My Honest 3 Day Refresh Cleanse Review
If you're thinking that cleanses are not for you - SAMSIES! To be perfectly honest with you, when I hear the word "cleanse" or "detox" I usually cringe. I am NOT someone who can go hours without eating, or commit to a liquid diet, EVER. I am someone who grew up Italian, so my family was always surrounded by food, planned events around food and LIVED FOR FOOD. I am still a major foodie, but at one point along my health and fitness journey I really had to be honest with myself. Even though I worked out almost every day, poor nutrition got the best of me and I stopped seeing results from exercise alone. I had developed some really bad habits over time - like night time snacking, nightly pours of red wine and picking off my kids plates after lunch - and I WAS FEELING IT in my energy levels, and in my lack of results. I was living proof of "the more crap you eat, the more crap you crave". The idea of a cleanse to rid my body of processed foods and even the idea of going vegan for a brief time was appealing to me - I just didn't know if I could honestly commit. It all sounds so harsh and momma loves to eat!
Your girl had once tried a 21 day cleanse program years ago & gave up about 12 hours into it! I think it was the length of time that felt like eternity to me and I was out. So when I came across a cleanse that was only 3 days long, I was all ears - but super skeptical!
I found the Beachbody 3 Day Refresh when I was stuck at a weight loss plateau early on in my journey of losing the baby weight. I was already leading an accountability group for women getting fit, so I asked them to please try it with me. We were all extremely nervous but...we are all true believers in this plan now! So much so that I intentionally PLAN for this cleanse a few times each year to keep my health in check! It was the perfect way to get myself back on track with my food choices and to eliminate some toxins that had been building up over time! I call it my secret weapon to reset. And often use it before/after my vacations depending on how I'm doing.
GETTING STARTED WITH THE 3 DAY REFRESH
I was pretty surprised to open up my kit and find there wasn't much in there! I quickly realized that I would have to tone down my workouts for the 3 days (made since, we were on a much lower calorie plan during that time). Planning some type of movement was necessary for me so I used this time to do yoga since I knew my body needed more of it.
I then realized I had to do a little bit of prepping and grocery shopping if I wanted to be successful. I found a 3 Day Refresh Meal Plan (see below) and what I loved about it was that it took me beyond just the 3 days. I not only had an easy plan for the cleanse but the entire week was set up with healthy options. THIS WAS KEY because I was already worried about gaining weight back or having a hard time not immediately going right back into my old eating habits.
I personally ordered The 3-Day Refresh Complete Kit that includes three days of Shakeology. I already have two bags of Shakeology shipped to our house each month — Vegan Chocolate and Vegan Cookies & Creamy — but I wanted to be able to take this with me in individual packets for the 3 days.
INCLUDED IN THE 3 DAY REFRESH PACKAGE
3 packets of Vegan Chocolate Shakeology
6 packets of Vanilla Fresh supplement shakes to help curb your hunger. It has 20 grams of plant-based protein and provides 24 essential vitamins and minerals, plant-based omega-3s, and probiotics and fiber to support digestive health.
3 Fiber Sweep Drinks to help eliminate waste gently and naturally from your digestive system.
A Program Guide that walks you through how this program works, what to expect, and how to prepare. It also contains a menu planner with simple meals and a list of foods you can eat along with the correct serving size.
A Maintenance Guide to help you stay on track and maintain your results post-Refresh.
MY HONEST REVIEW, WHAT IT WAS LIKE
Like I mentioned, strenuous exercise is not recommended during this cleanse. If you’re a Beachbody On Demand (BOD) member, however, there is a 3-Day Refresh Yoga program available that was designed to be paired with the Refresh. The program consists of simple yoga workouts that end with a guided meditation and it's the one that I used. I enjoyed the slower change of pace and I knew my body needed to stretch and relax and this was the perfect excuse to finally allow it for myself, so I did that for all 3 days.
Each day, I chose to eat the same menu plan in order to make my grocery shopping and budgeting easier, but the program offers several varieties of great recipes for you to try. Here is what my day looked like:
I started out the day with Shakeology (made with water) and fresh fruit for breakfast. I was immediately thinking about my prior portion size of fruit and how I would add 12 million ingredients into my shake instead of just water. Wow, how many other meals had I been getting extra calories without realizing? Off to an eye-opening start for sure!
Mid-morning we all had to drink the Fiber Sweep and it was nasty! My Fit Club was checking in constantly complaining about this part, not gonna lie! I almost gagged, but chugged it and got it down. I told myself, hey Jen remember when you used to take shots for fun in college? Bottoms up! If I could shoot jager back in the day, this was nothing! The consistency was kinda like grainy wet sand so yea, it's gross! I kept telling myself I could drink anything if it meant that I was going to successfully be reset. So, I did because I wanted RESULTS!
For lunch we had the Vanilla Fresh Shake, which was just okay, and paired it with a serving of vegetables, fruit, and healthy fats — steamed broccoli and apple splices dipped in sunbutter. This was easy-peasy for me, it was already one of my typical snacks and I was pretty full after this, actually.
Later in the afternoon, I had a snack that consisted of a vegetable and a healthy fat - cucumbers with hummus, not bad! Finally, my day wrapped up with a dinner of Vanilla Fresh blended with water, ice and cinnamon this time and a huge portion of sautéed vegetables in coconut oil.
Overall, the food was simple but good. I definitely thought I’d be hungry, but I was full. I felt myself craving a hard boiled egg and of course my afternoon coffee. I had a slight headache that night...I assumed it was also part of the detox process and I embraced it, knowing my body was eliminating the accumulated toxins in my body which was exciting! BRING IT ON!
Day two was exactly the same except I was feeling upset about my family's dinner vs. mine! I did well all day until then and I really had to force myself to stick with my plan because they were all eating pasta. I realized my mind is what would tell me to eat, not my body which is a strange feeling. I wasn't hungry but yet I wanted to eat. Mindset and doing this with someone else is really the key here so I checked in with my girls who were suffering along with me and we all agreed to go to bed early with a cup of tea and touch base in the morning.
Day 3 was not bad at all! I was getting used to eating smaller portions, I was always full (3 shakes a day plus food is a lot!) and I was feeling TONS more energy. The morning after I completed my 3 day refresh, I felt focused, had more energy, all of my puffiness and bloating was GONE. I was really, really surprised to see that as an immediate benefit and I truly felt amazing!!! If feeling lighter in mood and body is a thing, then I had that!
MY 3 DAY REFRESH RESULTS
When my husband asked me if I'd ever do it again, I totally hesitated! But then said yes. This was the first cleanse/refresh style program I had successfully completed and I was so proud of myself!
I had been skeptical but heard good things about it from others in my Beachbody group and wanted to give it a try. I am so happy I went for it! It was so much more fun doing with the women in my accountability group and their results were impressive too! One girl's husband lost 10 freaking pounds in 3 days! And my coach lost 8 lbs. So while weight loss isn't always the reason that people decide to do a cleanse, if you do have weight to lose it will definitely fall right off!
Okay, here I am afterwards. I had lost 4 pounds and 6.5 inches all over my body in 3 days! LIKE, WHAT?!
Here are the results you can't see that actually mean more to me than a number on the scale:
I no longer ate off my kids' plates because I was able to recognize the behavior and stop it, along with several other times/triggers in the day that would cause me to mindlessly eat.
I had more energy in the morning and instead of peeling my eyes open with my alarm clock, they opened easier and I got out of bed fully wide awake.
The bags under my eyes and puffiness in my face were GONE.
I was SO proud of myself for accomplishing this goal - instant confidence boost!
I had heard that what we eat affects our mood but BOY LET ME TELL YOU, I was much calmer and less irritable after this. When we consistently feed our bodies with junk, it manifests in our moods and personalities - I found out first hand how that worked.
"I was a little nervous about doing the 3-Day Refresh after agreeing to do it with Jen. I thought I’d be hungry because I usually eat a lot of chicken and several coffees a day. I was able to increase my water intake and was full all day! I was also very concerned that the food would taste bland, but so far our meals have been tasty! It wasn't bad at all and I definitely anticipated it being much worse than it was. My results: lost 6 lbs and 2.75 inches in my midsection!” -LR
Even though it was only three days, the Refresh taught me quite a bit about my own eating habits and proper portion sizes. It’s also made me more aware of the fuel I choose to power my body with, which is something I didn’t expect. Overall, I’d definitely recommend the 3-Day Refresh. In fact, it has become my secret tool for breaking through weight loss plateaus and a trick to kick habits after every vacation. I sometimes use it before a vacation, to feel and look my best.
Having that week long meal plan made me confident that whatever results I saw would not only last but the weight loss could continue. That's why I always recommend to my girls in the Fit Clubs to get the 3 Day Refresh & Shakeology package bundled together at a discount because they're MUCH more likely to follow through for days and weeks to come if they continue with the shakes and meal plan.
If you’d like to try the 3-Day Refresh and you’d like support along the way or just someone there to cheer you on and answer questions, reach out! I’d love to support you. If you have questions about how to get involved with Beachbody or Shakeology, I’m happy to chat with zero pressure and zero obligations.