Plexus: Going Pink

PLEXUS. 

I'm sure you've heard about it from someone; a co-worker, avid Facebook group request-maker, friend, etc. The "pink drink" has been popping up everywhere leaving many (including myself) to quickly discount it as just another weight loss fad. Just like ItWorks, or Shakeology, or Advocare, or the million other popular programs lately. So, what do I do when I get invited to a Plexus information party? I attend, get my free sample, take notes, and begin my skeptical journey...

First, let me give you some background on what Plexus is in case you don't know. At its core, Plexus is an all-natural supplement program developed to get your body systems back on track. It is NOT first and foremost a weight loss program. Weight loss has just been an often reported positive outcome of using the program. Its base product is called Triplex (more on that later) with the option of adding in other supplements for weight loss, vitamins, or pain relief.

This concept is what initially led me to go forward with trying it - an easy to use program that makes your system healthy again with great benefits. This is important to me because, having gone through anxiety, depression, and a panic disorder I know just how important it is to help your body maintain homeostasis in all of its systems. If one messes up, so follows the rest. That's the Plexus concept. Boost one thing and you get a domino effect on the rest.

So, I started with Triplex. Triplex consists of Plexus Slim, BioCleanse, and ProBio5. I'll give you the gist of each but going to a Plexus informational meeting is really your best bet for learning the most about the product line. Not endorsing it, just saying it's a LOT of good info!

• Plexus Slim, or the infamous "Pink Drink" is the star of the trio - a pink powder you mix into 12-20 ounces of water and drink 1-3 times a day, ideally before a meal. It's designed to help you lose weight by managing cravings. Again, it's all natural, sweetened with stevia, and is non-thermogenic meaning it doesn't have stimulants that heat the body up to boost weight loss. This is important for me with handling my anxiety because any stressors on my system do not go unnoticed. 
• Next is BioCleanse, a capsule taken to help "energize" your digestive system. Its main ingredient is magnesium, which the body constantly needs for many reasons such as energy production and detoxification. 
• To round out the Triplex, there's ProBio5. As the name suggests, it's a dietary probiotic. Probiotics help with EVERYTHING but mainly keeping a healthy, active gut with good bacteria and enzymes. 

Pre-Plexus: It's important to note my jumping off point here. This is a list of issues I struggle with on a daily basis that I am curious to see if Plexus helps at all. 

-migraines

-sleepiness/no energy

-menstrual/abdominal cramps

-anxiety/depression

-IBS

-acid reflux

-gastritis

-joint pain

Here's my journey so far.

Day 1: I started slow with just the pink drink today. I took it about an hour after waking up and ate about an hour after that. It tasted GREAT! I was weary of the fruity taste being too much on an empty morning stomach - several of my gastro issues force me to be very careful with my morning choices. It was great tasting and I enjoyed sipping until it was gone. No aftertaste. I had no notable differences today.

Day 2: I drank Slim about 45 minutes before eating breakfast. Again, I didn't notice any particular differences today. Something to note is I had terrible acid reflux on Day 1, so it overshadowed most of my senses.

Day 3-4: I took a break because I ended up getting very sick from my GERD. Drinking liquids on an empty stomach makes it much worse so I took a break these days.

Day 5: I skipped Slim again today but introduced one ProBio5 after lunch. 

Day 6-8: In all honesty, I just fell off the bandwagon these three days. I took a Plexus hiatus because I just plum forgot.

Day 9: Back to Slim! I drank the slim with my breakfast today instead of half an hour prior and it made a huge difference by not drinking it on an empty stomach.

Day 10-20: Big chunk of time there, I know! But what's good is that I went full on Plexus Triplex nuts for the past week and a half. I bought a cheap pill organizer and put one BioCleanse in the AM and one ProBio5 in the PM. Every morning, I drink a packet of slim with breakfast and take a BioCleanse. At night, I take a ProBio5. I understand this is different from the suggested use but it works best for my memory and stomach issues. BUT WAIT...HERE'S THE THINGS I'VE NOTICED THIS WEEK!!!!

1. I am falling asleep sooner, quicker, and easier. Let me preface this by saying sleep has NEVER in my life come easy to me. Ever. Perhaps as an infant, but that ended as soon as I left diapers. Which makes me want to believe that Plexus is helping me use more energy efficiently during the day and regulating my system so that when it comes time for bed, I'm now ready to sleep by 9 or 10 (before it was 1 or 2 am!) and I no longer lay in bed for hours-I drift right to sleep. I will say that my quality of sleep hasn't changed much yet but I'm hoping to see improvement here as well.

2. I'm starting to have less cravings!!! I've noticed that I'm not as hungry as often as I normally am. When I eat, I get full before finishing my entire meal whereas I would normally eat everything on my plate. I'm not sure I can say my sweet tooth has gone down, but more important to me is that how often I find myself wanting to eat has gone down. It's not as much of a thought anymore! How great is it to not always be thinking about when you're going to eat next?!

3. I'm starting to have more consistent bowel movements. Yes...I'm talking to you about poop. But Plexus might as well be synonymous with poop because so many of us suffer from bad guts that healthy pooping is often a top benefit from doing Plexus! So, with my myriad of gastro issues, I've been all over the place but mostly, I have VERY frequent BM's that are mainly diarrhea or non-solid. (Yuck, right? But hang in there, there's worse things in life than crap!) Over this week, my number of trips to the bathroom have gone down I'd say by about half, and about half or more of those movements have been solid! Hooray for healthy pooping! It's cause for celebration in my house.

I have to say I haven't experienced any negative side effects yet. Change is slowly coming about, but in a positive direction so I intend to keep up with my daily regime and make changes as needed. A huge disclaimer is that I am not being endorsed to make this post-this is all my personal experience and honest opinions. I obviously have an issue with consistency so your starting experience might be even better! So hopefully, this answers some questions you might have and gives you an insight on a completely normal person's experience with starting Plexus. I'll continue to post updates on my journey and we'll see where it takes me!