21 DAY FIX REVIEW AND RESULTS

21 DAY FIX : WHY THE 21 DAY FIX?

On January 5th, 2015, it was time to get back in the swing of things…in terms of fitness anyways. As many of you may already know, I, like most Americans, slack a bit when it comes to healthy eating and sticking to my full fitness routine during the winter months…especially during November and December…and, yep, this year was no different.

Though I had been keeping up with my workouts (P90X2 and running at least 2.5-3.5 miles two times a week) and keeping to my 18/6 intermittent fasting routine, I was destroying entire cases of Chips Ahoy, whole boxes of Cocoa Puffs, and/or killing 4 doughnuts during my 6-hour feeding window…in other words, it was an all- out 6 hour feast every day…and it was nice while it lasted 🙂

This feeding frenzy, paired with 1/4^th of my regular cardio routine = a bit of unwanted weight gain.

Now, to be completely honest, during the winter months I always try to gain a bit of lean mass which, for me at least, always comes with a bit of unwanted mass.

But, ever since starting intermittent fasting nearly 4 years ago, the unwanted weight has always been just a couple of months’ worth of work to remove…never just 21 Days…until now! Sounds like the start of an infomercial, no?

And, much like last year’s P90X3 “godsend”, right as I was preparing to get officially back in the swing of things, I saw a new Beachbody Program that guaranteed results in just 21 Days – the 21 Day Fix. Seems like Beachbody strategically plans these things…or maybe they’re just lucky…?

I was fine hitting another session of X2 with a bit more running and “cleaner” eating…but 21 days…that sounded nice!

So, I asked Niña if she’d do it with me and the rest is history…history you can read below.

21 DAY FIX : MY X3 HYBRID APPROACH

When starting the 21 Day Fix I decided to take the same approach I did when starting PiYo – out of sheer fear of losing my X/X2/X3 improvements in terms of balance, strength, and flexibility, I decided I’d do an X3/21 Day Fix Hybrid.

In actuality it was an X3/21 Day Fix double approach.

Because I was already doing an hour of X2, I had the time to hit two 30-minute programs back to back (in other words X3 and 21 Day Fix are both 30 minutes a day).

So, I’d wake up 40 minutes before Niña, hit play on X3, take a 5-minute break and hit play on 21 Day Fix…

…AND THE FIRST WEEK WAS…MISERABLE!!!!!

DOUBLES: X3 & 21 DAY FIX

WEEK ONE

The first day of my X3 / 21 Day Fix doubles I almost died…okay, it wasn’t that extreme…but it was pretty damn hard. To be 100% honest, the first entire week was grueling! SO MUCH SO, I DID NOT RUN AT ALL THAT WEEK…nor the rest of the program really!

BUT, having lost 9 pounds in just one week without running meant something was working and so I decided to stick to it – hell, it was only 14 more days.

WEEK TWO & THREE

Then week two came and…

…IT WAS 1,000 TIMES EASIER!!!

Week two was no walk in the park, hell, no 21 Day Fix or X3 routine is easy on its own, so doing them back to back, no matter how in shape you may be, will never be a walk in the park BUT compared to week 1, I was killing week 2 and feeling great.

Week 3 followed suit and I, in hopes of keeping my running itch scratched, was able to get just one run in each week.

FYI – I HATE running and if I take a couple of weeks off I won’t want to keep it up..and I have worked too damn hard for nearly a year to be able to run just 2.5 miles without stopping. So, I’m not about to give that up…thus the one forced run on week 2 and week 3.

SO, WHY WAS WEEK ONE SO HARD?

The ease of week 2 and week 3 got me thinking, “Why was week 1 so terrible?”

Week 1 of the doubles had me feeling exhausted, sleepy, and weak and at first I thought it was the difficulty of doing doubles, but when week 2 came and I felt amazing I realized it was probably something else…it was probably my body’s fuel source – i.e., The 21 Day Fix Diet Plan.

21 DAY FIX DIET – PORTION CONTROL MADE EASY

The 21 Day Fix Diet Plan is pretty much a no-brainer. You first calculate your daily caloric intake goal and then you go to a chart that tells you how many greens, purples, reds, yellows, blues, and orange containers you get…”Say what now?”

THE CONTAINERS

The 21 Day Fix Diet is all about portion control via tupperware containers that come with the program.

So, for example, I could eat 1,500 calories a day, which translated to;

• 4 Greens (vegetables)
• 3 Purples (fruits)
• 4 reds (lean meats)
• 3 yellows (carbs/starches)
• 1 Blue (healthy fats)
• 1 Orange (dressing)

Now, to keep full disclosure, these damn containers look itty-bitty! But, once you start filling them up with food, you realize they are actually a lot bigger than they look.

So, I killed my containers and one glass of Shakeology (which counts as 1 red…really 2 because I throw some Greek yogurt in that thang) during my 6-hour feeding window and I can honestly say I NEVER ONCE FELT HUNGRY OR HAD CRAVINGS!

Now, as mentioned above, the first week of the doubles and the eating plan did have me feeling completely exhausted and I believe this had to do with my fat consumption!

As you may or may not have already read on this site, ever since I started intermittent fasting I have noticed a big difference in energy levels (during and after a workout) depending on how much fat I ate the day before. For the last 3.75 years, about 3 months into me starting to fast 18 hours a day, I have noticed that the more fats I eat the day before the more energy I have the next day…carbs really weren’t doing it for me in terms of sustained energy. So, my daily regular eating plan consisted of a lot of fats…

…BUT 21 DAY FIX DON’T PLAY IN TERMS OF FATS!

So, once I took a step back and noticed how much less fats I was having, I realized that the cut in fat consumption while on the 21 Day Fix must have taken a toll on my body the first week. BUT, by week 2 and 3 my energy levels had sky-rocketed back to normal, leaving me to believe my body must have taken about a week to start getting used to the lower-fat eating plan and start using carbs as their primary energy source during my workouts.

THE 21 DAY FIX / X3 DOUBLES RESULTS

I don’t know how else to say this, but in my opinion my results can be summed up in a word, AMAZING!

In just 21 days of working out for an hour (with only two 2 mile runs in 3 weeks) I got results that took me 90 days with X3 and Runs alone this same time last year.

Last year, when I started P90X3, I weighed the exact same weight I did when I started The 21 Day Fix 21 days ago.

BUT, DOING X3 & 21 DAY FIX DOUBLES GAVE ME P90X3 90-DAY RESULTS IN JUST 21 DAYS!

To be honest, I couldn’t really believe it.

YEAH, BUT YOU DID DOUBLES!!!

Yeah, I did doubles (an X3 workout followed by a 21 Day Fix workout) BUT I STILL WORKED OUT FOR THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF TIME I DID WHEN DOING X3 AND RUNNING AND I GOT THE SAME RESULTS IN LESS THAN 1/4^th THE TIME!!!! YEAH, I AM YELLING…because I am super impressed…and you should be too…or at least I think you should be.

Last year, when first doing X3, I did X3 and then ran for 30 minutes afterwards. So, I was working out for 1 hour (30 minutes of strength training with 30 minutes of cardio), and I lost about 15 pounds in 90 days.

This year, I worked out for the exact same amount of time (1 hour) but instead of running for 30 minutes I replaced the run with a 21 Day Fix workout and I lost 13 pounds in just 21 days!

“Wait A Minute, You Lost More Weight Last Year!”

Yeah, I lost 2 more pounds in 90 days with X3 and cardio than I did in 21 days with X3 and 21 Day Fix, BUT I LOOK LEANER NOW…and I didn’t RUN…and I hate to run!

And, if you still have a problem with the 2 pounds I didn’t lose in my X3/21 Day Fix doubles, I say to you my friend, “I HAVE ANOTHER 69 DAYS TO LOSE THOSE TWO POUNDS!”

WHAT DO I THINK OF THE 21 DAY FIX?

So, what do I think of the 21 Day Fix program?

In a word – DOPE!

First and foremost, the 21 Day Fix eating plan is extremely filling and VERY DOABLE!

Secondly, the workouts are the shizzzz!

Seriously though, the workouts are great! They are challenging enough to keep you motivated and simple enough that most anyone can do.

The 21 Day Fix workouts are X3 meets the original P90X – think traditional weight lifting moves done at an X3 pace.

Thirdly, the only equipment you’ll really need is two sets of dumbbells (one heavy and one light set) and a yoga mat. Niña used 5’s and 10’s while I used 15’s and 25’s the entire program.

SO, HOW DID NIÑA FAIR DOING JUST THE 21 DAY FIX PROGRAM

Well, while I lost 13 pounds doing doubles, Niña didn’t do so great…SHE ONLY LOST 12 POUNDS…just doing the good-ol’ fashion one-a-days!!!

OVERALL STATS FOR MY 21 DAY FIX / X3 DOUBLES PROGRAM 

Overall I lost 13 pounds and about 10 inches (3.5 form my waist, 2.5 from my hips, 2 from my thighs, 1.5 from my chest, and .5 from my arms) but I GAINED THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I CAN CHANGE MY BODY IN JUST 21 DAYS…or less…look back at the daily progress at the start of this post or the before and afters below and decide for yourself.

Disclaimer: I am a Beachbody Coach but all opinions expressed in this post and on this website are 100% my own and all the results are 100% real.  If you have any questions concerning the 21 Day Fix program or any other fitness related issues at all please feel free to contact me