21 Day Fix Meal Plan Explained.
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I don’t generally blog “diets” (I actually have NEVER blogged about a diet here) however I’ve been following the 21 Day Fix plan to kick off the new year on the right foot. I’ve had a lot of friends ask me about it, how it works and what I’m eating so I decided to include a little bit of information here for those of you asking!
While the 21 Day Fix is a weight loss program, I absolutely love it for healthier eating choices and learning about portion control. Even if you aren’t looking to lose weight it’s a great way to incorporate healthier options into your life!
Note that I am not a BeachBody coach and I am not associated with BeachBody in any way. This is my own interpretation of the 21 Day Fix and I am not being compensated to write about the 21 Day Fix.What is the 21 Day Fix Meal Plan?
If you’re online much there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the 21 Day Fix meal plan… but what exactly is it and how does it work?
The 21 day Fix, is a weight loss program based on healthy eating (of real food), portion control and exercise. Since it’s January, I have decided to kick off the new year with healthy eating and I loved the premise of the 21 Day Fix meal plan! No gimmicks, no packaged food, no tricks or quick fixes. Real food and exercise and we all know that’s the best way to stay healthy!
How Does it Work?
When you purchase the 21 Day Fix you will receive:
- a book
- a series of colored containers
- a DVD
The book explains everything and after about 2 days it should be really easy to know what to eat! I will be posting a sample 1 week menu to help those of you that are new to the program.
Each colored container you have in your package is a portion for a specific type of food.
- Green: Vegetables
- Purple: Fruit
- Red: Protein (meat, eggs, vegetarian options)
- Yellow: Carbs (brown rice, sweet potatoes etc)
- Blue: Healthy Fats (cheese/nuts etc)
- Orange: Dressings & Seeds
- Oils:
You will eat a specific number of each container each day based on your calorie range. The following equation is used to calculate your calorie range:
your current weight x 11 (your baseline) + 400 (your caloric needs) – 750 (your caloric deficit) = your calorie range
(And yes, you can just subtract 350 but I wrote out the full equation in case you’re wondering what the numbers mean)
My calorie range is 1200-1499 and my daily container allotment is:
3 Green, 2 Purple, 4 Red, 2 Yellow, 1 Blue, 1 Orange, 2 Oils
That means I can fill my green container up with vegetables 3x/day and my purple container up with fruit 2x/day. You can eat each portion whenever you like but I usually mix them up throughout the day and feel like it’s a ton of food.
SAMPLE DAY 21 Day Fix Menu Plan (1200-1499 calorie range)
Breakfast (1 red, 1 yellow): 2 eggs with 1 slice whole grain toast
Snack (1 purple): orange
Lunch (1 green, 1 red): homemade vegetable soup with chicken
Snack (1 red): greek yogurt
Dinner (1 red, 2 green, 1 yellow, 1 orange): roasted pork tenderloin in 21 day fix dressing , brown rice, roasted broccoli & cauliflower with parmesan cheese
Snack (1 purple, 1 blue) 1 apple, 2 teaspoons almond butter
Treats and Sweets
Let’s keep it real, being totally restricted (especially at first) is really hard. The great news is that the the 21 Day Fix meal plan DOES allow for treats and sweets 3x per week!
I’m not someone who eats a ton of sweets but I do love to have a glass of wine. Three times a week you can enjoy a small glass of wine AND three times per week you can indulge in a little bit of chocolate or even a few potato chips according to the book. To me this is important. Not only because it’s hard to give these things up but to sustain a healthy lifestyle, you need a little bit of reality and if you told me I could NEVER have wine… well that kind of plan wouldn’t work for me.
Exercise
Ok, this is an area I need to work on. Exercise… *sigh*
You will receive a DVD in your package and on it are daily exercises. The great thing is that it’s only 30 minutes per day and you can do them at home. They are easy to follow and well explained plus each exercise has a modification for beginners and a modification to make it more challenging if your fitness level is more advanced.
It’s only 30 minutes per day and really, don’t let this scare you away. They’re designed for everyone at every level and everyone has to start somewhere!
You can find more low carb posts & recipes here!
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding the program or foods on the program, please feel free to leave them below and I will do my best to answer them! In a few weeks I will be sharing my full and honest experience. I have NOT been paid for this post nor have I been given any free product or information to post about the 21 Day Fix. This is just my own interpretation. I give this program a thumbs up for learning proper portion control and exploring healthy options.
Hi,
I am just looking to eat better and tone up. I am 5’6 and 115 pounds so I don’t want to lose any weight just maintain. So would I be on Plan B at 1665 calories?
Hi Jess, I recommend you consult your 21 day fix product manual for the most up to date information on this.
21 day fix meals
Have you done any other beachbody programs
I haven’t, I’ve only done the 21 day fix plan.
Just came across your site & I need to loose weight. Not only for my health but for myself! I’m 52yrs & have Multiple Sceloris, Fibromyalgia Arthritis & beat Breast Cancer 2009. Married to my Best Friend of 32yrs. He has beat skin cancer, had to have his ear canal & everything inside removed. He’s had a kidney transplant 1995 due to birth defect, it was only expected to last 8yrs max, we’ll it’s still working but slowing down so he’s been put back on the transplant list. We live in God’s Hands & he’s making us stronger each day.
Hello. How do i count the containers for my own recipes?
Example…..jambala? Chicken and rice?
Thank you
When I make my own recipes I not how many containers are going into the recipe.
For example if you put 4 yellows of rice, 2 reds of chicken, 4 green of vegetables and cook the dish and divide it into 4 servings, each serving would have 1 yellow, 1/2 red, 1 green.
Do you need to buy the containers? Can you just measure out the correct food that would fit into each container? Thank you.
You could certainly measure out the food if you prefer.
Thank you for this information…of course I would like to loose weight but I mainly have to change my eating habits due to health issues..I need a low fat- low sodium diet. I have made a lot of your soups and they were great !!!
Can you please give the daily container allotment for 2960 and 3610? Do you know how many ounces are in each container?
The maximum container allotment is the 2,100 – 2,300 level. If you are above this level the guide says to use this level.
The daily amount at this level is 6 green, 4 purple, 6 red, 4 yellow, 1 blue, 1 orange and 6tsp oil.