3-Day Refresh: My Experience

I am so excited to be embarking on the 3-Day Refresh program, and below is my account of the entire process.

A little bit of history – I have tried cleanses in the past – 10 day, 14 day, 21 day – all with varying levels of intensity. Almost always my motivation for doing a cleanse has been to “lose a few pounds.” And almost always has that goal been met. However I do typically feel better after a period of cleansing so I decided to give it a go the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Sunday October 13

I read through the materials today, and started to mentally prepare myself for the 3 days ahead. I felt a sense of excitement for the next 3 days because I can prepare everything today, and then just grab and go. Honestly one of my biggest stressors and time sucks is the amount of time I spend shopping, prepping, cooking and cleaning up dishes. I don’t mind the shopping and prepping so much, but I feel like there is an endless cycle of dishes going in my house at all times… and I only have one kid. HA!

After looking over the program I headed to the store, and I planned for my daily allotment of fruits and veggies. I decided to make a big kale salad + avocado for lunch each day. I also bought clementines, apples and blackberries to vary up my fruit servings.

I’m a little nervous about not having a enough fat because that is what usually satiates me so I have hummus, almond butter and avocado on hand.

Once I returned home I roasted up some veggies – red peppers, squash, zucchini. I made the kale salad and chopped up red peppers to have for snack. I also made a vegan butternut squash soup to freeze and have on hand for the end of the week. All in all I’m feeling prepared, and I’m excited to see how the next 3 days go.

Monday October 14

I woke up feeling excited about the day – hooray to a PLAN and fewer dishes. I drank my 8-10 ounces of water upon waking. Breakfast is about 75-90 minutes after I wake up b/c I like to eat when my daughter eats.

I never weigh b/c I can’t stand basing how I feel about my day based on the number staring back at me. But in the effort of the cleanse I will take a starting weight to see how it goes. Let’s suffice it to say I’m at the high end of my normal weight as I enter into this endeavor.

I packed my lunch for the day and it included:

1 Fiber Packet
1 Vanilla Sweep
My Shakeology Bottle
Kale Salad
Avocado
Red Peppers
Hummus
Clementine

I am always so terrified of being hungry or having a low blood sugar so oftentimes I over pack just in case. Today I left with only my allotment. Fingers crossed I’m not hangry within the next hour.

For breakfast I had:

1 small green apple
Chocolate Shakeology with 1 ¼ c. of water (a first for me b/c I always use coconut milk in my Shake-o)
Green tea – I think the plan says to have tea as a mid-morning break, but I had to have something to replace my morning coffee ritual.So far so good!

Mid morning

Lemon Zing Herbal Tea
Fiber sweep – I heard to mix it with cold water and that is what I did. It has a slight lemon taste to it, and it wasn’t that bad. I drank it quickly.

Lunch

Vanilla Sweep w/ ¼ banana – blended – I actually really like this Vanilla flavor and wish it was the regular vanilla flavor. It was yummy
Kale salad massage w/olive oil

Afternoon snack

Red pepper + blue container of hummus
Chamomile tea

Dinner

Vanilla Fiber Sweep
Roasted veggies – squash, zucchini, red peppers

All in all I feel good today. I got a little hungry b/n 4-5pm, but for the most part I feel satisfied and accomplished for day 1.

I’m already prepped for Day 2! And, I’m so happy to not have any dishes! Pshew!

Tuesday October 15

I woke up today a little more hungry than yesterday and my stomach feeling a little rumbly. Also I’m feeling less motivated to stick with the program, but I just reminded myself that it’s 3 days, and I can do it.

I find that it’s easier to just stick with the same foods for the morning.

Breakfast –

Café Latte Shakeology
1 small green apple

Feeling good as I head off to work!

Lunch

Vanilla sweep with ¼ banana- blended
Kale salad – massaged with olive oil -hey I’m a creature of habit

Afternoon Snack

Carrots + blue container of hummus
Chamomile tea

Dinner –

Vanilla Sweep
Cauliflower bowl – frozen riced cauliflower+ roasted veggies. I did add a little homemade lemon tahini dressing for a little bit of fat. It was YUMMY!

Ready for the home stretch and Day 3!

Wednesday October 16

Ok usually by Day 3 of a cleanse I am “hangry” and losing motivation to stay focused…. But I’m feeling pretty good, and I know it’s just one more day. I typically eat a clean, whole foods diet, but sometimes my portions get out of control. Or I’ll go too far with snacking on cheese or nuts or other crunchy things. My hope is that cleanse provides me with a bit of reset after the Thanksgiving holiday and keeps me mindful as we enter the end of year holiday season.

Day 3 looked a lot like Days 1 and 2 with following the same schedule for eating. It was pretty easy to follow the suggested plan, and I do feel a bit lighter and fresher.

My main focus is to enter the holiday season being mindful of my eating habits, and I feel like the 3-Day Refresh has allowed me to do just that. I feel like I hit the reset button on some bad habits, and I feel excited to charge forward to the end of the year!

Thursday October 17

Ok – despite trying very hard not to measure my success by the scale – I can’t help but take a peek to see if there has been any change…and to my surprise I’m down 4 lbs! Now, I know this is most likely water weight, but sometimes breaking through that psychological barrier of the number on the scale is the motivation I need to stay focused.

Big Picture

I love the way I feel post-refresh, and I am motivated to clean up my diet as we enter the holidays. With that said, my general philosophy around eating is to eat whole foods (mostly plants) with no food groups off limits. As a Type 1 diabetic I count carbs and I am always tracking my food intake to make sure my blood sugar doesn’t go too high or too low, and I just can’t imagine further limiting my food options by following a strict “diet.” I do believe the 3 -Day Refresh is a good jumping off point to bring your eating habits back into focus.

Thank you for following my journey on the 3-Day Refresh. It’s been a great experience, and I’m so grateful that I’m able to share it with you!

If you’d like info and coaching through the 3-Day Refresh, please contact me us at owners@becomepowerful.com or join our fitness community Stronger, Healthier, Happier!