Now onto explaining the plan! The refresh is VERY low calorie, around 900 calories a day. Which is why as a nursing mom I definitely had to add more to keep both me and my little man happy :) The refresh is considered a natural cleanse that uses supplements along with fresh fruits, veggies, healthy fats and LOTS of water to help you make a clean break from bad habits. Numerous benefits like weight loss, increased energy, decreased cravings, improved mood, etc. have been associated with detoxing your body and using programs like the refresh to do it. So what exactly does the plan look like? It’s four supplement drinks a day: 1 Shakeology, 1 Fiber Sweep and 2 Vanilla Fresh protein drinks. Plus, 2 servings of fruit, 2 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of healthy fats and a dinner option {recipes are provided and feature veggies along with more fats.} Drinking unsweetened tea up to three times a day is also allowed which only helps the detox process! So what did I do differently to make it more nursing mom friendly? I added in extra fruits, veggies and fats for more calories along with nursing support tea! Below I’ve listed exactly what my days looked like. Day 1 Breakfast: Vegan chocolate Shakeology with 1 whole banana, 1 tablespoon ground flax seed and 1 tablespoon powdered peanut butter. {Technically I was only supposed to have a half of a banana because a whole one is considered two servings so there was some extra calories along with the ground flax and peanut butter which normally isn’t “allowed.”} Mid Morning: Nursing support tea Late Morning: Fiber sweep supplement, just mix with 8 ounces of water and chug! As a nurse I have mixed up some nasty fiber drinks before so I was pleasantly surprised that this one wasn’t too bad. Thick like Metamucil if you’ve ever tried that with a hint of lemon/citrus but definitely drinkable in the small quantity. Plus, it didn’t send me running to the bathroom like some fiber drinks can, too much info? #sorrynotsorry Lunch: Vanilla Fresh protein drink, ½ cup grapes, 4 celery stalks and 1 ½ teaspoons of peanut butter. Afternoon: I didn’t realize I was supposed to have a snack here until day two, whoops! So on day one I just had my nursing support tea. Dinner: Vanilla Fresh protein drink and the spinach salad dinner recipe. The recipe included 2 cups baby spinach, ½ of a medium cucumber, ¼ cup broccili, ½ of a medium tomato, ½ tsp olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tsp slivered almonds. *I was still hungry that night and knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep so I added in an extra cup of strawberries with my nighttime tea. Day 2 *When I woke up to nurse at 2 am I was starving to the point where I couldn’t fall back asleep so I ate ½ cup of grapes! Breakfast: Same as day one, vegan chocolate ShakeO with a whole banana, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon powdered peanut butter and I added a half of an avocado. Mid Morning: Nursing support tea Late Morning: Fiber Sweep Lunch: Vanilla Fresh blended with a little caramel extract, 1 cup strawberries, 3 big carrots and 2 tablespoons of hummus. {A serving of carrots per the plan is ½ a large so I had a total of 6 servings while running errands which covered both lunch and afternoon snack.} Dinner: Vanilla Fresh and the coconut steamed veggie recipe which is to DIE for! Click here for the recipe and to try it out yourself. *I was still hungry after dinner so I had two celery stalks with just a tiny bit of peanut butter. Day 3 Breakfast: Same as day two except this time instead of a whole banana I only used half because I had a ½ cup of grapes as well. Mid Morning: Nursing support tea Lunch: I was hungrier than the other two mornings so I opted for an earlier lunch and held off on my Fiber Sweep until later. I decided to switch up the Vanilla Fresh and blended it with a whole frozen banana and dash of cinnamon - SO good, wish I would have done that sooner! Not that the flavor is bad on it’s own but the texture of frozen banana and that little extra sweetness was a treat especially on day 3 of no sugar or carbs. I also had 2 stalks of celery with 1 ½ teaspoons of peanut butter. Early Afternoon: Fiber Sweep Later Afternoon: 3 large carrots and nursing support tea Dinner: Vanilla fresh blended with a dash of cinnamon and roasted green beans with an olive oil, sea salt and slivered almonds drizzle. I also drank AT LEAST 75 ounces of water a day + all the water included in my supplements, yes I was peeing up a storm! So that’s it! Sounds easy right? WRONG! I cannot lie to you guys while the plan is simple and a very gentle, refreshing cleanse compared to most on the market it’s still tough to cut calories and get most of them from supplements. I was so ready to eat my fruits and veggies whenever I got the chance because well I love REAL food! Plus, it takes some mental strength to say no to your toddler trying to feed you an ice cream cone and your husband antagonizing you with the thought of a late night cookie and coffee date. So how did I feel throughout the refresh? I’ll be honest at times my head was pounding which was likely related to detoxing off sugar and is the same thing that happens every time I start a strict round of the 21 Day Fix meal plan. There were other times when I was STARVING and swore my stomach was going to eat itself but clearly I lived because let’s face it it’s only 3 days, YOU can do ANYTHING for 3 days! Lastly, there were times when I was STUFFED full too especially after my big dinner meal of veggies and the Vanill Fresh protein drink. Now the moment you’ve been waiting for...my results :) Let me start off by saying I did not do this to lose weight but to feel better and FOCUS on breaking the bad eating habits I was struggling with. Which I can say that YES after just 3 days I’m not craving junk or sugar but meat, eggs, oatmeal, fruit and all my other clean, whole foods. Physically, I feel less bloated and my clothes are fitting better. Mentally and emotionally I feel proud that I stuck to the plan even when there were times I would have rather quit. I officially lost 2 pounds and finally broke the 127 weight plateau I have been sitting at for the past month, YAY! I also lost 1 1/2 inches off my waist. I wish I would have measured my hips too because I was able to finally wear a pair of shorts that were too tight last week, non-scale victories like this are the BEST and my favorite judge of progress! Now to answer a couple questions I’ve been getting!
Did you workout? Mild to moderate exercise is recommended during the refresh. You need to keep it light so your body has enough energy to flush your system and function during everyday life. Personally, I chose to skip workouts all together and just made sure I was doing “extra” life workouts as I like to call them. Day one was dancing with my boys, day two was loading and sorting two cows worth of fresh cut meat and day three was mowing the lawn plus a family bike ride! Just enough to get my body moving and muscles working without overexerting myself. Did you have gas or have to run to the bathroom? Most of the time when people hear the word “cleanse” they think enema or constant bathroom trips, for me this was not the case on the refresh. I didn’t experience any gas, bloating or huge changes in bowel movements. My body is already used to eating a lot of high fiber foods because of my daily Shakeology, fruits and veggies so it wasn’t shocked by the new ingredients. Now if someone who never eats fiber does the refresh they may have some of those uncomfortable side effects but I didn't. Did you notice any changes to your milk supply? Thankfully no! Lately we’ve been doing a combination of nursing sessions and then giving bottles/pumping because he’s biting like crazy - OUCH. He didn’t seem unsatisfied when nursing and whenever I pumped I got my normal, average amount. Every woman's body is different but between adding in those extra calories {mainly healthy fats} and making sure I was drinking some form of nursing support tea my supply held up just fine! Plus, now my little man will have even BETTER mommy milk because I’m back on track with my nutrition and clean eating goals! What do you do AFTER the cleanse is over? Keep drinking Shakeology for sure! The refresh challenge pack comes with a 30 day supply so that you can keep fueling your body with good for you superfoods. Not to mention it helps fight off cravings, increases energy and is a sweet treat too! My plan is also to get back into the routine of using my 21 Day Fix portion control containers while still enjoying my treats just in WAY more moderation. I’m really trying to focus in on cutting sugar intake for my whole family and I feel like this was a great jump start to that along with helping me break the bad habits, get back to my good ones and feel refreshed! I think that covers it all :) If you have more questions, want to try out the 3 Day Refresh or take the 21 Day Fix challenge make sure to contact me here because I’d love to help YOU get started towards a happier, healthier lifestyle!
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