Review of the 3 Day Refresh: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

When I was 21, I went white water rafting 88 miles down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with my parents and a bunch of strangers.  We would raft during the day, and at night, we camped in sleeping bags in the open air.  We didn't shower and we definitely didn't use toilets, although the guides packed amazing food options and portable stovetops and grills to use for dinner.  On our 5th and last day, we docked our rafts at Phantom Ranch and proceeded to hike the 9 miles out of the canyon up to the South Rim.  It was over 100 degrees.  There was little to no shade.  We were carrying all of the gear we had used over the last five days.  I drank over seven liters of water and there were only two places to go to the bathroom.  I had blisters on my feet and on my shoulders where my bags were.  In the beginning it wasn't so bad, but by the end, I literally had to talk myself into continuing, placing one foot in front of the other.  Nothing I have ever experienced was as difficult mentally or physically, as that hike.

Until the 3 Day Refresh.

Ok I exaggerate... a little.  Here's the breakdown:

Morning 1 weight:  Here we go!

I ate the same things all three days.  A shake and fruit for breakfast, a fiber shake for a morning snack, a salad, fruit and a shake for lunch, veggies and hummus for an afternoon snack, and a salad, a shake and veggie broth for dinner.  The shakes are special for the 3DR and are all provided for you in the 3DR package.  Also included is an info booklet that tells you what fruits and veggies are allowed. I followed everything to a T.  I even did light workouts on Day 1 and 2.



Day 1 ended up being a snow day.  Sooo the whole day I just sat in the house and stared at the Chex Mix on the counter in my kitchen.  I would say Day 1 was the hardest mentally.  I wanted to eat #ALLTHETHINGS.  I wasn't even that hungry!  Honestly, the meal plan up until dinner is a lot of what I already eat on a daily basis, minus the animal protein.  Also, I was peeing like an animal the whole day AND  (tmi right here) I got my period.  So that was awesome.



Dinner... was a different story.

When I first decided to do the 3DR, I looked at the food options to make sure there were enough veggies that I could stomach (I am NOT a veggie girl.  I like about 2.5 veggies and I eat them every day.)  I saw a tomato cucumber salad that looked eatable and decided on that.  Problem was, I had never actually had a cucumber before.

Cue shocked faces and mild mocking.

Whatever.  I tried one a few weeks ago just to make sure and affirmed that they were not deadly.  Until I tried to eat an entire salad of them.  I was literally gagging them down.  Rachel came over and was pleasantly chomping away on her spinach, tomatoes and sprouts while I was making a scene next to her, whining, "I just can't do this, Rachel!  I just can't do this!"

Dinner, before I realized the agony it would cause me

Drama city over here.

I managed to ingest ALMOST all the salad.  I probably left 3 or 4 bites at the bottom.  Rachel told me if I lost more weight than her, she was going to blame it on the fact that I didn't finish my salad.

That night I slept like a log.  I don't remember sleeping like that in a long, long time.  I woke up feeling refreshed (haha) and ready to start Day 2, the memories of my gag reflexes of the night before having all but faded away.

Morning 2 weight

Day 2 was definitely the worst day physically.  I was back at school, so that kept me occupied as I tried to figure out how to time my food and shakes with my schedule.  I was never hungry, but I had a slight headache throughout the day, which progressively got worse into the afternoon (the meeting I had to go to after school probably didn't help).  Then dinner time rolled around and I was faced once again with my arch nemesis:  the cucumber.  I manned up, and managed to get down the same amount of salad as I had the day before, which I considered a #win.  Again, I slept like a log.

Morning 3 weight!

Day 3 was a roaring success.  While I still wanted to eat #allthethings, it was only because I wasn't allowed to, not because I was hungry.  I never had a headache and never felt tired or lethargic.  I had a great day at school, followed by a fantastic meeting with my coach AND a long call with a new coach who I know is going to do great things.  My husband was home from a business trip, so we were able to spend some time together and catch up and I wasn't an angry mess. AND my biggest success of all?!  I FINISHED THE CUCUMBER SALAD.  Take that!

I learned a lot about myself during these three days.  I learned how important accountability is.  I truly believe I would have never gotten through without a cheat if I hadn't blogged and posted about doing it.  I knew that everyone was watching me, waiting for my results and an honest update.  I also feel like I was able to put myself in the shoes of someone who is truly trying to change their eating habits cold turkey.  My eating habits have adjusted and improved over the course of years, as I noticed my body changing.  The way I eat now, which is pretty healthy, is something that I have grown into.  However, people who never ate healthy before or have never made exercise a priority and who are jumping into an entirely new way of life probably feel a lot like I did these last three days.  They see temptation everywhere.  They feel like they are eating foods that they don't like, or aren't satisfying them.  Maybe they feel like it's not enough food or that they are tired or have a headache.  But just like my Day 3, eventually my body adjusted and I felt fantastic, AND I even acquired enough taste to finish the cucumbers!  The 3 Day Refresh is NOT the way that you should eat every day.  But it was a huge change from the way I had been eating, and so that was a struggle for me.

Obviously you're ready for my final results, taken this morning:

After!!  Bye bye bloat!

A total of 5 pounds lost (even during my period) and obvious bloat from my stomach gone (hopefully) forever!

*****

When I woke up the morning after my hike out of the canyon, besides being wildly excited that I had free range of a toilet, I remember thinking, "Yeah I could probably do that again," despite the incredible struggle I felt during the actual hike.  The brain is funny that way.  Maybe it's because you would know what to expect the second time around.  Would I recommend the 3 Day Refresh to someone?  Absolutely.  Would I do the 3 Day Refresh again? Maybe once I get a better handle on my cucumber game :)