3 Day Refresh

3 Day Refresh

Exciting News!!!
Have you fallen off track? Ever heard the saying, “Your abs are made in the kitchen”? Well, it really should be, “Your body’s made in the kitchen” because the way you look and feel (even if you exercise regularly) has soooooooo much to do with what you eat and drink.

Even if you’re pretty strict with your diet, there are times when you go a little overboard on the weekends, a holiday, or while on vacation and your nutrition gets off track. And no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get your body back to feeling “normal.”

Or it could be that you’re doing everything right with your nutrition but your body has hit a plateau and the scale refuses to budge. Then again, maybe, just maybe, you’ve always struggled with food and could never figure out a nutrition plan that has enabled you to reach your goals.

So to help you overcome those frustrations, there is the 3-Day Refresh.

What’s the 3-Day Refresh?

The 3 day refresh is is an inexpensive, healthy alternative to super calorie restrictive, nutrient depleting cleanses. This is the gateway program to health, weight loss and smart living. It's designed to give you fast, clean, and efficient weight loss results.  You can quickly drop a few pounds, break a bad habit, and get back on track!  It's 3 shakes a day, a fiber drink, plenty of water, fresh fruits, veggies, and healthy fats so that you keep your energy and  your metabolism going.  It is not a juice or fasting diet but a healthy tool that is going to give your body Nutrition vs Starvation. 

The healthier alternative to liquid fasts.

If you’ve ever done a juice fast, or an all-liquid cleanse that’s high in sugars and low in protein, you may have felt weak and sluggish. That’s because liquid fasts can tax your organs and crater your metabolism. But not the 3-Day Refresh. Instead of leaving you depleted from fasting, after 3 short days you’ll feel energized, lighter, and REFRESHED!

Beachbody even conducted a few test groups to make sure this program really works. And here’s what people had to say:

Make sure that I am your assigned coach and you have contacted me to reserve your copy of the workouts. MAKE ME YOUR COACH

ALSO, as a COACH you can receive 25% off your 3 Day Refresh Purchase as well.  So make sure to ask me about the preferred customer discount.

OR you can purchase here: 

**BEST VALUE** THE 3-DAY REFRESH COMPLETE KIT *CHALLENGE PACK*~ CLICK HERE To order your Challenge Pack, which includes the entire 3 Day Refresh Kit, along with a month supply of Shakeology, your choice of Flavors, and FREE SHIPPING! *If you've ever wanted to try Shakeology, this is the perfect opportunity for you! For only $10 more than the regular price of Shakeology, you can get the entire 3 Day Refresh Kit with it! I've NEVER seen such a great deal on a Challenge Pack!***

THE 3-DAY REFRESH COMPLETE KIT
includes 3 packets of Shakeology^®—your choice of 6 flavors (we recommend Chocolate Vegan or Tropical Strawberry Vegan because plant-based proteins are often easier for the body to digest), 6 packets of Vanilla Fresh (high-protein shake), 3 packets of Fiber Sweep (digestive health drink), and 1 Program Guide with helpful info, a large selection of easy-to-prepare meals, and a list of fresh fruits and vegetables to snack on throughout the day. CLICK HERE

Cilantro Lime Chicken + Cauliflower Rice

Makes 4 bowls/servings
Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (about 1 lb)
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil, or olive oil, divided
• sea salt and pepper, to taste 
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups cauliflower “rice” (click the link for a great recipe for this)
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained 
• ¼ cup green onion, sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add chicken to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 5-8 minutes on each side.
3. When the chicken is nicely browned and fully cooked, pour the lime juice over and sprinkle with cilantro. Set aside.
4. Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Add riced cauliflower, paprika, salt and pepper and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Then, add in black beans and green onions.
6. Stir fry for an additional 2 minutes.
7. To assemble the bowls, divide cauliflower rice, chicken, and tomatoes equally into each bowl.
8. Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro and enjoy!
9. This recipe will stay good in your refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Other Ideas:

1. Grill your chicken (weather permitting)
2. Garnish with Avocado
3. Grill Zucchini on the side
4. Serve in corn tortillas
5. Need some fruit, pineapple may pair well

Does Lemon Water Work for Weight Loss?

For years, celebrities, wellness bloggers, and health coaches have touted the benefits of lemon water. They claim it kick starts your metabolism and triggers weight loss — especially if you sip a warm glass of it first thing in the morning.

But do the claims hold water? Does a simple glass of water with a little squeezed citrus actually possess magic slimming properties? Or is it just a different way to enjoy regular old water?

We reached out to Amy Gorin, M.S., R.D.N. about this lemon water hype and asked her give us it to us straight. “Lemon water on its own is not a quick fix that magically boosts your metabolism or helps you lose weight,” she says. “But it does make water more palatable, and some preliminary research suggests that drinking water before a meal may help with weight loss.”

Lemon Water Helps You Feel Full

In the study Gorin mentioned, 84 obese adults were asked to either drink two cups of plain water before their main meals every day for three months, or to imagine the feeling of being full. Those who drank water before their meals lost about 2.6 pounds more than those who didn’t.

This suggests that drinking water (lemon-flavored or not) before a meal may be an easy way to feel fuller and possibly prevent you from eating more than you should.

Lemon water is also a far better choice than many other beverages out there. And, if used to replace sugary coffee concoctions, sodas, and energy drinks in your diet, lemon water can indirectly help you cut calories and shed pounds.

Lemon Water Helps You Stay Hydrated

The benefits of hydration go well beyond avoiding a dry mouth and headache. Dehydration can impact your fitness performance, your ability to focus, and more. “Staying properly hydrated is important for keeping your bodily functions running smoothly,” says Gorin. “These functions include temperature regulation, joint lubrication, keeping the eyes and mouth moist, and helping to prevent constipation.”

To keep things ahem, moving, and your body operating at its best, your goal should be to drink half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water each day. If you start your day with a glass of lemon water, that’s one glass down! You’ll also get a small dose of vitamin C first thing.

The Best Time to Drink Lemon Water

Downing a glass of lemon water right after you wake up is ideal — it re-hydrates you after sleep, and may help assist your body in its natural process of flushing toxins. Also, proper hydration is necessary for good digestion. It’s a great way to feel more alert in the groggy morning hours.

The only downside? Due to its high acidity, lemon juice may damage the enamel on your teeth. Of course, you’re not drinking pure lemon juice when you sip lemon water, but the concentration of lemon in your water can be higher if you keep the sliced lemon submerged in the water rather than just squeezing the juice into your cup. To offset possible damage to your tooth enamel, follow these simple precautions: Drink your lemon water with a straw so it doesn’t come into direct contact with your teeth (coffee lovers, take note!), rinse your mouth afterward with a gulp of plain water, and wait for at least 30 minutes after you finish drinking to brush your teeth since harsh toothpastes and vigorous brushing can wear away at already thin enamel.

How to Make Lemon Water

There’s no wrong way to make lemon water. You can add a slice of lemon or a the juice of several squirts of half of a lemon. You can strain the seeds or ignore them — the choice is yours.

But for those who appreciate clear instructions, here’s a basic recipe you can modify as you like: Squeeze a quarter wedge of fresh raw lemon into 8 to 12 ounces of lukewarm or room-temperature water (for easy sipping), stir, and voilà! Your lemony beverage awaits or you can add 1 drop of Lemon Essential Oil to your cup.

Feel free to dilute your lemon juice with more water if it’s too sour, or add the juice of half a lemon if you like it extra tart.

What Other Healthy Low-Calorie Beverages Exist?

If you’re determined to guzzle only lemon water all day long (RIP, caramel latte), but you become bored with the flavor (or lack thereof), there are other easy, healthy, low-cal alternatives.

If you like bubbles, swap soda for seltzer water. And ditch sugary, sweet tea in favor of unsweetened hibiscus or peppermint tea. “You get a good amount of flavor without adding any sugar or honey to your drink,” says Gorin.

When all else fails, jazz up a glass of good old-fashioned H2O with whatever makes your taste buds happy: orange slices, cucumber, strawberries, watermelon, basil, lime, jalapeño — the options are endless. Consult your Beachbody nutrition plan booklet or digitally on Beachbody On Demand for additional creative ways to spruce up your water.

And if you’re still in love with the idea of lemon water, go for it. It isn’t the powerful weight-loss elixir the world wishes it could be, but it is an easy, refreshing way to stay hydrated and get a little kick of vitamin C. After all, no one wants scurvy.

What to Do After a Binge to Get Back on the Weight-Loss Track

Here’s the not-so-dirty secret: Everybody binges… at some point. Think about the last time you declared, “Just one chip,” but finished with an upended bag of salty crumbs on your lips. What about that holiday feast turned food coma? The fact of the matter is it happened, and there’s no use pretending it didn’t.

What Is a Binge?

A binge is overeating in a short period of time. You go past satisfying hunger, despite feeling stuffed with food — and oftentimes regret. A binge happens unintentionally, unlike a “cheat meal,” which you can plan into a healthy eating regimen. Binges can occur periodically, as in Thanksgiving dinner, or over a stretch of time like a weeklong cruise to Cancun featuring all-you-can-eat crab legs.

Keep in mind that we’re talking about a binge, where you overindulge, and not a consistent pattern of binging that may be a sign of a more serious eating issue. To read more information about eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorder Association.

Your 5-Step Guide to Beat the Binge (and the Bulge)

Just because we all binge at some point doesn’t mean we can’t beat the bulge. A binge can be discouraging, especially if you’ve just started to see progress on the scale. Follow these five steps, so you can get back on track after a binge:

Step 1: Do Emotional Damage Control

Unless you’re a special kind of saint, binging will make you feel lousy. Guilt, shame, worthlessness, and disgust can be knee-jerk reactions post-binge. Catch yourself immediately! You can’t change the past or let this binge define you. Here are a few tips to reign in your gloomy thoughts:

• Reframe the situation. This binge session is not going to tank your progress. Your weight is affected by how much you eat averaged over a long period of time. Think of this binge as a learning opportunity, and use it to course correct for the future. It may be helpful to jot down your thoughts in a journal for when you can look back on this moment with a clearer mind, and glean insights from it.
• Get your mind off your mood. Feeling blue? Call up a close friend and plan something fun that doesn’t involve food. Now is the time to distract yourself with a hobby you love (yoga, anyone?). Bonus points if it involves light exercise.
• Don’t weigh yourself. Binging is a hard blow, especially if your self-esteem is tied up in your shape and weight. It’s tempting to weigh that food baby, but do yourself a favor and stay off the scale for now.

Step 2: Pick a Fallback Nutrition Plan

So, you inhaled a large pepperoni pizza, now what? All that excess calories, fat, refined carbs, and salt can make you feel bloated and tired. After dealing with the emotional hurdles of a binge, refocus your effort to get back on the healthy-eating horse. There’s no one answer to how to do this, but here are a few options you can try:

• Get back on the healthy habits horse as soon as possible. Resume an appropriately portioned, balanced diet. Word of caution: Despite tons of calories post pig-out, you may feel hungrier than normal the next morning. This is likely due to the sugary, high-glycemic index nature of most binge foods, which can spike blood sugar and stimulate hunger.
• Focus on fluid and fiber. If you’re like me, you’ll get a bit queasy thinking about your binge foods. On the flipside, a fresh salad or tangy fruit-and-veggie smoothie sounds like pure bliss. If this is you, kick off your post-binge meal with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and water. The combination of fluid and fiber makes digestion more efficient, which helps move your binge food right on through your system. Avoid loading up on calorie-dense, high-fat foods at this point, as these will slow down digestion.
• Try out a non-gimmicky reset. Depending on the bigness of your binge, you may want to slate about two to three days to recuperate. If you do better with a solid meal plan in place, try the Beachbody 3-Day Refresh program. You can get back on track while eating nutritious fruits, veggies, and good-for-you fats.

Step 3: Resume Exercise

Obviously, don’t hit the pavement running moments after you lay down your post-binge fork. Intense exercise on a full stomach is barf-worthy, so give yourself time to digest. Feeling antsy? Do a brisk walk with your dog or walking up and down the stairs several times. When you’re fully digested (think: the next day), you can sweat through a killer workout. The excess glycogen stored from your binge can deliver a burst of energy to fuel your next jog, CORE DE FORCE workout, or HIIT session. The key here is that you’re exercising to be a healthier, fitter you, not to earn extra calories for food.

Note: If you try a cleanse, you may want to go easy when it comes to exercise intensity, as the cleanse will tax your body (and energy reserves) enough on its own.

Step 4: Think Binge Prevention

Be comfortable with the fact that you may binge again. Then, work on ways you can safeguard yourself from the next binge:

• Notice the warning signs. Instead of reaching for a tray of Oreos, reach deep down inside and figure out why you desire a binge. Oftentimes, binging is a coping mechanism for tension or other taxing emotions. If this is the case, brainstorm some non-food ways to deal with your emotions. Also, don’t be afraid to get help. A health professional can help you figure out your binge triggers and find better ways to cope.
• Don’t keep binge foods in the house. If you know certain foods can trigger a binge, by all means remove them from your home. You may not have established an appropriate relationship with those foods yet. Once you do so, they can be reintroduced into your home. Again, a health professional can help you figure this step out.
• Don’t binge on autopilot. Next time you’re mid-binge, take mores pauses to assess the situation. Understand that at any point in your binge you can stop. Just because you’re satisfying an urge to binge doesn’t mean you need to let it play all the way through. Pace yourself and try to enjoy the food.
• Loosen up your diet. For some, eating a restrictive diet (think: calorie-pinching to the point where you’re constantly under-eating) for a long period of time can lead to a binge. If this is you, liberalize your diet and allow some of the foods you love back in modest amounts. Beachbody’s Portion-Fix Containers can help you get a better idea of the right-for-you amounts of different foods to eat. A healthful diet should allow you to enjoy them without guilt.
• Practice mindful eating. Mindful eating helps you learn the difference between physical hunger and emotional arousal, so you can consciously make the right call to eat. Research shows strong evidence that mindfulness can reduce the frequency and severity of binges.

 

The Final Phase of a Post-Eating Binge: Be Kind to Yourself

Losing weight and getting to a healthier you is a journey, so you need to be patient and kind to yourself. Healthy eating for life is more about moderation, balance, and quality, and this is just one binge. With time, you will progress and learn more about what will and won’t work for your body. Until then, don’t beat yourself up!

Author: Trinh Le, R.D.

Grilled Lime Salmon & Avocado- Mango Salsa

INGREDIENTS:

FOR SALMON:

• 4 (6oz) salmon fillets
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil, plus more for grill)
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups cooked brown rice

FOR AVOCADO-MANGO SALSA

• 1 large ripe mango, peeled, diced
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 10 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 cup diced red onion, rinsed under cold water and drained
• 1 large avocado, peeled and diced
• 1 small English cucumber, diced
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• a small bunch of fresh cilantro or parsley, leaves only, chopped
• sea salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In an 11x7-inch baking dish whisk together olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste
2. Place salmon in baking dish, cover and allow to marinate in refrigerate for 15-30 min.
3. Preheat a grill over medium-high heat. Brush grill grates with oil.
4. Grill the salmon for about 3 minutes per side or until just cooked through. (turn carefully as the salmon will be fragile)
5. While the salmon is grilling prepare salsa: In a medium glass bowl, gently toss together mango, bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro/parsley, red onion, avocado, cucumber, lime juice, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt
6. Let sit for about 20 min for flavors to blend.
7. Serve salmon warm with brown rice, lime wedges, and top with avocado-mango salsa.

Other ideas:

• This would be very good in taco shells or corn tortilla shells too if you prefer to skip the rice.
• Try it in a lettuce wrap if you are aiming for low carbs
• Substitute Shrimp for salmon

Let me know what you think of this!