Introducing the 21 Day Fix – Time for a Change!

It’s time to make a change.  I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life.  I’ve yo-yo dieted, I’ve gone on exercise and couch potato binges, I’ve cancelled plans with dear friends because I felt too fat, I’ve missed opportunities to take my boy swimming because I refused to get in a bathing suit.

I’m done.

I want to quit this nasty cycle and re-invent myself.  I want to stop looking at other people’s impressive transformation pictures and start sharing my own.

I want to show both of my children what strength and confidence looks like.

So, HERE WE GO!!!  Today was Day 1 of the 21 Day Fix.  It’s a Beachbody program that incorporates a daily 30min at-home workout  with a nutrition plan that teaches healthy portion control. Six colored containers are provided, each of which is used to measure out portions of different food groups – yellow for carbs, red for protein, green for veggies, etc.

A key requirement of this program is meal planning which helps to ensure that you are eating the right amount of food.  Depending on what calorie bracket you fall into, you are allotted a specified number of each colored container.

I’ve decided to meal prep for breakfast, snacks, and lunch (and a little bit for dinner) to ensure I have the right foods on hand.  So, yesterday I made the following:

• Roasted cauliflower
• Roasted broccoli
• Sauteed kale and mushrooms
• Baked pork loin
• Baked chicken
• Baked sweet potato
• Baked egg cups w/ ham, kale, mushroom & cheddar
• Lean ground beef meatballs w/spinach
• Sliced red/yellow peppers (not pictured)
• Apples (not pictured)
• Almond butter (not pictured)
• Hummus (not pictured)
• Yogurt (not pictured)
• Mixed berries (not pictured)

I prepared it buffet-style so that I could pick and choose what I wanted for lunch each day.

My meals today:

• Breakfast: 2 egg cups
• Snack: Yogurt & berries
• Lunch: Pork, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli

Lunch

• Snack: Apple & almond butter
• Dinner: Chicken & zucchini noodle caprese
• After work-out snack: Yogurt & berries

I’m embarassed to admit that I was sooo close to skipping my workout tonight…on day 1!  I came home from my first day back at work which totally sucked and I missed my baby girl desperately, then jumped right into nursing, getting Maya down for her last nap, eating dinner with my boys, then nursing again, joining my boys for a bedtime story and then getting Maya down for bed.  It was close to 8pm, I had a headache, was tired and hungry.  Well, I wasn’t actually hungry, but my mind convinced me I wanted food.

But, I trudged downstairs, unenthusiastically pushed play on the video and just 30 minutes later I was done and feeling great!

So, that’s day 1 in the bag!  Now I need to go pack my food for tomorrow.  It’s all about being prepared!