My first Beachbody 3 Day Refresh

My first 3 Day Refresh!!

 

 

I Feel Freaking Ah-Mazing!!

 

I decided to try the Beachbody 3 Day Refresh for the first time because I have trouble with SUGAR!! I tend to do really well for several months, and then I slowly start to spiral. I end of feeling crappy and gaining 3 to 5 pounds every time... SO FRUSTRATING!  

 

The 3 Day Refresh claims to give you a clean break from bad habits, and that's EXACTLY what I needed.  I was also hoping to get rid of the bloating that I've been dealing with from making poor food choices. 

 

All I can say is, BAZINGA, people!!!! BAZINGA!!!  I had an awesome experience with my Refresh!!  I feel SO REFRESHED!!  For real, I woke up today feeling incredible!! I haven't had coffee in 3 days, and I have SO much energy, I feel lighter (no more bloat), I'm not as gassy (tmi), and my mental clarity is restored!  Let's talk about what my 3 Days looked like... I kept things SUPER simple. 

 

 

I woke up, my usual exhausted self on Monday.  I was excited to start my Refresh, but SUPER bummed that I wouldn't be having my beloved cup of morning coffee (....or 3)  The meal plan suggests that you refrain from drinking coffee to get the full benefit of the program, but does allow black or naturally sweetened (stevia)coffee if you HAVE to have it! I wanted to give this my ALL, so I went for it! 

 

The meal plan starts you off with an 8-10 oz glass of water first thing to get our system going!!  (I usually do this anyway..)

Breakfast consists of a Shakeology shake (I used my FAV; vegan chocolate) and 1 serving from the Fruit options listed on the plan.  I chose to have half a banana every morning.  This was about the time I expected a caffeine headache to kick in, but, to my surprise, I was totally fine and completely satisfied with this meal. 

 

An hour later, you are allowed to consume an 8oz cup of unsweeted herbal or green tea.  (stevia sweetener allowed)  I had a cup of herbal tea sweetened with a packet of stevia, which made me happy :)

 

An hour later it was time for my first Fiber Sweep (digestive health drink) I WAS TERRIFIED that I would gag.  I mixed it with 8 oz of VERY cold water and shook it like crazy.  To my surprise, it tasted lemonade-ish...I chugged that baby down, no problem!!  I didn't want to let it get clumpy.

 

  Fiber Sweep!!!

 

 

Lunch consisted of a Vanilla Fresh shake, 1 serving from the fruit option list, 1 serving from the vegetable option list, and 1 serving from the Healthy Fats list.  The Vanilla Fresh shake is a high protein shake that helps to satisfy hunger.  It delivers essential nutrition that your body needs for healthy weight loss.  It's also a good source of Fiber, and it's both dairy and soy free.  I'm not a vanilla person, and I DON'T like Vanilla Shakeology, so I didn't think I would like this.  On day 1, I chose to mix it with my fruit option; strawberries!  It was actually REALLY good with the strawberries.  I also chose to have baby carrots with hummus.  I felt completely satisfied with this meal.

 

  mmmmmm....

 

 

The afternoon snack was a choice from the vegetable list and 1 serving from the healthy fats list.  I mixed tomato and avocado.  DELISH and satisfying.

 

There's another option for afternoon tea, and I enjoyed it again. THIS is when a caffeine headache hit me like to of bricks.  YOWZA!!  I powered through!

 

Dinner consisted of a Vanilla Fresh shake and 1 serving from the Dinner Recipes that come with the program.  You are also allowed to have 1 cup of organic vegetable broth, if you want, but I didn't.  Since I wasn't allowed to add fruit to my shake, I added cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, and to my surprise, I LOVED IT!  I chose to make the Cucumber and tomato salad for dinner every night.  Easy peasy and yummy!  I was satisfied with this every night. 

 

 

 

To finish off the day, there was an option for evening tea, which I took advantage of every night. 

 

I got hungry every night around 9:30, but chose to chug some water and go to bed! I slept great!!!

 

The only thing I changed in the 2nd and 3rd day was at lunch time.  I had an apple with almond butter with my shake and carrots on Tuesday, and steamed green beans with my lunch on Wednesday. 

 

I did not experience another caffeine headache and felt great!!  My husband prepared some amazing paninis for himself and our children for dinner on Tuesday night, which was tough to turn down, but I did.  We also took our kids to the movies.  The fam had popcorn, and I did NOT! I chose to sip water and chew sugar free gum.  I was worried that I'd cave, but I had my Vanilla Fresh shake right before we left, and I was surprisingly fine :) 

 

NOW FOR MY RESULTS: 

 

The BEST result for me was the way that I feel.  My mental clarity is restored, my bloating is gone, I feel energized and fabulous!  I feel much more in control of my cravings and I have a better sense of when I'm truly hungry.  I also struggle with emotional eating, so this is super valuable!!  I'll definitely be doing this again after the holidays!! 

 

My physical results:  I lost 4 pounds in 3 days!! 

 

Oops...I gained 5 pounds....

This was my face this morning when I stepped on the scale!! 

 

 

Real Talk: I've been slowly spiraling out of control with my eating lately, and despite keeping up with my workouts, I've put on 5 pounds!! This would usually be a huge crash and burn moment for me, but I've been working on learning to love myself and giving myself grace; I AM human after all. I hadn't been weighing myself lately, and today when I went to slip into some jeans, I thought "UH OH! These bad boys are getting TIGHT." RED ALERT RED ALERT!!

The very LAST thing I wanted to do was tell anyone, though. I mean HELLO, I'm a beachbody coach. How embarrassing! But thanks to my Beachbody family, I have a lot of support. This morning my coach shared the importance of being honest and sharing my own imperfect journey. I'm a coach, I'm helping people reach their goals and get healthy, but I need accountability too!! SO, moral of the story, IF you happen to see me out with a donut in one hand and a sugary Starbucks beverage in the other, you have my permission to smack me :)   ....maybe just warn me first.  

 

My First Stitch Fix!!

Got my Stitch Fix in the mail today!!! I had requested a great pair of jeans, and they sent me 2 options; a pair of skinnies and a pair of boyfriend jeans. The boyfriend jeans were too short and very unflattering. The skinnies, though, fit like a glove! I love them, and I'll be buying them. I loved the elephant shirt too, but everything was a bit expensive, so I'm just getting the jeans this time. These jeans were $98.  The shirts were $48 each.

 

Don't mind my dirty mirror :)

I did not include a picture of the boyfriend jeans.

 They also sent me a beautiful green purse, but I dont need any purses.  The jeans were more than I would usually spend, but I'm trying to build a wardrobe of quality basics.  I'll be doing another Fix when I lose my next 10 pounds :)  ‪#‎onamission‬

If you'd like to try a Stitch Fix, please let me know. I'd appreciate it if you use my code :)

https://stitchfix.com/referral/3170695

Grateful in October!

OK, friends. SO I was totally inspired by the sermon at church this morning. The current series is called Thrive, and Pastor Jake spoke about changing your perspective through Gratitude. I created Journey Dynasty because I believe the journey to wellness is SO important. I want to help people to be the best they can be both physically and mentally! With that being said, I've decided to put together a FREE group to focus on Gratitude in the month of October. I realize that some might think November would be a more appropriate time, but I don't want to wait until November :) 

Obviously I'm still in the VERY early stages of planning this group, but I wanted to start putting together a list of participants to be sure that people would want to join me :) I'll be doing this myself whether I have a group to lead or not, but I'd love to share this experience with others. If you'd like to join me, please comment below with, "I'm in!" or message me :)
Ready......set....GO

 

Hello, my name is Jill, and I'm an emotional eater....

It's so difficult to watch someone that you love dearly struggling; to helplessly watch them face big scary stuff that you can't do ANYTHING about!  I rely strongly on the power of prayer, but I am human, and I, my friends, am an EMOTIONAL EATER.  My mind seeks comfort in a few glasses of wine, a donut, some chocolate...all things that are fine in moderation, but they make me feel miserable.  It's SO frustrating to have spent a week really focusing on putting only healthy things that make me feel good into my body, and then, BAM....a few hundred calories in a 24 hour period and I'm bloated, tired, gassy (sorry, tmi, but true) and REALLY frustrated with myself.  I've been on a good path. I've been making better choices for myself and for my life, and I'll continue to push. I am, after all, a work in progress.  I will NOT let this journey that I'm on be defined by my mistakes, but by how many times I get back up and keep going.  You've probably seen me post videos and posts about this before, and this might not be the last time, but tomorrow, I'll wake up, and do what's best for my body again, and when I falter again, because we all do, I'll get back up again.

This problem weighs on me heavier now because I'm trying to help others to achieve their fitness/nutrition/weight loss goals.  My first instinct is usually to HIDE these incidents.  I mean, come on, I'm trying to be a wellness coach for goodness sake!!!  But I don't want to hide.  I know I'm not the only person out there who struggles with emotional eating, and I want you to know that you're not defined by this weakness!!!  Get back up and Keep Going! We only get this one life here on Earth, and I don't know about you, but I'm not going to spend it feeling bad about myself!!

This is me...imperfect, but NEVER giving up :)

My prayer as I send my sweet girl to First Grade!!

Lord, Heavenly Father, hold my sweet girl in your loving arms as she lets go of my hand and walks into a big brick building; a place where I can't protect her or guide her, where she could face big scary things like rejection, hate, even violence.  Guard her body, her mind, and her heart. 

Lord, help my sweet girl to be a good friend; kind, compassionate, and welcoming.  I've seen glimpses of mean spiritedness in her that sometimes girls use against one another; why do we do that?!  I'll send her to school with a reminder to treat others how she wants to be treated; please help her not to forget!

Lord, my sweet girl is loud, impulsive, and opinionated.  Please help her teacher to remember that this sometimes difficult child is my BABY.  I pray that her teacher is loving, patient, and kind.  I pray that she guides her gently in the right direction.

I pray that my sweet girl never feels alone or afraid, but if she does that she turns to you for comfort, as I've tried to teach her to do.  I pray that she misses me when she's away, but that she continues to grow into the confident, independent girl that she's turning into. 

Lord, I pray that you give me strength and ease my anxiety as we enter this next stage of my sweet girl's life, because I know my prayers can be unrealistic. I know she has to face the world on her own; she has to experience things that I wish she didn't have to, she has to be punished and guided by someone else's rules, she has to live her own life.  Give me the strength to smile and push back the tears as she kisses me and walks away, so that I don't cause her any stress or anxiety. 

Thank you, Lord, for my sweet girl. 

It's that time of year, ladies...BACK TO SCHOOL!!

For those of you with school age children, things are about to crazy OR some of you may have a little more down time on your hands. Whichever the case may be, it's difficult to maintain a fitness and nutrition routine during the summer, and it's time to make time for yourself! Make time to give your body the fitness and proper nutrition it needs to get you functioning at your best! My September Challenge Group will focus ...on clean(er) eating and quick, 30 minute workouts with the 21 Day Fix! Some people will even be using Cize!!! 
 

Join us for support, accountability, tips and recipes, and FUN! You deserve to look and feel your best!

 Group starts on Tuesday, September 8! I've got 10 spots available. This one will fill up FAST, so comment below or message me if you're interested :)