Opinions on 21-Day Fix?

e_v_v

Hi!

Please post your thoughts, experiences, results, or lack thereof using the 21-Day Fix. Did you use just the portion containers? Videos? Shakes? All of the above? I am interested in the concept and the results I've seen from others, but I'm not sure I want to spend the cash needed for all or some of the materials.

Also, how did it help/hurt your use of MFP?

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

Overpriced Tupperware containers. The shakes are also garbage.

The workouts are fine but just know that they're overpriced, too, and you can get a good workout using other methods.

Why not just use MFP and a food scale to learn portion control? It's free and will be more valuable long-term than some plastic containers.

MelaniaTrump

1. Weighing food on a food scale and calorie counting works 100 times better than the boxes.
2. Videos- search for them online. People are always posting them free.
3. Shakes - just buy protein shakes at walmart or target (you don't really need them).

Wetcoaster

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »

Overpriced Tupperware containers. The shakes are also garbage.

The workouts are fine but just know that they're overpriced, too, and you can get a good workout using other methods.

Why not just use MFP and a food scale to learn portion control? It's free and will be more valuable long-term than some plastic containers.

+1

AnvilHead

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »

Overpriced Tupperware containers. The shakes are also garbage.

The workouts are fine but just know that they're overpriced, too, and you can get a good workout using other methods.

Why not just use MFP and a food scale to learn portion control? It's free and will be more valuable long-term than some plastic containers.

+2

AliciaBerries

I finished the program a few weeks ago. I liked the workouts, except for the Pilates one. I still do the yoga on rest days. I had good results for the three weeks, but I did not use the containers or shakes. Like someone else mentioned, you can find them free online if you look around.

wtw0n

I like the workouts (excluding pilates and yoga - but I don't like those two in general so...). Haven't followed the meal plan and never will. And I buy protein powders from local stores.

psuLemon

My biggest problem with the program is they aggressively cut calories. Most people would fall into the 1200-1500 range (I have hammer and chisel; was told to eat 1500-1700 calories and I actually maintain at 3000 calories). Shakeology is way overpriced and overhyped by beachbody. In fact, you can get more nutrition from a naturemade multivitamin. And while the videos are pricey, many of them are very enjoyable and I won't deny that they got me into fitness. Anything that will keep you motivated and wanted to workout is going to be beneficial to your health, regardless of it being a crappy MLM.

LivingtheLeanDream

Did you put on your weight in 21 days? then 21 days wont fix it.....
Don't waste your money, count cals, move more than you normally do and be patient, Rome was not built in a day .

psuLemon

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

Did you put on your weight in 21 days? then 21 days wont fix it.....
Don't waste your money, count cals, move more than you normally do and be patient, Rome was not built in a day .

It's a teaching platform that also has a maintenance component, no different than calorie counting. Essentially, the containers correspond to calorie ranges and balances macros.

LivingtheLeanDream

as you said yourself @psulemon its over priced, which is unnecessary when MFP has all the information we need and its filled with knowledgeable people on the forums

I suppose for someone starting out and having no idea of where to start, perhaps something like the 21 day fix MIGHT help....? *shrugs shoulders*

kommodevaran

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

as you said yourself @psulemon its over priced, which is unnecessary when MFP has all the information we need and its filled with knowledgeable people on the forums

I suppose for someone starting out and having no idea of where to start, perhaps something like the 21 day fix MIGHT help....? *shrugs shoulders*

(I used to think this myself, but I'm not sure anymore.) The sad thing is that (I think) everyone has an idea of where to start, but are confused, and the way the 21 day fix market themselves and presents eating and weight loss as something a person can't possibly manage on their own, adds helplessness to the confusion.

Personally, I found MFP so empowering and liberating. I've lost 50 pounds and kept them off for 17 months now, quite effortlessly.

psuLemon

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

as you said yourself @psulemon its over priced, which is unnecessary when MFP has all the information we need and its filled with knowledgeable people on the forums

I suppose for someone starting out and having no idea of where to start, perhaps something like the 21 day fix MIGHT help....? *shrugs shoulders*

It really all comes down to personal preference in the end since compliance is key. Calorie counting, carb counting, containers, points.... its all about the same, just a different method. Finding a style that you can stick with is key.


edited: because the English language is hard

mmteixeira

In June 2015, I started the 21 Day Fix by following the food list provided, but counted calories with MyFitnessPal instead of the containers (they were not the easiest to work with for me), and lost 30 lbs in the first 3 months. Once down 30, I added the workouts - they were hard but I made my way through them. I have done 2 full 21 Day cycles.

I still eat clean and I have completed P90 and the 21 Day Fix, and started a Couch-to-5k running plan. Since starting in June 2015, I have lost 87 lbs.

The food list is a standard clean eating diet. The containers are designed for portion control and can be replaced with a scale and MyFitnessPal. The workouts I thought were very good and challenging. Shakeology is very overpriced - I did not even consider using it.

On a whole, for the workouts, I found it worth it - but your mileage may vary...

plantpoweredlifter

It's an overpriced crash diet and the workouts are nothing special, and the endless Shakeology shilling is extremely annoying. Also, stay the hell away from Beachbody Coaches - it's nothing but an MLM (pyramid) scheme and they know jack about fitness or nutrition - they're just glorified salesmen that want to push a shake subscription on you.

Natural_is_better

ebrass73 wrote: »

Hi!

Please post your thoughts, experiences, results, or lack thereof using the 21-Day Fix. Did you use just the portion containers? Videos? Shakes? All of the above? I am interested in the concept and the results I've seen from others, but I'm not sure I want to spend the cash needed for all or some of the materials.

Also, how did it help/hurt your use of MFP?

I never wanted to lose weight. Only get better abs and NOT skip breakfast. I already had a routine and meals that I ate. I maintained the same weight for 5+ years. at 125 5'4" busty curvy W/E before Shakeology. In april 2015 I began to drink it.

I really can not believe I drank this for 6 months and even became a "coach". I had so many reactions that slowly crept up on me within that time. I read someone on your comments section who said it made them "cranky" not only did it make me cranky, it also made me very angry and hormonal as well as extremely tired and sick . Instead of a meal replacement they should call it what it really is, an Herbal Supplement with fillers. You ask why these coaches are so "aggressive", I will say it is the ingredients in the shake.
I was also one of those people that spent hundreds of Dollars and not only didn't lose but, gained 22lbs the heaviest i have ever been in my entire life !!! (Yes that's my fault and no one else's)

Initially I stopped drinking it due to the fact that I gained 22lbs in 6 months(MAYBE some muscle but i had to get some new pants) . I thought I was ill with something and that I had to go to a doctor. however after not drinking the shake. ALL of these symptoms went away. Including the weight gain.

1.hormonal disturbances in body and mind(including paralyzing monthly cycles) hot flashes I am 30 years old and strange rage)
2. ringing in the years
3. weight gain
4.inflammation
5.digestive problems
6. Colds and Throat infections that lasted weeks each time
7.headaches
8.extreme fatigue
9.fast heart beating
10. extreme exaggerated bruising


Here is La Leche League's breakdown of Shakeology.

I believe what happened with me is that my blood glucose levels and blood pressure were too low as well as blood clotting issues.

http://wiki.lllvawv.org/Shakeology



This is how they get to you :


1. coaches act like they care about you, they even post it every other day with heartfelt posts and memes. How ever if you are not selling, posting sweaty pictures, or actively "kissing *kitten*" they will just ignore you.

2. many contact you out of nowhere acting like they want to catch up. (I was trained as to how exactly do this in a "so called" smooth way) they are aggressive cheerleaders and i was trained to "follow" up in a week, then 2 weeks, then 3 weeks after that for life until the person is "ready to commit" to your health.

3. The body shaming is so disgusting it makes me feel dysmorphic. (Example: a coach "motivating" others by showing a post pregnancy photo, and photo of her thin now and saying how disgusting she felt being fat and how feels great being thin)
(my coach happen to demonstrate extra amounts of narcissism, instead of motivation it felt like she was showing off or being arrogant. "get off your *kitten* and work for it" tough love kinda thing. vomit-** I don't know if all coaches are like that.. )

4. if you don't drink the shakes or do the workouts you are not "committed to your health" and will hear about it in the support groups and get picked on for not posting pics (LOL Um maybe I am just going to ride my bike today and eat half a pizza BEOTCH)

5. OVERPRICED WORKOUTS 21 day fix is boring OMG and if that lady says "yea yea yea " one more time and says dumb comments between her workouts (Ohhh but I can mute it , yay" ( and PX 90 i'd rather ride my bike for an hour and a half sorry )
XHIT on Youtube has lots of workouts for FREE

One last thing.

people say "oh but this is working for me don't rain on my parade I'm my own business person"

but seriously why support an MLM? No matter how IT SEEMS like it's helping people.

I did not put alot of effort on making sales for BB. I could not bring myself to post 3 pictures of myself a day drinking water shakes working out my chubby arms etc. No way -

HOWEVER the coach above has been doing so for 3 years. I am so sure she puts in about 40 hours a week, and does she make a ton o cash??
Not at all. ohh but duh that's because it's not a pyramid scheme and you aren't going to "make money fast" LOL

How sad.
She did get super mad at me and even made a few youtube videos on how she's not a scammer(which i didn't say SHE WAs per say lol) and I felt like maybe I was wrong about it all, and that I was just NOT committed to my health !!! Reading this article and the comments has really helped out.


NOw, 4 months after not drinking it, I have only lost about 6 to 8 lbs however I am not stressing about it nor joining a "accountability" group about it. I love good food that's healthy and clean. I STILL drink smoothies! BUt I will NEVER add anything to my body again.
(I feel good. I don't feel sick like I am dying or super extremely tired at the end of the day as I did with shakeology)

I read somewhere on a FitForLife21dtf Blog that I may develop cancer and that I am insane for thinking that there is anything healthier out there thank shakeology but for those symptoms, I think i will take my chances!!!!

chunky_pinup

Let me start out with....I use an MLM product. And I love it. I don't use any of their "weight management" stuff...but I do use a secondary supplement they sell to help with inflammation, etc. I use it because I had an rx for my lupus and rheumatoid arthritis while living abroad that was the ONLY thing that helped me, and it's not available here in the US aside from in "supplement" form. Well, theirs is the cheapest, and I'd rather use it than spend twice as much for one I have to order from a back-alley like website.

ANYWAY...now that I have that off my chest, lol. I just want to say that I truly hope you can be persuaded to put your money towards a good food scale, and food that fits into your caloric goal instead of using this "program". Are the workouts good? Yeah, they're decent. But you can ALWAYS find people selling their copies on craigslist and other sites like that for a couple of bucks (or online for free, as others have stated). If you REALLY want portion-controlled containers...you find tons of people getting rid of those the same way, too. If you REALLY want to have shakes...you can find good protein shakes for 1/8 the price at pretty much any store now.

Every. Single. Person I know who has done the 21-day fix has lost weight....and AS SOON AS they are done, every single person ballooned to a higher weight than they started at!. They all felt AWFUL, and had to follow the silliest food restrictions I've ever seen in my life, and that's coming from a vegan with severe food allergies...and I HAD MORE FOOD OPTIONS THAN THEY HAD!!!

I hired a personal trainer when I first started really trying to get back in shape. We did some stretching while we talked about my goals...and instead of working out, or even designing a workout program for me, he spent the rest of the time trying to hawk this program to me. I said no right away, because I have a severe allergy to one of the main ingredients, and he told me that it was the "only way" I'd ever lose weight and that he couldn't train me if I didn't use it. I walked right out of that gym and drove straight home.

If someone has to work that hard to try and make you "believe" that something works...you can bet your backside it's nothing more than a way for them to cash in on your desperation.

chunky_pinup

Okay...I see a lot of hate of MLM's on MFP...and for good reason....but y'all have clearly never made a frozen pizza on a Pampered Chef Pizza Stone!! No, I don't sell...but I couldn't live without that thing!

janejellyroll

chunky_pinup wrote: »

Okay...I see a lot of hate of MLM's on MFP...and for good reason....but y'all have clearly never made a frozen pizza on a Pampered Chef Pizza Stone!! No, I don't sell...but I couldn't live without that thing!

I'm sure it's a great stone. But the one I got at my local discount store works really well too.

BlueMacaroniArt

I'm sad to say i bought it. And I HATE MLM's. Not the shake part but I thought the containers and DVD's would help me get back into it. I've done it on here before, I just needed the motivation. I received it and now I just use the containers to take my lunch to work because they are small and cute but useless really. This is a link to the book. Go to page 14 - "List A is the true junk. This stuff is nasty" - and it was things like cream / Half and Half / sugar. Etc. Only skim milk is allowed and its only rarely. Who are you to call my half and half nasty?? So I never actually did it. But its been 18 days and I am down 10 lbs doing it myself. (I know a lot of that was water and i have a lot to lose so it was fast) but that's what the 21 day fix will get you too. Fast water loss from beginning to eat at a deficit. And my way I get to keep my (measured) half and half and freaking ice cream if i have the calories for it.

http://p413life.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/21-Day-Fix-Eating-Plan.pdf

chunky_pinup

janejellyroll wrote: »

I'm sure it's a great stone. But the one I got at my local discount store works really well too.

To be honest...it was a garage sale find. BUT!!! If something ever happened to it, I'd be tracking down a seller in a heartbeat, lol! I cook EVERYTHING on it!

stephinator92

Based on other peoples comments I don't need to write anything lengthy. The period of time I used this program was possibly the only time in my life that people I loved felt I was exhibiting ED symptoms. I became obsessive with it. Sure I lost weight, but it drove me crazy... Use at your own risk and beware shakeology- it's nasty.

ClosetBayesian

I'm going to go against popular opinion and say that I did like it with the following caveats:

I am not / was not a BeachBody Coach. I do not / did not drink Shakeology.

I did not purchase the system from a "coach". I Google'd until I found out the approximate sizes of each container. I have Tupperware, thanks, I don't need any more.

I did not follow the "food list" (which I also Google'd). Beans are a protein if you're a vegetarian, but a carb if you're not? Yeah, no; I'll count them however I want. I started 21DF the day after Christmas, and most decidedly substituted some of the carb "containers" for the cake I had in the house. IIFYContainers?

I did not do the workouts. I had BeachBody on Demand at one point; but when I started 21DF, I was about a month away from surgery, so exercise was not an option, at all.

The calories the plan had me at were in line with what MFP suggested. I still tracked the calories here. Double-counting - containers, plus MFP, helped me to be more honest with what I was actually eating.

When I started the program, I was at a standstill in my weight loss, but couldn't bring myself to use a food scale. Getting in the habit of measuring things for 21DF led me to be more accepting of the idea of using a food scale. The idea of substituting out the yellow (carb) containers for treats now and then helped me to understand how to budget things into my daily calories.

If you need a starting point, it's a decent starting point. But don't spend money on color-coded Tupperware - spend some time on Google it, instead.

justjumpit278

A silly waste of money in my opinion. But most "weight loss plans" such as those are. The concept of weight loss isn't really that hard. Portion control, healthy eating and get your butt moving! Actually DOING that is the hard part! Why pay money for colored plastic containers when the Tupperware drawer is probably already overflowing? Measuring your food accurately and don't waste the money. I don't need to pay money for someone to tell me I need to concentrate my diet on lean proteins, fruits & veggies, whole grains and some healthy fats.

Plus ShakeO is nasty. Just sayin!

Calieth

If you like to work out at home and can take a look at an eating regime and adjust it to what makes sense, then its not bad. I've done other Beachbody programs in the past and really enjoyed them. I take the food plans with a grain of salt and test out what works for me. I never do the crash diet sections.
For workouts, I found other programs to be more my style, but not that this one was bad. I just like certain trainers more than others.

So if you like to workout at home, like her motivational style (you can preview small sections online), and are willing to be flexible with their eating plan then I'd say you will enjoy this program and get a benefit out of that.

Now is it 'the' solution? No. But might it be enjoyable for the 21 days you are doing it? Sure, maybe. And then you will do something else for awhile. Then maybe go back to it, or to something else. Its not a miracle, and for a truly healthy approach to it, I would not shoot for the crazy results they imply, but if you do the exercise, and use this site and the portion guide to help you make choices, then I think it will be fun at the end of the day.