1 Week Down

Well, I’ve survived 1 week of 21 Day Fix. I have to say, it certainly wasn’t easy at first. After calculating out my allowed portions per day, I immediately started stressing. How was I going to do this?

It turns out, the program isn’t so bad if you actually plan ahead and think about your meals. No more sitting in my car at lunch wondering where I should pick up food. No more resorting to cereal and toast for dinner (too many carbs!). No more letting produce spoil, or worse yet, not even buying any produce.

Having Shakeology for one meal a day has been awesome. I’m glad I got them. I’ve been having them for breakfast, which has been quite convenient on workdays. Yes, it does add a new complexity to my morning dash out the door, but it turns out I can make a shake one-handed and Carter seems to enjoy watching the blender. And no one seems to mind if I'm a few minutes late to work. 

I was skeptical about these shakes at first – could these really be as amazing as they claim to be? Only one week in, and I can feel a difference. I don’t feel so sluggish, I am thinking more clearly, and I feel full and satisfied in the mornings. It may be too early to tell if they are curbing my cravings for bad foods, but I successfully passed up on cupcakes and chocolates at work last week and enjoyed my yogurt so maybe? (Of course, that could just be will power and not the shake – I wouldn’t really know as I rarely have will power of my own). 

I was also hesitant about these shakes, as there was really no clear cut definition of safety while nursing. I was referred to ask my physician (which I didn't do, out of plain laziness). I did read accounts of some doctors saying it was perfectly safe, that it was all natural and should not harm the baby or milk supply. Others said no, babies really should not have all those ingredients, though those seem to have been directed at 2 months and younger. Many of the recommendations either way weren’t by trained nutritionists or lactation experts, which gave me no reason to trust them completely. I read about some women who drank one every day while nursing and their baby was their healthiest child. Others decided they didn’t want to risk it, which I can understand (though one person made a good point asking how is consuming fast food/artificial flavors ok but natural herbs not). In the end, I decided I was comfortable with the product being all natural and opted to take one nutritionist’s reasonable recommendation – try half a shake at a time and watch Carter and my supply for reactions. If there aren’t any, and I feel good, continue away! So far, both have been just fine. See?

My greatest concern for my supply isn’t the shake but not getting enough calories. I've been a bit lenient on the restrictions to ensure I'm not cutting myself too short. It's working, and I am not feeling soooooo restricted. I might have an extra carb a day, or more protein. I'm definitely eating way more veggies and fruit than I ever used to.

The actual size of the containers was a real (scary) eye-opener. The yellow (aka carb) container is probably a 1/2 cup, maybe a smidge more, and I get 3 of those a day. One piece of bread. One serving of oatmeal. But when you add several containers to one meal, it's not so bad!

The workouts are HARD. Yes, capital hard. I was sore the entire week, having engaged muscles I didn't realize I even had. But I did it. 30 minutes every day, even workdays when my evenings are limited. I was proud. Then, a lower back issue that I had prior to starting came back and I had to stop working out. I could barely pick up Carter, or get up from a chair, without pain, and knew I needed a break before I did some real damage. I have been resting for 3 days now, and am feeling a lot better already. I hope to start working out again tonight or tomorrow.

Clearly, this 21 Day Fix is going to end up being a 31 or 41 day program for me, with this workout break and the next two weekends being out of town (and let's face it - eating and drinking NOT according to color containers). But honestly, I feel a sense of relief that I am not putting that much pressure on myself to never screw up. I can take a break or make a mistake and still get back into it the next day. Life is not a perfect stretch of 21 days.

I lost 3 pounds before my official Day 1, having only adjusted my diet according to the program's recommendations for two weeks. And during the first true week fully on board, I lost another pound. So I'm 4 pounds down in 3 weeks' time, and super happy with that. Clearly, my diet was a key contributor to my problem. I'm not surprised...I love me some food.

So, there you go. My first week on 21 Day Fix, in case you were dying to know.