3 -Day Shakeology Cleanse

Well, it wasn’t easy, but I feel lighter and like I pushed a “reset” button. I went on vacation to Miami Beach and had veered too far from my healthy eating habits. A mojito or margarita almost every night with dinner, desserts, and beach snacks, all took my “vacation treats” too far. I had slipped a little from my routine disciplined habits into my old ways I had worked so hard to change.

When I returned home, I needed to re-focus back on my healthy lifestyle habits, and I also needed a little kickstart. I knew several people who had done the Shakeology Cleanse with great results, so I decided to try it. It a nutshell, it’s three Shakeology shakes, one fruit, and a salad for three days.

 Since I do better with my eating at home, rather than at work, I planned to start my first day on a Friday and end on Sunday. At my office, there are too many temptations, with people bringing in baked goods, and I also get caught in the craving to eat to pass the time. At home, I’m more focused, with less junk food around and can distract myself with fun things: reading, walking, house-cleaning, playing with my kids; I have a number of activities to keep me busy at home, whereas at work I have to sit behind a desk, in front of a computer all day. If you choose to do the Shakeology Cleanse, choose days where you will be busy and can distract yourself.

Even though I work on Friday, it would be a good first day, because my excitement will-power would be stronger on the first day.  Saturday and Sunday would be easier at home, as my second and third days. As you can see the three days require careful planning, because you want to keep yourself away from food as much as you can unless you want to be miserable. So, if you have a get together or a party over the three days, it would be more than challenging.

 Here is my plan:

8:30 a.m. - Breakfast: Shakeology with 1/3 banana

10:30 a.m. – 8 ouces of green tea and one cup of blackberries

10:00 p.m. – Shakeology with 1/3 banana

3:45 p.m. – Shakeology with 1/3 banana

6:30 p.m. - Large salad (3 cups of greens, 3 cherry tomatoes, and 1 grilled diced chicken breast, 1 tsp olive oil, balsamic vinegar)

8:30 pm – 8 oz of green tea

In addition to this I drank 100 ounces of water each day. The  minimum required is half your weight in ounces plus some! 

You repeat this each day for 3 days.  I still worked out each day while doing it. I made sure to get it in early in the morning so I had the energy for it. I felt fatigued by the end of each day. Here are some recaps from the journey.

FRIDAY:

I woke up, and weighed myself and took my measurements right away. This was the easiest day for me. I was excited to start it, and wanted results, so I didn't stray. 

I took my water and snacks into work with me, but the banana, I split into 3 pieces and a third in each of my 3 shakes. I have a travel blender, which I took with me to work, but if you needed to, you could make the shakes in advance, and either put them in a cooler with ice packs, or put them in the fridge or freezer at work, if you have one. If you put it in the freezer, make sure to take it out about two hours before drinking, so it defrosts a bit. 

Since it was Friday at work, I had a little TGIF going too, looking forward to the weekend. When I got home, I did my regularly scheduled workout.

SATURDAY:

The scale was showing a 2 lb loss so far. I was hoping for more right away, but I need to remember that I don't have a lot of weight to lose to begin with and it takes a ton of work for me to lose any weight.  

I woke up and did my 30 minute workout right away. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to do it, instead of waiting until the end of the day. It really got me hungry right away. My shakes were able to ward of the hunger pains for the most part that day.

Because my sons had activities all day (soccer games, gymnastics meets), we were busy all day. I had my shakes and green tea when we stopped home between activities. But by dinner time, I was SO READY for my salad!! 

 

SUNDAY:

 I lost 1 more pound. I worked out first thing in the morning, again. My body was starting to get used to the cleanse, but I was hungry.  However, I wasn't going to throw away the last two days of hard work. I decided being able to complete a cleanse is simply a mind game, a hard one at that, but one I was going to master. 

I made sure to keep busy throughout the day, with chores around the house, especially chores that kept my hands busy.  I folded laundry while watching some of my favorite TV shows; vacuumed, even dusted!  

I drank my ninth and final shake of the cleanse, and only waited one hour that night for my salad, because I was so hungry. I also went to bed early, so that I wouldn't have to think about food anymore. 

MONDAY:

I lost 2 more pounds! This made a total of 5 pounds!! Loved these results, and it felt good to wake up and know the I was having oatmeal for breakfast today! I felt lighter and my stomach was not bloated. Plus I was focused again on my nutrition! 

It felt good to be able to say I did it. It also felt good to be able to cut out my sugar, salt and carb cravings. It was also nice to have the support of my challengers in my challenge groups. Not only did they help hold me accountable, but also checked in on me at work and at home. It was nice to have the support!