What About Cheat Meals?? My 21 Day Fix Extreme Update?

Hello!  Good evening to you and thank you for stopping by my blog!  My name is Jeanette Paradis and I am currently on my own Week 4 of the 21 Day Fix Extreme workouts.  I am planning to do this program for a total of 6 weeks right now (two rounds) then return to PiYo and then back to Insanity Max 30!  But I will be back for the Fix Extreme again sometime this calendar year!

I have written a blog entry that describes each of the Fix Extreme workouts in detail.  I am getting into a rhythm with them here and definitely have my favorites so far!  Today was Lower Fix Extreme and it is a KILLER.  It is not complex but it sure is intense!  I was alternating between 12's and 15's with my weights last week.  Today was ALL 15's!  I can feel myself getting stronger and was able to really power through Round 3 today.  That to me is the TOUGHEST part of this workout.  My hardest move comes in Round 2 - those TRICKY Single Leg Squat jumps which make an appearance in several of the Fix Extreme workouts.  But Round 3 is the crucible.  Today I was able to do a better job of powering through the Sumo Squat jumps and that was exciting!

My favorite workout from the Fix Extreme is Pilates.  Aaaaahhhhhh..... it is such a great stretch and strength sort of workout!  Just what I love!  This takes place on Wednesday in the schedule and is an "active recovery day".  I am getting the hang of the resistance band and you use it throughout this workout.  The band is also used during Upper Fix Extreme on Tuesdays and Lower Fix Extreme on Thursdays.  Those who know me are aware of my klutzy tendencies - I was picturing myself all tangled up in this thing and waiting to be rescued!  Actually, that has not been the case!

So how about the 21 Day Fix Extreme nutrition??  It is very similar to the 21 Day Fix with just a slightly abbreviated food list in several of the categories and also the idea of "no cheats or treats" during the 21 day.  Umm.... that ship has sailed here in my world!  There have been too many things in life these past few weeks where I am going to be the first to say that I have not had the exact, precise 21 Day Fix world nutrition down pat.  The plan is NOT that hard and is by no means impossible for the average person to follow.  Here is a blog entry with my Week 1 meal plan and grocery list.  

I have just been in more of a eat clean and healthy maintenance mindset.  It is so important to me that I be healthy for the sake of my family.  I have a husband and we are coming up on 11 years since we met.  I want to keep him on his toes!  When I am confident and fit, I am much more fun!  Our two young kids are learning so much about life right now and it is important for me to set a good example for them.  I have by no means "gone backwards" with any of my progress!  At the moment I know that I am maintaining the celebrated spot where I arrived at the end of Insanity Max 30.  Switching up the workouts with doing Fix Extreme had me SORE those first two weeks ~ especially that first week!  But back to the nutrition... the idea is "Don't diet!  Eat according to your goals!" and I LOVE this statement.  For the past 19 months, I have NEVER THOUGHT OF MYSELF AS BEING ON A DIET.  I hate that term.  To me, it conveys the idea of a short term, impossible to maintain, deprivation/crash based approach.  What I am doing is so NOT that.  I learned how to eat clean and to watch my portion sizes and to balance my food categories.  This IS ABSOLUTELY MAINTAINABLE and I have kept off the 50+ pounds that I lost.  I continue to become stronger and more toned and also continue to chisel away at the remaining "flub".  Could I be chiseling more quickly if I followed the nutrition plan exactly?  Of course!

I am just coming up on a new "push goal" here... I recently bought some new jeans in a size smaller than what I have been wearing!  My birthday is coming up in early April and I am ready to do the work to make them a good fit!  So what does this mean for my nutrition??  Back to the idea of "eating according to our goals" means that I am now FOLLOWING the 21 Day Fix Extreme meal plan!  I already have the tools.  I have a great foundation.  I am headed in the right direction and I just need to FOCUS. 

But what about "cheat meals?"  Do they have a place?  In all honesty, yes.  Especially when you are thinking long-term, big picture progress.  But there are still some things to keep in mind!  Check out the ideas on the image above.  I was just talking about this in one of my challenge groups and thought that it may be helpful to share here as well! 

How many times should I aim to have a cheat meal? 

ANSWER- once a week! When you do your weekly planning sit down and schedule out your cheat meal! Write it in your planner and that will make you more likely to stick to your clean plan the rest of the week. We need to create that space for ourselves while on this journey. Remember, we have the focus of a sprinter who is starting strong and is making every moment count while developing these healthy new habits. But we also need to endurance of a marathon runner in order to make all of this a true lifestyle shift and successful long-term approach. 

Here is the catch! If you slip up when it's not your cheat meal or snack then you don't get to take that 2nd cheat day! It is one or the other so choose wisely! Too many cheats can lead you to weight loss plateau and frustration. We may be still finding our way and struggling to break those bad habits so you might not be able to make it the entire week and that is okay. Just keep working at it and start to fight those urges to splurge. If you want something sweet, drink a large glass of water and then wait 20 minutes. Go outside and get busy, play with the kids, go for a walk or whatever. The urge will usually pass! A lot of times our hunger is caused by thirst. Maybe we didn't drink enough water today. Lastly, green tea does help to stave off hunger!! I keep it on hand at all times!!!