Unbiased 3-Day Refresh Review

The first thing I want to point out, is that I am not a Beachbody Coach; I am not affiliated with the company in any way.  I purchased Shakeology protein powder and the 3-Day Refresh kit myself.  I am writing this review in order to share my experience for anyone who might want an unbiased opinion from someone who does not stand to profit in any way and has no vested interest in it.

I have been curious about the 3-Day Refresh program since I first heard about it last Summer… but it only recently became available in Canada.  It is not a fast, a juice cleanse, or a starvation diet.  But let’s concentrate on what it actually is and my experience with it.

What’s in the 3-Day Refresh Kit

I had already purchased Shakeology protein powder so I chose a kit that did not come with more Shakeology.  My kit had 3 days worth of high protein shake mixes called Vanilla Fresh, and high fibre drinks called Fiber Sweep, and a program guide book.  The book has all the details you need to follow the program, laid out very simply.  It also has information about the fruits, vegetables, fats, and  juices you will eat in addition to the shakes, along with some recipes for your evening meal. 

The guide also has a lot of information and recommendations about how you might feel and what to expect during the 3 days. And it very clearly and specifically suggest undertaking only mild to moderate exercise during the 3-Day Refresh. And it also warns that you might experience bloating and gas from the Fiber Sweep drink.

What You Will Eat on the 3-Day Refresh

Throughout the day, as laid out in the guide, you will have 1 Shakeology shake, 1 Fiber Sweep drink and 2 Vanilla Fresh shakes.  You will also have 2 pieces of fruit, fresh vegetables, 2 servings healthy oils or fats, green tea, lots and lots of water… and you may also have freshly made juice, veggie broth, and herbal tea if you want them.  For those of you, like me, who refuse to give up your coffee… you may have it, but only black.

I am going to detail what I did on each of the 3 days for you, and then I will tell you what I liked and didn’t like with my conclusions afterward. 

I normally drink lemon water mixed with fermented L-Glutamine when I get up in the morning.  I also drink a magnesium citrate powder mixed with water before I go to bed at night. I didn’t see any reason not to have these things while on the 3-Day Refresh.  I did not take any other vitamins or supplements though. The Shakeology protein powder and the Vanilla Fresh mixes are loaded with vitamins and minerals.

I chose to do my 3-Day Refresh during a time when I had no pressing commitments on my calendar other than working from home on my computer during the first and third evenings. I did not have to dress up to go to work and I had no plans for entertaining or eating meals away from home.

Day 1

Morning

6:20 a.m.

• 12 ounces water with lemon juice and fermented L-Glutamine
• Black coffee

7:20 a.m.

• Vanilla Shakeology mixed with 12 ounces water
• 1/2 large navel orange

8:45 a.m.

• Green tea

Feeling a wee bit headachy at this point as I normally have 2 cups of coffee in the morning

9:15 a.m.

• 12 ounces water
• Black coffee

And the headache goes away!

11:00 a.m.

• Fiber Sweep mixed with 12 ounces cold water
• 12 ounces hot water

 I have no experience with fibre mixes/drinks so I am showing pictures of what it looked like out of the package, and then mixed with water.  It is not unpleasant; it has a citrusy taste and I just chugged it down. I did have to add a bit of water to the lumpy bits at the bottom to remix and finish it.
                   
Afternoon

12:30 p.m.

• Small salad of baby greens, tomatoes, cucumber
• Dressing of 1 tsp EVOO and 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Vanilla Fresh with 10 water and 2/3 cup frozen cherries blended in

2:30 p.m. did 20 minutes of yoga

2:50 p.m.

• 12 ounces water
• 1/2 cup black coffee

3:00 p.m. went out for 30 minute walk

3:30 p.m.

• Baby carrots, cucumber slices, 3 Tbs hummus  (this is a bit more veggies and hummus than the program calls for but I was hungry and made the decision to have it.)

3:40 p.m.

• Black coffee

4:35 p.m.

• 12 ounces water

Feeling kind of light headed and a just a wee bit gassy at this point but not bloated or uncomfortable.

Evening

Ate dinner a bit earlier than normal because I had an online work session scheduled for 6 – 9 p.m. and I wanted to make sure I was finished with dinner and ready to work.
5:00 p.m.

• Lemony Green Beans  (from program recipe book)
• Vanilla Fresh with 10 ounces water

The Vanilla Fresh is a bit watery and bland made with water but has a decent taste.  The Lemony Green Beans were delicious.

Feeling full enough but slightly ‘off’ head-wise.  But within an hour of eating dinner I was feeling good again. I continued to drink water throughout the evening.  Also had one more cup of black coffee about 9 p.m.

11:00 p.m.

• 1/2 small banana (not on program but I decided to have it so I wouldn’t wake up hungry during the night.)
• 12 ounces water with magnesium citrate powder

Day 2

Slept very well. Woke up just before 7 a.m. feeling very good and not hungry.

Morning

7:00 a.m.

• 12 oz. lemon water with fermented L-Glutamine
• 1-1/2 cups black coffee

8:10  a.m.

• Vanilla Shakeology mixed with with 1-1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon and 1/2 banana blended in

9:20 a.m. brisk outdoor walk 50 minutes

10:15 a.m.

• Green tea

11:00 a.m.

• Fiber Sweep with 12 ounces cold water
• 12 ounces cold water

Afternoon

12:25 p.m.

• Small salad of baby greens, tomatoes, cucumber and capers
• Dressing made of 1 tsp EVOO, cucumber blush vinegar and Greek seasonings
• Vanilla Fresh with 10 ounces unsweetened original Almond Breeze and some cinnamon
• One apple

I decided to have a piece of fruit to eat along with my Vanilla Fresh shake, instead of having fruit blended into it. It seemed more like a normal lunch to me… salad, then my smoothie with the apple.  I was very full after I was finished.  The Vanilla Fresh seemed much thicker and way more satisfying made with the almond milk as opposed to having it made with water.

Spent most of the afternoon on my feet working on a jigsaw puzzle. Drank a few more glasses of water and a cup of coffee.

3:45 p.m.

• Baby carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices with about 3 Tbs hummus (again, slightly more than prescribed by the program.)

4:15 p.m.

• 12 ounces of water with magnesium citrate powder

Experienced some tiredness in legs so decided to take a mag powder mid-day. It helped almost right away.

5:50 p.m.

• Weak black tea, sipped occasionally over the next hour

A bit of gas as I drank my tea but no bloating whatsoever.  I am wondering at this point when the Fiber Sweep is going to really kick in!

6:30 p.m.

• Morrocan Carrot Salad (recipe in program guide)
• Vanilla Fresh with 10 ounces unsweetened original Almond Breeze and 2 ounces water, lots of cinnamon
• Remainder of black tea

I was not feeling all that hungry but did enjoy the taste of my dinner salad. And the Vanilla Fresh was better, too, with more cinnamon in it. Used about 3/4 tsp.

9:00 p.m.

• Herbal tea

10:30 p.m.

• 12 ounces of water with magnesium citrate
• 12 ounces of water

Not hungry at all during the evening.  Went to bed feeling good at 10:40

Day 3

Woke up about 6:40 a.m. feeling good and well-rested.

Morning

6:45 a.m.

• 12 oz. lemon water with fermented L-Glutamine
• 1-1/2 cups black coffee

8:25 a.m.

• Vanilla Shakeology mixed with 8 ounces Coconut Dream, 8 ounces cold water, cinnamon and 1/2 banana blended into it.

9:30 a.m.

• Walked 10 minutes to IMAX Theater, watched movie and walked 10 minutes home

11:00 a.m

• Fiber Sweep with 10 ounces cold water
• 12 ounces cold water
• Green tea

Afternoon

12:15 p.m.

• Salad of cucumber, grape tomatoes, cilantro
• Dressing made of 1 tsp EVOO, 2 tsp lemon juice, minced garlic, salt, pepper
• 1 apple
• Vanilla Fresh made with 10 ounces unsweetened original Almond Breeze

Spent afternoon on my feet and drank 2 more glasses of water. 

3:45 p.m.

• Toes started cramping up when I sat down to eat my snack so I drank 12 ounces water with magnesium citrate and it offered almost immediate relief
• Green pepper, tomatoes, baby carrots with 3 Tbs hummus (again, a bit more than prescribed) sprinkled liberally with salt.
• 2 cups black coffee

Evening

I was scheduled to work online again from 6 – 9 p.m. so decided to space my dinner out in order to keep my brain fuelled to do my work.

5:15 p.m.

• Vanilla Fresh made with 10 ounces unsweetened original Almond Breeze

7:00 p.m.

• Cucumber and Tomato Salad (from progarm guide).  Another very tasty salad!  And I ate it very slowly… took about 1/2 hour to finish, it was so chewy and flavorful.

8:30 p.m.

• herbal tea

11:00 p.m.

• 12 ounces of water with magnesium citrate
• 12 ounces of water

Not hungry at all during the evening.  Went to bed feeling good just after 11:00 p.m. 

What I Liked About the 3-Day Refresh

• The program is simple to follow, the guide book is well-laid out and easy/quick to read and the important parts easily referenced during the 3 days.
• The recipes provided for Dinners are really tasty and made from whole, fresh ingredients.
• The Vanilla Fresh shake mixes were tasty and easy to drink and change up with fruit and spices.
• I did not experience much hunger at all.  Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by this.
• I slept well and woke up feeling good.
• I was satisfied with the food I was eating and not obsessed with want to eat or snack or wondering when my next meal would be.
• I was allowed to have black coffee.  I normally have my coffee black anway so this was no hardship for me.
• There is enough real food allowed to satisfy the need to chew.

What I Didn’t Like About the 3-Day Refresh

• During the first day I felt a bit light headed and don’t think I was getting quite enough to eat. I was concerned about going to bed and feeling poorly during the night so I ate 1/2 banana before bedtime.

My Conclusion

I have just finished this 3-Day Refresh program. You might say that today is my Day 4... I have been up and away for 2 hours and, after my normal morning lemon water concoction, and 2 cups of black coffee, I am still not hungry.

All in all this was a pretty easy program for me to follow for 3 days. I already normally eat whole real foods and use protein powders for smoothies and shakes so there was nothing really foreign or unusual for me here, other than the Fiber Sweep drink.

I am not vegan, but the program can be, if you choose the vegan Shakeology option. I used the whey based powder.

I mentioned the light-headednesson Day 1 to my Beachbody Coach, Danielle Prestejohn  (who holds a Master’s degree in Nutrition and is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, and who has done at least two 3-Day Refreshes herself) and she suggested I might mix my morning Shakeology and my noon/dinner Vanilla Fresh powders with unsweetened almond milk. This added a few more calories and a bit more fat to my day. It not only made the shakes more palatable, it kept me fuelled better throughout the day.

I never did experience any real effects from the Fiber Sweep. Danielle and I both think this may be because I already eat a diet full of fruit and veggies and high fibre carbs such as sweet potatoes and the occasional brown rice.  The additional fibre was not a shock to my body as it might be for some people.

The Shakeology and Vanilla Fresh powders make very satisfying shakes. Normally, after eating a lunch of salad with lean protein and a serving of healthy oils I am wanting a snack a couple of hours later. With the Vanilla Fresh shake for lunch, I was not needing a snack for 3 or 4 hours.  They are so nutrient-dense that they sustained me longer.

I am never going to do a program that insists I give up my coffee.

You really have to limit your exercise/workouts. Although I did some yoga and did some walking, I would never have been able to go for a run or do any strength training.

I did lose a few pounds... I know it's water weight... I didn't do this program to lose weight.  I do have a flatter belly and am smaller around the midriff/waist. I should have taken before/after measurements but didn't.  I am wearing my skinny jeans today!

I think it is likely a very good program for someone who needs to put the brakes on eating too much processed food, or even a transition into eating more fruits and vegetables. 


And the Big Question?  Would I Do it Again?

YES. I am already planning a quarterly Refresh.  I think it will be a good way for me to keep myself in check occasionally.

So, have you ever done a program like this?