21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge - Review

This past Sunday I finished my first 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge.  The 21 days were up faster than I was anticipating even though it seemed like some of the days lasted forever.  Did I like it? Yes.  Would I do it again? Yes.  Was I perfect every single day? No.  Did I see positive results? Yes.

I'm starting a challenge group if you are interested in joining!

The Workouts

The first week the workouts seriously kicked my butt and left me feeling quite sore!  Which is a GOOD thing because that meant my body was waking up and finally being used again in a way that pushed me to my limits.  The first week I used mainly my light weights (3 lbs) or no weights at all in most of the workouts.  True to form they were all right 30 minutes long which is a very doable amount of time.  Long enough that you definitely feel it but short enough that you can really push yourself.  

Feeling accomplished after doing the cardio fix workout!

The second and third week of the program I was less sore after the workouts and I slowly began to use more weight ending with always using at least my light weights and sometimes my heavy weights (10 lbs).  The easiest workout for me was the 10 min hardcore because I LOVE having a strong core and have some leftover strength from years of gymnastics and pole vaulting.  That being said the hardest workout for me was definitely the cardio fix extreme because I was not in very good aerobic shape to begin.  I did improve from week 1 to week 3 in this workout and though it is hard I feel SUPER ACCOMPLISHED afterwards.

My light (3lbs) and heavy (10lbs) weights.

There was a minimal amount of equipment that I needed to do my workouts some of which I already had.  I used a yoga mat, light weights (3lbs each), heavy weights (10lbs each), and a resistance band.  If you are into saving $$ wherever possible I found the local thrift store was a good place to pick up some cheap weights and resistance bands.  If you want to be deluxe you can also order them or go to the store.  

I did a swim workout today and noticed that I felt stronger than last time I swam which was before the 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge.  Awesome!

The Meal Plan

The simplified meal plan that came with 7 different color coded containers made knowing what to eat super easy!  My cravings for chocolate and baked goods made the application of the meal plan much harder.  I found that if I prepped my food once a week and had it ready to grab and go when I ran out the house I was much more likely to stick with the meal plan.  Initially I thought it didn't seem like that much food to eat but there were days where I actually fell short on what I was supposed to eat. 

An assortment of meals and meal prep from the 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge.

The meal plan also got me to branch outside of my routine meals and explore different taste combinations.  Including the Shakeology as a breakfast most days instead of my typical 400-500 calorie muffin gave me more energy in the morning and just made me feel healthier because I knew it was good for me.  I was skeptic of the shake at first but will definitely be continuing to drink it every day!  The cost of eating a ton of fruits and vegetables wasn't too bad because all of the meal prep really cut down on my quick food purchases throughout the week.  Ross was on board for eating super healthy with me as well but didn't do any limiting on quantity that he ate.  It really helped that he was on board and super encouraging! :)

One thing that did fall through for me was my tracking.  :(  Did not stick with it through out the entire 21 days.  I did really well the first 7 days and kind of fizzled out after that.  I will be working on keeping better track next time I do a challenge!

The Results 

Overall I lost 4lbs going from 153 to 149 and 3.5 total inches going from 180 to 176.5 inches (measurements taken include waist, chest, hips, right arm, left arm, right thigh, and left thigh).

Below are my before and after photos with the before photo being on the left.  I can see a difference in how I look.  The most noticeable difference is that I feel STRONGER and have more MOTIVATION to get outside the house and do things like go for HIKES or SWIM.  My skin has improved as well and is much clearer than normal!  Not going to complain about that perk at all!

Left: 153lbs, Day 0     Right: 149lbs, Day 21

Left: 153lbs, Day 0     Right: 149lbs, Day 21

What's Next?

The next challenge that I plan on tackling is the new workout from Beach Body called 22 Minute Hard Corps which is a boot camp style workout that lasts for 60 days!  The meal plan that it follows is essentially the same as for the 21 Day Fix Extreme so I will be ahead of the game on that!

☆ Stephanie Ann

Recipe - Beet, Arugula, and Endive Salad

It is winter in Vermont which means that beets are one of the few vegetables that are considered in season!  I like to try to incorporate local veggies whenever possible though it does get tricky in the middle of the winter.

The blue berries really rounded this salad off nicely.

Beets are super healthy for you because they are full of the following nutrients!

Beets, sliced, cooked 1.00 cup 170.00 grams Calories: 75 GI: med
Nutrient	Amount	DRI/DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
folate	136.00 mcg	34	8.2	excellent
manganese	0.55 mg	28	6.6	very good
potassium	518.50 mg	15	3.6	very good
copper	0.13 mg	14	3.5	very good
fiber	3.40 g	14	3.3	good
magnesium	39.10 mg	10	2.4	good
phosphorus	64.60 mg	9	2.2	good
vitamin C	6.12 mg	8	2.0	good
iron	1.34 mg	7	1.8	good
vitamin B6	0.11 mg	6	1.6

via the world's healthiest foods

Ingredients

• 1-2 Medium Sized Beets
• 1 Endive
• Arugula
• Spring Mix Salad Greens
• Blue Berries
• Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Prep

1.  Clean and peel the beets.  I suggest doing this over the sink because they will turn everything red.  Once peeled, quarter beets and then thinly slice and set aside.
2.  Remove the core from the endive and separate leaves from one another.  Thinly slice leaves horizontally and set aside with the beets.
3.  Combine the arugula and spring salad greens to a proportion that you enjoy.  For example I love arugula so my ratio of arugula to salad greens is closer to 3:1 than say someone who isn't a huge fan of arugula.  Their ratio may be closer to 1:3 arugula to spring greens.  Slightly chop the greens.  You can include the beet greens here.  (I used them in a separate dish)
4.  In a large glass bowl combine balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil at a 2:1 ratio and season with salt and pepper.  I tend to dress my salads lightly using just enough dressing to barely coat all of the ingredients.
5.  Add the beets, endive, and arugula/greens to the dressing and toss.
6.  Using your green container, divide the salad into as many full green containers as possible.  I was able to divide mine into 3 separate green containers, putting each into their own tupperware dish.
7.   Using the purple container, fill it half way with blueberries.  Add to the tupperware dishes already containing your salad.

Container Amounts Per Tupperware Dish

• 1 Green
• 1/2 Purple
• 1 tsp

**Easily and scrumptiously pairs with smoked lox to add 1/2 a Red to your meal.

Some of my meal prepping for the week including my beet, endive and arugula salad.  I also used my beets in my green bean stir fry and roasted some to go with my roasted butternut squash!

☆ Stephanie Ann

Recipe - Cucumber, Avocado, Strawberry, Cilantro Salad

Okay this recipe is one of my favorites!  Super duper easy to make, very flavorful, and I'm still excited to eat it after multiple days of having it as one of my small meals!  A little taste of summer year round.  ❤

Cucumber, Avocado, Strawberry, Cilantro Salad

Ingredients

• Strawberries (fresh strawberries will taste the best and their juice will mix with the lime juice)
• Cucumbers
• Avocado
• Red Onion
• Cilantro
• Lime Juice (or a fresh lime)
• Cumin
• Dill
• Himalayan Rock Salt
• Pepper

Prep

1. Slice strawberries and cucumbers.  To make multiple days worth I simply slice a purple container full of strawberries and a green container full of cucumbers and throw it straight into my storage tupperware.  Rinse and repeat for how many days I want.  I find a standard strawberry package you would find at the grocery store is enough for about 3 purple containers and one long english cucumber is about right for 3 green containers.
2. Quarter an avocado.  Cube and add 1/4 of the avocado to each of your storage tupperware contaienrs.  I find that 1/4 of an avocado is a good approximation for 1 blue container.
3. Dice the red onion.  Depending on how much you like raw onion will depend on how much you add to each day.  I generally do a heaping tablespoon worth of red onion into each of my containers figuring that much nicely fills in the air gaps left by the space between my cucumber slices in my green container.
4. Separate the cilantro leaves from the stems.  This is an herb so if you LOVE cilantro heap it on, if it isn't your fav limit how much you put onto your salad.
5. Slice a lime in half and squeeze the lime juice equally into your three containers.  (Hint: The rest of the lime works well as a water flavor enhancer!)
6. Add cumin, dill (fresh if you can), salt, and pepper to flavor!

Container amounts per tupperware dish

• 1 Green
• 1 Blue
• 1 Purple

**Easily paired with 2 hard boiled eggs, baked fish, chicken breast, or shakeology to add 1 Red to your meal!**

Here I've paired it with my Vegan Tropical Strawberry Shakeology!

☆ Stephanie Ann

Depression, Emotional Eating and Meal Plans

Seven Layer Bars

It took a seven layer bar to get me out of bed today.  At noon.  Part of my struggle with depression is wanting to stay in bed when life feels too overwhelming.  I tried to convince myself a number of times to get up and going with my day:

• "You get to have your chocolate shakeo!" 
• "The dogs would love a walk outside" 
• "You can do this"
• "Staying in bed won't make this go away"
• "It's sunny out" 

None of these were enough though.  I wasn't excited about a freezing cold shake, I definitely didn't want to leave the warmth of my bed to walk the dogs, you can do this turned into no I can't, staying in bed won't make it any worse, it's sunny out but it is still cold.  The powers of negative self-talk when fighting depression can be incredible.  It wasn't until I gave myself permission to stray from my meal plan and go have a seven layer bar that I was able to drag my butt out of bed.

So what was it about that sweet treat that got me going?  I'm an emotional eater.  Sweets give me a sugar rush and make me feel better.  They make me feel better quickly.  That sugar rush is enough to get me a burst of energy to actually start my day.  Enough energy to make the healthy breakfast (today it was a pear, almonds, a rice cake with almond butter, and a coffee).  Once I've got that healthy breakfast in me I'm *usually* able to have a somewhat productive day and not crawl back under the covers where I can wander off into dream land.

I'm an emotional eater, I struggle with depression, and I'm doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme Program which includes a relatively restrictive meal plan.  How am I going to balance this?  When I'm doing well, like the first week of the program, eating healthy comes a lot easier and doesn't feel overwhelming.  I still have my cravings for sweets but I can push through them.  When I'm doing less well, like today, eating healthy feels like climbing Mount Everest and all I really want to do is hang out at base camp and drink hot cocoa.

"And then me will conquer that moment!"

I've spent the last hour or so trying to figure out how I can eat as healthy as possible while allowing myself treats when I need them to get going.  I think the first thing I have to do is accept that yes, I'm not going to be perfect with this meal plan the first time I do it and that is okay.  Change takes time.  Change of one aspect of my life is also not done in isolation from the rest of my life.  Physical, mental, and spiritual health are all linked together and influence one another.  Long term, increasing my physical health will ideally help my mental health and give me more energy to tackle the world and battle my depression.  Short term, if a seven layer bar will get me out of bed at noon when nothing else will, I will be enjoying that seven layer bar thank you very much.  Right now, the give and take, the compromise I am making with my healthy eating (my physical health) in those moments is worth the small boost I get in my emotional health (my mental health).  What I am hoping for is that, as my body gets used to eating much healthier and as these new healthy lifestyle habits really start to form I will have more good days where eating healthy comes easy than not so good days where eating healthy becomes a scary monster.

Balance is everything.  Not judging my own struggles and choices, accepting them for what they are and also accepting I can change them over time, will only help me be successful.  If I constantly deny having a meal plan is hard for me, I won't be able to face which parts of it are hard, or why those parts are hard.  I won't be able to work through those challenges and won't be able to successfully change my habits.  Along with this is taking credit for all of my meal plan victories both big and small.  On days when my depression is less intense and following the meal plan feels easy it is a huge victory!  On days when my depression is intense and I manage to get in all of my protein, veggies, and fruits plus some sweet extras, that is a huge victory as well!

I may have had some sweets and strayed from the meal plan but I DID eat my veggies, fruits and proteins.  I DID give my body good nutrients through these healthy foods.  I DID have my shakeology with all of its amazing health benefits.  And that is awesome, because I could have stayed in bed all day.  I could have not had that healthy breakfast after the seven layer bar.  I could have never taken on the 21 Day Fix Extreme challenge.  But I did.  And that my friends is something worth celebrating.

"Every person has three aspects:  the physical self, the mental self and the spiritual self.

The physical self is the easiest one for others to perceive.

It is about the health and fitness of your body.

When you are at your optimum in this area of life, you find that you can easily maintain your idea weight,  you rarely get sick, and you possess abundant energy.

The second aspect is your mental self.

It is about your mind and your work.

When you are at your optimum in this area of life, you find your work is challenging and satisfying, you are able to make use of your creativity and skills, and you are steadily advancing in your career.

The third aspect is your spiritual self. 

It is about your inner-most being and your concern with other souls.

When you are at your optimum in this area of life, you find that you are blessed with great friends in your life, and you are deeply immersed in a loving relationship with your soul mate."

taken from The Tao of Joy Every Day by Derek Lin

artwork - Transformation by Diane Fergurson

☆ Stephanie Ann

21DFX Week 1 Review and Falling Off the Wagon

Wow!  One week done, two more weeks to go!  I'm sure you have noticed that for each day I am posting a photo of my tracking journal which includes, when and what I ate (note the color coded container reference after each meal), and some notes on how I felt/what went well/etc throughout the day.

If you look at them you will notice that Monday (1) went well, Tuesday (2) went well, Wednesday (3) went well, Thursday (4) went well, and then came Friday.  Not so well.  I had run out of a lot of my prepped food, woke up late and sprinted out the door, and then traveled down to Boston and had my first eating out experience of my 21DFX Challenge.

Not my finest hour.  

Oh MY!  I gave into my somewhat constant DONUT craving (they were free for the taking at work... busted).  It would have helped if I had brought prepped meals to work with me and hadn't been as hungry when I saw those free donuts but alas, I did not.  And you know what?  That is okay!  I'm not perfect and it is NOT the end of the world that I ate a donut, and half a scone.  I went out to eat in Boston and chose a relatively healthy meal of a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado, swiss cheese, and bacon along with a side of chips.  What I didn't get while out to eat was a beer or soda or dessert so I'm counting my eating out experience as a win!  After that I headed to the Big Air Competition at Fenway Park and froze my butt off watching some AMAZINGLY talented athletes fly through the air on skis!

Talk about inspiration and motivation!

Saturday morning it was back out to eat and needless to say, by this point I was barely holding onto the meal plan wagon.  I went with an omelette rather than the waffle with chocolate chips.  I may have spoiled myself but I knew that Sunday was Valentine's Day and I was going to spoil myself then with a little champagne and steak!  I skipped my workout on Sunday due to having taught 6 hours of snowboarding lessons out in temperatures below 5 degrees F and I was exhausted!  Needless to say, the steak, champagne, and chocolates enjoyed by all on V-Day were delicious.

Definitely off the wagon.  Time to reset, reprep, and get back to work!

Why'd you fall off the wagon Mom???!!!?

Welcome Monday:  

• Got in two workouts, Dirty 30 and Yoga 
• Drank adequate amounts of water
• Followed my meal plan
• Went to bed on time

Just because I fell off the wagon didn't mean I could not chase it down, do some make-up work, and hop right back on!  

 
☆ Stephanie Ann

Day 8 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 8 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day 7 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 7 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day 6 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 6 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day 4 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 4 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day 3 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 3 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day 2 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 2 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day 5 - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Day 5 - Tracking Journal Entry

Day One - 21 Day Fix Extreme

Tracking my meals and workouts with my journal.

The Food (80%)

The mantra from the fitness world is that your body is 80% what you eat and 20% how you workout.  I think this statement is also true for the amount of prep that I put into what I am eating versus when I am going to exercise.  Yesterday was food prep day, including a trip to the grocery store and what seemed like endless chopping.  Needless to say, the Super Bowl, interrupted the prep session and I will be finishing it while I make dinner for myself tonight.  For my first week on a meal plan, I am mainly following the female meal plan found here.  I am making some substitutions based on what I like to eat and budget.

Look at all the veggies and fruit I get to eat this week!

My "Hot Cocoa" Alternative

After most of a day following the meal plan, I have found the hardest part has been my crazy SUGAR cravings.  They have been super intense and are trying to trick my brain into thinking that my body is hungry when it isn't.  Sugar is so so so unhealthy for you in the large amounts the average American consumes.  

I started my day off with a Vegan Chocolate Shakeology mixed with water and ice.  Having the shake with all of its nutrients is a vast improvement on my regular breakfast routine.  I could still hear the baked goods calling my name though.  To attempt to deal with the lack of sugar and sweets I will be drinking my chocolate shakes and the tea shown below along with eating delicious fruit!

Mmm, this tea is super tasty and has a hint of creaminess due to the coconut making it an awesome substitute for hot cocoa on a snow day or cold winter night.  So far, so good with the meal plan!

Loving the lime green!

The Workout

Hello jello legs!  Today's workout was the Plyo Fix Extreme which focuses primarily on the legs via explosive muscle movements, aka jumping.  For my light weight I either used my 3 pound dumbbells or nothing at all.  My heavier weights are 10 pound kettle bells.  While the total workout is only half an hour long it is no joke and what you put into it you get out of it.  I was definitely sweating by the end of it (WARMTH - Combating Excuse #3).  I think the weights I chose were good for my starting point and I'm excited to see how this workout feels a week from now.

The Mission

I'm posting a "Way Before" photo and my current "Before" photo even though it is outside of my comfort zone.  I'm trying to be open and honest about my journey and my current 'Before' photo is a large part of that.  I miss being super fit and not having to worry about my fitness.  Worrying and missing that hasn't helped me be the best me that I can be.  I'm trying to ACCEPT where I am now and focus on forward progress rather than the past.  My goal for the end of the 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge is to have a figure somewhere between these two photos but more importantly to FEEL HEALTHIER and have MORE ENERGY!  It is super easy to get caught up in the outward expectations when completing a fitness journey but the inward expectations are just as, if not more, important!

Left: Way Before (6 years ago), Right: Before (Current)

The Pups

Last but not least, I LOVE snuggle time with my two favorite pups!

Snug time last night after the Super Bowl!

☆ Stephanie Ann

Challenge Pack Arrival (and Excuses)

New Things, Yay!

Yesterday my official challenge pack arrived including the 21 Day Fix Extreme Program and Shakeology.  Oh man!  This is totally happening!  To give a brief description, the 21 Day Fix Extreme consists of 21 days, 30 minutes per day of intense workouts that use your entire body.  Along with the exercise there is a detailed meal plan that focuses on healthy eating.  I'm pretty confident I can handle the exercise portion of the program.  The eating part... that's what I'm worried about.  I love me some chocolate chip muffins.  Seriously, ask my sisters sometime about when I stole all of the muffins before school and hid them under my bed.  It will be a new thing for me to strictly follow a meal plan of any sort.  I'm a bit worried I'm going to be constantly hungry!  I keep telling myself "it's only 3 weeks long" and "I got this."

Serving Size Containers and Shakeology!

The DVDs and starter packet!!! Look at them abs...

Hopefully the shakes, I am trying, Vegan Chocolate and Vegan Tropical Strawberry will taste good. 

On to....

Excuses

Excuses, those pesky little reasons we give ourselves when we rationalize not doing something.  When it comes to exercising and eating well, my excuses come flowing like someone turned the faucet on full blast.  It is okay that you have excuses, what isn't okay is listening to the excuses and giving up on your goals.  On the theme of acceptance, the top three excuses that I need to accept that I have are... Being tired/feeling depressed, time, and bad weather/coldness.

Excuses, excuses.  Boo.

Being Tired/Feeling Depressed

The ultimate negative feedback cycle.  You feel tired/depressed so you don't exercise and then feel more tired/depressed about that and get even more tired/depressed.  For myself, I KNOW that eating well and exercising will help me feel better and have more energy BUT in the moment I often cave and take a nap or read a book.  If I don't cave, however, I am totally into my workout within five minutes and feel super accomplished afterwards!  Accountability folks, be accountable to yourself for yourself.  Easier said than done, I know.

Time

Where does the time go these days?  I remember when 5 minutes used to feel like FOREVER and now it flies by in the blink of an eye.  When I was part of a sports team, practice was always a priority but exercising for the sake of being healthy slowly sank to the bottom of my priority list.  It was incredibly easy to put off my workout when I had experiments to run or my thesis to write.  Do I make a healthy meal or do I use that time to sneak in a workout?  What about taking my dogs for a walk?  Or doing the laundry and cleaning the house?  I would have done my workout but my commute is too long.  Note to self:  MAKE EXERCISE A PRIORITY!!!!!  

Bad Weather/Coldness

There is nothing I dislike more than being cold (Okay, slight exaggeration but you get the gist).  Nothing seems to zap my motivation like a rainy day or chilly indoor temps.  I LOVE being cozy.  Laying in bed past when the alarm goes off, snuggling with the pups, reading under a blanket with a mug of tea, love it!  Moving from a cozy place to put on workout clothes and actually do the workout, not so much.  My positive spin on this excuse is to:  A. Start my workout with layers and B. If I'm sweating that means I'm definitely warm!

Here's to hoping that doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme will help me overcome the strength of these excuses and kick start some newer, healthier habits!

☆ Stephanie Ann