21 Day Fix Eating Plan, Meal and Recipe Ideas

After my last post about how to use the portion control color coded containers, I thought I’d explain exactly how I am using them and give you some examples of the 21 day fix meal plan that I use and follow each day.  There are many different recipes and snack ideas that I have accumulated to make the diet easy to follow and actually enjoyable.

My 21 Day Fix Eating Plan

Let’s discuss an example of what I will eat in one day while using this exercise program. First of all, I’m using the 1200-1499 calorie bracket.  I try to be as strict as possible throughout the day but I do make some exceptions.  I pretty much never measure the vegetable containers and have as many vegetables as I want provided they are prepared without any extra oils/dressings.  Vegetables are so low in calories that it hardly makes a difference and they can really help fill you up.

Day One on the Fix Eating Plan Example:

Breakfast:

For breakfast, I will choose to make either a smoothie, omelette, sorbet or oatmeal depending on my hunger level.  Now that it is summer and scorching hot out there, I’ve been loving making a protein rich strawberry sorbet using one red container and one purple container.

Protein Dream Strawberry Sorbet Recipe:

1 purple container (or 1.5) of strawberries or raspberries

1 red container filled with cottage cheese or plain greek yogurt

Blend in a food processor until it creates a sorbet texture. Add stevia to make sweetener and a dash of cinnamon.  You can add a splash of skim milk or more yogurt to make it creamier, or add more berries to make it thicker.

In my photo on the right, I used strawberries and cottage cheese.  It’s chalk full of protein and tastes absolutely delicious.

Mid-Morning Snack

1 blue container filled with hummus

1 slice of toast (1 yellow container), or several small melba toasts to dip with the hummus

1 green container filled with baby carrots

Lunch

My 21 day fix meal plan varies for lunch each day depending on my hunger level.  If I’m really hungry or need extra energy for the day, I’ll have a yellow container in addition to my protein and vegetables.  I often just have a vegetable and cheese omelette or a protein based vegetable salad.

For example:

Chicken Tomato Balsamic salad with 1 or 1.5 red containers filled with sliced grilled chicken, 2 green containers (1 filled with cherry tomatoes, the other with romaine lettuce). I’ll add some green onion and then use one orange container filled with Italian Light or Balsamic Light vinagrette salad dressing and maybe one teaspoon of olive oil.

Mid-Afternoon Snack

I sometimes make protein energy balls for a snack which I’ll put the recipe up shortly.  Or I will have a red container with greek yogurt mixed with a purple container filled with sliced strawberries or pineapple. Add a bit of stevia to the plain yogurt to help fill you up further!

Dinner

For dinner I always like to have two servings of protein, so two red containers, either of fish or chicken, and then a large plate of grilled or stir-fried vegetables.  I’ll use one teaspoon of olive oil while frying the vegetables and if I have any carb containers left, I’ll have it with whole wheat pasta or rice.  Shrimp, brown rice, soya sauce and red peppers/asparagus make a delicous dinner.

How to Stop Cravings or What to Do when Hunger Strikes

Sometimes while on the 21 day fix meal plan, you’ll find yourself hungrier than you normally are. Maybe you’ve exercised more one day or done more daily activity, or perhaps your body is just adjusting to your new diet.  But when this happens, there are several steps you can take to avoid sabotoging your diet.

1. Have a tall glass of water or two and wait. If you’re still feeling hungry after this, you’ll need to have a snack.
2. Add another container to your day or two.  But not carbohydrates. Choose an extra fruit or protein, or perhaps both.  Cottage cheese is an excellent choice as the proteins release slowly throughout the day after you eat it causing you to feel fuller longer.  Have that with some berries and you’ll be good to go.
3. Don’t go shopping or out to town on an empty stomach, you’re more likely to bend
4. Bring the 21 day fix containers filled with you with apple slices or almonds so you’ll still be able to track your diet while on the go.
5. Stop for a coffee or tea with skim milk and sweetener to help give your stomach that feeling of “full”.
6. If you are really craving something sweet and just can’t shake it, buy a single serving lollipop or hard candy.  A small lollipop contains less than 50 calories so it won’t ruin your diet efforts and you can suck on it for awhile allowing it to last longer

Remember that variety is the key to succeeding on any diet.  While the 21 day fix meal plan for one week might be great, you’ll get bored if you’re eating the same meals again and again. Mix up your eating plan and invent new recipes using the containers.  Soon you’ll get used to what a good size portion is and be able to eat out in public with confidence that you are sticking to the 21 day fix eating plan.