Because my Thanksgiving through New Years season was a complete disaster when it came to eating right and exercising, I chose to try out the 3 Day Refresh from Beachbody.
The reason why I was attracted to the 3 Day Refresh was because I was able to eat solid food during it. I’ve seen a lot of cleanses that are all-liquid, all-shakes, or only pills and water. Not for me. I need to chew things!
The 3 Day Refresh comes with different types of “shakes” that are consumed throughout the day; Fiber Sweep, Vanilla Fresh, and Shakeology. I LOVE Shakeology (strawberry or chocolate), and the Vanilla Fresh actually is really good…but the Fiber Sweep is fairly bland and has an unappealing color, but could be much worse.
It also comes with a recipe book with dinner ideas, all of which are pretty simple to make, as well as your eating schedule. It’s fairly mindless, because you just follow along with the booklet throughout the day!
Preparing for the Refresh
The 3 Day Refresh guide spells out everything you need to eat each day, which makes the grocery shopping fairly simple. You can have a good amount of variety each day of the refresh, but I’m lazy, uncreative, and cheap, so I bought the same ingredients for each day. My grocery list was:
- bananas
- bell peppers
- shredded carrots
- celery
- green beans
- vegetable broth
- almond butter
- green tea
- hummus
Granted, I did have some other ingredients at home, like olive oil and garlic, but in essence, grocery shopping was easy and didn’t cost too much.
The day before, I made my dinners for the next three days. Each recipe serves one, and in my laziness, I tripled the recipe and will be having the same dinner three days in a row.
Of course, I took my measurements and photos the morning of the first day:
Weight: 161
Chest: 35.5
Stomach: 35.5
Hips: 38.5
Day One
I learned pretty quickly that I should have prepped everything the night before to bring to work. Between all the snacks, shakes, and other foods I had to prepare to bring, it had me running a little late! Today I brought in my Vanilla Fresh shake (pre-blended), Fiber Sweep packet, green tea, carrots, a bell pepper (sliced up), hummus, almond butter, and a banana. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I needed to do some slicing and measuring which took a little time. I could have very easily prepped the bell pepper and carrots in a bag, and measured out the hummus and almond butter. Then, I would be left with only shaking up my Vanilla Fresh!
I didn’t really ever feel hungry throughout the day, more than likely because work kept me distracted. I also LOADED up on water and it felt like I was in the bathroom WAY more often than I normally am. Guess that’s a good thing though!
I chose to workout after work, but the 3 Day Refresh suggests light to moderate exercise, as your calorie consumption is lowered. I scanned through Beachbody on Demand (tons of programs without having to purchase them individually) and found some that were marked “beginner” to try out.
Day Two
I woke up feeling a little hungry, but I drank water just as the guide instructed me to and felt fine as I was getting ready for work. I brought the same foods as I did the day before, and already feel like I’m in a bit of a routine. Only one more day!
I was going to the bathroom ALL THE TIME but I didn’t even care, because I was hydrated! I focused hard on drinking a lot of water throughout the day, which is something I’m not incredibly good at.
I came home and didn’t even feel hungry before my workout, which was really surprising to me. I found another 30-minute workout that got me sweating but wasn’t overwhelming, and then had my dinner (vegetable stir fry) and Vanilla Fresh for dessert!
Day Three
Today was probably the hardest day because I felt too much in a routine. I was bored with the foods I was eating, which was my own fault because I decided to eat THE EXACT SAME THING FOR THREE DAYS. But at the same time, I knew exactly what I had to eat for breakfast, and pack for lunch and snacks…so I wasn’t running late to work!
I continued to drink water throughout the day, and found myself still feeling energized and not all that hungry, which surprised me. I even stopped for a pedicure before I came home for dinner, which meant I had my veggie stir fry much later than I usually do. I got my workout in, which was another goal of mine. Success!
Results and Review
Overall, I lost 1.5 pounds, and a total of 2.5 inches, most of it from my stomach. It may not sound like a lot, but 1.5 pounds is an average weekly loss for most people. I was really impressed!
So the question of course is, “would you recommend it?” My answer is yes, if:
- You are willing to be pushed outside of your comfort zone and challenged
- You want something to jump-start your weight loss and keep you motivated
- You understand that this is NOT a quick fix
- You are just starting with exercising and healthy eating, but are feeling anxious about jumping in to a full-fledged program
Some people like to do the 3-Day Refresh on a weekend, but I preferred my decision to do it during the workweek. I have structure and the ability to control what foods I bring in each day, whereas over the weekend I’m in my apartment, surrounded by my fridge and pantry.
I would LOVE to hear your reviews of the 3-Day Refresh, too! Let me know what recipes you tried, any obstacles you faced, and your results of course!
The 3-Day Refresh is on sale for the month of January, so if you’d like to try it out, or even save it for later, order it now!