I have completed an entire month on the program.
To be fair to the program, I must give you MY disclaimers.
Number one. I did NOT exercise. I kept feeling better and had more energy and saying that I was going to exercise... aaannnddd it never happened. My house is a little cleaner because I could go longer and get more done, but truly, aside from the laundry & housework & errands that I do everyday, I did nothing.
Number two. I did not eat sensibly for any of my meals. I did my two shakes a day, and then I ate whatever we were making for everyone else for dinner. I ate lasagna, sausage & potatoes, tortellini with meat sauce, and Chinese buffet (to give you some examples). I maybe ate 3 salads all month (which is totally normal consumption for me).
Number three. The super-magic-melt-you concoction is the Cleanse product. You can do a one or two day cleanse per week. I did two 2-day cleanses in 30 days; not four.
Number four. I only did program-provided snacks about half the time. The rest of the time, I ate things that were approved by the program or not at all. You're not supposed to skip snacks, I did sometimes. There were days that I was not hungry between shakes. Yeah, never thought I'd EVER say that phrase!
And, Number five. I didn't always drink all the water I was supposed to in a day. Before the program, I might have slugged down 2-3 bottles a day (less than the 4 that makes your normal 8 glasses). I started at 283 lbs and according to the program, especially during cleanse days, optimum is about half your weight in water. There was no way in Hades that I was going to get 141.5 oz of water a day every single day. That's 9 bottles a day. Sometimes I made it, sometimes I didn't. If I got 6 I was more than satisfied with my water consumption.
Bottom Line: The program did ALL the work.
End result of 30 days on an amazing program and doing it like an actual human being who breathes, not a robot having to stick to a billion rules, regulations, and calorie counters... *drum roll please*
I lost 16 lbs (pretty good for 30 days on a traditional diet--ie. rabbit food, starvation, and killing yourself at the gym 5 days a week). So to eat what I wanted around the program and still have these results is amazing.
BUT THE WEIGHT LOSS WAS THE LEAST OF IT!
I lost 35.5 INCHES off of my entire body in that month. (that wouldn't even happen on 4 months on the traditional diet!) PHENOMENAL.
Best part is, that wasn't the best part. Seriously! It's the most visible part, but the best part is how I feel.
My joints don't hurt anymore. My hips were so bad before this program that I would literally get into the car and commute all of 15 minutes for work, and get out of the car like I was 80; barely able to walk. That's gone.
My hair and nails grew more quickly, and my hair got super shiny. My skin isn't a disaster area anymore. No breakouts even during hormonal times.
Speaking of which, my hormones got their shit together. I rarely have hives anymore (which was a daily struggle) and my hot flashes have literally disappeared (previously between 6-10 daily).
My mental clarity has returned and I haven't had coffee in 30 days. I used to need two coffee bowls before I even made it to work in the morning. Then I would drink 2-3 cups and a 44 oz. Coke in the afternoon to stay awake. My ex-co-workers can back me up on this.
My body recovers from strenuous activity more quickly. Yesterday I woke up after 5 hours of sleep. I hand-washed, dried & put away two loads of dishes. Washed, line-dried, folded & put away two loads of laundry. Cleaned the kitchen. De-cobwebbed the ENTIRE HOUSE; vacuumed ceilings, ceiling fans & light fixtures, walls, cabinets, and speakers. Dusted. Cleaned floors. Cleaned out the fridge. Bagged and took out garbage...The whole whammy with a lot of overhead work. A lot of shoulder use and strain.
I woke up this morning in no pain. Last month, I wouldn't have gotten all of that done in one day AND I would have been in bed damn near dying with an Advil-mainline drip today.
And last, but not least, my immune system is much stronger. Over the last two weeks, I've had Honey and two kids here, sick, and cared for by me. They had fevers. They threw up and slept for hours on end and looked like death warmed over. I DID NOT GET SICK. I felt a little run down for about a day.
And last, but not least, my immune system is much stronger. Over the last two weeks, I've had Honey and two kids here, sick, and cared for by me. They had fevers. They threw up and slept for hours on end and looked like death warmed over. I DID NOT GET SICK. I felt a little run down for about a day.
What I didn't feel like all month long... Like I deprived myself or had to work to achieve the results I got.
I really should have pulled my shirt tighter for the day one pictures, but I was pretty much filling it out without a lot of leeway in the shirt (plus I felt terrible about how I looked so I really wasn't able emotionally to show all the rolls)
Day one |
Day 30 |
Day One |
Day 30 |
My final 30 day analysis: Worth Every Penny and Then Some.