So recently I tried something new: the 3-Day Refresh!
You’re probably wondering:
What the heck is that?!
The 3-Day Refresh is a scientifically designed cleanse that helps you fast-track your weight loss, kick-start healthy eating, and get a clean break from bad nutrition habits. It is a simple, straightforward program that will help cleanse your body and improve the way you feel—without starving yourself. Unlike juice cleanses or liquid fasts which tend to be high in sugar and low in protein (leaving you feeling weak, hungry, and sluggish), this easy-to-follow program helps support your metabolism while nourishing your vital organs.
For 3 days, you follow a program of 3 shakes a day, a fiber drink, plenty of filtered water, plus a wide array of fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats throughout the day to keep your energy and metabolism going.
Now you may be thinking, why would you wanna do this?
Here are some reasons why, to name a few:
- You need a clean break from a period of unhealthy eating or overindulging
- You used to eat pretty well but have recently fallen off the wagon and need some help getting back on.
- You want to jump-start healthy eating habits for a new workout program.
- You want to quickly lose a few pounds for an upcoming event.
- You’ve never been a healthy eater, but are ready to kick-start better nutrition for the first time.
- You want your clothes to fit better.
- You want more energy.
- You love food and want to be satisfied while you lose weight and get healthier.
- You’ve tried liquid fasts or other fad diets and they simply don’t work
For me, it was about needing a clean break from some unhealthy habits (I started July 6th so this was right after the July 4th holiday weekend and one too many hard ciders) as well as just a jumpstart into better habits before starting a new program (more on that later!)
It was the perfect time to try this out.
Here is a quick video with some more information about why to Refresh!
P.S. I am a Beachbody coach and always looking to help new clients! If you are in need of support, accountability or have any questions about the 3 day refresh, please reach out by emailing me at ksweeney006@gmail.com!
This is what is included:
As for the meal structure, everything you need to know about it comes right inside the box! It comes with a program guide that lays it ALL out for you:
The cleanse comes in a nice box with three sections that includes:
- 6 Vanilla Fresh Shakes: Each contain 20 grams of plant based protein, 22 essential vitamins and minerals, probiotics and potato protein (helps curb hunger). There are no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or sweeteners. You’ll drink 2 per day.
- 3 Shakeology: Ideally you will use vegan. SO MANY benefits to consuming Shakeology but to name a few, it has a daily dose of vitamins, minerals, pro/prebiotics, adaptogens, fiber, protein, and more! 1 per day.
- 3 Fiber Sweep Drinks: Drink made from whole-ground flax, chia, and psyllium seed husks intended to add fiber to your diet and help you eliminate waste from your digestive system while supporting healthy intestinal flora. 1 per day.
- 3-Day Refresh Program Guide: Easy to follow guide that explains what you can eat each day and allows you to plan your menu in advance. It also includes several dinner recipes and a list of approved vegetables, fruits and fats.
- 3-Day Refresh Maintenance Guide: For some advice on how to maintain your results with continued health eating.
Moderate to intense workouts are not recommended while doing the Refresh because of the low calorie consumption, but Beachbody on Demand has got us covered with a 3-day Refresh yoga series that goes right along with the cleanse!
The 3 Day Refresh Daily Menu
Here’s the prescribed menu as described in the 3-Day Refresh Program Guide (which was extremely clear and helpful by the way!):
- Wake-Up and drink 8-12 oz filtered water
- Breakfast of Shakeology with 1 fruit option blended with 1 1/4 cup water
- Mid-Morning Fiber Sweep Drink
- Lunch: Vanilla Fresh Shake, 1 serving veggies, 1 serving fruits, 1 serving fats
- Afternoon Snack: 1 serving veggies, 1 serving fats
- Dinner: Vanilla Fresh Shake, 1 serving from the Dinner recipes (basically veggies with healthy fats) + optional 1 cup organic vegetable broth
Coffee is allowed but must be black. Green tea is allowed in the morning and herbal tea is allowed throughout the day, without sweetener (stevia is optional).
Also inside the program guide are food lists telling you what foods and how much of them constitutes a serving in each food group. This includes fruits, vegetables and healthy fats. I find it helpful to take a pen and physically put check marks next to the foods on each list that you would enjoy eating so you can save a little time in deciding which ones to add to your 3 day meal plan.
There are several options for dinners with the recipes all included. I made a beeline for the bulkier dinners to avoid *h-anger* at the end of the day because that’s been a real issue my entire life. My mom will tell you. The Hungry Horrors were a thing!
Here is what my meal prep looked like:
You may notice missing from the list of food groups are proteins, complex carbohydrates/grains, and dairy! Fruits and veggies tend to be rich as-is in antioxidants and phytonutrients, and the restorative effects of plant-based diets are well-documented—so this is a chance to take advantage of that without the fluff! Both Shakeology and the Vanilla Fresh shakes are packed with all the amino acids (building blocks of protein) needed. Many veggies are also good sources of protein, especially greens and beans.
Because there is a lot of fiber intake in this combination of fresh vegetables and fruit, the Fiber Sweep drink, and Shakeology, there is the possibility for stomach upset if you are not used to eating a diet high in fruit and veggies. It is recommended to increase your intake of these for a week or two leading up to the Refresh if that is the case for you.
Luckily, I eat LOTS of fiber already. I’ve been eating kind of “flexitarian” lately in that I try to limit my meat to just a couple meals per week if possible and everything else is plant-based. So, FIBER = not an issue 😉
So here’s what I thought would happen:
I didn’t know what the meal structure would look like or how much of it would be real food.
I thought I would be absolutely starving.
I was worried about what the drinks would taste like.
I was scared that my insides might not agree with the cleanse and I could be spending some time in the bathroom and/or with an upset stomach.
I knew I would only be consuming about 900 calories and I didn’t know what that would do to my energy levels.
I had seen someone say before that they were pretty tired the first two days but day 3 was where she bounced to life and felt amazing. I am a SUPER skeptic about these magical revelation stories sometimes so I figured I’d have to see for myself.
To summarize my experience in a nutshell:
Before starting I went through all of the materials, familiarized myself with how it works and the foods I was allowed, and I made my meal plan. Then I grocery shopped and prepped everything for the week so I would be less likely to give in or be unprepared. I did not work out the first two days, but I did on day 3.
I will admit, I was pretty hungry the first couple days, ESPECIALLY the first day. I am a gung-ho BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS TO WAKE YOUR SENSES type of gal, and I go big. So switching that up to having a shake for breakfast (usually my afternoon snack), tea in the morning and a fiber drink (that in my opinion, must be chugged) late morning, had my stomach growling pretty loudly. That was a tough adjustment for me, but it did improve greatly as each day went on.
The Vanilla Fresh and Fiber Sweep drinks were not bad. The Fiber one was my least favorite part of all because, TEXTURE, but the taste really wasn’t bad. I LOVE vanilla-flavored anything so the Vanilla Fresh was a nice addition to my lunch and dinner meals! I loved knowing I was still getting all the protein and probiotics I needed by drinking my Shakeology and vanilla Fresh.
Day one — I was pretty hungry in general, but I filled up as the day went on and the meal allowances got a little larger. People who do not typically eat breakfast, who do intermittent fasting so eating later is normal, or who just eat something small in the mornings may not experience this like I did! I also hit a WALL that evening and was very tired around dinner time. I went to bed way early (for me) and slept like a rock.
Day two — I was a little less hungry though still plagued a bit in the mornings. I did very much look forward to those chocolate breakfast shakes! I felt MUCH foggier as far as brainpower on day two and I was worried about how day three could possibly be any better. Again felt very tired at night and I actually fell asleep during a team call. Homie couldn’t hang!
Day three — was where the magic happened! I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t experience it, but the difference in my energy levels and capacity was such a welcomed change from day two. I felt great, I felt clear, I felt energized, I quickly noticed that I was more likely to run around with my 2 year old, I wasn’t starving in the morning at all, I was out of my caffeine detox fog and I was feeling so thankful that I went for it!
Two things to be really honest about here (and because also I’m SURE you’re wondering):
On days two and three, let’s just say there were some smells that were not what I’d call “sexy” but, what do you expect from a GI detox cleanse??? 9 months (times two!) of pregnancy for me was a VERY smelly time for literally every. single. day. of those 9 months in my house, so as far as I’m concerned, 2-3 days of this was a total walk in the park. I think my hubs would agree.
And second, I was definitely fiending for my larger portions and meals when it was all said and done. I’m used to following a portion control nutrition plan that allows for some pretty big bowls of food, so it was a little system shock from what I’m used to.
But it’s only three days! To have the a-ha’s that I did, buckling down and cleaning it all up for just three days was TOTALLY worth it. There is something in my diet that gives me some pretty severe night time bloat, and there was NONE of that going on with the Refresh.
In the end it was just how it sounds — REFRESHING.
Finally, here are my takeaways and wins:
The biggest, was just how much CRAP and ALL THE EXTRAS we add into our diet. To name a few that I was doing nearly every day:
- Milk and PB in my shake. While I love PB and preach a balanced lifestyle approach to nutrition, aka not depriving yourself of the things you love, the most eye-opening thing I read recently was a quote about how easy it is to consume 500 calories of peanut butter. And it’s so true. I love it but, I don’t always need it.
- Cooking with more oils than necessary. A good ol’ water saute with broth works well and adds flavor too!
- Snacking on the packaged Ritz and Belvitas I keep for Heath
- Alcohol. Quarantine has been rough, okay?
- Caffeine here there and everywhere. Having an espresso maker makes caffeine bursts too easy to do. Between my double scoop of Energize preworkout in the mornings, espresso whenever I feel tired, and the additional latte I started grabbing when I bring my kids for drives (what keeps me sane right now), I had become so accustomed to it that I barely even felt it! After 3 days off, my first espresso shot gave me a whole lotta zing!
- I already knew I needed to up my water intake. Setting these alarms for myself, being diligent about always keeping water on me and drinking tea 3x a day helped so. much.
- A bite here, a bite there, of any little thing that looks appetizing
All of this stuff ADDS UP! It adds to your caloric intake, sugar intake, side effects from sugar/chemicals/caffeine (of which there are MANY), regularity, mental clarity, ability to lose weight, metabolism, hormonal regulation, ETC. ETC.
So now, because I went three whole days eating just what was laid out for me and throughout that process recognized all the extras in my diet that were missing, post-Refresh I can quickly point out each time I am faced with a CHOICE —- do I really need this on my food or is it just an extra I can do without? And I consciously think about this all day long as the opportunities arise, which they do, every time I consider putting something in my mouth: is that creamer necessary? How about the condiments? The salt? THE PEANUT BUTTER?!
I am making better choices overall than I was two weeks ago, and THIS is truly invaluable!
I know now that life as a mom outside of caffeine does, in fact, go on. 😉
I did not take photos or measurements for this, which I kind of regret, but I don’t like to present things as quick fixes or pure magic (except my Energize preworkout — that’s kinda magical); I like to focus on the mentality and science behind things instead. If we aren’t in the right headspace, it likely won’t be a healthy, sustainable part of our lives. So while this cleanse can be used for many as a jumpstart to healthy weight loss, I wouldn’t want anyone to do it simply because of that or the decreased calorie intake.
Because fitness and nutrition shouldn’t be all about SUBTRACTING from your life, but rather ADDING the things that benefit you the most.
It’s always going to be about about BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS and now I know without a doubt that those CAN be discovered and built in just three days!
I also typically despise tea, but I discovered Twinings chamomile, honey & vanilla tea and it was pretty enjoyable. A win!
Lastly, I became obsessed with a FREAKING DELICIOUS little belly-warming treat:
Broth steeped with fresh herbs! OMG. This is my second-favorite takeaway! Does that not sound delicious to drink as you ease into the evening before bed? A warm mug of herb-infused broth……. mmmmm! I got poultry herbs — a mix of rosemary, thyme and sage pre-packaged in the produce section at the grocery store, tore a couple pieces off, tied them up in cheesecloth then let them steep in my hot veggie broth over low on the stove for a bit. Sammy is obsessed with it now too and was always asking if I made double. Another win!
So would I recommend this cleanse?
As stated above, there are precautions around what the fiber content of your diet currently looks like, but that can be minimized with some diet tweaks before starting.
And because I was so tired and hungry at the beginning of the day, I would definitely try to do this over a 3-day weekend if you can so you don’t have to work any long shifts while going through the process! While they do have you consuming something every hour or two on the cleanse to maintain your metabolism and fuel your body, I don’t think I’d want to be on my feet for long shifts and have a bunch of work responsibilities those days!
Be patient. I think a short little journal of the pros of cons of each day would be helpful for each person doing it to compare the beginning to the end.
Because in my case and others that I’ve read about, the beginning was much different than the end, in the most unexpectedly amazing ways!
What comes after the Refresh?
There is a whole Maintenance guide included with how to adopt a better nutrition plan after finishing up the 3 days! You are not left hangin’, and if you feel like you are, talk to me!! We have two amazing and effective approaches to nutrition that you can get started on TOMORROW if you wanted, you just have to open the door and decide you’re ready to treat your body a little better than yesterday.
I hope this helped to give you all a little more insight into what it’s all about!
My JOB is to encourage, support, and match people to the tools that help them to level up their health. There has never been a better time to make this decision to begin making the steps toward a better you!
If you’re interested in trying out the 3 Day Refresh yourself, purchase here or email me at ksweeney006@gmail.com. If you’d like support, I will add you to our Facebook group so that you can get accountability and answers to any questions you may have.
Have any questions for me? Have you ever done a cleanse? Did it make you feel better or worse?
