Good morning girls!
I didn’t realize how long it has been since I wrote… well, anything. I guess the holidays have got the best of me this year. But thankfully, things are finally slowing down in my life and I can start refocusing on the things that I love to do. One of those things is of course, writing. Hopefully, things stay at this pace so I can get back into blogging.
Recently I have been getting a lot of comments on my Tone It Up 5 Day Slim Down Review. I’ve always wanted to write a review of the whole plan, but wasn’t sure if it would it would a review people would be interested in reading. I’m thinking after their new hit show on Bravo came out this year, people are starting to notice the Tone It Up girls more. Please keep in mind; this is my personal opinion and something that has worked for me. It might not be for everybody and I will try to explain everything the best I can. But if you do have more questions, please comment here J So let’s get started!
The Tone It Up Nutrition Plan comes in 6 different options: regular, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, gluten free vegetarian, and pescetarian.
I purchased the REGULAR PLAN. I once tried the vegetarian lifestyle and absolutely loved it, but I’m a meat eater and simply couldn’t cut out all meats from my diet. I did, however, cut back on eating a lot of red meats. Once in a while, I will splurge but I don’t make it a habit anymore.
All of the plans cost $150 – and yes, when I first saw that I was hesitant right away. I couldn’t afford $150 on a plan that I never even heard of before. I loved their YouTube workouts and the community but just could not stomach the thought of paying $150. That’s a lot of money to commit to something. For about a month, I started trying some of the recipes they would post on their blog. The recipes seemed simple enough and were super yummy. This lured me in… I had to have it! I love food and I can’t get enough. I’m always looking for new cook books and new recipes to try out.
Now that I had the idea in my head that I needed to order this, I started researching more information and talked with a few girls who have the plan themselves. When I saw that you would be a LIFETIME MEMBER and only have to pay that one-time fee, I purchased it that day. I have done a lot of diets, workout programs, and supplements so I feel like I have tried it all. So here is what I compared it to:
- Weight Watchers – you have to pay $42.95 a month. That’s $515.40 for one year! Yes, I love the meetings and I go with my sister every Tuesday, but I think $500 is a little too much. I love tracking my points and being held accountable, but where are the workouts? Yes, they have a great meal plan and food options for you, but they don’t really dig into the workouts.
- BeachBody – yes I am a coach and the workout programs and supplements are amazing, but they don’t give you a meal plan to follow. Each workout program has a meal plan to get results doing THAT program, but what if I’m not just following one program? I love mixing and matching my BeachBody workouts so it’s hard for me to follow one specific diet plan.
- Atkins – I lost weight doing Atkins and got to eat all the foods I love. But this is a diet that you have to stick with and can be harmful if you don’t follow it exactly how they tell you. So, you’re limited on what foods you get to enjoy. No thank you!
So what is inside the nutrition program?
The main nutrition program has 191 pages of over 250 recipes. Recipes included are:
- Breakfast (including various pancake recipes)
- Lunch
- Entrees
- Desserts
- Appetizers
- Party Foods
- Snacks
- Beverages – this includes coffee, teas, and adult beverages
- Soups and Salads
- Wraps
- Smoothies and Juices – they also provide detox juices
It literally has everything you could possibly crave and need. This is what I love most about the program. I don’t have to deprive myself of anything because every single meal is right there at my fingertips. Fingertips? Yes. The program is emailed to you. I have an iPhone, so I simply saved mine right to my iBooks. They are PDF Files that you can download right to your phone or computer. I then printed it out and placed them in a big binder. The only downside to the program is printing out the editions as ink is pricey these days. But that’s just an option. I personally never use my printed copies because my phone is always in reach. Every time they create a new special edition, it goes directly to your email. As you can see from the picture above, they are constantly coming out with new fun editions.
My favorite editions so far are the Love Your Body and Wedding Series edition. I can’t wait to get married simply so I can do all of these fun recipes to prepare myself. So far here are the editions: Regular Nutrition Plan, Beach Babe, Summer Sizzle, Love Your Body, Holiday, Fall, and Bridal.
Also included in the plan are the 5 and 7 day slim downs. If you haven’t already read my 5 Day Slim Down journey, simply click here. I loved doing this slim down because I still got to eat the foods I love and be satisfied. I was not starving myself and I felt full. By the end of the slim down, my skin was glowing and I literally slimmed down. My next journey will be trying out the 7 Day Slim Down. These are made for when you want a quick slim down for an event. I did mine right before me and my family went to the beach so I didn’t feel overly bloated in a bikini. Nothing is worse than feeling bloated in a bikini.
The 7 Day Slim Down is just a longer version of the 5DSD. It tells you what to eat, when to eat it, and everything is mapped out for you. No guessing! Included with the slim down plan, you’ll get a slim down tracker sheet to make sure you’ve done everything right. Check that out also in my 5DSD Review.
Another thing I loved most about the nutrition plan was the meal guides and what they call a “meal wheel.” This is a color coded chart to help tell you which meals are okay to eat through the day. I never understood what I was eating or when to eat certain foods. I just thought I could eat breads and starchy foods for dinner if I ate super healthy all day. Yes, this method worked for some people but it didn’t work for me. My body is different and I found out that I could not eat heavy foods for my dinner. They helped explain this to me. Each meal or recipe has a guide to help you choose what foods are best for your goals.
Example: My goal is to slim down and lose weight. Obviously, I don’t want to eat the meals that are made for people who want to Tone Up or Maintain their weight. So I tried avoiding those foods as much as possible. I chose the slim down meals, in other words. But every person is different and so are their goals. Some girls come to me and say I lost all my weight, now I need to tone up. What foods should I eat? Well, I can now let them know because of this plan. This doesn’t mean you can’t still eat all of their meals. I mixed and matched recipes throughout the week so I didn’t get bored of eating the same foods all the time. And I still was losing weight. I’ve learned as long as you eat clean, green, and lean (their slogan) you will lose weight and feel great. I sound so cliché right now ha! But it’s the truth. You have to cut out the sugars, breads, red meats, and processed foods. I learned that the hard way and hundreds of dollars later.
The plan also goes into specific and scientific details about which foods you should mix and match. They break down why foods are healthy and good for you and actually give you a reason behind that. If you watch tv or read new fad diets they just say to eat certain foods because it helps you lose weight. Okay, well why is it helping me lose weight? Karena and Katrina break that all out for you and help you understand what you’re eating and what to eat it with. Certain foods come together and create what they call a complete protein. If you buy the plan, you will see that for yourself. Like I’ve mention several times, I now finally understand what I’m eating because I never did before.
When you buy the plan, you also get exclusive information. They call this the Weekly Members Email. Every Thursday, they send out an email to the people who purchased the plan. The email is different each week and it includes great tips to help motivate you. You also get more information on new and exciting things they are coming up with compared to people who are not members. It’s my favorite part of the week. I love getting new information and ways to stay focused.
Have you ever went to the grocery store with full intentions of buying only healthy foods and when you get there you completely forget and start buying things you THINK is healthy? Yeah, me too… talk about a waste of money. With this plan, there are 2 pages I believe of grocery items they approve of. This makes it a lot easier when you’re shopping because everything is mapped out for you. What’s also nice, every food they list is part of the recipes. So I always try and stock up on foods or highlight the items I need before heading out. I print off that page every time I go shopping.
They also include a weight and measurement tracker. I also print this out weekly to keep track of my measurements. It’s super important to keep track because you might not lose pounds that week, but you will lose inches. Toning up simply removes the fat and replaces it with muscle. Yes you are losing, but you’re toning up at the same time. I love keeping track of my inches that way I don’t get discouraged when the scale doesn’t go down that week.
The last pages are full of printables. If you travel a lot or don’t always have access to the internet, print out the workouts they include in the plan. They break down each move step by step. Keep them in your purse or travel bag and when you get some free time, pull them out and hop to it. Their workouts don’t require a lot of space, so this will be great if you are stuck in a hotel room.
Like I’ve mentioned above, they include measurement trackers, journal pages, and a grocery list.
Here are a few FAQs I recently got about the plan:
Do you think it’s worth buying?
- Yes, absolutely. It’s the best plan I’ve ever followed.
Do you get full eating the foods?
- Surprisingly, yes. You make a lot of food with these recipes and they satisfy your hunger. I feel full, but not miserably stuffed.
Are you still sticking with the plan since you started in August?
- This is the only plan I’ve actually stuck with. I get excited about everything and go at it with my whole heart and then get bored with it after 3 weeks. This plan actually changed my life.
Have you noticed a change in your health and weight?
- At first, no. I couldn’t see a difference in myself but everyone else kept saying I was losing weight. Then I compared myself to a picture of me from a year ago and the notice is there. I’m losing weight and actually toning up. My skin is clearing up and I have a natural tan almost. Sounds weird, but it’s true.
Can you mix and match recipes or do you have to buy their protein powder?
- Their recipes do use their Perfect Fit Protein powder a lot, especially if you want to make their pancakes and smoothies. But when I got the plan, I did not have their protein powder. I did have healthier flour at home, so I used that up before purchasing theirs. But now that I have their brand I won’t use anything else.
If I have missed anything (which I’m sure I have) please comment on this post with any questions you still might have and I will get back as soon as I can! I hope you enjoyed this post and have a better understanding of Tone It Up and that you will too join our TIUteam!
xo Brittny
My cardio started last week when my family rented a lodge by the lake. I walked 3 miles around the lake and did a lot of kayaking during the trip. My eating will be very similar to the 21 day fix guide simply because it’s how we SHOULD be eating. It’s also very similar to the tone it up nutrition plan – which makes my life a lot easier. I’m going to be toning down the weight training and focusing more on burning calories by cardio which will consist of walking/jogging/running, at home DVDs, and other various ways outside of the gym.
Fit Bottom Girl 