What Is 2B Mindset? An honest review of the program.

2B Mindset is a healthy nutrition program from Beachbody. 2B Mindset uses the “Plate It” technique for staying on track – take your meal and put it on a plate and make your portions of carbs, proteins, and veggies match their guidelines for the day.

A lot of you are asking what 2B Mindset is, so I wanted to share a little bit about it and what my initial thoughts are. I’ve also updated the post to include my thoughts after trying it for a bit.

The slogan for 2B Mindset is “change your mindset, change your life! Eat the foods you love and lose weight.” 

The 21 Day Fix / Portion Fix program and the 2 B Mindset program are targeted at roughly the same audience, but it’s definitely a different program. Let’s have a quick overview of the 2B Mindset system.

What is the 2B Mindset?

2B Mindset is one of the many nutrition programs that are popular today. It takes a different approach to food than what fad diets have been telling us for years. With the 2B Mindset, you can lose weight while still enjoying your favorite foods.

To achieve your goals, 2B Mindset uses diagrams of plates as well as food lists broken up into categories to teach you how to make healthy choices–this works because it’s easy for most people to eyeball portion sizes. So, eat foods from the list and eat them in a way that mimics the Plate It diagrams for what your plate should be like.

Here’s the scoop: 

1. Water first

2. Veggies most

These are the two foundations of the program. Drink water throughout the day so you’re hydrated and not making food decisions based on cravings, and you’ll be eating a lot of veggies throughout the day. The more meals that include “veggies most,” the more weight you’ll lose with 2B Mindset.

Plate It Portions

Unlike the 21 Day Fix, where you measure out your portions in portion-sized containers, with 2B Mindset you are using your plate as a guideline for each meal. Breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner all have different plate proportions. You are filling your plate with vegetables, fiber rich carbs, and protein from a list of choices.

Breakfast: Breakfast is 50% protein, 50% carbs

Lunch: Lunch is 50% veggies, 25% protein, and 25% carbs. 

Dinner: Dinner is 75% veggies and 25% protein. 

Snacks: Snacks are optional and should be 50% veggies, 25% protein, and 25% carbs.  

How does 2B Mindset Work?

The 2B Mindset program encourages 16 oz of water before every meal. This helps “trick” your body into feeling full so you eat less. It’s also a great way to stay hydrated and meet your water goals for the day.

By giving you choices from simple food groups and using the plate as a way to divide up your meals, 2B Mindset takes some of the guesswork out of a healthy lifestyle. They have a printable meal tracker for you to use each day which can help you stay accountable. Over time it can also help you see what works and what doesn’t with regards to eating (and drinking).

Because there is no direct calorie tracking, it can be hard to know ahead of time how much weight you can expect to lose. Making healthy goals is a great way to get started and if you don’t have any specific weight loss goals 2B Mindset could be helpful in that way. It’s important to remember, though, that weight loss is just a math equation. Calories in and calories out!

2B Mindset versus Portion Fix

2B Mindset is different from the 21 Day Fix or Portion Fix in a few ways:

• 2B Mindset does not use measurements like the portion control containers. 
• There are no calorie brackets for 2B Mindset.
• There is no counting containers. 

In terms of measurements, on this program you are using the visual portions of your plate (50% veggies, 25% protein, 25% carbs, etc.) to help you lose weight and make smart choices. 

The 2B Mindset program is more focused on water consumption than the Fix. They want you drinking a minimum of 16 oz of water before you take your first bite of any meal or snack. This is a unique element that can help you feel full before you even start eating, and really helps you stay hydrated.

There are a few terms you’re going to want to learn for 2B Mindset:

• FFC: FFC stands for full fiber carb, or fiber-filled carb. Carbohydrates that have a lot of fiber are more filling and slower burning in your system. These foods will last longer in your system and won’t spike your blood sugar like typical white flours and carbs with less fiber.
• Water first: You’ll be drinking 16 ounces of water first thing before each and every meal. This helps to keep you hydrated and curb emotional eating. 
• Veggies Most: 2B Mindset pushes vegetables with their term, “veggies most.” It goes right alongside “water first” in the 2B Mindset motto. When you’re ready to snack, always eat veggies first, before any proteins or FFCs. It means that you’ll be focusing on veggies filling you up instead of carbs.
• Track It: You’re going to be writing down everything you put in your mouth on 2B Mindset. Eat from the food list most often, but know that you can eat other foods too, as long as you track them. Write it down and see what it does to your weight loss the next day (or two). Can you eat a donut on 2B? Yup, as long as you track it.

Can I Mix 2B Mindset And 21 Day Fix?

No. I’m not sure how it would work for other programs but with 21 Day Fix you can not mix programs. With 21 Day Fix you should be tracking only containers – it’s how the program works and it is how you track your food consumption.

The 21 Day Fix functions on rough calorie assumptions per container which is how your daily counts are determined. It’s important for the ratios because of the workouts as well.

Also, the food lists for the two programs are pretty different and don’t always work together.

Can I do 2B Mindset if I don’t like veggies?

Honestly, no. You’re not going to be able to balance out your plate if you don’t eat a decent amount of veggies on a daily basis (like, 75% of your last meal of the day has to be veggies), and you won’t see your best results with 2B Mindset. 

If you’re someone who only like a handful of veggies, you’ll be eating those ones over and over again which isn’t the most nutritious way to eat. There are other healthy lifestyle programs like Portion Fix or Weight Watchers that might help you reach your goals a little easier. 

What do you eat on 2B Mindset?

Here is a day of meals from the 2 B Mindset nutrition program. If you’re asking “what is 2B Mindset” then these images should help you understand what your plate is expected to look like during each meal. These are unstyled, very not professional photos–this is real life, friends!

If you’re looking to download the 2B Mindset Plate It guidelines, food list, and tracker, sign up here and I’ll send it to you. If you want to purchase the entire program (which includes digital materials, the printed booklets, water bottle, and an eCookbook), it’s a separate purchase from the Beachbody On Demand membership. 

Breakfast: 50% protein, 50% FFCs: A veggie omelet with bacon and two small slices of Dave’s Killer bread. Veggies are extra credit.

Lunch: 50% veggies, 25% protein and 25% FFCs: Sweet potato crab cakes, sliced raw veggies, and butternut squash

Dinner: 75% veggies, 25% protein: Spiralized zucchini (zoodles), and fajitas with no tortilla.

My 2 B Mindset Review

I think 2B Mindset is good for those who eat pretty well already and just need to keep an eye on their balance of veggies vs. other foods. If you’re looking to lose lots of weight, my opinion is that 2B Mindset is not structured enough to help most people stay on track.

My opinion is that if you’re looking to lose weight and keep it off, the 21-Day Fix is for you. If you’re already really good at self control and watching your portions, you might want to check into 2B Mindset. But any program that labels treats “silly carbs,” makes me a little wary.

I might be wrong here, and I’ll be the first to admit it if this program takes off–but as of now I’m very hesitant to recommend it.

Updated 6/1: I decided to try 2B to give my solid opinion, and I’ll admit that my initial thoughts were was wrong about the program in some aspects. I’ve lost 5 pounds in the week that I’ve been loosely sticking to the plan, and can identify exactly why I haven’t lost more (my son’s graduation from high school made for a very busy family filled party household for almost a week!).

You do have to know yourself, and set your limits. You do have to be ok with lowering or reducing your carbs after lunch. And, of course, you do have to track everything you eat–this is how you can correlate the piece of cake you ate last night with why the scale didn’t budge today.

For this program, weighing daily and tracking your food and water helps you see trends in your weight and ultimately identify how to keep it off long term.

Am I still super confused and a little annoyed at the reason behind the name of the program? Yes. We aren’t children and I think Beachbody could have stepped up and named it after something more professional and nutrition oriented.

Do I disagree with the fact that Dietitian Ilana Muhlstein (the program creator) labels what are essentially cheats and treats as “silly carbs?” Totally. Not a fan of the terminology. 

Am I a little judgmental? I’ll totally agree to that ;)

Am I eating my words and saying that I like 2B? Yup. It’s exactly the break I needed from the Fix after following it for so long. It challenges me to get more veggies into my diet, and that’s always the goal right?

Delicious 2 B Mindset recipes with Plate It suggestions

• Zucchini Breakfast Casserole A delicious 2B Mindset breakfast recipe, just add an FFC like toast.
• 2B Mindset Banana Pancakes Perfect ratio for breakfast as is.
• Vegetarian Minestrone Soup Recipe Perfect lunch ratio as is! 
• Spring Roll Salad Perfect for lunch as is, for dinner you’ll want to skip the noodles and edamame. 

Can I have dessert on the 2B Mindset program?

Yes! One of the best things to come out of 2B Mindset so far is Wonder Whips. 

Check out these Wonder Whip recipes you have to try, there are 21 different varieties, all in one spot. I have recipes for fruity flavors like lemon meringue and key lime pie as well as chocolate flavors with mint and peanut butter! You can also do Wonder Whip in savory recipes for dipping and toppings!