Since going Paleo my family has fallen even more in love with our grill. Paleo and grilling just work well together. The past couple of years I've even been stepping outside my grilling comfort zone more and more. Grilling things I'd never thought to have grilled before and trying new flavor combinations. I have to say I'm pretty thrilled with the results of most of my flavor experiments. In the past I'd never have thought to grill fruit, but it's amazing. Grilling fruit and adding it to traditionally savory dishes? Brilliant. Oh yes, and? New rule: every burger recipe for the rest of forever must contain grilled pineapple. OK, maybe more of a guideline. It's a seriously delicious combination though. This Smoky Grilled Pineapple Burger is always a crowd-pleaser at my house. It's not only Paleo, but Whole30, glutenfree, lower carb, and clean eating friendly. I promise you won't miss the bun! paleo, grilled pineapple burger, smoky...
I started Beachbody's 21 Day Fix on Monday and will be doing the entire plan for the next 3 weeks. Workouts, meal plan, the full meal deal.
Oh, and I'm not a Beachbody Coach. I like to say that up front. No bias here. I am not trying to sell you anything and don't care if you buy it. Just sharing my experiences and results with the program; then I'll review it at the end.
Getting started with the 21 Day Fix
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| Everything that comes with the 21 Day Fix |
For the 21 Day Fix you are working out for 30 minutes, 7 days a week. You're doing yoga on Sundays, so not having a complete rest day isn't a huge deal-breaker for me. Plus, it's only 3 weeks! The workouts are a variety of cardio and strength training. There's also a great modifier shown, so it can really be beginner friendly.
The Meal Plan
The meal plan is based on portion control using the colorful containers that come with the program. As I said in my unboxing video, the containers are smaller than I thought they'd be. However, in getting started with the plan I now have a better understanding. I think I was somehow imagining fitting your meals in these dinky containers! No. They are more like measuring cups to measure out your protein, greens, fruit, etc. I find them to be normal-sized portions.
You start out by doing some calculations based on your current weight. This will give you a result that plugs you into one of their set calorie ranges (though it's not necessary to track calories on this plan; that's what the containers are for). From there it gives you how many of each color container you get each day. I get: 4 green, 3 purple, 4 red, 3 yellow, 1 blue, 1 orange, and 4 teaspoons (you have to provide your own) each day.
In general the container colors mean:
- The green container is for veggies
- The purple containers is for fruit
- The red container is for your proteins
- The yellow container measures your carbs (being Paleo my option here is mostly sweet potatoes since I don't eat grains)
- The blue is for things like avocadoes, nuts, and cheese
- The orange is for seeds, olives, coconut, etc
- The teaspoon (again, you provide your own, it doesn't come with one) is for oils, nut butters, etc
I was excited to find the meal plan easily adaptable for my Paleo preferences! It does seem like it may be a bit less fat and protein than I'm used to, but I've only done 2 days. For my final review I will track a few days in My Fitness Pal to see where I come out.
I weighed and measured (and took pics) at the end of Ultimate Booty last Sunday and started the Fix Monday.
My 21 Day Fix Beginning Stats:
Weight: 184
Bust: 42
Right Upper Arm: 12.5
Waist: 34
Hips: 42
Right Calf: 13.75
So... 21 Day Fix: Hype or Help? Let's find out!
UPDATE: Final Thoughts/Review
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