21 Day Fix Review - The Beginning

This is the hardest post that I've ever written. I have been putting it off.. mostly because it makes me feel very vulnerable, uncomfortable, and I know that I am open to criticism. But, I OWE it to my friends, family, clients, and followers to share my story. So here goes.

It's REALLY hard to overcome fear and step out of comfort zones. I LOVE helping people and am great at guiding others, so it's extremely hard for me to admit that I have failed as a leader and gotten to a point where I gave up on myself.

I realize how important it is to "walk the walk" and really practice what you preach. I am NORMALLY an extremely happy person who enjoys looking nice, I love to get ready and go out, I LOVE going to the beach, wearing sundresses.... that is how I saw my future when I was a 22 year old thinking about moving around the country, living this fun, incredible life. And don't get me wrong, I DID travel and I HAVE lived an incredible life. In just a few years I moved from Kansas City to Hawaii, California, and Florida. But, I ran an online business in the FITNESS field, and I inspired others to live a great life... In the beginning, I felt great.

But recently I just haven't been feeling like myself. From California to Florida I had gained fifty pounds. How can you motivate clients to get in shape when YOU ARE LOSING IT? And not losing it in the good way.. losing it as in I WAS GOING CRAZY and eating TOO MUCH CHEESECAKE!

I didn't even like going to the grocery store because I felt so uncomfortable and like a fraud- I let myself go while I was telling others to get into the best shape of their lives. For the first time in my life, I have been very self conscious and have been struggling with my body and my health.

BUT I am no longer sitting around and letting my worries and fears take control of my life. I finally took the plunge and committed to a program. I tried SEVERAL programs before finding one that really just fit my lifestyle ... anyone who knows me knows that I am a crazy yo-yo dieter and have always had the hardest time really sticking with anything. I needed to get real with myself, I needed something that was easy enough for me to stick with but hard enough to change my life -- and I found 21 Day Fix!

Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't unsure if other programs WORK... I've seen tons and tons of incredible success stories with programs like P90X, Insanity, Les Mills COMBAT, and i've had tons of client success stories. But here's the deal. I got into shape a couple of years ago and felt amazing. I did Insanity, and that is pretty darn intense.... BUT I wasn't in bad shape at that time. And then I struggled and lost all of my progress. I moved around several times state to state, I was stressed non-stop about never being stable, and all of that took a toll.

Once I finally was stable again, I was planning a wedding and honestly just feeling bad about myself. The excuses kept piling up and I was really slacking.

I've struggled. I've cried in more dressing rooms than I can even count. I've had so much negative self-talk and so many days where I just felt so defeated - How did I let this happen?

It's taken SO long to get back to a positive mindset. Geoff and I would go for walks at night and the whole time, I would BASH myself. I hated myself. I hated who I was, who i'd become. I looked at pictures of my "younger" self, of friends, of people I don't even know, and CRIED that they were "skinny".

I finally reached my breaking point. I wish I had a crazy breaking point, but I already felt crazy enough and it really was just being FED UP. The time is going to pass anyway, and if I would of stuck with a program at any of the times that I started and then gave up, I could already be back to where I was. I was a healthy 128 pounds when we lived in Hawaii (i'm 5'4 and I still had a few lbs to lose, but I was happy and healthy). I weighed in this past winter at at 174.8. I had gained 46 pounds. I am not happy about it. BUT the pity-party had to stop. It was time to get back to the old me. My only thought process: I CAN and WILL CHANGE IT.

Let me tell you about the 21 Day Fix. You may have have seen the infomercials or heard someone talking about this new program, brought to you by Beachbody and Autumn Calabrese.

Autumn is a fitness competitor and celebrity trainer, and a mom who completely understands what it feels like to have to get in shape, particularly when your time is limited. She is also the easiest way to get your husband to workout with you! ;)

But really, the BEST part about this program is that it really does completely take the guesswork out of your weight loss goals, which for me is key. Yes, I work from home on my own time, but I still am very busy.. I don't have time to analyze every single thing that I am doing throughout the day, so putting it all together in an easy to follow nutrition program with approved foods lists, portion control containers and short, 30 minute workouts that combine cardio, weight training, yoga and pilates is so awesome for me.

The workouts are short, sweet and effective... I don't LIKE to workout for an hour or more per day so having 30 minute workouts that offer a ton of variety was appealing to me. The workouts are:

Total Body Cardio - Basically cardio with weights. Yep. You read that right.

Cardio - You know... side shuffles, burpees, ect.

Upper - Upper body exercises using weights

Lower - Lower body exercises, also using weights (and holds!)

Dirty 30 - this one is kind of a mix between Total Body-ish and Upper-ish.

Yoga & Pilates, plus a bonus Plyo workout

I LOVE the workouts! They keep me interested. But really, the nutrition plan is the program’s key focal point. It really is fool proof for you to get the results that you want... we all know that you can workout all day, but without good nutrition you aren't really getting anywhere. All you have to do is fill up the containers with the approved foods however many times per day you get (depending on your goals, which is easy to figure out and is in your guide), and you are done. No counting calories!

I also love that when creating this program, Autumn understood that all the ideals behind her program are not really short term. While the program is promoted as just 21 days, it's set up to create a lifestyle change that is sustainable and you can do the program for 21 days, 42 days, 84 days, ect ect. You will still be able to enjoy wine and chocolate, something that is not being offered by many diet programs. If you try to take my wine away from there, there WILL be problems! :)

The bottom line is that by following this program, all the behaviors that you learn in your first 21 days will be easily integrated into your life and become your habits which you can follow in order to lead a healthier lifestyle.

I do have to say that I haven't been following the plan EXACTLY. In March of 2015, I made a private pledge to myself:

- I am going to workout 5 days per week, but if I only make it 3 days, that's still okay. But I won't go under 3. That is doable for me.

- I will work in small goals. I'll first reach 5 lbs lost, then 10 lbs, then 15 lbs, ect. I don't need to always focus on the big picture, because I know that stresses me out.

- Reaching a small milestone does not mean that I will stop working out and go back to old habits. I will continue working out and eating clean even after the 1st round of the program is over. It's a long term lifestyle change- not a fad diet.

- I will not beat myself up or speak negatively to myself if I mess up. If friends or family come in town, I will go out to eat without hating myself after. If it's a holiday, it's OKAY to have BBQ and beers. I will understand that I can and will still reach my goals, and will get back to it the next day. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

- I will not step on the scale more than one time per month. The scale is not your friend, people! I know I will be gaining muscle and therefore will likely not feel good about what the scale says, even though I am making progress and losing fat & inches.

- I will take my measurements every 30 days to gauge my progress.

- I will share my journey, experiences, struggles/successes, recipes, ect along the way to help anyone who needs it!

- I WILL NOT QUIT. I can do this. I will do this. I will NOT give up. Not this time.

My mindset used to be "I have to deprive myself. I can't eat the foods I want. I have to commit 100%". I've CHANGED my mindset to "I have to live my life. I can lose weight, I can gain muscle, I can lose inches, but i'm still a normal person and it's OKAY to have a cheat meal. It's OKAY to have an off day, and it's OKAY to look for alternate ways to reach your goals other than the normal gym 6x per week and diet 7 days per week -- personalizing plans to what YOU need to succeed."

And i'm succeeding, for the first time ever!

This post is about me, for the first time ever, BEING HONEST about my story. I was so ashamed to talk about the fact that I was struggling, but guess what? I'm HUMAN! It happens. That is what I needed to realize. I also needed to motivate myself and put my commitment to reach my goals out into the world so I feel like I can't quit on myself- no matter how hard it gets. I am HALFWAY to my goal -- this is NOT the time to give up!

I also truly feel a responsibility to be 100% open and honest at all times to my friends and clients. I preach all day and night about creating a healthy and fit lifestyle and no-excuse attitudes. Unfortunately (mostly for myself), I make mistakes. It's hard not to give up on yourself when you just can't believe how much you have slipped and the journey to getting back to where you had already worked so hard to be seems like it will take eternity. But I have felt that way before and I was so close to where I wanted to be. We can all reach our goals, if we just decide to finally commit, seriously let go of the excuses and make it happen. I know that is easier said than done, so I would love to also help you on your journey if you have one, and we can motivate each other.... feel free to connect with me through my Facebook page. If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix and/or want to join me on my journey, or any other Beachbody fitness programs/Shakeology/meal planning, email me at melanie@healthyandfree.us.

Here's to the next 65 days!

#21dayfix #fitnesstips