After a weekend where a cheat meal turned into a cheat weekend, my body needed some help lol. While I'm usually against cleanses, this one piqued my interest because it wasn't your typical cleanse. While yes the calories and carbs were low, you were still getting protein from the shakes and were able to eat fruits and veggies along with healthy fats. This cleanse is meant to give you a jumpstart to help ease you into a new routine or to lose a few pounds before an event or wedding. |
Day 1: In a nutshell, this picture sums up my meals for the day.
► 8 oz. filtered water upon waking up
► within an hour, drink your Shakeology (I had vegan chocolate) and you can either eat your fruit separately or mix it in so I mixed in the frozen strawberries and it tasted like chocolate covered strawberries :)
► at least an hour later you can have some tea, which is optional. I opted to have it and I used the lemon ginger.
► at least an hour after that you have your mid-morning fiber sweep. I read so many reviews that this stuff tastes awful and it's hard to get down. The thing is, this drink has psyllium husk, flax, and chia seeds so it's meant to thicken up in your stomach, like most fiber powders do. If you let it sit too long, it will be thicker and probably harder to get down. The trick is to shake it up fast and drink it so that it can expand in your stomach and help keep you full. They add some natural lemon flavor and stevia to it so it doesn't taste bad at all.
► at least an hour after that (i usually waited 2 hours) is your lunch which is their Vanilla Fresh shake blended with water and fruit if you'd like. I had tried orange and banana, and honestly I did not like this drink. By the 3rd day it was really rough to get down. It was kinda tasty at first but gets blah fast. I think the almond taste to it kinda throws things off. You also eat a serving of veggies and healthy fats, which I did carrots and hummus.
► at least an hour after that is your afternoon snack, which is also veggies & healthy fat. I did celery and almond butter.
► at least an hour after that is the optional afternoon tea
► then dinner which is another Vanilla Fresh shake only you are not allowed fruit with this one. I wound up using it as "dessert" because you also eat one of their dinner recipes. Day 1 we did the spinach salad which was great because it was pretty filling, and there is the option to also have 1 cup of organic vegetable broth with fresh herbs so I did that with some cilantro.
► Optional evening tea, which I drank every night and I got the Sleepytime green tea.
OH and you're drinking LOTS of water on this, which wasn't a big deal to me because I'm used to drinking at least a gallon a day, but it's very important to do during this.
► 8 oz. filtered water upon waking up
► within an hour, drink your Shakeology (I had vegan chocolate) and you can either eat your fruit separately or mix it in so I mixed in the frozen strawberries and it tasted like chocolate covered strawberries :)
► at least an hour later you can have some tea, which is optional. I opted to have it and I used the lemon ginger.
► at least an hour after that you have your mid-morning fiber sweep. I read so many reviews that this stuff tastes awful and it's hard to get down. The thing is, this drink has psyllium husk, flax, and chia seeds so it's meant to thicken up in your stomach, like most fiber powders do. If you let it sit too long, it will be thicker and probably harder to get down. The trick is to shake it up fast and drink it so that it can expand in your stomach and help keep you full. They add some natural lemon flavor and stevia to it so it doesn't taste bad at all.
► at least an hour after that (i usually waited 2 hours) is your lunch which is their Vanilla Fresh shake blended with water and fruit if you'd like. I had tried orange and banana, and honestly I did not like this drink. By the 3rd day it was really rough to get down. It was kinda tasty at first but gets blah fast. I think the almond taste to it kinda throws things off. You also eat a serving of veggies and healthy fats, which I did carrots and hummus.
► at least an hour after that is your afternoon snack, which is also veggies & healthy fat. I did celery and almond butter.
► at least an hour after that is the optional afternoon tea
► then dinner which is another Vanilla Fresh shake only you are not allowed fruit with this one. I wound up using it as "dessert" because you also eat one of their dinner recipes. Day 1 we did the spinach salad which was great because it was pretty filling, and there is the option to also have 1 cup of organic vegetable broth with fresh herbs so I did that with some cilantro.
► Optional evening tea, which I drank every night and I got the Sleepytime green tea.
OH and you're drinking LOTS of water on this, which wasn't a big deal to me because I'm used to drinking at least a gallon a day, but it's very important to do during this.
Day 2: This day was a repeat of Day 1 only I changed up the dinner. I did their veggie stir fry which was DELICIOUS! It's rare I use fresh grated ginger in anything so now I'm hooked on the taste!
►I was MUCH more tired this day and started to feel hungry. I took a bunch of naps. I also had a headache but couldn't tell if it was from this or the weather changes because my allergies were pretty bad so I can't really blame it on the cleanse.
►I was MUCH more tired this day and started to feel hungry. I took a bunch of naps. I also had a headache but couldn't tell if it was from this or the weather changes because my allergies were pretty bad so I can't really blame it on the cleanse.
Day 3: Another repeat of the other days but with a different dinner. This was just green beans with some fresh ginger, garlic, and lemon. VERY delicious! I woke up feeling much better this day but also some hunger here and there.
Overall, I can tell you right now I couldn't be a full-time vegan lol. I cannot WAIT for my turkey burger for dinner tonight! Oh and of course I started my day today with some coffee because that's not allowed on the cleanse unless you drink it black. And I cannot WAIT to get back to my strawberry Shakeology! I missed it so much lol. They recommend you using the vegan on this cleanse so that your body can process it better. While it was tasty, I'm not a huge chocolate shake person (I know, *gasp* lol) and it was something I would rather have as dessert than breakfast.
Overall, I can tell you right now I couldn't be a full-time vegan lol. I cannot WAIT for my turkey burger for dinner tonight! Oh and of course I started my day today with some coffee because that's not allowed on the cleanse unless you drink it black. And I cannot WAIT to get back to my strawberry Shakeology! I missed it so much lol. They recommend you using the vegan on this cleanse so that your body can process it better. While it was tasty, I'm not a huge chocolate shake person (I know, *gasp* lol) and it was something I would rather have as dessert than breakfast.
Total loss: 4.6 lbs and 4.25"! 2" from my waist and the rest of the loss was from my thighs.
I did NOT do this for weight loss, just to get rid of some bloat. I definitely feel better, lighter, and more energized!!
Also I will say, if you're like me and normally eat 1800-2000 calories a day, this cleanse will be VERY difficult.
Will I do it again? Maybe... if I was going to go on vacation or to a wedding, I could see me doing it again or if my eating gets completely out of whack after a semester of school.
I did NOT do this for weight loss, just to get rid of some bloat. I definitely feel better, lighter, and more energized!!
Also I will say, if you're like me and normally eat 1800-2000 calories a day, this cleanse will be VERY difficult.
Will I do it again? Maybe... if I was going to go on vacation or to a wedding, I could see me doing it again or if my eating gets completely out of whack after a semester of school.
<3 Crystal