21-Day Fix Extreme: Prep Day for Success

Starting a new program or nutrition plan can be very overwhelming, especially when you're starting from scratch.  The last nutritional plan that I followed to a "T" was when I did P90X, 3 years ago.  After that, I had cleaned up my diet enough that when I was working out regularly, I didn't really need to be particular about my food, as long as I didn't eat a ton of garbage.  Overall, I am a very clean eater, so it's rare that I track my food religiously, or weigh myself daily.

The problem was, of course, that I was never getting the results that I could have gotten if I had stayed really focused on what I was putting in my mouth.  For that reason, I decided to try Beachbody's newest program, 21-Day Fix Extreme.  I have had several customers who had great results with the first program 21-Day Fix, and I was especially interested in the Extreme program because it offered a 'Countdown to Competition' Meal Plan.  I had often researched what body builders ate to prep for competition, but there is so much information on the web, and I wasn't quite sure where to start.  This program offered me the opportunity to start fresh, focus on my macro nutrients, and launch me into new workouts.  As I am religiously a P90X, X2, and X3 program participant, it was nice to think about trying a new program, and trainer, all the way through.  AND, it's only 21 days...how hard could it be???

Well, preparation for any life change is where you need to start.  I tell every client and customer that they need to first go through all the information that is provided.  Read the 'Start Here' Guide that explains the workouts, and what you need to execute them.  Then there's learning how to correctly utilize the portion control containers that come with the program.

STEP 1:

The first step I needed to take was figuring out how many calories I was going to need to consume to fuel my body for my daily activities, including my workouts, but also make sure there was a caloric deficit that would allow me to lose weight and tone my body.  Luckily, they provide this formula for you in the 'Eating Plan' so it was easy for me to see that I fell between the 1,500-1,799 calories per day.  This directly led me to how many of each containers (proteins, veggies, fruits, healthy fats, seeds and dressings, and oil and nut butters) that I would need to eat each day. 

STEP 2:

Knowing that I wanted to try the Countdown to Competition Meal Plan, I then referenced the packet for that to see how my nutrition was going to change.  For two days I would be on a "carb depletion" or Countdown to Competition Meal Plan, and the following day would be a regular Extreme Eating Plan.  In order to track the difference in my foods those days, I printed out the Team Beachbody provided 21-Day Fix Extreme Countdown to Competition Tally Sheet.  

As you can see, on my Countdown to Competition (C2C) Meal Plan, I have the same amount of veggies as my Extreme days, but I have 0 fruits, 3 more proteins, only 1 carb, no healthy fats, no seeds or dressings, and 3 tsp. of oil and nut butters (or a substitution of avocado for one of my tsp. of coconut oil).  Because I wanted to follow Autum's C2C plan to a "T" this drastically decreased the choices I had for these categories, (as she only eats certain things on her plan, and eliminates dairy all together), so my third step was to make a concise list of everything that I could eat, which would help me build my meal plan.  

STEP 3:

This meal plan has me eating 7-8 times a day, which is a challenge, and eating a lot of protein on my carb depletion days, which can be difficult when you're limited in your protein choices, and eliminate dairy all together.  However, I am a creature of habit, so as long as I know what I was eating when, I can eat the same thing almost all of the time.  

STEP 4:

With that in mind I set up my own meal plan.  As helpful as the Tally Sheet is, it doesn't allow for room to write out your meals for the day, so I created my own meal plan sheet. 

For me, once I have a basic meal plan like this, it's easier for me to visually substitute my proteins and veggies by just looking at the previous list.  If on my next two C2C days I don't want fish, I just reference my allowed foods and substitute a different protein.  Likewise for every other food group.  Then, when setting up my 'Extreme' eating days, where I am allowed more fruits, fats and seeds, I can still stay within the same guidelines, but add in my extra carbs and sugars with the foods that I want.  If you're not setting up your meal plans some way, you're going to have a harder time staying on track with what you're eating when.  Being prepared keeps you focused and on track, so just do the work up front, so you don't find yourself standing in front of your fridge in full rage not knowing what you're going to eat.  

STEP 5:

I cannot express the importance of taking your 'Before' pictures, and tracking your weight and measurements.  With this program, I wanted to track day-to-day for 21-days exactly how my body changes.  I want to show people just the results you can get when you're focused for only 3 weeks.  I am going to track my weight and pictures daily, do my beginning measurements, and then again once a week to track my progress.  If you think you need more than 3 weeks to have extreme results, I am going to prove you wrong.  If you are on track with your nutrition and exercise, you'll be shocked at the results you can have in such a short period of time.  

My Measurements:

Chest - 36.5"

Arms - 11.5"

Waist - 32"

Hips - 39"

Thighs - 22.75"

Weigh-In:

Weight - 148.4 lbs.

Body Fat % - 29.1%

Muscle Mass - 30.8%

Water - 50.5%

*I use a Weight Guru Scale that calculates everything.  You can find apps and equations online to do the same.  Although it's not always 100% accurate, if you use the same equation over time, it will track your gains and losses just the same.

Day 1:

*Outside of cropping my pictures, I did not use any filters or alter the pictures at all.  I want to stay true to how much body looks, as is, not as I want it to be.  That's the whole reason I'm starting this process to begin with.

So, these are my starting points.  I'm actually surprised that my Body Fat is so high, but I'm excited to see the change over time, and I take into consideration that my scales calculations are based on an electrical pulse that goes up and through my body, and often times where you hold your fat will have an influence on this.

No matter where we start, we must remember that starting is the most important part.  It's not to be discouraged by what we see, but rather to be excited about where we will be at the end.  21 days of laser-focused nutrition, and 21 days of solid workouts.  We will see just how far I can go, and what results I can get in 21 days.  

Remember, if you want to try ANY Beachbody program, including this 21-Day Fix Extreme, you can order it through me right HERE!  For ordering through me you will also receive an additional FREE DVD,  Don't miss out!

Work Hard.  Eat Right.  Stay Focused.

Maria