21 Day Fix: Meal Plan, Workout Schedule, and Tips
Introduction
It is very important to prioritize one's health. Following a healthy meal plan is one of the biggest steps in making the right decision for your health, but it needs a lot of determination and hard work. The 21 Day Fix plan helps calculate the calorie intake and the calorie target for each individual. It also helps determine allotments and helps an individual to stay on track with the weight loss program.
If someone mentions that you can drop 15 pounds in just about three weeks, anyone who is desperately looking to lose weight would get intrigued. As per a survey conducted by Google, this weight loss program or trend was the most searched diet in the year 2015. But the question here is, is this plan really worth the hype that it has created or is it just another publicity gimmick for weight loss with actually zero results? The 21 Day Fix plan, as some say, is a genius combination of dietary changes as well as workouts.
How does it work?
The 21 Day Fix plan mostly revolves around the idea that any individual can take just 21 days to successfully create a healthy habit. This plan was initiated, or one can say, "created" by a certified celebrity trainer from the National Academy of Sports Medicine named Autumn Calabrese. The diet details, which are provided in this plan, combine portions control along with carrying out regular activities to promote weight loss in just three weeks.
Why such a plan?
It has been said that when one plans to lose weight, around 70-80 percent of it is related to what you eat and the rest are workouts. But when we say diet, it doesn’t mean one should only eat veggies and salads, restrict some food, and only eat certain small portions of food. A fad diet is not a nutritious diet. It may make you lean, but there would be no energy left in the body--it would make one feel lethargic and weak.
A proper diet would be a combination of a healthy mix of foods and the most important of all of these, is to eat something that one loves to keep oneself motivated. Cutting off some of the non-healthy stuff and going in for the healthier options is always the best. But most importantly, one should ensure and keep in mind to eat foods, which make you feel motivated.
When individuals are motivated towards their goal, they can be very disciplined and would also try their best to ensure that they stick to their newly formed daily regimen. At times, one can have those pleasure snacks or food such as ice cream or cookies. But note that it should not be similar to bingeing. Also, having a very strict diet does not work and after a point, the person would end up bingeing again. Hence, when you go in for a diet, once in a while, you can eat those foods that give you pleasure, but only in smaller portions, so that it would keep your motivational levels high.
The 21 Day Fix Plan
As part of the program, the people who have enrolled in this program received color-coded containers to measure the portions. According to the plan, people would receive a total of seven different containers in six different colors and sizes. Each of these containers would be filled up with their respective type of food.
This 21 Day Fix plan utilizes these seven containers in six different sizes to make eating healthy and to shed off those extra pounds a lot easier. Depending on one’s calorie intake, each of the containers should be used to measure the food item from a specific food category.
These portions would include one green container for veggies and one fruits container, which is color-coded as purple. Both of these containers measure 8 ounces each. There would be one red container for proteins of 6 ounces. One yellow container would contain 5.3 ounces of carbohydrates. Also, there are two orange containers for salads and seeds, which would measure 2.7 ounces each and one blue container for cheese and healthy fats. Lastly, there would be a shakeology cup for mixing up various healthy drinks.
To find out how much food one can take in, one would need to first calculate his or her specific calorie intake. This can be calculated by multiplying the individual's current weight with 11 and then adding them up with 400. The outcome of this calculation would mean the daily caloric intake one needs to consume to maintain one's weight. If an individual needs to know how much one should lose to get that ideal number on the weighing scale, then subtract the above outcome by 750.
The following colored containers are filled with the corresponding type of food:
- Green container - Vegetables
- Purple container - Fruits
- Red container - Protein
- Yellow container - Carbs
- Blue container - Cheese
- Orange container - Seeds and dressings
Based on one’s calorie intake, the 21 Day Fix plan would assign an allowance of daily containers. For example, if one is within the calorie range of say 1,200-1,499, then the individual would be allowed any three green types of veggies, two fruits, four different types of proteins, one type of seeds and dressing, and lastly, two different types of carbs per day. According to the plan, the guide would break down each of the containers with a list of foods, which one would need to consume. This makes it a lot easier to create a weekly eating pattern schedule.
When you wake up in the morning, think of what you would like to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is always recommended to plan for three main meals such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but one can also go for between-meal snacks, so they don’t feel hungry or wait until the next meal. One can plan for 2-3 snacks in between each of the major meals in a day.
Also, keep oneself hydrated as much as possible. Drink a lot of water to promote loss of appetite in between snacks or meals. Apart from water, one can also drink herbal teas, green teas, normal teas, or coffee. If one feels very hungry in between meals, then he or she can eat an extra green container of veggies. Click for more info
Apart from the diet plan, you would also receive two separate DVDs, which would include an exercise schedule. It also includes seven different types of workouts for 30 minutes for each day of the week.
Where to get the plan?
The 21 Day Fix container kit can be bought from online portals of certain shopping websites. There would be different options for the containers available, but it is recommended to go for the beach body containers since those containers have the exact measurements and are in accordance with the defined eating pattern. The containers, which are provided as part of the kit are BPA-free and DEHP-free. Thus, one can also use them in the microwave. They are also safe for use in the dishwasher.
21 Day Fix Workout Program
The 21 Day Fix plan workout program contains two sets of DVDs, which has a total of six workouts. The main aim of these workouts is to ensure that the individual experiences massive calorie burnout with just a 30-minute workout session. All of the workouts in the plan are unique and they mainly focus on different aspects of the body to provide maximum benefit.
The best feature of the 21 Day Fix plan is the modifier, an onscreen instructor, who helps perform a low-intensity version of each type of exercise. The modifier also takes into account the fitness level and injury status of the individual. This is given to help an individual feel safe and comfortable while carrying out each of the exercise routines.
In Week 1 and Week 2, the individual would be part of one workout to be done every day. However, in Week 3, the individual would be given the chance to take part in the doubles workout, which would mean that there is one workout in the morning and second to be performed in the evening.
Workout Descriptions
- Body Cardio Workout - The workouts in this section would help elevate the heart rate of the individual and also improve the rate of metabolism. This would result in a long-lasting weight loss advantage.
- Upper Fix - This workout targets the back, chest, abs, and arms, so that it provides a sculpted upper body.
- Pilates Fix - The Pilates workout helps sculpt the body, which targets the torso, tones up the hips, butt, and thighs. It provides core-strengthening workouts.
- Lower Fix - The workouts under this section help target the thighs, calves, and the butt.
- Yoga Fix - Yoga would provide flexibility and also help in toning up the muscles with its various asanas and breathing techniques.
- Cardio Fix - Workouts under this section would heighten the cardio exercise and also improve the performance of the individual.
Planning Meal Tips and Tricks
- The 21 Day Fix eating plan would help determine an individual's exact calorie intake and would help the individual know how much of the color-coded containers should be used on a daily basis. The calculation of the containers is provided above.
- Once individuals are absolutely clear about the target calories, then they can determine the precise number of containers or teaspoons, which should be allocated on a regular basis.
- The simplicity of this program is amazing for many of the individuals since there's no need to count the calories of the food. They can instead fill up the containers with their corresponding group of food. This plan also provides a list of foods that would help outline the most nutritious foods in each food category. One can make use of this list so that it makes the meal planning a lot easier.
- According to the plan, the portion control system is not restrictive. Hence, it comfortably allows the person to start developing a healthy lifestyle, which can be maintained by many after completion of the plan.
- Meal planning becomes a lot more flexible and easier since one can consume the containers according to their choice throughout the day. However, it is advised to consume small portions of six meals throughout the day.
- When we talk about beverages, one can choose from soy milk, coconut milk, fresh fruit juices, or almond milk. The choice of beverage should be taken thrice a week.
Pros and Cons of the Plan
By using the containers provided in the kit, one can eliminate the need to keep track of the meal. It also encourages the individual to go for some whole food items. Some people find that most of the meals provided in the container are expensive or take too much time for preparation. Some also find that the small portions of meals are too restrictive. Hence, at the end of 21 days, instead of sticking to the schedule, one would end up bingeing on other food items to make up for those days.
When it comes to the workouts, some have mentioned that continuously doing the same type of workout every single day can lead to frustration. Also, some of the workouts mentioned in the DVD are at the advanced level and do not fit in the beginner's category.
In addition, this plan does not go beyond three weeks for which it was designed and ultimately puts itself in the same category as other trendy diet plans. Very few dieters would want to stick to the plan after the 21-day completion and keep a watch on what they eat and also work out on a regular basis. However, a few others who found it difficult to stick to the plan can also revert back to their previous lifestyle, thereby leading to weight gain and bringing back all the weight that they had lost during the plan.
Outcome
According to experts and studies, it is said that the 21 Day Fix plan can certainly help some individuals to lose at least some portion of their weight by following the strict regimen, but it cannot be made a long-term plan unless someone is very disciplined and determined to do so. It does not fit the bill of long-term weight loss programs. In such conditions, rather than going for some temporary plan, it is better to look for programs that are for long-term and more flexible on the basis of workout and diet.
