My Review of the 21 Day Fix

I was really surprised by this program. I did not expect to love it…but I love the 21 Day Fix! And I don’t know anyone who has completed the program that doesn’t love it!

The 21 Day Fix was also the program I chose for the first Facebook accountability group I started on my own. And I love that group. One of the participants had the following to say about it:

“i can’t believe we are done with round one. i am pretty damn impressed with myself and ready for round two. my scale moved and i feel great. i have never worked out everyday. the most i ever got to the gym was three days a week. i have learned so much…..
here is what i learned
1. working out everyday is doable when you have a plan
2. you will not die from working out a little everyday
3. you do not need to drown your salads in salad dressing. it is actually nice to be able to taste the vegetables.
4. a baked sweet potato is very yummy with out two pats of butter
5. having buddies keeping you accountable really works”

She was and still is one of the highlights of the group- always posting, always commenting positively, posting recipes and motivating quotes. And when she posted this, without me asking her to, I loved it! It’s a great summary of what you can get from the 21 Day Fix.

There are so many great things about the program (I like Autumn- the trainer, I like Kat- the modifier, I like the daily quotes on the chalkboard in the background) but here are a few points I think it’s important to mention…

• One of the great things about the 21 Day Fix is that it’s 21 days. A longer program can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new or just getting back to exercise. It feels manageable.
• Another great thing is that you can get results fast. And that’s motivating. It makes you want to keep it up.
• The eating plan spells it all out for you. The 21 Day Fix containers make it easy and kinda fun; having a new knickknack adds a certain something to planning it out.
• You can still eat all types of food- you’re not cutting out any food group. You can have carbs, just not with every meal.
• The workouts are totally doable. First of all, they’re 30 minutes so it’s not too daunting and you can usually find that kind of time in your day. Second, there’s a modifier, so even if you could push yourself, you know you can modify and take it a little easier if you want to.
• There’s a different workout each day. You don’t get sick of the workouts, because they’re different each day.
• The format of the workouts makes the time pass quickly! Most of the workouts are done in rounds, with a given number of exercises in each round. This is also nice if there’s one exercise your really hate! You know you only have to do it twice and then it’s done…until next week:)
• You learn lifelong good habits. Like the quote above, you learn to like salad with less dressing, vegetables with less butter or cheese. You eat vegetables more often than you used to.
• It teaches you balance. You can eat anything you want, just not all the time. I can eat pizza. I can eat pizza every week. But…if I know I’m having pizza on Saturday, and I find myself faced with pizza on a Friday, I can choose to eat pizza then and there or wait and have it Saturday. If I’m having ice cream and cake for a birthday, I’ll try to avoid carbs during the day. And none of it is deprivation; I am making healthy choices and I feel good about them.

This last one was a big eye-opener for me. For the last few years I have been eating really healthy foods. Most of the time. Because of that, I sometimes felt entitled to eat junk as if it didn’t really count. But junk adds up. If we have pizza once a week there’s a splurge. If we make cookies and I have a few (or eat some cookie dough, or both) there’s a splurge. If my mom brings over a bag of Double Chocolate Milanos, there’s a splurge. If I have tea with my friend and she buys a bag of Double Chocolate Milanos (can you tell they’re my favorite?), there’s a splurge. If I buy pink Hershey’s kisses for Valentines Day to put in my kids’ lunch boxes and happen to eat 3 or 4 or 27 there’s a splurge. And this could all happen in one week. And not seem like I was really being so bad, because it was over the course of a week. And it wasn’t like I went out to dinner and had fettucine alfredo and chocolate cake for dessert. It was dribs and drabs, but they add up.

The 21 Day Fix forces you to be more mindful of your food choices, and to see each individual choice as part of a bigger picture.

The 21 Day Fix workouts are as follows:

• Total Body Cardio Fix- works the whole body using weights
• Upper Body Fix- focuses on the upper body, uses weights
• Lower Body Fix- focuses on the lower body, uses weights
• Pilates Fix- my favorite Pilates ever. A nice change of pace, but you will feel it!
• Cardio Fix- cardio, no weights
• Dirty 30- lots of cardio, with weights, challenging
• Yoga Fix- a nice yoga workout; you’ll feel great at the end.

They are all challenging, but not so hard that they’re daunting. I’ve been working out with Beachbody programs for over 2 1/2 years and it was a good, challenging workout. I have friends who are in better shape than I am, and used to exercising hard, who love this program. But you could do it if you haven’t worked out in years, if you have a lot of weight to lose, if you are completely out of shape. I would really recommend it to almost anyone!

 

The 21 Day Fix is a total package. It is so healthy. The first few days you might feel a little hungry, but it’s never terrible. You really do get to eat a lot of food. And after those first few days I remember saying, “I feel amazing!” You will feel healthier, stronger, you can almost feel the results happening right there in that first week. It’s a wonderful feeling!