21 day fix?

ajklmnopqu
ajklmnopqu Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone tried the 21 day fix? I bought the knock off and just wonder if it really works.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    ajklmnopqu wrote: »
    Has anyone tried the 21 day fix? I bought the knock off and just wonder if it really works.

    Not sure, a food scale is easy too! Let us know!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    It's a method to achieve portion control, just like counting calories (MFP and others) is a method to achieve portion control. As long as you follow the rules (set parameters correctly and log accurately and don't cheat), any sensible program will work.
  • nance122136
    nance122136 Posts: 6 Member
    I have purchased this. I stuck with it for only 2 week. I did loose about 5 lbs so I would say it definitely works. But for me it was way to much work to have to measure everything out and it made me go crazy. You just have to be very dedicated and commit to it 100%. Also if u have a lot of weight to loose u will need several rounds. I did really like the workouts for sure and I still do them when I feel like it.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
    The workouts are amazing! And I love the food plan. I've been using the containers for 6 months now and it has made me see what and how much I should be eating.
  • AppleGrapeMSTK
    AppleGrapeMSTK Posts: 16 Member
    I lost 8lb in the first round (3 weeks) with just the cups (not following the fitness plan). It's neat because you can still have treats and alcohol, but on occasion and in specific quantities. I like that it taught me how many portions of veggies/fruit/protein/oils/etc to eat each day and how big those portions should be. Pinterest and the knock off cups will teach you that. There is a food hierarchy (like brown rice is better than white rice), which you might find online if it didn't come with your version of the product.

    I purchased mine through a Beachbody coach and joined a support forum, and that's the main reason I quit it. I felt a lot of pressure to buy Shakeology and encountered a lot of shaming when I ate 'unapproved' foods.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    edited June 2016
    When I first started losing weight last June, I chose 21 Day Fix as the program to follow. I didn't choose it because I thought I'd be "fixed" in 21 days since, as most people with a shred of intelligence realize, 21 Day Fix is named as such because it's catchy and based on the notion that it takes 21 days to form a habit, not "fix" you completely. I chose it because I liked the variety of the workouts; resistance training, cardio, pilates, and yoga. It seemed like a great place to start and not get bored. I didn't know about sites like Fitness Blender or didn't think to come up with my own plan based on it or YouTube videos. I liked the idea of a workout routine being laid out for me. Having things like that organized keeps me on track.

    I didn't pay for the program, as I just got the workout videos for free. I didn't have the containers, but I looked up the equivalent measurements online and used comparable tupperware containers. I still used my food scale, as I wanted to be precise about how many calories I was consuming, and I'm glad I did as I would have been undereating based on the containers alone. I didn't purchase Shakeology either, and used/still use Vega One instead when I'm in the mood for a protein shake.

    That being said, I went from 139 pounds to 121 pounds from the end of June through the beginning of September doing that program as well as C25K three days per week. Eventually I needed more of a challenge, so I moved onto 21 Day Fix Extreme and then changed gears completely to focus on lifting. I also became less restrictive with my diet than 21 Day Fix calls for and I still got amazing results as CICO is what truly matters; I'm now maintaining my weight at 112.5 pounds. So while I didn't necessarily need 21 Day Fix to make progress, it was a really good starting point for me and set the foundations for my weight loss/fitness journey. I don't regret choosing the program at all, but my fitness level is far beyond it now to ever have the need to go back to the workouts.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    A good scale would have been a better investment in my opinion. Tupperware is a imprecise way to measure calories. If you have a lot to lose guestimating calories with Tupperware may be okay, but when you get closer to your goal you'll want to know how many calories you're really eating.
  • Debmal77
    Debmal77 Posts: 4,770 Member
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    A good scale would have been a better investment in my opinion. Tupperware is a imprecise way to measure calories. If you have a lot to lose guestimating calories with Tupperware may be okay, but when you get closer to your goal you'll want to know how many calories you're really eating.

    This!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited June 2016
    I believe the 21 day fix is a blunt tool; it does the same as MFP, but on a lower level of abstraction. Food groups and servings can be easier to work with for some people, it gives structure and guidance, and at the beginning of any endeavour we all need structure and guidance. For me, that was exactly what I was running FROM - I had used a similar program before, lost weight, but got bored and exhausted by all the dos and don'ts and suggestions that I took too seriously, and I happily embraced relating to nothing but total calories and grams of macronutrients. I enjoy eating at last, and I have no trouble maintaining a healthy weight eating whatever I want in appropriate amounts.

    To compare the two, I like to describe 21 day fix as a "black box", while MFP is much more "hands on". Some people just don't want to get into the "dirty details" of nutrition, and I think that's okay, but it makes me wonder - why do so many that don't find calorie counting appealing at all, end up here?
  • xtina315
    xtina315 Posts: 218 Member
    I was hungry all the time on 21 day fix. I've had better luck in losing weight just using a food scale and mfp. I think 21 day fix is a great work out. Just hated the containers.
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    I have friends who tried 21 day fix. Most of them got extremely frustrated because they had not lost "15 lbs in 21 days" like the program states. Most of them lost about 7 or so lbs. which is adequate weight loss for 21 days when you are just starting out. They became so frustrated that many gave up on the program.

    I guess my problem is that it sets a time limit. I don't agree with the previous poster who said that most people with a "shred of intelligence" realize that it is just a catchy title and will form habits. If it truly works, why do you need a catchy title? The success of the program should be good enough without a "catchy title". I also think that people with a "shred of intelligence" would understand that just because something has a catchy title, doesn't mean that it will necessarily work.

    Also, the research that a habit is formed in 21 days dates back to the 1960's and it was "postulated" by a plastic surgeon, never tested or studied. More recent studies (2009) show that it takes about 66 days for habits to form.

    While I think it may be a tool to help people start to lose weight, I think that the advertising is misleading and feeds into the general misconception of how to lose weight.
  • Annahbananas
    Annahbananas Posts: 284 Member
    edited June 2016
    A food scale is def way more better to precisely measure food than containers. You can get a digital scale super cheap on Amazon.

    I'm tellin ya, the best way is to just count the calories and weigh your food. I've lost 60 pounds in 3 months and one week doing that. No fancy plans. Just good old calorie counting and a digital food scale ...and this app with the bar code reader
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    choppie70 wrote: »
    I have friends who tried 21 day fix. Most of them got extremely frustrated because they had not lost "15 lbs in 21 days" like the program states. Most of them lost about 7 or so lbs. which is adequate weight loss for 21 days when you are just starting out. They became so frustrated that many gave up on the program.

    That sucks. Unfortunately most people who hear about 21 Day Fix gloss over the fine print of UP TO 15 pounds in 21 days, not a guaranteed 15 pounds. It's too bad that many people have unrealistic expectations and give up, as your friends seemed to be doing great with regard to actual weight loss speed, as you've stated.
    choppie70 wrote: »
    I guess my problem is that it sets a time limit. I don't agree with the previous poster who said that most people with a "shred of intelligence" realize that it is just a catchy title and will form habits. If it truly works, why do you need a catchy title? The success of the program should be good enough without a "catchy title". I also think that people with a "shred of intelligence" would understand that just because something has a catchy title, doesn't mean that it will necessarily work.

    A catchy title is Marketing 101, actually. Even if a product is the best thing on the market, nobody is going to pay attention to it until they are drawn in by something about it. From there is where it gains popularity due to word of mouth, results, etc. I can't think of one product out there in the weight loss world, whether complete trash or effective, that doesn't have something eye catching attached to it. This is why most people have disbelief in CICO; there's nothing "sexy" about it. No time limits, no scheduled routines, minimal work done for you so most people ignore it, yet it is THE way to lose weight.
    choppie70 wrote: »
    Also, the research that a habit is formed in 21 days dates back to the 1960's and it was "postulated" by a plastic surgeon, never tested or studied. More recent studies (2009) show that it takes about 66 days for habits to form.

    While I think it may be a tool to help people start to lose weight, I think that the advertising is misleading and feeds into the general misconception of how to lose weight.

    However long it takes a habit to form, I do know based on what I've read about the program specifically in the past that it was named due to the 21 day habit belief. Regardless, it did work for me in forming that habit, but I can't give as much credit to the program as I can to myself for actually being determined enough in the first place. Unfortunately, most advertising is misleading, but at the very least they do provide most people with a well-rounded diet using those containers. I guess they expect most people will be sedentary aside from the daily workouts and they would be accurate in that assumption. For me, it wouldn't have been enough food, so I'm glad I used a food scale the whole time.

    I can't deny its assistance in helping me at the start of my journey, but I would never call it the end all of weight loss or anything, for most of us we know that's CICO. Like most people when I started out I feared eating "bad" foods and now I know there are none. That's the one thing I dislike about 21 Day Fix, the restriction on treats. It's definitely because there is no actual calorie counting and they know people will try to cram foods in the container, but please don't tout crap like a yellow that is allowed is a Kind bar because they're probably paying Beachbody to say that. Once I wised up about what I could actually eat to lose weight, I ditched the food plan altogether, so I definitely agree with you on the whole misconception aspect of things and don't even get me started on that Shakeology pushing crap. However, I could see how the containers themselves would be effective for someone who doesn't know about MFP and/or a food scale or isn't ready to make that leap for some reason.

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