Core De Force | Country Heat | What is a Beachbody Coach | Where To Buy Shakeology | 21 Day Fix: A week of Planning, Progress, Packing, and a 3 Day Refresh!

Happy Monday! Whew! It's been quite a while since I've done a little progress update. A LOT has been happening and unfortunately my blog posts took a back seat for a bit. ANYWAYS, I am so excited to say that this afternoon my husband and I are heading to our first destination before flying out tomorrow morning to an all expense paid trip to the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico! It's called the Success Club trip and as a Coach, you can earn based on your success from the previous year. Words can not explain how excited I am to get in to the warm tropical sun and to finally meet some of my fellow coaches who I have only "met" through social media.

As part of preparing for a vacation, planning is super important!!!! Usually when we go away I look up local restaurants and menus so that I can get a good idea on what I will be eating; however, since we are heading to an all inclusive resort, things are a bit different! We are limited to the restaurants on the resort, we will be out of the country, and we really aren't positive on what our food choices will be. So, does that mean I am going to throw in the towel and over indulge all week? Absolutely not! I have been on countless vacations where I have had the "it's vacation" philosophy when it comes to food and let me tell you, that constant instant gratification just isn't worth it to me. Yes, I'll have a few drinks and yes, I'll indulge is some things that aren't necessarily on the 21 day fix plan :) BUT, I am also bringing some back up plans! So, I stocked up on Quest Bars, Shakeology, Almonds, and I also have some peanut butter crackers that I am taking along. In addition, I portioned out baggies of oatmeal. Weird, I know. BUT, I'm pretty picky when it comes to eating foods out of the country and I want to make sure that I have something that I KNOW I will like!

So, in preparation for this trip, there were a couple of things that I did. For starters, I tried really hard to stick to my plan on Easter. I got up, had my shake, and then indulged in some treats here and there. The day didn't go quite as planned as far as food choices went, but, I had a solid plan for the upcoming week that would take care of the sugar high that I ended up on.

So, I decided to do a 14 day Candy Detox group where everyone in the group committed to completing the 3 Day Refresh as well as daily Shakeology. The group is still going on and things are going great! The average weight loss for those who have finished the Refresh has been about 3.5-5.5 pounds!! I personally did the refresh and lost 4 pounds! More importantly, I got rid of the candy cravings, sugar high, and extra bloat that I seemed to accumulate over Easter weekend. While it takes some commitment and dedication, the 3 Day Refresh isn't all that bad! This is actually the 3rd time that I completed it. I like this detox program because you can eat real food and aren't constantly starving! In all honesty, the only time I felt hungry was later in the evenings while I was working on my computer. I ended up going to bed early those 3 nights and let me tell you, I had the best sleep EVER! I actually don't recall having slept so soundly the past two times I completed the Refresh.

Planning is KEY when doing the 3 Day Refresh. What I did first was go through the Eating Plan book and choose the foods that I wanted to eat. Then, I created a meal plan! I have to not, on Friday I planned for a 1/2 apple but forgot to take "strawberries" out of my plan, so, it's a little typo. No, I did not eat both! Anyways, I also make sure to plan out the rest of the days as well. The last thing you want when you do something like this is overindulge when it's over and gain all of the weight back.

21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, Meal Planning, Clean Eating, Beachbody on Demand, 3 Day Refresh, 3 Day Refresh Meals

3 Day Refresh Planning

Second, I PREPARED the food! Seriously, I cut up and cooked anything that I possibly could. I took it a step further and made sure everything was on an eye level shelf in the refrigerator. Past experience has shown me that the more prepared you are, the easier it is to stay on track. So, my meal plan sat on my kitchen counter throughout the week and I STUCK TO IT!

The food that you eat with this program isn't all that bad either! In fact, check out my spinach / mixed greens salad that I had for dinner! That is actually on a large dinner plate! I ended up eating that all 3 nights because for me, that is the most fulfilling. There are several options to choose from.

3 Day Refresh

I will admit, that by the final day, I was ready for some chicken!! Overall, I was happy with my results. I enjoyed the fiber shake much more than I have in the past and I definitely looked forward to my shakeology each morning! If you are wondering what the purpose is of this program, there are a few reasons why you may want to consider it. For starters, if you need to drop a few pounds in a quick amount of time, whether it be for a vacation, wedding, upcoming reunion, etc. then this would be a perfect choice. In addition, if you hit a plateau or if you just need to kick some poor eating habits, then this will do the trick! I do still have some Easter candy sitting on my dining room table and I'll admit, I was sneaking it here and there before I started the refresh and now, it's not evening tempting me anymore! For more information about this program, click here!

Exercise! It's good for you!

Aside from doing the 3 Day Refresh and following the 21 Day Fix / 21 Day Fix Extreme plan, I was also keeping up with my daily exercise. I haven't actually been following one program. I've been taking advantage of Beachbody on Demand and trying out some different workouts. Even though things have been a bit crazy, I MADE SURE that I scheduled in that 30 minutes to myself. Yes, the girls jump around while I exercise and yes, there have been a handful of times where I need to pause in order to help them with something, but, I DO IT and I give 100% effort!!

No Excuses

I know that it's tough to sometimes find the time to work out. By the time your kids get to bed it's after 9:00pm and you're just too tired to get up early, right? Guess what? I get it!! We are all busy! Who has time to add one more thing to their daily to-do list, right? And I know what it's like to say "I'll do it over the summer when I have more free time" but honestly, does that "free time" ever come? When it comes down to it, you just have to MAKE THE TIME. If that means getting up a little earlier, then do it! If that means giving up time scrolling through your Facebook news feed, then do it! If that means recording your favorite TV shows so that you can watch the recording while you are working out or before you go to bed, then do it! It wasn't until I re-prioritized my day when I discovered that I had a lot of "wasted" activities I was doing. I threw that oh so popular I don't have time excuse out the door!

So, that's about all of the tough love I have for you today :) I know all of this is easier said than done and if you would have told me a year or so ago that I'd be prioritizing my life so that I can meal plan, exercise, work from home, and be there for my family, I'd think you were crazy! Yes, I've made some sacrifices. I watch VERY LITTLE TV, if any, and I stay up late to get my work done, but, it's ALL worth it! I wouldn't change a thing! And I will be especially grateful this week while I am laying on the Beach in Cancun knowing that my hard work in both my business and in my personal life is being appreciated!

The root of all of the positive, healthy habits that I have formed has been because of one thing. ACCOUNTABILITY GROUPS! The day I decided to join one with MY Coach was the day everything changed. I took it seriously and I never looked back. Next Monday, April 20th, I am hosting a DROP A DRESS SIZE CHALLENGE! The first week is all about planning and prep. Everyone will be setting goals, taking measurements, learning about meal planning, shakeology, and how to incorporate that, along with daily exercise. Then, on April 27th, the 30 day challenge begins! Everyone who drops one pant size will be entered in to a drawing for a CASH REWARD! The final amount will depend on the number of people in the group.