21 Day Fix Review: Pros, Cons, How It Works, and Tips

What Is 21 Day Fix and How Does It Work?

21 Day Fix is a diet and exercise program from Beachbody, a multi-level marketing company known for popular exercise programs like the P90X and Insanity workouts.

Independent consultants, called coaches, who may or may not be qualified to give weight-loss advice, represent and sell the Beachbody line of workout and nutrition programs and supplements.

I’m usually wary of such companies, but I happen to be a fan of at-home workouts and have personally used Beachbody On Demand for years.

21 Day Fix is one of my favorite programs in their catalog because each workout is only 30 minutes, they’re effective, and they can be easily modified for several fitness levels.

I’ve also personally followed the 21 Day Fix meal plan, both with and without using Beachbody supplements. On both occasions, I lost weight, gained muscle, and had improved body composition.

After the initial three weeks, I abandoned the container system for more mealtime freedom but continued with the workouts and managed to keep the initial weight off for several years.

The diet component of 21 Day Fix revolves around a color-coded container system.

When the eating plan and workouts are combined, Beachbody claims users can lose up to 15 pounds in 3 weeks.

The first step in the eating plan is figuring out your daily calorie goal. This is done with some simple math.

You’ll multiply your current weight by 11 for a calorie baseline, which is a rough estimate of your resting metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body burns at rest.

Then, you add 400 calories to your baseline to account for exercise, which is a rough estimate of the number of calories you’d need to eat to maintain your current weight.

Then, you subtract 750 calories from your maintenance calories to determine how many calories you need to eat to create a calorie deficit that supports weight loss.

This number puts you into one of four calorie brackets. The brackets are:

• 1200–1499 calories/day
• 1500–1799 calories/day
• 1800–2099 calories/day
• 2100–2299 calories/day

Your calorie bracket determines how many portions of each food container you eat each day.

Each food group is a different color container, as follows:

• Green: Vegetables
• Purple: Fruits
• Red: Protein
• Yellow: Starches and healthy carbohydrates
• Blue: Healthy fats
• Orange: Seeds and dressings

The containers reinforce portion control, balanced macronutrient intake, and bring consciousness to what you’re eating, which can help you make healthier choices and eat fewer processed foods, unhealthy fats, and sugary items.

Although the program is technically only three weeks long, users are encouraged to complete additional “rounds” to keep losing or maintaining weight.

Foods to Eat and Avoid

There aren’t too many restrictions on the 21 Day Fix eating plan.

You eat a variety of whole grains, healthy starches, lean protein, and healthy fats. You avoid refined carbohydrates (i.e., white pasta, rice, bread) and processed, sugary, and fried foods.

The diet is designed to provide you with 40% carbohydrates, 30% lean proteins, and 30% healthy fats.

This macronutrient breakdown is evenly balanced to ensure you aren’t eating too much or too little of any one nutrient.

How much you eat is determined by your calorie bracket and the corresponding number of each container.

Each day you’ll eat the same number of each container. The program includes lists of approved foods so you know which foods go in which containers.

The food lists are extensive, so there’s plenty of variety and ideas. Unless you stick to the same few foods by choice, you certainly won’t get bored eating on this plan.

For foods that don’t “fit” in a container, like a banana or waffle, the lists indicate how much of each food counts as one container.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what can fill each container:

• Green: Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, greens, squash, bell peppers, string beans, cucumbers, and onions.

• Purple: Fruits like berries, melon, apples, citrus, bananas, pears, and stone fruits.

• Red: Proteins, including fish and seafood, poultry, game meats, eggs, yogurt, lean beef, tofu, lunch meat, cottage cheese, and protein powder.

• Yellow: Carbohydrates, including whole-grain bread products, sweet and white potatoes, beans, whole grains (quinoa, oats, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta), and starchy vegetables like parsnips, peas, and corn.

• Blue: Healthy fats like avocado, raw nuts, hummus, and cheese.

• Orange: Seeds (pumpkin, sesame, flax, chia, etc.), shredded coconut, olives, and “Fix-approved” salad dressings.

Each calorie bracket also includes several teaspoons for additional fats, like cooking oil, nut butter, and butter.

You’re allowed some freebies like herbs, spices, and some low-calorie condiments.

For beverages, the program encourages water consumption but allows some unsweetened coffee and tea.

The program also strongly encourages users to consume uber-expensive Shakeology, Beachbody’s powdered protein and superfood supplement, but it isn’t required, and the program can be followed without Shakeology.

You’re allowed to substitute three of your fruit or carbohydrate containers each week for a determined number of snacks, sweets, and cocktails, like dried fruit, dark chocolate, chips, pretzels, wine, or beer.

It is tough to figure out how many containers mixed-ingredient recipes (like soups or casseroles) count for, but there are plenty of recipes on the Beachbody site that include container equivalents.

I found it’s easier to create simple meals (like grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and a baked sweet potato) from the food lists to ensure you’re meeting your container portions.

Can It Help You Lose Weight?

21 Day Fix can help you safely lose weight when you use both the eating and exercise portions of the plan.

Although the program hasn’t been clinically studied for efficacy, its core principles are based on trusted nutrition and weight-loss theories, including:

• Eating within a calorie deficit
• Portion control
• A focus on home-cooked meals
• Filling up on fiber and protein-rich foods
• Choosing healthy carbohydrate sources
• Replacing unhealthy fats, refined carbohydrates, and sugary foods
• Daily physical activity
• Combining cardiovascular and weight training exercises to burn fat and build lean muscle
• Tracking progress

Portion control, learning to cook your own food and choosing protein and fiber-filled foods over fast food, fried foods, and sweets are important for lasting weight loss no matter what program you’re following.

Eating fewer calories and getting regular exercise are proven strategies for losing weight and keeping it off. (1)

Some factors included in 21 Day Fix, like high-intensity interval training, weigh-ins, and logging food intake, are habits associated with greater long-term weight loss. (2)

How much weight can you expect to lose? Well, Beachbody claims users can lose up to 15 pounds in a single 3-week round of 21 Day Fix.

In my opinion, that’s a high estimate and is by no means can be universally applied to men and women of all shapes, ages, and fitness levels.

In reality, a weight loss of 1 to 3 pounds per week is considered a safe and realistic expectation for most people.

That claim aside, I think 21 Day Fix has a lot of positives going for it and can be a useful tool to jumpstart weight loss.

Keep in mind the duration of this program. If you stop exercising and start eating more after 21 days, you’ll regain any weight you lost.

The only way to have continued and lasting weight loss is to keep exercising and eating within a calorie deficit until you reach your goal weight.

Users are encouraged to stick with the program beyond 21 days. When followed long-term, 21 Day Fix can certainly help you lose weight.

Sustainability

21 Day Fix is highly sustainable because it promotes a variety of healthy foods and a balanced macronutrient intake while providing some flexibility for more indulgent foods.

The eating plan is inclusive since it can be customized to fit various eating styles, like vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free diets.

This may be an easier program to commit to since it has a short duration. It’s more realistic to plan meals and set weight-loss goals three weeks at a time instead of months or years.

Measuring and counting everything you eat with the container system might get tiring for some people and lead them to revert to old eating habits.

The containers can also be tough to utilize in social settings and dining at restaurants.

Even if you stop using the containers after several weeks or rounds, you’ll probably start to learn to eyeball appropriate serving sizes and can still log your food intake.

Accountability

Most of the accountability in 21 Day Fix is personal responsibility, but the program provides plenty of resources to help you stay on track.

There is a free 21 Day Fix Tracker app for a digital option to track food containers, access food lists, and more. 

There are also worksheets to track daily container intake and grocery shopping lists to help with meal planning and keeping you accountable for what you eat each day.

The Beachbody website also has tons of recipes with container equivalents. You’ll find lots of user-created “fix-approved” recipes with container equivalents on other sites as well.

Individual support is available through your designated or chosen Beachbody Coach (aka independent consultant), who may or may not be qualified to give diet advice.

Cost

21 Day Fix is available in several packages that include 1-year access to Beachbody On Demand, a monthly subscription to Shakeology, and other various workout supplements.

The basic package costs $59.95 and includes 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme workout DVDs, food containers, and the written materials to get started.

Considering the other bundles cost $100 and up, I think this is a great value and much less expensive than a gym membership.

The DVDs alone include 16 workouts, and you get enough nutrition information to get started with the container system.

However, when you have access to Beachbody On Demand, you get even more workouts and recipes.

If you choose to use Shakeology with 21 Day Fix, it will cost you much more since Shakeology costs over $100 for a 30-day supply.

However, you can still follow the program and achieve results without Shakeology.

21 Day Fix is backed by Beachbody’s 30-day money-back guarantee.

Safety

21 Day Fix is safe for most healthy people to follow. My only concerns would be for pregnant and breastfeeding women and anyone with a history of disordered eating.

It’s best to speak with a dietitian if you want to make dietary changes during these life stages.

Tracking food intake and counting containers might be too restrictive for individuals recovering from an eating disorder.

If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s not recommended to restrict calories for weight loss, and some forms of exercise need to be avoided or modified, so you should get your doctor’s approval for exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Because calorie needs don’t take individual lifestyles into account, some highly active people may end up in a calorie bracket that’s too low for their needs and experience hunger and moodiness, making it harder for them to stick to the plan.

You should speak with your doctor before starting a new diet or exercise program.

How 21 Day Fix Compares to Alternatives

I recommend 21 Day Fix because it includes both a diet and exercise component, unlike many other weight-loss programs.

The program helps users learn how to build healthy meals, promotes a balanced lifestyle, and is customizable and quite sustainable whether you’re actively trying to lose weight or maintain weight loss.

Other well-known weight loss programs, like Noom, Weight Watchers, and South Beach Diet, focus primarily on food and dietary changes.

While most weight-loss programs encourage exercise, many do not include complimentary workouts and a workout schedule to follow.

Weight-loss results are enhanced when dietary changes are combined with regular physical activity.

The exercise component of 21 Day Fix is designed for all fitness levels, beginners included, and requires minimal equipment.

The intensity of the workouts can be adjusted by lifting heavier or lighter weights and increasing or decreasing the pace of cardio moves.

Other popular Beachbody fitness programs like P90X and Insanity are more intense, longer in duration, and require more equipment.

The diet component of 21 Day Fix is less restrictive compared to keto or Paleo diets, which require you to eliminate certain food groups.

The container system is probably most similar to the Weight Watchers’ point system, but instead of counting points, you limit yourself to a specific number of containers per day.

However, 21 Day Fix puts more focus on balanced macronutrients, physical activity, and prepping your own meals than WW does.

Weight Watchers allows more flexibility with foods that should be eaten sparingly and has more extensive “free” food lists that don’t count toward daily points.

Foods like traditional pizza, ice cream, and french fries are avoided with the 21 Day Fix container system but technically still fit on a Weight Watchers plan, as long as you count them toward your daily point goal.

If you like to go out to eat often, WW may be a better option, as making a restaurant meal fit into the 21 Day Fix containers is difficult.

But they do provide guidance around how to incorporate outside foods into your meal plan, so it’s not a deal-breaker.

Both 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers provide apps to track food intake. If you prefer handwritten notes, 21 Day Fix also offers printable worksheets to track workouts, food containers, and water intake.

Weight Watchers costs roughly $3 to $6 per week. The basic 21 Day Fix program is more expensive, costing $59.95, or $20 for each week of the program.

However, the 21 Day Fix workout DVDs, food containers, and written materials are yours to keep and may be used for more than three weeks, which is a great value compared to paying monthly for a weight-loss service and gym membership indefinitely.

FAQs

The Bottom Line

Because it’s marketed as a 3-week program, 21 Day Fix often gets mislabeled as a quick weight-loss fix.

Don’t be fooled, though.

21 Day Fix is based around sound nutrition and weight-loss theories that can help you safely and effectively lose weight, but the program requires a lot of self-discipline and meal prep work.

I like that the program teaches users how to prepare healthy food, portion out meals and snacks, and encourages daily physical activity.

I think this program is a good tool to teach foundational skills and establish diet and activity habits needed for long-term weight-loss success and sustainability.

Since 21 Day Fix is completed at home, it does require a lot of self-discipline and meal prep work.

Buddying up with a friend or family member, or getting involved in an online Beachbody support group, can enhance your chances for success with this program.

If you’re used to grocery shopping and prepping most of your meals at home, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty following the eating plan.

The eating portion of the program may be tough to follow for individuals who prefer not to cook or eat most of their meals away from home.

Eating within a daily calorie goal and using the container system to portion food may be too restrictive for some individuals.

I wouldn’t recommend the diet portion of this program to anyone with a history of disordered eating or yo-yo dieting.

As for the exercise portion, some of the workouts may be a bit intense for beginners, but most of the workouts include modifications to make the movements more accessible.

In my opinion, it’s worth trying even if you’re an exercise newbie or it’s been a while since you exercised regularly.

If you’ve tried other at-home diet and workout programs and had trouble holding yourself accountable, 21 Day Fix may not be the right program for you.

Group weight-loss support meetings, fitness classes, personal training, and nutrition counseling may be a better option.