Metro Detroit Mommy Blogger Theresa Walker – BeachBody Coach
Our health and fitness blogger, Theresa, earns a commission off of the sale of the products mentioned in this post. All opinions posted here are genuine and her own. Your experience may differ.
You may have been hearing on social media and/or on TV, maybe
even from friends, about this program called The 21 Day Fix, yet maybe have no
clue what it is about. Personally, I am
not about quick-fixes or gimmicks when it comes to losing weight. I
lost nearly 40lbs the “old fashioned way”, through simple changes to my diet and
food intake and exercise. (You can read more about it here: http://blog.metrodetroitmommy.com/2015/03/finding-inspiration-to-make-healthful.html) It
may not be full of glitz and glamour, or easy, but I believe it’s the reason I
have kept off the weight for almost 5 years.
So when I heard about Autumn Calabrese’s 21 Day Fix, which combines BOTH diet
modifications and fitness, I thought, it’s about time there is a program out
there like this!
even from friends, about this program called The 21 Day Fix, yet maybe have no
clue what it is about. Personally, I am
not about quick-fixes or gimmicks when it comes to losing weight. I
lost nearly 40lbs the “old fashioned way”, through simple changes to my diet and
food intake and exercise. (You can read more about it here: http://blog.metrodetroitmommy.com/2015/03/finding-inspiration-to-make-healthful.html) It
may not be full of glitz and glamour, or easy, but I believe it’s the reason I
have kept off the weight for almost 5 years.
So when I heard about Autumn Calabrese’s 21 Day Fix, which combines BOTH diet
modifications and fitness, I thought, it’s about time there is a program out
there like this!
First, the fitness component of the program: The 21 Day Fix has a different 30 minute
workout for each day of the week, perfectly designed to work each area of your body, each day. All you need is a set
of free hand weights or a resistance band.
Every move has a modifier,
so this program is perfect for a beginner, completely new to what a plank,
squat or burpee is. However, it is also
still challenging for someone like myself who is fit and used to working out daily. Here are the
included 7 days worth of workouts:
workout for each day of the week, perfectly designed to work each area of your body, each day. All you need is a set
of free hand weights or a resistance band.
Every move has a modifier,
so this program is perfect for a beginner, completely new to what a plank,
squat or burpee is. However, it is also
still challenging for someone like myself who is fit and used to working out daily. Here are the
included 7 days worth of workouts:
1. Total Body Cardio Fix: This complete body workout will keep your heart rate up, your muscles engaged and your metabolism revved high, long after the workout is over.
2. Upper Fix: 30 Minutes of intense resistance training to help sculpt your chest, back, shoulders, arms and abs.
3. Lower Fix: Resistance training for the biggest muscles in your body, the glutes, quads and hamstrings.
4. Pilates Fix: This Pilates-style workout will help strengthen your core, elongate your muscles, and tighten your glutes and thighs.
5. Cardio Fix: From jumping jacks to burpees, this workout will have your heart pumping!
6. Dirty 30: A mix of cardio and strength that helps build muscle and while burning fat.
7. Yoga Fix: This workout will help with balance, flexibility and strength while giving your muscles a chance to rest.
Bonus workout: 10 Minute Abs- This ten minute ab workout is intense and targets a popular problem area (ahem, myself included!). Add this to any day of the week.
If you order this program through a Beach Body coach like myself, you will also get a 9th workout called Plyo Fix. It’s exactly as it sounds, it’s full of plyometric moves, which is a fancy way for saying, a lot of jumping around.
Each of these workouts are 3 or 4 circuits with 2 exercises each, with breaks in between each set and then you repeat. For instance, you may have 1 minute of surrenders, 15 second break, then 1 minute of butt kicks, 15 second break, repeat each, breaks included. One of my favorite features (besides the break where I get a chance to catch my breath), are the count down clocks that are always on the screen; there are actually 2 going simultaneously. One for the exercise you are on and one that goes for the entire program that shows how much longer you have to go till finished for the day. I feel like it helps with motivation to see, only 10 seconds left when I am getting tired, or only 10 minutes left till I am done for the day! With each move, Autumn demonstrates proper form and execution of the move you are on. As you are doing the movement, the camera pans around, there are about 6 people doing it along with you at home, each at a different level, including the modifier. This is perfect to demonstrate where you may start, but also where you can end up and the level to strive for.
Now onto the eating plan of this program. As it’s been said, all of the exercise in the world cannot un-do a bad diet. So here we are provided, for those of you who may not want the hassle of counting calories, a way to do just that, but simplified. This plan is based on a 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat diet. Instead of calories, you are counting color coded containers, which each represent a food group/nutrient. They are also each a specific size, ie- a cups worth, half cup, quarter cup etc.
The containers are: green (veggies), purple (fruit), red (protein), yellow (whole grains), blue (healthy fats), orange (seeds) and teaspoon (oils).
How it works is that there is a calculation you are given which will put you in a specific calorie in-take group; there are 4 groups, starting with 1200-1499 calories and the last group is 2100-2300. Based on calculation you are given (using your weight along with other numbers), you fall into one of the calorie categories. Once you know that, you know how many green containers to eat per day, how many red, yellow and so forth & so on. Voila! Easy as that. Even better, if you have an Apple/IOS device, you can download a 21 Day Fix tracker app, to keep track of your container count for the day while on the go. Or, if you are looking for recipes, there is also the cookbook Fixate, which has 21 Day Fix approved recipes.
Overall, why do I enjoy the 21 Day Fix program?
**I can fit it into my busy schedule, I only need 30 minutes from warm up all the way to the cool down.
**It gets my heart rate up, so I’m burning fat and calories; but because I’m using weight and strength moves, I’m also working/building muscle.
**It’s challenging, I’m worn out when I’m done, yet it’s do-able, it’s not intimidating.
**It isn’t just about the fitness, it also helps me with my eating habits, which is key to losing or maintaining weight.
**In doing this program for 21 Days, you are building healthy habits, which will last much longer.
I have become a Beach Body Coach since starting this program. I truly believed in it and it motivated me to share this program with others who were struggling with their own eating habits or finding ways to fit in exercise. If you would like to chat with me about the program you can find me at: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredHealthFitnessTW?fref=ts
You can learn more about 21 Day Fix here and connect with me on Beach Body at: www.teambeachbody.com/starlight29341
I’d love to support you make a healthy change!
Theresa is a wife and stay at home mother of 2 boys, David (13) and Aiden (10). Her hobbies include traveling, reading, running, cooking and volunteering at MI Humane Society with the adoptable cats. She also spends her free time serving as PTO President at her son’s elementary school. She enjoys being active and is proud to have completed 4 marathons. She loves to share her passion for health and fitness with others.