7 Tips for Beachbody’s 2 Day Fast

Daily Fit Tips

Yes. I tried the Beachbody 2 Day Fast to kick start my Slim in 6 six week weight loss program. I didn’t have expectations for losing a lot of weight in two days because I know what my body burns on it’s own without exercising. I did the fast because it was a way to get me thinking about weight loss and getting my body ready for a lower caloric intake following my 90 day P90X program.

Take a look at the Beachbody Step-By-Step Nutrition Guide that comes with your Slim in 6 program. On about the third page, you’ll see a chart to help you figure out how many calories your body needs based on your gender, current weight, and activity level. Then, subtract the 300 calories you’ll be getting from your shakes during the fast. Take the resulting number and compare it to The Daily Deficit chart on the same page. This will give you an estimate of what you could lose as a result of the fast.

A 160 pound sedentary woman uses about 2000 calories per day. The fast will create a deficit of 1700 calories which is about a half a pound per day. A 290 pound sedentary male, however, requires about 3500 calories per day and will lose about one pound per day on the fast due to a caloric deficit of 3200 calories. The moral of this story is you must have realistic expectations. This is the beginning of your weight loss program. You’re turning the key in the ignition. Next, you’ll have to take it out of park and press the excellerator. Here’s my top seven tips for Beachbody’s 2 day fast…

1. You’re only taking in about 300 calories all day, so make sure you listen to your body. If you’re feeling light headed, sick or have a nagging headache…drink a small amount of juice or chocolate soy milk. Both of these beverages will help get carbs in you quickly but still allow you to control calories and cravings. Ever notice what they give you after you’ve given blood? OJ! It’s better to have a few calories this way than to completely throw out your plan and stuff yourself with the first thing you can get your hands on.

2. Stay busy so you’re distracted. During my first day, I was driving back to Virginia which is an 11 hour trip from Indiana. The second day was a little harder for me because I went back to work and was used to taking my lunch. It would’ve been nice to have another day where I could just get busy doing something like working in the yard and forget all about eating.

3. Rest. Again, listen to your body. Get enough sleep and sit down when your body tells you to do so. You’re body is reaching into your fat stores to support basic life functions. It’s important not to exert too much energy during this period. It’s not a good time to break a sweat.

4. Mix well. I prefer any shake made with either vanilla or chocolate soy milk because I think it has a richer, creamier flavor. If I can’t have soy milk, I go for skim milk or juice. My least favorite liquid for shakes is water. Unfortunately, that’s what you use for the fasting formula. Duh! It doesn’t have any calories. Now why didn’t I think of that? Seriously, the formula is not bad. Just make sure you mix it well. Use a blender or hand mixer if you have one. I like to mix on high maybe 20 seconds and then, mix on low for another 15-20 seconds.

5. Take a multivitamin like ActiVit to ensure your body still gets the nutrients it needs during this extreme cutback in eating.

6. Drink plenty of water. Hydration is important everyday. It helps rid your body of toxins – the waste your body naturally creates. It also carries nutrients to every tissue, organ, muscle, and cell of your body. Your body is 70-80% water and cannot function efficiently without an ample supply coming into the body.

7. Don’t get discouraged. The 2 day fast is primarily designed to clean out your digestive track and give you a fresh start for the beginning of your workout program (i.e. Slim in 6). It should be viewed as a primer for you weight loss program, not the weight loss program. Remember that your body must use up more than 3500 calories than it takes in just to burn one pound of fat.