Bikini Bodies Don’t Come for Free, and Other Things I’ve Learned After 3 Rounds of the 21 Day Fix

When I was 21-years-old, I’d go the gym – sporadically, of course – and do 100 crunches like nothing. I’d take a yoga class and actually do the crow pose. I’d end my night with sugary cocktails and start my day with a Supreme Croissant from Jack-in-the-Box because that is what you eat when you’re hungover. 

Rinse and repeat.

I was effortlessly skinny and not the least bit interested in “eating plans” or “diets” – especially if they would have required giving up chocolate shakes from Del Taco. Because who needs to be healthy when you can already rock a little tube top, right?! 

UGH. How I wish my metabolism hadn’t been such a jerk and decided to do half the work it used to do when I turned 30. And how I wish I’d made better eating and exercising choices when I was pregnant with my kids and in the months following their births. Because today? When I’m 37 years old and sometimes wonder if my metabolism is sleeping on the job? I realize that I’m the one to blame.

Y’all. It is HARD WORK climbing out of this hole, and let me just tell you this – bikini bodies don’t come for free. Speedy metabolisms don’t come for free. At least not to me, not at this point in my life.

I GOTTA WERK*.

If you’re reading this, you probably know that I started the 21 Day Fix awhile back. If you’re new here, you can see my results from Round 1 here and my results from Round 2 here. Today, I want to talk about Round 3, which I wrapped up about a week ago.

First of all, you’ll notice that I don’t have any before-and-after photos this time around. That’s because I bombed the last half of week three of this round and my end results weren’t great. 

The last few days of this round, we took a road trip to Missouri. There was lots of food in Missouri, And custard. And although I did a lot of walking and made healthier choices than my previous self would have made, I still ate way more than I should have. And for this, I paid dearly.

I ended up gaining half a pound, but I still managed to lose a couple inches.

This brings my total weight loss, after three rounds of the 21 Day Fix, to just under 10 pounds, and my inches lost to just over 22″ (which is amazing!).

The reason this has me thinking about “the good old days,” when I survived on Midori Sours and was still able to see my abs, is that I realized how different my body is now. I ate well and exercised for two-and-a-half weeks. I ate poorly for four days and those are the results I am seeing. Those four days erased much of the effort I’d already put in.

But all is not lost!

I mostly maintained my workouts, which means I ended up this round stronger than I had started. In fact, I was able to do most of the 21 Day Fix workouts without stopping or needing a break, which meant that even though I had gained some weight, I was improving in other areas.

It took a few days of clean eating to feel back on track, but I’m a week into my new program – 21 Day Fix Extreme – and OMG. I am back on track. As in, I thought I might die during some of the workouts. They are that tough.

The eating plan for 21 Day Fix Extreme is a more dialed-in version of the regular 21 Day Fix, and I’m doing okay with it. Because the workouts are so hard, it allows me more food, which is nice (more food = another serving of fruits, another serving of veggies, and another serving of carbs, YAY!). I’m sticking to it most of the time, and when I don’t, I not only feel guilty, but my body yells at me, too.

The 30 minutes of exercise I’m doing each day has changed my life. I have SO much more energy. I have more patience. I’m happier. I’m stronger.

It. Is. Awesome.

It’s not like the old days, and that’s what I’ve come to grips with. I can’t eat better for a week and workout a couple times when I need to lose a few pounds and see results. 

If I continue to lose a pound a week, I’ll be at my goal weight before my next birthday (which is in December, and which is a realistic goal, I think).

Slow and steady wins the race!

You can see my Round 1 results here and Round 2 results here (with pictures!). And be sure to check back for my 21 Day Fix Extreme results in a couple of weeks!

*I made an “inspirational” sign that says “WERK” and put it next to my weights and yoga mat so I’ll see it when I work out. Jack saw this sign, asked his father what it said, and now thinks I can’t spell “work.” Just FYI.

My 21 Day Fix journals are now available! You can track your daily food, water, workouts, and measurements. Each book lasts for three rounds of the 21 Day Fix.

Find me on Facebook for easy recipes, free printables, super simple kid-friendly crafts, and things to do in Dallas. I’d love to have you join me over there.