Update & The Importance of Planning!

Midway through Day 4, so I can officially give you a progress update!

- So far, the workouts are totally doable and definitely not grueling - but certainly enough to work up a sweat! Thumbs up for that.  30 minute workouts = thumbs' up in my book.

-I am loving the eating plan.  I mean.  LOVING.  In the past, I have tried diets where I was just STARVING the whole time, and very cranky about it.  Just really not a fun experience.  And then it makes it that much harder to not "cheat" or just quit.  But the 21 Day Fix containers - it's really working for me overall.  I have found what works for me as far as figuring out what to eat when (more on that later).

-Like I mentioned in my last post, I'm still going to Crossfit.  On those days, I add an extra protein shake to my daily portions (not Shakeology, but a protein powder formulated for muscle recovery) - like I said, I'm interested in healthy, and NOT in depleting myself.  So far it seems to be working out pretty well.  

- So far I've lost 3.5 lbs!  I know it won't come off this quickly the whole 21 days, but it's sure a great start!!

Ok, so that's the progress update.  Moving on!

Most days I have a lot of time at the house, which means that I don't HAVE to plan the whole day's food in advance like you would if you were away or on the go all the time.  However, I have done it both ways, and I have to say that it is WAY more stress-free and enjoyable for me if I get my food all ready to go and prepped the night before!

One day I didn't do this - I decided to wing it and figure out what to eat as each meal came up.  I had a hard time keeping track of how many containers I had already had, how many I should have for that meal in order to leave enough for later in the day, etc.  It required a lot more thinking.  I didn't eat as well during the day, because I hadn't really divided the portions up evenly throughout.  I wasn't as happy with it then.

The other days, I prepped the food the night before.  I used the containers as measuring cups, and once I had used up my portions for a certain container, I would put it somewhere else so I knew I was done divvying up that particular type of food for the following day.  Essentially, I would make 3 small prep stations - and then divide up the day's worth of food between the 3.  Then, the following day, if I needed a snack, I would (for example) grab a banana from one of the 3 segments, or have my Shakeology.

Here's a (bad) picture of last night's prep efforts:

So a chef salad for each meal, a fruit, and brown rice pasta - all divided evenly from the total amount of my portions for the day.

TIP:  The orange containers make really great portable dressing containers to stick in your salad containers!  I only use my one orange container filled per day, but then I just divide it up 3 ways and store it.

BONUS TIP: Frozen Mango is AMAAAAZING for a sweet tooth.  Just sayin'.

I would REALLY recommend you try this style of prep, even if it's just to try it out just once!  If it's not for you, it's not for you - but for me it made a huge difference in how I felt about the eating plan and alleviated stress surrounding what I was eating for the day!

Now, to planning workouts - another thing that will be to your benefit.  I need to keep this in mind as much as anybody though!!  Last night I did the workout at 10:00 (which is when I was aiming to go to bed - guess who put it off all day????) - and while it was okay, I would much rather have done it earlier in the day.  I find that if I schedule a time for the workout, it is much more likely to happen at a practical time, as opposed to when I don't schedule it and it ends up getting pushed off the whole day (like my yesterday).

Anybody with me on their 21 Day Fix journey??  If you are, I'd love to hear how you like it - am I weird that I'm loving this?

21 Day Fix - Let's Get This Party Started!!!

Today is the first official day of the 21-Day Fix for me!  I am really excited to get started - but whenever starting something new like this, it can get a little overwhelming!  Between figuring out what I'm eating and how much of it....between planning meals and planning grocery lists....between planning workout times and meal times....it can seem like a lot!  Today I'll cover a few of the basics that I have figured out.

First of all, I started my day off by having my husband take my "before" photos for me.  I'll be honest, it didn't feel great to look at those photos and see where I'm at right now!  Instead of letting it get me down, though, I'm determined to use it as motivation to stay on track and my body back to a place where I'm feeling good and confident.  I'm not going to share the photos now....right now they have been locked up in a box, key thrown away, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.  ;) Maybe once I'm done with the 21 days I'll be brave enough to post them.

Second - groceries!  There are SO many food options to choose from that are 21-Day approved - which is GREAT because there's bound to be something for everyone - but in making a grocery list it can get a little overwhelming!  In case you can't see through my scribbles, here's what I got today:

GREEN: Romaine, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, red peppers
PURPLE: Bananas, frozen mango, apples, grapes
RED: Ground turkey, chicken breast (I decided to get Deli meat for this), cottage cheese, eggs
BLUE: Almonds, avocados, mozzarella (I also ended up getting hummus)
YELLOW: Brown rice, pasta (of the gluten-free pastas, I prefer brown rice pasta, but any whole-grain pasta or gluten free pasta is a good choice!)

For the orange containers (oils/seeds), I will be making my own dressings or using ones that I have at home already that are 21-Day approved.

Third - workouts!  This one is going to be a bit complicated for me.  I go to Crossfit regularly, and I love it.  I love lifting weights and the programming at my gym is great.  And, most importantly, I love the people.  They're like family there.  SO I am not going to be giving those workouts up.  However, I am still excited about adding the 21-Day Fix workouts to my daily routine!  Because of the extra exercise, I'm going to be adding an extra protein shake in on the mornings after my Crossfit workout. I'm going to be paying close attention to how I am feeling, and if I'm feeling depleted, I'm going to address that as it comes - probably by adding more fruits and veggies.  The plan so far is to go to Crossfit in the mornings 4-5 times a week like normal, and then add the 21-Day Fix workouts (which are 30 minutes) at the end of the day.  Like I said, I'm going to be really careful about not depleting my body - I'm interested in being healthy and fit, NOT starved and "skinny"!  Stay tuned to see how that goes and if I decide I need to make any adaptations to the plan.

This was my lunch today.  Salad (romaine, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, deli meat, avocado), mango chunks, cottage cheese, and brown rice. I am LOVING this lunch box - I forgot I had it but it's a great solution for meal planning!  I like to plan the whole day ahead of time, so that means that I have to use my 21-Day Fix containers more as measuring cups than as storage containers.  This container is awesome because it's got everything I need - there's even a fork/spoon/knife utensil that goes in the lid, as well as a small storage space for dressing - which fits a half of an orange container perfectly.  I ordered more today, in a style that has four compartments instead of three - so I can keep my fruit in its own container - and I can't wait for them to come in!  Click here to link to the one I ordered.  These are awesome because when they're empty, they collapse!  I am a little bit nutty about "tools" - I completely love them - and I think this one is going to be the perfect 21-Day Fix tool for me.

Anybody else have experience with the 21-Day Fix?  Any little tricks you figured out that you just loved?  Let me know!