found that Levi was presenting with his hand on his hand.  I was informed that if delivered vaginally this way, he could have permanent nerve damage or a broken arm.  I waited for my midwife and she had me try some different positions for laboring that would hopefully result in him getting into a better position.  The doctor also tried pinching his little hand in hopes that he would pull it back, but Levi refused.

THEN, the next bit of bad news.  Levi's heart rate kept getting progressively lower as each contraction grew stronger.  Again, the midwife and I made adjustments to my positioning to try to take some pressure off of baby Levi.  No luck.  It helped a little, but his heart-rate was still dropping and dropping fast.

After many efforts to deliver naturally, my doctor finally insisted that we rush into a cesarean.  I had been fighting it, and he was very sympathetic, but he was very concerned with Levi's heart-rate dropping so severely, especially since we were still in early labor. 

I spoke with my midwife and she told me that she felt like we had done everything we could to try to do it the natural way, but some babies are just stubborn and maybe it was time to call "three strikes, you're out" on this one.  With her support, and a great deal of anxiety over Levi's health, my husband and I gave the doctor the okay.  I was on the operating table within minutes.

I had held it together very well through this whole ordeal, even as things got progressively worse throughout the weekend, but when we finally decided on the cesarean, I felt defeated and that's when the tears and panic overcame me.  I didn't want to do it this way.  I wasn't prepared for this, but more than anything, I just wanted my baby to be okay.  He was so early and so stubborn.  I was afraid for his lung development, for his arm, for his heart-rate, and yes... I was afraid of surgery, too! 

The cesarean went well.  As soon as Levi was removed, he wailed with those healthy lungs and I felt relief.  I asked my husband to follow him to the NICU.  I was calmer then.  I knew my baby was okay, I knew I was in good hands with this doctor, and my anesthesiologist talked to me about gardening the entire time which, surprisingly, kept me very calm.  It probably helped that I was heavily dosed on pain medication at this time, too.

Levi was born at 12:12pm on Easter Sunday, March, 31st, 2013.  He was 4lbs 6oz and 18 inches long.  He spent 2 weeks in the NICU and came home with us on April 13th, 2013.

Our very first family photo.

He was and still is an impatient little tornado!  For a long time I felt that I had been robbed of my perfect, serene, birth experience, but I finally realized that I was blessed with 6 extra weeks with the newest love of my life.  My sweet angel just couldn't wait to start his life on the outside, and I'm thankful every day for the joy he brings to my life!