Sample Meal Plan & Grocery Shopping List for the 21 Day Fix Program

If you want to stay on track with the diet portion of the 21 Day Fix, plan your meals.

Below I’m going to give you the exact meal plan that I used when following the program for 3 weeks, a list of the allowed foods, and how to create your own 21 Day Fix meal plan for the week with a printable template included.

Diet is everything when it comes to getting the best results possible with any workout program. Problem is people tend to not follow the diet portion of the workout program.

This is what I believe has made the 21 Day Fix so successful. The diet plan is innovative(colored containers), balanced(you do not omit food groups), and flexible(real life).

It also does away with a huge error that I often see so many people make.

1. Eating the wrong foods, in the wrong amounts.

This is how the 21 Day Fix diet plan solves both of this problems:

• You eat the amount of containers for your suggested calorie range each day. This ensures you are eating the right amount of calories for sustainable weight loss.
• The color coded containers make you eat the correct proportion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats for optimal energy levels and perfomance.
• You eat real food: a huge emphasis is put on unprocessed foods that do not contain additives or chemicals.

Many so-called diets that you most often find labeled as “fat-free” or “low-fat” are never the way to long-lasting weight loss. These foods may have no fat, but to add flavor, they have been loaded with sugar, salt, or other chemicals that can be harmful to your body.

What Goes in the 21 Day Fix Containers

As you will see below the 21 Day Fix portion approach eating plan does not cut out foods groups. You get a percentage of your total calories from

• Green Container – Vegetables: provide the body with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
• Purple Container – Fruits: like vegetables fruits provide the body with essential nutrients your body needs to function.
• Red Container – Proteins: What your body uses to help build and repair the tissues in your body including the muscle breakdown that occurs during your workouts.
• Yellow Container – Complex Carbohydrates: Again an important source of vitamins and other nutrients and also help the body convert food to energy.
• Blue Container – Healthy Fats: This container and the next couple provide the body with the good fats that your body processes need to function optimally.
• Orange Container – Dressing & Seeds: To ensure that you get variety but not over consume.
• TSP – Oils & Nut Butters: Calorie dense source of healthy fats.

21 Day FIx container sizes vary to ensure that you eat the right amount of each food group. Fr instance, the green container for veggies is much larger than the blue container for healthy fats. Foods that are higher in fats are denser. Veggies on the other hand have a higher liquid content.

The 21 Day Fix portion approach diet conainer sizes:

• Green Container: 1 Cup
• Purple Container: 1 Cup
• Red Container: 3/4 Cup
• Yellow Container: 1/2 Cup
• Blue Container: 1/4 Cup
• Orange Container: 2 and a half tablespoons
• Teaspoon: 1 level teaspoon

21 Day Fix Sample Meal Plan for the Week

While I have gone over how to track portions with the 21 Day Fix tally sheets in another post, I still think it’s kind of hard to visualize what you would be eating, which is the reason I created a one-week sample for eating on the 21 Day Fix. The outline is for my recommended 1,200-1,399 calorie range, so if your 21 Day Fix calorie calculation is different all you need to do is add in or subtract out containers for that day.

Please note:

Monday through Friday, I did two yellow containers at dinner(meal 5). My green container was also a double for lunch.

Click here to download an excel template for making your own meal plan. Just be sure to save a copy to enable editing.

Here is my own copy for reference. You might notice that for some food groups, I have less foods listed than the number of portion cups allowed for the day. This is because I might have two portions of mixed greens or two portions of a yellow container, but only listed each one once on the chart.

21 Day Meal Plan for the Day Outlined

Here is what a sample day of eating looks like on the 21 Fix diet plan at the 1.200 calorie level:

• Breakfast: Shakeology or protein powder(red container) mixed with frozen berries(purple container) in water
• Snack: 0% fat Greek yogurt(red container)
• Lunch: Mixed greens(2 green containers), 21 Day Fix dressing(orange container), grilled chicken(red container)
• Snack: Banana(purple container) and mixed nuts(blue container)
• Dinner: Veggie stir fry(green container) in olive oil(tsps), sliced top round steak(red container), and wild rice(2 yellow containers)

Try to space your meals 2-3 hours apart. This ensures that your body is getting the right amount of food at the right times.

Shopping List for the 21 Day Fix

You should always go to the grocery store with a list of foods to buy. Or, you will find yourself in aisles you don’t belong looking at foods you shouldn’t be eating. It really is the best way to stay on track with your diet(and ultimately, spend less money too!).

Remember, the 21 Day Fix diet, you should be eating whole foods. This means the majority of your grocery shopping will be done around the outer perimeter of the grocery store, which is where all the good stuff is.

I used this grocery list for the 21 Day Fix by printing it out and making a note in the margins of how many servings of each container I needed for the week. I would put a checkmark next to the items as I added them to my cart.

Official 21 Day Fix Food List

Since the initial release of the 21 Day Fix program in 2014 the food list has been updated a couple times. The basics remain the same, whole foods, categorized by nutritional value.

The most up to date food list with containers is available with a Bodi Membership(7-day free trial). There you will find more detail than I could ever provide to the foods and corresponding food amounts.

Shakeology and the 21 Day Fix?

I’ve been receiving numerous questions about Shakeology and the 21 Day Fix portion approach diet, here a couple of the most frequently asked questions I receive:

Is Shakeology a requirement?

It is not required, it is optional.

What color container does Shakeology count as?

A serving of Shakeology counts as 1 red container in the 21 Day Fix portion approach diet. The serving size is a scoop or a packet.

Can I drink Shakeology in replace of a meal?

Yes, this is what I do on weekdays for breakfast. You can have it as a meal or a snack, but if you’re going to replace a meal, mix it with a fruit and/or nut butter and be sure to count the extra containers!

My Thoughts on Shakeology:

Shakeology really is a good way to stay on track with 21 Day Fix diet. Studies show that starting your day off with a nutritious breakfast is one of the biggest factors of success not only in your diet, but in your life in general.

It also makes filling a red container super easy. I recommend Shakeology for breakfast with a cup of frozen fruit and/or nut butter. This way, you can easily fill in a couple more containers for the day, which will help you keep on track for the day.

There are four Shakeology flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry and Greenberry, plus two Vegan options: Chocolate or Tropical Strawberry. If you have a lactose sensitivity, try the Vegan formulas as they are made from pea protein instead of whey.

If there’s any questions you have, please post in the comment section below.  :)