Flexitarian's Guide to the 21 Day Fix

Google “21 Day Fix” and you’ll find a plethora of information without buying the program (you still should but I’ll get to that later). You’ll find how to calculate your caloric needs, how many of each container to eat, what foods go in each container, and even meal plans. 21 Day Fix has been around for more than 2 years and is still one of the most popular Beachbody programs. Almost everyone I know who does Beachbody has done at least one round of it and everyone has posted amazing results.

After completing Brazil Butt Lift and Insanity Max 30 and I decided to tone it down some and started 21DF. I did Dirty 30 before going on a cruise. The exercises look simple and I grabbed my 5lb weights and went at it. O…M…G… did I sweat!! My heart rate got up to almost where it was during Max 30 and I was barely doing any work. My legs hurt for the next 5 days! Looking at stairs made me cry. I took a week off and relaxed on a long awaited Royal Caribbean cruise and gained 6 LBS!! I’m sure some of it was waste and water retention, etc but I willingly consumed copious amounts of extremely delicious cookies, fries, onion rings, cookies, hash browns, bread, cookies, chocolate desserts, a little alcohol, and did I mention cookies? The best thing by far was the peanut butter rice crispie treats. I HAVE to find a way to recreate those and make them healthy. I knew I was going to stick to the meal plan when I got home so I wasn’t too worried and wanted to get in as much junk as possible before eating healthy again.

When I did Brazil Butt Lift and Insanity Max 30 I didn’t stick to the meal plans. I tried to eat healthy/healthier and sometimes watched my calories but the plans just didn’t appeal to me. Honestly, most of the plans are the same or very similar. They’re all full of protein and have few carbs. As a carb lover and protein hater, I found this really hard to swallow (ha!). I have limited how much pasta I eat and now maybe have it once a week instead of 3 times. Looking at the 21DF meal plan had me worried too. I’m very picky (think 3 year old) and don’t eat meat often. It really surprises me when people do meatless Monday because it’s that hard for them to not have meat. I’m not vegetarian because I love chicken and burgers but I don’t want a pound of meat every day. I discovered there’s a thing called flexitarian (or semi-vegetarian) which fits me perfectly!

What is a flexitarian?

A flexitarian is simply someone who doesn't eat a lot of meat and doesn't have meat every day. According to Dawn Jackson Blatner’s website, per week beginner flexers have 2 meatless days, advanced have 3-4 meatless days, and experts have 5 meatless day. I’d safely put myself in the advanced category. I scoured the internet looking for a flexitarian version of the 21 day fix and couldn’t find anything so I decided to create my own! It’s a combination of the normal 21DF plan and the vegan plan. I’ll outline the differences between the two, show you what I’m doing, and maybe throw in a few recipes. Please be advised, I am not a dietitian. I am not a nutritionist. I am not a doctor. Use this as a guideline as you would anything else you find on the internet or in a book or pamphlet. Please seek medical attention if you feel you need to. Here we go…

Number of containers: 

The vegan plan contains the same amount of blue, orange, and teaspoon containers, more green and yellow containers, and fewer red and purple containers. It also has a category for 2300-2499 calories whereas the normal version only goes up to 2100-2300. The foods listed in each category also differ.

(To calculate your calories multiply your weight by 11 then subtract 350)

Foods: 

Green, purple, and teaspoon food lists are still the same. The vegan blue food list doesn’t include the cheeses and the vegan orange food list adds chopped nuts. Beans, lentils, edamame, peas, and refried beans are now reds and seitan has also been added. The yellow containers have been split into two categories: A and B. Yellow A’s include whole grains such as rice and quinoa whereas yellow B’s contain more processed grains like pasta and bread. You’re allowed more A’s than B’s and if you skip a B you should have an A. 

The food list pictured below has all of the vegan reds in the red list and removed from the yellow list. The yellow list is also divided in 1/2 to reflect yellow A's and B's.

Now what?

You’ve calculated your calories, have determined how many of each container to eat, and know what’s in each category so now what do you do? I initially started out thinking I was going to follow the vegan plan but add in some meat but decided to do it a little different. You could do it like that or you could follow the normal plan but with the added proteins, or do a combo of the two (one day follow vegan, the next follow normal). I like following both plans because it gives a better variety. On days I really want a lot of carbs I’ll follow the vegan plan and on days I don’t want a ton of rice, I’ll follow the normal plan with added proteins. The added proteins have really put my mind at ease when it comes to meals because I don’t have to have a ton of meat. I can now have freeze dried edamame and it’s a red container!

Why you should still buy the program even though it's all over the internet...

As shown, you can find pretty much all of the information you need in order to do the 21 day fix or at least the meal plan part of it. What you don't get is the containers, a Shakeology cup, 30 healthy meals every month!, the exercises, 24/7 support, new friends, access to Beachbody's most popular programs, challenge groups, and contests. You can try to google the exercises (I did before buying) and can find some but nothing is better than having them yourself. You can do your own exercises and eat according to the meal plan which is still good but it's not going to show you the results you want. There is no substitution to getting the program. If you order before 10/31/2016 then you also get an instant $20 savings! Ready to accept the challenge and start working towards a new, healthier you? Sign up here. Still have questions? Email me! :)

Some recipes just for fun…

3 Ingredient Oatmeal “Cookies” 

Makes 8 cookies 

(1 yellow (A) 1 purple 1 orange per 4 cookies)

1 C old fashioned oats

1 ripe banana

4T chopped walnuts

Mix together and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. They do NOT spread so flatten them to your liking. The flatter the crispier as they’ll still be chewy in the middle.

Nutty Rice Quinoa Bowl

1 C/serving

(2 yellow (A) 1 orange)

2/3 C cooked brown rice

1/3 C cooked quinoa

2T chopped, toasted, pecans

Cook rice and quinoa according to directions. Toast pecans (careful! they burn quick!). Mix together and enjoy.