21 Day Fix Extreme-Week 2 Menu

21 Day Fix Extreme Week 2 is going well! Week 1 was a little difficult because in addition to adjusting to a new eating plan, I also had a lot of stressful events happen mid week.  Needless to say my willpower was not at it's best and I definitely did some cheating.  Thankfully, I am not really in a competition, so it's NOT THAT SERIOUS! I am not beating myself up over it.  BUT I am back on track!

Week 1 was definitely an adjustment.  I followed the Countdown to Competition plan to a T for several days, but it was hard because I was SO FULL! I was eating when I wasn't hungry, and in fact, I still felt full from my last meal.  It definitely wasn't working for me to eat when I wasn't hungry, and this was reflecting on the scale.  I am not giving up, but I don't want to continue with a plan when it's not working, so I made some adjustments for Week 2. :)  I am very happy with these changes!

First, I still planned out the 6 proteins a day I was supposed to be eating, but if I wasn't hungry I decided I was not going to make myself eat them just because I was supposed to.  Instead, I decided to skip one of my snacks if I wasn't hungry.  If I skipped a protein, I added another veggie.  This has worked beautifully! I haven't been hungry or stuffing myself and I feel great!

Second, I have been drinking LOTS more water, especially on the Countdown to Competition days.  Normally I drink around 70-80 ounces a day, but I have upped my intake to at least 100 ounces. It sounds like a lot, but it's really not too bad and it definitely has helped.  My plan of attack to drink all this water was to fill my 32 oz Camelbak twice and I take it with me everywhere! I take it to meetings, when I'm driving to drop/off pick up kids, and even going room to room in my house.  It's easy to keep up my water intake when I always have water with me. I also keep a cup of water with lemon in the fridge that is 20 oz.  I refill this cup 3-4 times.  I love to pull out this cold lemon water to sip on while I'm cooking.  This has worked really well for me! The extra water has really helped!

Lastly, I have switched to tea.  I made iced tea to drink in the afternoon and had hot tea several times in the morning.  I have been drinking black coffee, but I really LOVE coffee and black coffee just is not the same and my usual coffee with a TBSP of half and half.  It just made me miss it more to drink it black, so I decided to just switch to tea for the next 2 weeks until I finish this challenge.

Here are some pics of the yummy food I have been eating this week! Eating healthy should not make you feel deprived! This week has been delicious!

I am really excited for the last week of 21 Day Fix Extreme! I have another delicious menu prepared! I love trying new healthy recipes! :)

Garlic Lime Cilantro Shrimp! (Or Chicken for non-seafood fans)

What started as boring grilled shrimp on my menu plan turned into a mouth watering, can't get enough feast!

I had my shrimp ready to grill and I was trying to decide, "how do I want to season it." I bought a lot so I would have leftovers to eat throughout the week on my 21 Day Fix Extreme meal plan, therefore it had to be delicious or I would be regretting it all week. Haha! Did I want southwestern? Smoky? Spicy? Nothing was sounding like what I was looking for. So I opened my 21 Day Fix Eating plan book and started looking over the lists of freebies! (items you can add to anything, in any amount and it doesn't count as a container! Yippee!). The freebie list consists of mainly seasonings (minus salt), vinegars, and fresh herbs. That's when I saw it: LIME! I always have cilantro on hand and who doesn't love garlic?

Why didn't I think of this before?!?!? This is one of my favorite flavor combinations but I had never tried on shrimp before. I decided to give it a whirl! 

Ingredients: 

2 lbs shrimp (1 lb would be enough for my family of 4, but I wanted extra to eat the rest of the week)

2 limes

2 handful of cilantro leaves, chopped (or more if desired)

garlic powder, pepper, and sea salt; to taste

This recipe is so simple and fast! It's a great dinner to throw together when you are short on time, but it's delicious, so even if you have all day I would still choose to make this recipe!

Simply spray the grill with olive oil, cook shrimp over medium/high heat until pink. In a bowl whisk together the juice of the limes, cilantro, and seasonings. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss! Voila!

Garlic Lime Cilantro Shrimp could easily be substituted with chicken or scallops. Yum! It can be served in tacos, on a salad, or over quinoa or rice. This recipe is also delicious with avocado! Enjoy!

This shrimp was so tasty, flavorful and versatile! How will you serve Garlic Lime Cilantro Shrimp?

Day 1: Soo Much Food!

The Countdown to Competition Plan (CTC) for 21 Day Fix Extreme is the same plan that trainer and 21 Day Fix creator, Autumn Calabrese, uses before her bikini competitions.  CTC is a very different eating plan from what I have ever done before.  It includes A LOT of lean protein and veggies. After following the CTC plan for 2 days you follow one day of the 21 Day Fix Extreme  (21 DFX) eating plan. 21 DFX eating plan includes all the of the food groups in balanced portions. The CTC plan is not meant to be a permanent eating plan, but rather one that you use before a big event, such as a wedding, vacation or competition. I will be blogging about my 21 Day journey with this eating plan and workouts! I love the excitement before starting a new program!

Day 1 of the 21 Day Fix Extreme started with a delicious breakfast of eggs and asparagus I was even looking forward to getting up on Monday morning because I knew it was going to be tasty.  I was feeling great and I even managed to drink my coffee black since half and half is a no-no on the Countdown to Competition Plan.  I am NOT doing a competition, but I want to challenge myself and see how my body will respond to this plan.  If it works well, then I know what I will be doing before my next vacation! :)

 

Coffee in a cute mug ALWAYS tastes better!

The CTC plan urges you to eat many small meals throughout the day. Here is some of the other foods I ate on Day 1:

 

 

 

 

It was so much food! I was so full all day long! At no point was I even remotely hungry and I only ate my next small meal because I knew if I didn't eat every 2-3 hours I would not be able to eat all my containers for the day. 

 

At the end of the day I can honestly say it was a WIN! I was never hungry, I followed the plan to a T, and ALL the food was delicious, especially the Garlic Lime Cilantro Shrimp! (Look for a recipe post on this one coming soon!)

 

I am very excited for this challenge! I can't wait to see what other creative, healthy meals I can make! :)