3 Day Refresh Review

One days worth of meals/supplements

We got back from LA this past Monday and it was an awesome trip. Good times with Ryan's brother Eric, lots of amazing sites, food and drinks. I can't think of a better trip I've had in recent times! We saw so many cool places- and the food... ohhhh the food! Plus we did a brewery tour day and hit up four local breweries- lots more beer than I've drank in a while.

Got back from vacation, I wasn't feeling guilty about indulging- most of the choices I made were really special treats I couldn't get in the Twin Cities. I WAS, however, not feeling awesome physically. Just sluggish, a bit "ho hum"- not my usual self. So, I decided to whip out the 3 Day Refresh kit I had gotten a month back.

What's the 3 Day Refresh? It's a three day detox based on consumption of fiber, veggies, fruits protein and tons of water. Why use it? To de-fluff from a vacation, drop a few last minute pounds before a big event and just to reset yourself before starting a fitness journey! I only gained 4lbs over vacation (expected it to be more!) so I'm more doing this as an experiment to see how it goes so I can either recommend or not recommend it to clients!

Day 1- starting weight 143.2
8oz water right away in the AM
Breakfast- (1 serving Shakeology blended with water and raspberries)- 1 hour after waking up
Morning tea- 1 hour after breakfast
Fiber Sweep drink- 1 hour after tea
Lunch (strawberries blended with Vanilla Fresh and cucumbers/tomatoes with basil and olive oil)- 1 hour after Fiber Sweep
Snack (cucumber/tomatoes with basil and olive oil)- 2 hours after lunch
Afternoon tea- 1 hour after snack
Dinner (asparagus, crushed almonds, Vanilla Fresh drink)- 1 hour after tea
Evening tea- 1 hour after dinner
Throughout the day I drank over 80oz of water, too.

Day 2- starting weight 141.3, down 1.9lbs
8oz water right away in the AM
Breakfast- (1 serving Shakeology blended with water and raspberries)- 1 hour after waking up
Morning tea- 1 hour after breakfast
Fiber Sweep drink- 1 hour after tea
Lunch (1/2 banana blended with Vanilla Fresh, side of cucumbers/tomatoes with olive oil and basil)- 1 hour after Fiber Sweep
Snack (green beans with red pepper flakes and lime juice, topped with olive oil)- 2 hrs after lunch
Afternoon tea- 1 hour after snack
Dinner (spinach with cucumber, bell peppper, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil and pumpkin seeds)- 1 hour after tea
Evening tea- 1 hour after dinner
Throughout the day drank 100oz of water

Day 3- starting weight 138.4, down 4.2lbs
8oz water right away in the AM
Breakfast- (1 serving Shakeology blended with water and raspberries)- 1 hour after waking up
Morning tea- 1 hour after breakfast
Fiber Sweep drink- 1 hour after tea
Lunch (strawberries blended with Vanilla Fresh, side of cucumbers/tomatoes with olive oil and basil)- 1 hour after Fiber Sweep
Snack (cucumber/tomatoes with basil and olive oil)- 2 hrs after lunch
Afternoon tea- 1 hour after snack
Dinner (spinach with cucumber, bell peppper, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil and pumpkin seeds)- 1 hour after tea
Evening tea- 1 hour after dinner
Throughout the day drank 100oz of water

Weighed myself the following morning (after Day 3) and was down to 137.2lbs for a 6lb loss- holy cats. So, over all I lost 6lbs! Now, I didn't NEED to lose that much but clearly this program works. I didn't feel that hungry but for sure missed chewing my protein and eating carbs. Though- it's just three days folks! You can totally do it, too.

Second thought- it was SO easy to prep. Made getting it ready in one night super easy. I chose to keep it simple but you can mix up what fruit and veggies you use if you want more diversity day to day. The fiber sweep kinda tasted like any other fiber mix- a little gelatinous but not an unpleasant flavor. The Vanilla Sweep reminded me of almond milk- it was fine by itself OR blended with fruit.

It's on sale ($10 off) through June 9th- if you're wanting to grab one at this price do it now! You can save it for later, too- maybe post-Memorial Day fluff or pre-summer vacation?

For more info or to get the 3 Day Refresh for yourself- go here.

I can't wait to hear how you like it!

Homemade Spicy Asian Cucumbers

Feeling pretty proud of myself...

I'm always looking for new recipes, things I can add to spice up food and add flavor. Something I struggled with when I started the 21 Day Fix meal containers was bland food. How dumb of me to think that was how eating well had to be! It's totally not. The recipe below is one that proves that theory in spades.

One of my challengers and her husband posted this in our accountability group. I'm always looking for easy ways to make things that make me look super cool- this time it's Spicy Asian Cucumbers! The original recipe is here.

Bonus round? We had ALL of the ingredients in the cupboard! Thank goodness hubby BBQs (yay white vinegar) and I was on an Asian food kick recently.

This week I'm doing the 3 Day Refresh and bought some cucumbers to make some of my meals with. Correction- mini-cucumbers, because they're cuter. I have quite a few left over so when I saw Kim post this it was perfect. And another reason you should get in to my accountability group- SO many great ideas!

So, without further ado, here's the recipe:

Spicy Asian Cucumbers

2 cucumbers

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp sugar (I subbed stevia)

1 tbsp soy sauce (I subbed soy aminos)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Peal (I just left the skin on!) and slice the cucumbers and put them in a container. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Cover with lid and put in the fridge. They’re ready after just a couple hours.

Can you say HELLO summer BBQ season?! What a fun gift to bring for a host of a party, too. My first batch of them is in the fridge now- I'll report on Facebook or Instagram how they turn out! 

What other awesomely easy recipes do you have to share?

Mother's Day reflections

Today is Mother's Day. I got the title upgrade to mom just about 2.5 years ago when my son Ezekiel was born. He came in to the world 10 weeks earlier than expected - we're pretty sure he was just eager to meet us and see what all the fuss was about.

I started my fitness journey on November 4th, 2015- just under 2 years after Zeke was born. I had kept telling myself it was baby weight that I'd take off eventually. Or, maybe I wouldn't even try and just keep it on because what if we wanted to have another baby? Why put all that work in to getting healthy if I was just going to put it right back on?

I'm not sure what switch flipped- but it did.

The first months were really tough (it still isn't easy) but the weight slowly came off about 1-2lbs a week. Then muscles started showing. Then I noticed an improvement in my mood. Then I think others noticed my weight loss and began commenting. I started meal prepping, feeding myself and my family better and actually feeling GOOD about myself.

You know what? I also started appearing in more pictures. I had faded in the background or only taken pictures of Zeke and Ryan- I didn't want to be photographed when I was feeling so unhappy about myself. What a shame for me to go missing from these moments in our lives.

I posted today in a group how the world needs more moms who care not only for those around them but care for themselves. I can't tell you how much my heart believes this to be true.  Gosh, this can even be true for fur baby moms! Now, I'm not saying that dads or others aren't important in the family structure- don't get it twisted. This is true for moms AND dads. What better parents we become when we take time for ourselves. When we begin putting healthier food into our bodies and the bodies of those we love. We're going to be happier, healthier and hopefully around longer!

Now, healthy means different things to different people. For some it's a size of pants, for some it's lowering the cholesterol, for some it's keeping Type 2 Diabetes at bay. There are SO many ways to define healthy for yourself. So- I ask, what does healthy look like to you?

Then, I ask, how can I help you get there?
I have so many women and men who have allowed me to be their coach. They are on different journeys with varying goals. For some it is being able to run longer, some it's a number on a scale, some it's seeing muscles and feeling proud to wear a swimsuit. SO many varied reasons and I hope to help each one of them reach their why. That is my #1 goal as a coach - to help YOU reach YOUR why. Not MY why, not my definition of healthy- but yours.

Tomorrow both of my accountability groups are kicking off a Challenge Point Round where they can get points for doing simple things like posting a healthy meal pic and recipe, taking a post-workout selfie, talking about their journey on their FB page and more. I believe these groups are KEY to success- and I think many of my tribe members would agree.

This is your invitation to join us. Find your healthy- let's get you there!