Many may look at me and think that health and fitness has always come easy for me – but that’s pretty far from the truth. I struggled with my weight starting in middle school, when I’d head home alone in 6th grade (6th graders weren’t eligible for sports yet) and make myself giant snacks and watch TV. I was bullied in 7th grade and food was a comfort for me.
I grew up with a busy, single working mom and convenience foods were what we ate. I was super picky and ate a lot of fast food. Corn was the only veggie I ate, and it’s not even a vegetable (it’s technically a grain!). In high school my weight would go up and down depending on sports and other factors, but I thought about food all the time and it was a huge part of my life. My self-confidence was incredibly low because I placed so much of my worth on my body and what I thought others thought of me. It was not healthy!
In college, I gained the Freshman 15 due to partying and free reign of my university meal plan. The summer between freshman and sophomore year, I was lonely living at home with my mom and a lot my friends weren’t around. I learned to diet and workout, and lost the freshman 15 and more, but did NOT by any means fix my issues with emotional eating. This led me to yo-yo diet for the next 10 years and try all sorts of diets, from the Master Cleanse to the South Beach Diet. They all failed and I honestly believed that in order to be thin like the women in magazines, I’d have to starve myself. I also thought that I’d only be happy if I was thin. Of course I didn’t realize I had that belief then, but looking back, it was very much the truth.
Everything finally changed for me when I discovered P90X. And it wasn’t just the workouts, it was the nutrition plan. For the first time in my life, I was eating a balanced diet and seeing results from it. No cutting out carbs completely. No eating Lean Cuisines and then binging on baked lays or frozen yogurt or other “healthy alternatives” like I did for years. No starving myself M-Th and then eating everything in sight Friday-Sunday and feeling guilty every single Monday.
P90X is famous for the workouts, but it also includes a portion control nutrition plan. My husband Mike and I went all in on the nutrition. I started eating more real foods, less processed foods, and finding that I was satisfied and happy. My cravings went down and I was still eating roughly 2,000 calories a day and losing weight consistently week after week. My body completely transformed but truly it was my MIND – I finally figured out that I COULD be fit and healthy without starving, that I could feel confident about my body and that I could LIVE my life, enjoy my favorite treats like pizza and ice cream, in moderation. This was seriously a revolution in my life and if you’ve been reading my blog since then, you’ve watched me transform.
The P90X nutriton plan is based on portion control, yet it wasn’t until 21 Day Fix was released 5 years ago that the color-coded containers to measure out the food came to be. I turned to the 21 Day Fix after having my first daughter because I could no longer fit in those hour long P90X workouts. I found the container system to be SO simple and it worked so well! In fact, I loved all of it so much that I joined as a coach and have helped hundreds of people (many of whom are runners and/or moms) lose thousands of pounds with this system. I also used the portion control system to lose 25 pounds after my twin pregnancy last year.
Ultimate Portion Fix – 5 Year Anniversary of 21 Day Fix
It is now the 5 year anniversary of the 21 Day Fix and Autumn Calabrese has released a brand new, nutrition only program called the Ultimate Portion Fix. The Ultimate Portion Fix brings nutrition to a whole new level by not only giving you guidance on HOW to lose weight, but proving you with education along with it. Knowledge is power – and when you know WHY you’re eating the way you are, you’re way more likely to make it a lifestyle.
Portion control is NOT a fad diet. I’ve literally been doing it for 8 years. I don’t follow the containers all the time – but when my clothes are fitting a little tighter, I’m training for a big race that I want to be at my physical best for, or I’m getting ready for an event (like my all-expense paid cruise I earned through Beachbody that I’ll be heading out on next week!) then I go back to the container system. Every single time a client of my tells me that they aren’t seeing results from one of my fitness programs I ask them if they’re following the container system – and they always say no. Once they get on it, I always hear them say they have found results. It TRULY works.
How Do the Ultimate Portion Fix Containers Work? Do you count calories on the Ultimate Portion Fix?
The way the containers work is that each colored container represents a food group (blue = fat, purple = fruit, etc). You’re given a list of foods that are included in that food group that are approved on the plan and an allotment of containers for the day, depending on your gender, current weight, goals, etc.
For example, a woman who weighs 175 pounds and is aiming to lose weight would be in Plan B (which equates to roughly 1500-1800 calories, but you do NOT count calories) and be allocated 3 yellow (carbohydrate containers) per day. She can choose off a list of foods to put in the container such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, roast potatoes, oatmeal, etc. (or there are things like 1 slice of whole wheat bread, 2 corn tortillas, etc that you don’t use the containers to measure).
You can either track your containers using the Beachbody Nutrition + app or use the journal that comes with the kit. If you’re on the foundational Fix path (explained below), you can eat your 3 yellow portions at any time in the day (for the timed nutrition, you would eat your yellow container before and after your workout).
The point is to keep it simple and to AVOID calorie counting. You know exactly how much food you can eat in a day and there is so much freedom in knowing that you are staying within your limits, no matter what you eat. For example, you can save that yellow container for a glass of wine with dinner – that means NO GUILT!
What is Included in the Ultimate Portion Fix?
The Ultimate Portion Fix is a stand-alone nutriton program by Beachbody super trainer Autumn Calabrese. It is available NOW (it was released on March 18th, 2019. Fill out this form to do the program with me as your coach).
The program includes:
- 30 educational videos (stream from your phone or computer)
- Full set of color-coded containers
- Ultimate Portion Fix Program Guide with 3 tracks (weight loss, performance, carb-cycling)
- Ultimate Portion Fix Journal
- Tracking app
- Fixate Volume 2 Cookbook with 102 new recipes
- 75 Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids PDF
- Access to more than 200 Fixate Cooking Videos
- If you enroll with me, you’ll get access to our private, ongoing support group as you complete the program and beyond.
What are the educational videos in Ultimate Portion Fix about?
Knowledge is power. By arming yourself with the knowledge of why you will be successful by eating this way, you’re more likely to follow through. Also, tackling the root cause of past poor behaviors such as emotional eating and sugar addiction will help you make sustainable changes.
The 30 Ultimate Portion Fix videos dig into these topics and more:
- Why portion control works
- What balanced macros are and why it’s important
- The psychology of food
- Meal planning and meal prep
- Sugar addiction
- Emotional eating
- Strategies for eating out and special occasions
- Eating while pregnant and postpartum
There are also exercises in the journal to help you work through these issues and define your WHY – why do you truly want to change your life?! It has to be more than looking good in a bikini – Autumn will ask you to dig deep to figure out what will truly motivate you to make this a lifestyle.
Which of the 3 Paths Is Right For You?
There are 3 “paths” for nutriton in Ultimate Portion Fix:
- Foundational Fix
- Timed Nutrition
- Carb Cycling.
Foundational Fix is for anyone starting out who wants to lose weight or learn about healthy portions. Timed nutrition is for athletes looking to boost their performance (whether that’s with a Beachbody on Demand program or if you’re a runner) and carb-cycling is a short term weight loss plan that alternates low carbohydrate days with high carbohydrate days. Carb-cycling is not a lifestyle unlike the first two paths – it is just a short term tool to prep for a special event and only recommended once you’ve mastered the Foundational Fix.
How is the Ultimate Portion Fix a Lifestyle?
The Ultimate Portion Fix is meant to prepare you for a lifetime of healthy eating with BALANCE – you can still enjoy your favorite treats (in my case, pizza, beer, & ice cream) while on this plan! In fact, the recipe book that comes with it has dessert recipes and even cocktail recipes! This is NOT about deprivation. It’s about creating healthy habits that allow you to feel free to eat foods that make you feel good and that taste good and to avoid GUILT from foods that you may previously considered “bad.” No food is bad! Anything can be enjoyed in moderation.
Ultimate Portion Fix For Runners
I am constantly advising my runner clients on how to modify the existing nutriton plans to accommodate their intense running. The beauty of the Ultimate Portion Fix is it can help you figure out what your intake should be based on your personal goals and needs. I would recommend the timed nutrition track for anyone who is willing to switch up their current eating routines to truly time their eating to best fuel their workouts. (for example, you will be given guidelines of which foods to eat after a hard workout, such as 1 carb, 1 protein and 1 veggie and will be told which macros to have at each snack and meal throughout the day). With this method, you’ll be able to maximize your performance by timing the intake of carbs and protein specifically.
The being said, if you are a runner who doesn’t have a lot of control over what time of day you eat or doesn’t like a plan to be too rigid, you may want to just stick with the Foundational Fix. (Fill out this form if you want to work with a fellow runner as you complete the Ultimate Portion Fix).
Bonus: Re-release of 21 Day Fix And 21 Day Fix Extreme
With the Ultimate Portion Fix also comes the re-release of the classic 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme workouts. These will be filed in a “live” format similar to 80 Day Obsession and LIIFT4, and each workout will be unique (42 new workouts in total). If you purchase Ultimate Portion Fix, you’ll get access to the new 21 Day Fix on April 1 and 21 Day Fix Extreme on May 1 (both will be on Beachbody on Demand on June 1).
How Do I Get the Ultimate Portion Fix!?
I am so excited to dive into this program! I’ll be starting April 1st, along with doing the new 21 Day Fix. It’s perfect timing as I’ll have just gotten back from my Beachbody Coach Caribbean cruise! While I’ve come a long way in my eating, one of the things I still deal with is maintaining balancing while on vacations and at parties, around the holidays, etc. I have a lot of engrained habits that I’m still working to kick. I think that this program will help me with those things as well.
If you want to try the Ultimate Portion Fix yourself, please fill out this quick form so I can help you! I will get back to you with an email with more information and explain your purchasing choices to you. Once you buy Ultimate Portion Fix, you’ll get me as your coach and access to my ongoing support group which will include inspiration, motivation, support, recipes and more.
Want to try the Ultimate Portion Fix? Fill out this quick form!
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