I tried a 3-Day Refresh and I loved it.
- Holly Roberts-Davis
- Oct 20, 2018
- 9 min read
Here is everything you need to know about my experience of trying a three day cleanse while attempting to get my nutrition back on track.
THE FIRST STEP
I want to start off by being completely honest with you. My nutrition has been pretty terrible lately. Now, it's not as bad as it could be as I'm not eating out often and I've nearly quick drinking. But I definitely am not being as particular with my choices as I should be.
That, coupled with an increase in work/life stress, means I've gained approximately 10-15 lbs in the last few months. Overall, this isn't a large amount for me, but I tend to carry most of my weight in my middle. I have a physical fitness test coming up in November. One of the components in this is a waist measurement. At the end of the day, either my jeans shrank or I grew. I'll let you decide which, but I had to take a first step in getting my life back together. That's where the 3-Day Refresh comes in.
DAY ONE
"Don't talk to me, I'm on a cleanse."
I think the most important think you can do when starting the Refresh, is to meal prep. By becoming familiar with the program materials, shopping, picking out selections and actually prepping your meals ahead of time, you will save a lot of #hangryheartache. I've found I make very poor food choices and lose a lot of willpower when I have to think while hungry. I decided to do all of my shopping in advance and plan out my meals so I had to do as little thinking as possible. This was the number one reason I was able to stay on track. I had this note saved in my phone to tell me when to eat what items. I referenced this note multiple times a day to stay on track.
Some of you may find setting alarms throughout the day is helpful--do what works for you. My schedule changes throughout the day, so I wanted to make sure I had a flexibility that setting alarms wouldn't allow.
DRINK YOUR WATER
A big focus during the program is increasing your water intake, starting with at least 8 oz. as soon as you wake up. This was a little tricky for me to get used to at first, as it upset my stomach. But water fires up your metabolism, helps your body flush out toxins, gives your brain fuel, and can help you feel full and want to eat less so it's important not to skip it.
BREAKFAST
By now we've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so of course the program calls for a super foods shake. I am used to drinking one for breakfast with plain, unsweetened almond milk and a banana, so I just had to swap the almond milk out for 8 oz. of water. This step was not a problem for me, but if you're not used to drinking a liquid breakfast you may struggle with feeling full. If this is the case, I encourage you to eat your fruit serving separate from your shake (not blended in) to help you satisfy that food craving. The complete kit comes with three packets of Shakeology, but if you have your own bag you can purchase a kit without the extra packets.
Optional Green Tea
The program encourages you to give up coffee and caffeine in order to really get the full benefits and help detox your body. If you just can't give up your normal cup of joe, black coffee is acceptable. However, the recommended option is a green tea (or other herbal teas) with no added flavorings or sugars (except Stevia). I chose to drink the tea each time it was offered because I craved the warmth after drinking all that liquid! Also, while working at my computer in the mornings it reminded me of having my morning coffee.
Here are the teas I enjoyed. The Tetley tea had a nice lemon flavor, but they have other options, including a "Metabolism Booster." I don't care much for Stevia so I didn't use it very often. The Honey 50 blend is not likely approved, so I used it sparingly just to give my tea some flavor and sweetness.
FIBER SWEEP
Ah, the good ole Fiber Sweep. This is not good. Period. I made the mistake on the first day of mixing it with too much water and it took forever to drink it. The less water, the thicker it is, but it makes it much faster to chug. AND YOU MUST CHUG IT IMMEDIATELY. If not, it will turn to thick, undrinkable goop. The taste is a barely-there-citrus (or melon, I can't tell), as if it was manufactured next to a LaCroix factory. But, fortunately, it's not much to drink and once it's over -- it's over.
LUNCH
Surprisingly, lunch is the most filling part of the day. For me this is perfect, as I tend to prefer a heavier lunch to keep me going throughout the day. Because of this, I recommend eating lunch more than an hour after the Fiber Sweep if you can. The program says at least an hour, but I think it can wait until almost two hours.
I am at work during this time so blending the Vanilla Fresh shake with a banana isn't feasible. The shake itself doesn't really need it, though, and I was pleasantly surprised with the taste and how filling it was. I chose to have blackberries and strawberries as my fruit serving, with carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and garlic hummus as my veggie and "healthy fat" servings.
I will say I probably went easy on my fruit, but was heavy handed on my veggies an hummus. I don't think it had a huge affect on my results but it may have made a small difference.
SNACK
Snack time comes at least an hour after lunch. On the first day I tried to eat my snack right at the hour mark, but I was still full from lunch, so I decided to drink my optional green tea here to help digest my lunch and pushed the snack to later. I chose the same veggie-hummus mix I had for lunch, but I struggled to finish it just because I was still pretty full.
I recommend choosing veggies you really love for your snacks and treating yourself with your favorite hummus or an avocado to motivate you to keep going. I had packed cherry tomatoes as well, but ended up not eating them.
Also, INVEST IN GAS MEDICINE. Trust me, you'll thank me later (and so will your co-workers).
DINNER
The program guide offers quite a few options for what you can eat at dinner. I personally chose to get a frozen, prepackaged steamer bag of approved vegetables (thought fresh is best). I steamed them and then toasted them lightly in coconut oil. You are also allowed an optional 8 oz. serving of vegetable broth that you can think of as a soup or drink like a warm beverage.
This dinner in itself was filling, but shortly after I was craving something. I had made my family dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets for dinner and I wanted one SO BAD. Then I realized I had forgotten to drink my second Vanilla Fresh shake! I was so happy to blend it up with water and ice, and have a little liquid desert with my dinner. I had my optional herbal tea (I chose Sleepytime) right before bed and didn't feel hungry the rest of the night.
DAY TWO AND THREE
DAY TWO
Day two was a breeze. I decided to swap my normal banana for blueberries mixed in my shake for breakfast. I'm not a big vanilla shake fan so the blueberries were an excellent addition.
For lunch, my husband wanted to go to the base's dining facility, so I opted for sauteed carrots, green beans and mushrooms for lunch, with my Vanilla Fresh shake and a banana. My snack was still the same medley of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and hummus.
Dinner was a steamed, prepackaged vegetable stir fry with coconut oil and minced garlic. The package came with baby corn, but I gave it to my daughter since it's not approved. I also had the optional veggie broth on the side. I was still craving those nuggets, but my willpower was much better. I finished the evening with hot green tea.
DAY THREE
Day three was by far the hardest. At this point I had pretty much mastered the schedule and convincing everyone to stop asking me to lunch. I decided to #treatmyself to a Pumpkin Spice flavored shake for breakfast (yes, it's approved!) to make the day a little easier.
Unfortunately, this day was also the day someone decided to bring donuts and homemade rice crispy treats for the break room. I normally have better willpower when it comes to treats, but eating the same veggies for three days in a row can change a person. #iveseenthings
I also had an appointment for my son so I was running late. My plan was to drink tea during his appointment so I could drink the Fiber Sweep when it finished, but my daughter missed her bus so I had to drop him off, rush her to school, and rush back before his appointment was over.
When I got to work, I was called into an unexpected series of meetings that ran extremely long. I wasn't able to drink my fiber sweep until almost 11 a.m., meaning lunch would have to wait longer than expected.
Fortunately, my lunch was extremely filling, but I was definitely still a little hungry. The Vanilla Fresh shake was still easy to get down, and I chose to have steamed asparagus with sea salt and garlic for my vegetable serving.
For my fruit serving I ate a banana, which was helpful for feeling full. Most of our programs say a large banana actually counts as two fruit servings, but I counted it as one since it didn't specify in the guide. Again, this could have contributed to my overall results, but it wasn't a deal-breaker to me.
I waited until nearly 5 p.m. to have my last snack of the day — partially on purpose and partially because of all those unexpected meetings again. #workworkworkworkwork
Dinner was my last Vanilla Fresh packet with water and a concoction of steamed broccoli, onions, and garlic with half of my veggie broth poured in. It was almost a version of french onion soup and was a nice finish to the program.
"I highly recommend locking your family in a dungeon or sending them to live a few states over during this part of your refresh."
The evening of day three was a true test of willpower for me. My husband decided to cook the cheesiest, most delicious-looking oven pizza he could have ever made, and the negative thoughts started to creep in. I started to tell myself that I'd already practically finished the program and there was no need to wait until tomorrow to indulge. I began telling myself that I didn't do this to lose weight, anyway so it was no big deal if the scale didn't budge tomorrow.
MY FAMILY DID NOT HELP! I highly recommend locking your family in a dungeon or sending them to live a few states over during this part of your refresh. My daughter repeatedly told me one chicken nugget wouldn't hurt, and my husband kept trying to convince me that two point nine days was good enough.
RESULTS
To be honest, the pounds didn't come off right away, and I thought I was doing it all wrong. But that final weigh-in on day four showed me I was good to go.
I lost 2.9 lbs after 3 days, and lost another pound the day after I went back to a semi-normal eating pattern. I lost a lot of my bloating, and even though I still have a tummy, it's far smaller than it was when I started. My jeans fit better and my muffin top is barely there.
But the biggest difference for me, though, is how much better I feel. I feel leaner, lighter, and out of that funky spiral of bad eating habits I had been in for awhile. This was just what I needed to get back on track to feeling like my best self.
BOTTOM LINE
I highly recommend this refresh for anyone who is looking to lose a few quick pounds and jump start their metabolism without sacrificing real food. If you don't plan on continuing to eat well, it will only be a temporary fix. However, if your diet has been suffering and you need something to help you get back on track, THIS IS PERFECT.
I never felt hungry or famished. Sure, there were times when everything everyone was eating looked far more delicious than what I had, but it was definitely manageable.
Filled with plenty of nutrition, fiber, and good-for-you fats, this plan is short enough to make it doable in any circumstance, as long as you plan for it.
You can do a 3-Day Refresh as often as once a month, setting yourself up for success on a regular basis.
And the optional maintenance guide helps you continue on your journey with simple, realistic guidelines for what you put into your body once you go back to "real life".
Still have questions about this program or how to purchase? Let me know in the comments or visit: https://goo.gl/fYac48
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