Welp. The program is over! I did all 60 days like I said I would. All workouts, I kept mostly on top of my nutrition, and I drank Shakeology for all 60 days.
Keep reading to see the final results.
How Did Week 8 Go on my Weight Loss Journey?
This week was good for me. Maybe because I knew it was the last week of the program and I wanted to finish hard? Maybe because last week was so not great for me, I wanted redemption. I’m not sure but this week was better.
Nutrition This Week: 7 out of 7 days
I did so much better this week. There was even a day when I was out and about and forgot my snack. My blood sugar was going low and I could have easily made an excuse to go get something greasy because… blood sugar …. but instead, I went to Trader Joe’s and got one of their wraps. My snack containers needed 1 green (veg), 1 yellow (carb), and 1 red (protein). This wrap had turkey, lettuce, and obviously a tortilla, but it did also have cheese (a blue). Was it perfect? No. It could have used more veggies. I had also already had my blue for the day. But was it a mindful choice in a moment of panic?
Absolutely.
Fitness: 5 out of 5 days
I’ve kept up with the workouts pretty easily this whole time which surprises me as I always struggle to work out consistently since I stopped playing volleyball. But I finished and I didn’t always jump straight to the modifier.
That made me proud of myself.
My Thoughts on the Program:
Overall, this program was helpful for me. The workouts taught me to make exercise part of my daily routine again. Well. Monday through Friday at least. On this program, you get weekend rest days. For that, I’ll be forever grateful. It’s what I need at this season in my life.
The Ultimate Portion Fix was also helpful. It taught me accurate portion sizes. I didn’t realize how much I was overeating on some and under-eating on others. It also gave me a structure to follow which I found necessary when starting out. I will say, I never felt hungry or deprived which I appreciated.
The parts of the program that didn’t always work out for me was, ironically, the structure that I loved in the above paragraph. I don’t mind meal planning but when meal planning becomes a mental feat to figure out how many containers you get and when and how many you have left for dinner on a Tuesday, it became something I dreaded doing. I started just copying meal plans from previous weeks. While that made it much faster and easier, I got bored with my meals pretty quickly.
I also found it hard to stay on track if you left the house without remembering to take a snack or a meal. Equally, when I was scheduling things like doctors appointments, or anything really, I had to work around “snack time” so that I’d always be able to eat on time. While I do get the purpose for that, it wasn’t thrilling for me.
The final bit that I found not to my liking was that I couldn’t cook recipes unless they were Fixate recipes and even then, it was hard to deal with half containers when planning. I haven’t always loved to cook. But a month or so before starting this program, I was introduced to Half Baked Harvest and I absolutely adore her recipes. I really suggest you check her out if you don’t already know about her. I bought a couple of her cookbooks, follow her Instagram and blog, and I enjoy trying her concoctions. If you’re following BeachBody Ultimate Portion Fix, you’re forever forbidden to do that. Just kidding – they don’t really forbid you, but they do say don’t because it’s hard to “containerize” recipes. While that was fine for 60 days, it’s not something I’m going to want to sustain long-term.
Would I recommend this program to others as a way to kick-start your health journey? Yes. But only if you’re willing to do it. It’s an expensive program if you’re not fully committed. There are other ways to dip your toes in the water if you’re not ready to go all in just yet.
What’s Next For Me:
I’m starting the program again on Monday! With a few caveats.
I’m going to try to make the nutrition portion a bit more intuitive instead of as centered around the containers. I intend to be aware of the portion sizes, and I intend to keep my yellows (carbs) and blues (healthy fats) in check. But other than that, if I don’t eat all my containers, or if I eat more vegetables than fruits that day, I don’t want it to stress me out.
I also intend to experiment with other non-Fixate recipes if I so desire. I’ll try to containerize them myself and again, keep portions under control. If I find something unhealthy in large amounts in a recipe (like Mayonaise), I’ll swap out for a healthier choice if I can (like Greek Yogurt).
Essentially, I want to remain aware, but make it a bit less structured.
I fully reserve the right to do an about face and go right back to the program as is if I see myself gaining weight though. I’m proud of the weight I lost and feel I lost it at a healthy, sustainable rate. I don’t want to start packing that weight back on!
And, don’t worry. I won’t be continuing to update you guys weekly on the progress now that the program is over. I might come back every now and then to check-in but I’ll move on to writing about other things now.
Weekly Grade: 85 out of 100.
It was better this week but I’m still not convinced I brought my A game. Solid B seems about right.
Results to Date: Down 8 pounds.
I lost that pesky pound from last week which is great. I am bummed that I didn’t lose any more though. Overall this equates to losing 1 pound per week (which most of the weight was lost in the first 5-6 weeks). I was hoping for more (my goal was to lose 10-15 pounds in 60 days) but I am happy that I’m 8 pounds down. This also feels more sustainable. It wasn’t crash dieting that I’ll put all 8 pounds back on next week.
Depending on the Half Baked Harvest recipes, of course 🙂
On to round two! I hope you’re all seeing success in your weight loss journeys as well.
P.S – See previous check-ins here.
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