Welcome to my blog about getting fit on a budget... there are lots of tools out there in this corporate-fueled world to help you lose that stubborn weight! But I'm a single mom... of 3 boys... with no extra funds to make it happen the easy way. It doesn't mean it can't be done. It doesn't mean that these products/people/programs are a waste of money. It simply means I don't have the option of someone cooking all of my meals for me, or fancy guides that tell me what to eat, or someone on my butt all the time telling me how to move my body and how many times and with how much resistance, etc. These hurdles don't mean it can't be done. They simply mean I have to work a little harder for it, be a little smarter about it and take full accountability for my successes and failures. That cookie (or 3) I ate last night? That's completely my fault and all on me. That mile I ran in under 13 minutes for the first time in my life? That's all on me too. I am certainly willing to take whatever help I can get, but what I can find is usually limited to Pinterest and good-ol Google.
So this is my story - how I am going to make it different this time. How I am not going to give up when it gets hard. How I am going to take the reins and finally do this. This is MY version of popular programs and nutrition plans and protein shakes and yada yada, all that gibberish that means nothing to the layman, but everything to the fitness world. I have thoroughly researched and have essentially "hacked" several popular programs in order to make them work for me - on my budget, at my skill level, with my time allowance. I am going to make it work for ME. I don't care if so-and-so lost 45 pounds in 3 months with (insert program here) or (insert nutrition plan here). All I care about is how I can tailor to work for me, for you... for everybody and anybody. Here's what I have:
1. 2 sets of dumbbells - 5 pounds and 2 pounds.
2. Yoga mat.
3. Good running shoes (actually, those are in the mail, I'm running in crappy ones right now. If you plan to get crappy ones too, don't. Make this your one expensive purchase.)
4. A gym membership (It was a gift, but I use it and tailor the "workouts" to fit into the gym setting. It was cheap and it's paid in full, so no "monthly membership" fee.)
5. Basic kitchen tools.
6. Access to the internet - I'm not even kidding, I have found the vast majority of the 3 Day Refresh, 21 Day Fix and Focus T25 on the internet via other blogs, Pinterest and YouTube.
Now onto my point. I started my own version of the 3 Day Refresh by BeachBody today. I will call it 3DR from here on out. It is a fairly simple nutrition "cleanse" if you will. You drink a bunch of "specially formulated" drinks and eat like a rabbit for 3 days to force it to detox without starving. The first problem is the fact that I am NOT a rabbit. I don't like salad, or any raw vegetables for that matter (with the exception of cucumber). If it isn't cooked or juiced into something, I don't eat it. Not for lack of trying. I have tried lettuce over 50 times in my life of all varieties and every time, it goes in and comes right back out. It's a texture thing for the most part. And I HATE dressing, so I can't even drown it in something palatable to choke it down. I don't mind cooked spinach in sauces/eggs and I blend some kale/spinach up daily in my shakes. I eat vegetables, but my choices are limited. I was raised with green beans, corn, carrots and sweet peas. That was it. Seriously. Two of those aren't even technically vegetables, so that leaves me with green beans and carrots and I will only eat them cooked. Finding the rest has been an adventure. I will now eat carrots, green beans, spinach (in eggs or smoothies/juices), kale (smoothies), tomatoes (pureed), onion (fried, but we won't go there since onion rings are most certainly not a vegetable), cucumber (RAW! I'll eat this raw, but I won't touch a pickle) and most squash. I am working on cauliflower and broccoli still gives me the heebie-jeebies, but it's a work in progress. It's only 3 days and I only get a few vegetables a day anyway.
So the 3DR plan. Drink Shakeology for breakfast with some fruit. This morning, I blended my raspberries into my shake. Tomorrow, I plan to have Honeymoon melon on the side. Easy-peasy. The shake itself is a soy protein, so it is vegan. I can't afford Shakeology. If I could, I absolutely would. It is filled with superfoods and specifically engineered to give your body optimal nutrition. Unfortunately, $140 a month just can't happen. That's more than was spent for my whole year's gym membership. So I use NaturAde's Chocolate (I have Vanilla too but that's another story) Soy protein. It's pretty good stuff. I use half a serving when "Fixing" (21 Day Fix and I'll cover that Thursday) and a full serving when "Refreshing." It taste allright, better with fruity goodness blended in. It's not quite the salad in a glass that Shakeology is, but it hits home some major nutrients and I can usually blend some actual salad into it to make up the nutrients it's missing. This options costs me $10 a month for each flavor. When I'm Fixing, I mix it with Unsweetened Original Almond Milk. When I'm Refreshing, I mix it with water and ice and vanilla extract (or others pure extracts - almond, orange, mint, etc.) and/or fruit.
Throughout the rest of your day, you drink a lot of water, gag down some protein shakes and some extra fiber and eat several tiny meals. My lunch today was 15 tiny grapes, 5 baby carrots and 2 tablespoons of hummus. Dinner was 1/2 cup of zucchini topped with pureed spinach and tomatoes and 6 green beans with a cup of organic vegetable broth. The family? Spaghetti and meat sauce topped with Parmesan cheese, garlic bread and green beans. My meal elicited the sad panda response from everyone, but especially me since I had to hit the gym afterwards and get in my mile and arm work. This is going to be brutal, but it's only 3 days. You can do almost anything for 3 days... including cry... which I might...
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