Like most people stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I did a fair amount of Netflix bingeing and stress eating (never-ending peanut M&Ms) and snacking away my boredom (all the Planters Cheez Balls). Even though I was working out every day — doing 10 Rounds and 21 Day Fix — I still put on some extra pandemic pounds. Ugh!
In May, I convinced my daughter Natalie to do the Beachbody 3-Day Refresh with me, thinking I’d use the quick three-day cleanse to kick-off my quest to lose the weight I gained. But shipping was delayed, we decided to do Whole30 for the month of June, and we booked a road trip for the beginning of July.
Needless to say, our “refresh” was delayed. Luckily, it ended up working out great. Natalie and I decided to start the 3-Day Refresh the Monday after returning from vacation. It was the perfect way to get back on track with healthy eating after eight days of indulgent vacation eating!
Getting Started With The 3-Day Refresh
Natalie and I were pretty curious to open our 3-Day Refresh boxes and see what was inside. We opened the boxes and reviewed the instruction booklets the day before we started the program. It wasn’t the best idea because we didn’t have time to grocery shop in advance, but in the end, it all worked out.
The 3-Day Refresh Complete Kit includes three days of Shakeology, but because I already have two bags of Shakeology shipped to our house each month — Vegan Chocolate and Vegan Cafe Latte — we bought a version of the Refresh without Shakeology.
Included in our 3-Day Refresh boxes were:
- 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.
During the Refresh, exercise is not recommended. 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. I tried yoga one day of the cleanse, but it’s not really my thing.
Now, let’s get to our honest review and day-by-day recap of our 3-Day Refresh experience…
3-Day Refresh Day 1
Doing the Refresh during the workweek was a bit more of a challenge than I expected — I was really busy so Natalie took charge, using the Program Guide to navigate our meals and snacks.
We started out the day with Shakeology (made with water) and fresh fruit for breakfast. Our brand new Vegan Salted Caramel Shakeology had just arrived, so we were both excited to try it. Natalie loved it but I think it tasted more like butterscotch. I’m reserving judgement until I try it with almond milk!
What was really enlightening were the servings sizes of different types of fruit. If we chose pineapple, the serving size was tiny, yet, if we chose strawberries or blueberries, the serving size was way larger! It’s really making us think twice about our choices and portion sizes.
I was a little nervous about doing the 3-Day Refresh after agreeing to do it with my mom. I thought I’d be hungry because the portions were smaller than what I usually eat but I seriously upped my water intake and was full all day! I was also a bit concerned about the food but so far our meals have been tasty!”
Natalie Bourn
Mid-morning we had to drink the Fiber Sweep and it was awful. Natalie and I both gagged trying to choke it down and agree that it smells like toilet cleaner. She compared the consistent to grainy wet sand and I think it the texture is more like drinking only the pulp of orange juice. So gross! We were horrified that we had to drink the Fiber Sweep two more times!
For lunch we had the Vanilla Fresh Shake, which was good but not great, and paired it with a serving of vegetables, fruit, and healthy fats — celery, almond butter, and berries. I’m normally not a big celery fan but cutting the celery/nut butter sticks into bit size pieces eliminated the stringy part of biting into celery that I hate. Total game changer!
Later in the afternoon, we had a snack that consisted of a vegetable and a healthy fat. Finally, our day wrapped up with a dinner of Vanilla Fresh and a huge portion of vegetables.
Overall, the food was simple but good. We both thought we’d be hungry, but neither of us were.
3-Day Refresh Day 2
Today we hit the grocery store so we would have a wider variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from for our meals. We also picked up ingredients for the dinners Natalie chose from the recipes provided — she cooked all of our Refresh meals!
We love Shakeology, so breakfast was a no-brainer. We mixed our fruits, vegetables, and healthy fat into salads for lunch, enjoyed yummy snacks, and felt really good after sticking to the light dinner of just the Vanilla Fresh shake and vegetables.
“So far, it’s been really nice being forced to stick to simple healthy foods and limit how much I’m snacking each day, however, it really stinks knowing there is ice cream in the freezer and I can’t eat it… and sorry, but the Fiber Sweep is nasty!”
Natalie Bourn
The big win of the day was that Natalie finally tried hummus for the first time and liked it! The worst part of the day was trying to drink the Fiber Sweep drink again. We had to hype ourselves up for the task and then chugged it as fast as we could and still gagged a little. That stuff is seriously gross but thankfully it’s over fast!
By the end of day two, Natalie and I were both feeling great and surprised that even though we weren’t eating very much, we didn’t feel hungry. With dinners being nothing but a Vanilla Fresh Shake, a simple plate of vegetables, and maybe a small serving of vegetable broth, I definitely wasn’t expecting to feel satisfied!
The only bad thing was that today was my husband Brian’s birthday… Whoops! Due to bad planning on my part, there was no birthday dessert today. Thankfully, Brian’s not a big birthday/holiday guy, so we celebrated after the Refresh was over!
3-Day Refresh Day 3
The last day! This cleanse went by so fast and we ended up eating really well, which surprised both of us. We were a bit skeptical at first, I mean, the eating plan seemed so limited. But we really liked the light snacks and the plant-based meals and both felt great. Plus, I love that it got Natalie to try new foods or try foods a different way. For example, she had never tried eating a raw red bell pepper before!
“My acne is usually pretty bad but my skin is clearing up and I do feel refreshed after eating lots of snacks while on vacation last week. My digestive system, energy, and general body systems feel better than ever and I’ve decided to continue my healthy eating and portion control because it has made feel so good.”
Natalie Bourn
The serving sizes and recommended eating plan for the 3-Day Refresh really showed us how much we overeat on a daily basis. We were shocked. We also both agreed that we liked how we felt so much that we are going to stick with the recommendations for lunch and snacks for a while.
Our 3-Day Refresh Results
At the end of the Refresh, Brian asked us if we would do it again and we both paused, looked at each other, and said yes. But we both agreed, that the Fiber Sweep would make us think twice before committing. What’s interesting is that a few other people in my Beachbody community were doing the Refresh at the same time we were and they didn’t think the Fiber Sweep bad at all. Now, I think they’re crazy… but I guess everyone’s tastes and tolerances for texture are different.
In terms of results, our 3-Day Refresh wins were impressive:
- Natalie: In addition to her acne clearing up, Natalie also reported that the Refresh helped mitigate some of her PMS and period symptoms — goodbye bloating!
- Jen: I noticed a flatter stomach, more energy, and better sleep — and after only three days, I lost four pounds! That’s a win in my book.
This was the first cleanse/refresh style program I have done and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was 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 and that I convinced Natalie to do it with me! It was so much more fun doing with a partner and having someone to laugh through the Fiber Sweep gagging with. She also made it easier because she guided us through the whole program and cooked all of our dinners.
Even though it was only three days, the Refresh taught us quite a bit about our own eating habits and proper portion sizes. It’s also made us more aware of the fuel we choose to power our bodies with, which is something I didn’t expect. Overall, I’d definitely recommend the 3-Day Refresh. I know I’ll be doing it again. In fact, this may become a post-vacation ritual. It definitely helped us get back on track after our road trip and all the snacking we did on vacation!
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 Beachbody or Shakeology, I’m happy to chat with zero pressure and zero obligations.
