So the first and most obvious downside to finishing the cleanse on the last day of the work week--you're not motivated to do a write-up of it on the weekend! I've gotta get my thoughts down before I forget the experience though, so here goes.
The hunger on Day 3 was comparable to Day 2, but for whatever reason I wasn't as hungry when I woke up the third day than I was the second. Sticking to the diet for the third day wasn't significantly challenging, but the guys at work don't offer the best social support. They opened a box of Girl Scout cookies and insisted that I eat some. I left the office for a little bit only to find that they saved one for me. I tucked it away in my desk. I recognize that one cookie wouldn't make that much of a difference, but that's not the point. The point is that I can always find a way to justify the things that are easy or instantly gratifying. Finding reasons to do the hard thing and sticking to one's commitment is the defining characteristic of success.
However, I agreed to meet up with some of the fellas from the office in the evening to say goodbye to our outgoing boss. Everyone had beers and bar snacks, so I thought a fruit juice would be an acceptable compromise since fruit is not entirely off-limits during the cleanse. All-in-all, I would say that I had a successful three days.
Now, there is an upside to waiting a few days to write about the last day. Now I get to write about my post-cleanse experience. Unfortunately this wasn't as good.
Friday I kept my diet somewhat under control...until dinner. I really didn't go ridiculously overboard with like a whole pizza and a pint of ice cream or anything, but I did have 1 cup of chicken tikka masala over 2 cups of basmati rice with a side of Na'an bread. Not the worst possible meal, but certainly not the healthiest way I could have ended the day. My immediate post-cleanse weight was 171.x, but my weigh-in following my Friday meals jumped back to 174.x. I did pretty good Saturday too, but I did treat myself to some hot-fresh-now Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts, which I don't get to do very often. Unfortunately as of Sunday morning's weigh-in, I'm back to my pre-cleanse weight.
So here are my take-aways from this round of the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse:
--The "cleanse" is really more of a fast, which I will call it from now on. I didn't have any more frequent trips to the bathroom, nor do I feel any differently than before starting the regimen.
--Speaking of which, I'm dealing with a huge bout of constipation now. I can't say for sure it's due to the fast or if the fast was contributing to the condition in any way, but no matter how you look at it, the Shakeology fast didn't do me any favors. One of the alleged benefits of Shakeology in general is that it's supposed to help keep you regular. In all fairness I understand that fasts in general tend to result in some form of constipation, and suffice it to say that a Shakeology fast seems to be no different.
--The fast is significantly more beneficial the more weight you have to lose. This might seem like a no-brainer, but I can now confirm it with my own experience. Last time I started the cleanse at 181.x, got down to around 175, and the subsequent return to normal eating didn't send me right back to my original weight. That was not my experience this time around. True, I could have controlled my diet restoration a little more tightly, but I don't assess that I did anything significantly different from the last time I did the cleanse.
--The Shakeology fast doesn't seem to be significantly different from other fasting protocols, or from consistently healthy eating. I didn't seem to lose significantly more weight from one day to the next on this fast compared from the 24 hour weekend fasts I've done, and the rate of weight loss was only moderately more noticeable than when I'm eating a normal, healthy diet.
Conclusion: The Shakeology 3-day fast can be an effective tool for enhancing weight loss, especially during an initial weight-loss phase where someone is achieving new standards in body comp. It is less effective in people who are otherwise eating healthy and are already close to their body comp goals. Additionally, the Shakeology fast is reasonable to maintain in terms of dealing with hunger; however, recognize that there is nothing significantly different or uniquely beneficial to doing a Shakeology fast vice other fasting protocols.
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this fast, fasting protocols, or any other questions about nutrition.
The hunger on Day 3 was comparable to Day 2, but for whatever reason I wasn't as hungry when I woke up the third day than I was the second. Sticking to the diet for the third day wasn't significantly challenging, but the guys at work don't offer the best social support. They opened a box of Girl Scout cookies and insisted that I eat some. I left the office for a little bit only to find that they saved one for me. I tucked it away in my desk. I recognize that one cookie wouldn't make that much of a difference, but that's not the point. The point is that I can always find a way to justify the things that are easy or instantly gratifying. Finding reasons to do the hard thing and sticking to one's commitment is the defining characteristic of success.
However, I agreed to meet up with some of the fellas from the office in the evening to say goodbye to our outgoing boss. Everyone had beers and bar snacks, so I thought a fruit juice would be an acceptable compromise since fruit is not entirely off-limits during the cleanse. All-in-all, I would say that I had a successful three days.
Now, there is an upside to waiting a few days to write about the last day. Now I get to write about my post-cleanse experience. Unfortunately this wasn't as good.
Friday I kept my diet somewhat under control...until dinner. I really didn't go ridiculously overboard with like a whole pizza and a pint of ice cream or anything, but I did have 1 cup of chicken tikka masala over 2 cups of basmati rice with a side of Na'an bread. Not the worst possible meal, but certainly not the healthiest way I could have ended the day. My immediate post-cleanse weight was 171.x, but my weigh-in following my Friday meals jumped back to 174.x. I did pretty good Saturday too, but I did treat myself to some hot-fresh-now Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts, which I don't get to do very often. Unfortunately as of Sunday morning's weigh-in, I'm back to my pre-cleanse weight.
So here are my take-aways from this round of the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse:
--The "cleanse" is really more of a fast, which I will call it from now on. I didn't have any more frequent trips to the bathroom, nor do I feel any differently than before starting the regimen.
--Speaking of which, I'm dealing with a huge bout of constipation now. I can't say for sure it's due to the fast or if the fast was contributing to the condition in any way, but no matter how you look at it, the Shakeology fast didn't do me any favors. One of the alleged benefits of Shakeology in general is that it's supposed to help keep you regular. In all fairness I understand that fasts in general tend to result in some form of constipation, and suffice it to say that a Shakeology fast seems to be no different.
--The fast is significantly more beneficial the more weight you have to lose. This might seem like a no-brainer, but I can now confirm it with my own experience. Last time I started the cleanse at 181.x, got down to around 175, and the subsequent return to normal eating didn't send me right back to my original weight. That was not my experience this time around. True, I could have controlled my diet restoration a little more tightly, but I don't assess that I did anything significantly different from the last time I did the cleanse.
--The Shakeology fast doesn't seem to be significantly different from other fasting protocols, or from consistently healthy eating. I didn't seem to lose significantly more weight from one day to the next on this fast compared from the 24 hour weekend fasts I've done, and the rate of weight loss was only moderately more noticeable than when I'm eating a normal, healthy diet.
Conclusion: The Shakeology 3-day fast can be an effective tool for enhancing weight loss, especially during an initial weight-loss phase where someone is achieving new standards in body comp. It is less effective in people who are otherwise eating healthy and are already close to their body comp goals. Additionally, the Shakeology fast is reasonable to maintain in terms of dealing with hunger; however, recognize that there is nothing significantly different or uniquely beneficial to doing a Shakeology fast vice other fasting protocols.
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this fast, fasting protocols, or any other questions about nutrition.
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