Ultimate Reset Day 10

Day 10! Almost halfway through! It has seriously gone quicker than I thought it would.

Ohhhhh and believe me, we are!!

Food:

Breakfast was fruit! I was loving the papaya. Love!

Lunch was a greek salad with miso soup. Mmm pine nuts. Love!

Dinner was quinoa lentil pilaf with a side of broccoli. The quinoa lentil pilaf was ok. I should have left out the turmeric because I don't particularly like that spice but I wanted to give it a whirl. Dan liked it though!

Oh and the picture on the bottom left is Lee's dinner. He sees me take pictures of my plate before I devour it every night and he looked at me and said "Mama take a picture of my food too!" He had whole wheat pasta with broccoli, olive oil, garlic, himalayan salt, and pepper. 

We both felt awesome today! My energy is surprisingly high. I always thought I had to have coffee for energy. We both also felt more focused as well. I thought I would have lots of cravings by now but I don't at all. Certain foods pop into my mind but then the thought vanishes. Not much else to say--it was a good day! Thanks Ultimate Reset and Beachbody!

One more day til the weekend!!

-Nat

Ultimate Reset Day 9

Day 9!! This week has been flying by, probably because Monday was a holiday!

 I thought this was funny!

Food:

Breakfast was fruit (which will be fruit for the remainder of the reset!) You do have the option in Phase 2 of mashed chickpeas and nori gamasio but we like fruit better.

Lunch was pinto beans and rice with a microgreen salad. We both loved this lunch! Again I was jealous Dan got a bigger portion of the pinto beans and rice because he is a man :)

Dinner was garlic veggies, a baked sweet potato, and miso soup. So yummy! Dan doesn't love sweet potatoes like I do, I practically licked the plate. I didn't finish my miso soup because I was so full from the veggies and sweet potato. 

Also, on a side note there is a new supplement that is added in this phase called detox. It's a supplement you mix with water and drink. A lot of people complained about it...I think it isn't that bad at all! Kind of like a lemon-y sweet iced tea sort of taste. 

How we felt:

Dan feels great--no problems at all. We both still have our energy which I am loving so much! In the morning  I still felt like I still had those flu like symptoms from day 8 but I just pushed through it. By the afternoon I was feeling good again. I still felt a little chilly at times but nothing unbearable. 

I hope you all are having a great Wednesday! The weekend will be here soon!

-Nat

Ultimate Reset Days 4-8

Hi!!!!

I enjoyed my long weekend with my family so much! I hope you all had a great holiday :) I can't believe we are already in Phase 2 of the Ultimate Reset. It actually has gone by fast. I've already learned so much about cooking, clean eating, and have already had a physical as well as emotional transformation from this. I thought I ate clean before...HA! Not so much.

Food:

Day 4
For breakfast we had a fruit plate with yogurt sweetened with maple syrup and I topped mine with cinnamon. We both liked this breakfast! The fruit was so refreshing and it tasted so sweet. It is amazing how sweet fruit tastes when you cut out sugar that isn't natural. 

Lunch was lentil-lime salad and nori rolls with tempeh and veggies. Loved this lunch! So satisfying. I love the combination of flavors in the lentil lime salad.

Dinner was stir fry veggies, quinoa, and a cucumber tomato salad. Loved all of this! The stir fry had such a great flavor due to the use of coconut oil. I have used coconut oil in the past but never thought about using it for a stir fry and I will never go back. Coconut oil is the way to go.

We both were very hungry between breakfast and lunch today. I think it is because breakfast was mostly fruit, however I am not positive.

Day 5

Breakfast was farina with apples and walnuts sweetened with maple syrup. Boy oh boy was that delicious. Dan said it reminded him of cream of wheat which he used to love and eat a lot as a child. The green apples gave it such a nice sweetness.

Lunch was quinoa salad, veggies, and hummus. I love the quinoa salad so much! The dressing has a great flavor. I love hummus as well and was excited to see it on the menu.

Dinner was stir fry veggies again but this time it was paired with brown rice and a serving of miso soup. 

Today I felt more full than usual, same with Dan.

Day 6

Breakfast was farina with apples again but this time I topped it with pine nuts because I ran out of walnuts. Tempeh was actually on the menu for breakfast today but we decided to switch it up for something we really liked! Which is ok on the reset. You can swap out a breakfast for a breakfast, lunch for a lunch, dinner for a dinner, as long as they are in the same phase. 

For lunch we did the quinoa salad, veggies, and hummus again. The day 6 menu called for the quinoa salad and micro green salad but we needed more of the hummus so we switched it up.

Dinner was roasted root medley and zucchini cashew soup. Neither of us were crazy about this dinner. Dan does not like beets so needless to say that was why he was not crazy about it. The soup tasted like it needed something else. I didn't think the dinner was horrible, its just not something I would have again.

Day 7

Breakfast was oatmeal with apples and flax seeds with yogurt sweetened with maple syrup. Great breakfast!

For lunch we switched it up and had the nori rolls and lentil lime salad again. The zucchini cashew soup was on the menu today and since we were both not crazy about it we chose something else. 

Dinner was the southwestern veggie tacos! My favorite recipe from the reset so far. We both LOVE mexican food so anything with those spices we love. Dinner was supposed to be tempeh, broccoli, and brown rice but we wanted to switch it up for something we both liked instead.

We love that we are able to swap out meals, not everyone has the same likes and dislikes and its nice that Beachbody took that into consideration when creating the reset. Being our last day in this phase we wanted to enjoy our favorite recipes from the first phase.

Day 8

Breakfast was a fruit plate--look at those gorgeous colors! PS the peaches were freshly picked from my future mother in law's tree. They are amazing!

Lunch was a micro green salad with the addition of avocado. YUM! We both love avocado. I was a little sad that Dan got extra avocado on his because he is a man :(

Dinner was pinto beans and rice, zucchini, and green beans. Great dinner! The lemon juice on the green beans was divine and the seasoning in the pinto beans and rice had great flavor.

Thoughts:

Days 4, 5, 6, and 7 we felt great! We both had more energy and felt more focused. No headaches at all. On day 8 I started experiencing some muscle soreness, headache, and chills. All of which are normal for the reset. I just tried to stay warm (which is easy in AZ in the summer, just go outside!) and I took a hot epsom salt bath at night which made me feel a lot better. I'm thinking a massage should be in my future! It would feel great and my body needs it. 

Emotionally we both feel good and haven't experienced feeling down at all. I feel like the reset is actually strengthening our relationship because we are going through this journey together as a team! Yesterday, on day 8, I had mentioned to Dan that I just wanted to eat a Cliff Bar soooooo bad. He responded with "Babe, on day 22 there will still be Cliff Bars." Which was exactly what I needed to hear! I've gotten questions asking how can you do that cleanse for 21 days!? Well, all those things you think you cannot live without will still be there when its over. Plus, who knows if those will still be appetizing when you are done. The Ultimate Reset does amazing things for your body, inside and out. Trust me, I think about cheese, coffee, cookies, etc. After all, I am human!

Phew! That was a long post!

I hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

-Nat

Ultimate Reset Day 3

Day 3 :)

The smile is because on day 3 I felt MUCH better!



The Food:

Breakfast was 2 eggs, steamed kale, and sprouted grain toast. Much like day 1! But I didn't scramble our eggs because I don't particularly enjoy scrambled eggs. We both liked this meal but found ourselves VERY hungry waiting for lunch. I drank so much water trying to hold myself over.

Lunch was a microgreen salad and lentil-lime salad. We really loved the lentil-lime salad! It had great flavor. Neither of us finished all of our lunch. It was a ton of food.

We both had a snack of celery and natural peanut butter.

Dinner was nori rolls with tempeh, japanese cucumber salad, and miso soup. I was so proud of myself for making the rolls myself. I tried a piece of tempeh before I put it in my roll and it was alright. Not sure how I feel about it! I know it is on the menu for days to come so I wanted to try it first by itself. Tempeh is new to us! If you don't know what it is it's basically an alternative for vegetarians and vegans that is made from soy beans. The tempeh we got was from Trader Joe's and was made from soy beans, rice, barley, and millet. It has a very different texture than tofu. The taste on its own could be described as kind of nutty. I think if I were to experiment with it and more freedom with seasonings and sauces it could be a great addition to our diet after the reset! As far as the miso soup, same feeling as day 1. The japanese cucumber salad had great flavor but honestly we are both sick of cucumbers for some reason and we both used to love them. I think because all 3 days we had salads with a bunch of cucumbers and then a cucumber salad at night we were like enough with the cucumbers! But I know they are good for you so that is that :) Eat your cucumbers people!

We both drank all of our gallons of water and then some! Staying hydrated is key to this program, along with the supplements and food! But like anything else you need to stay hydrated. Water does the body good.

Thoughts:

We both liked the food today and there was nothing we didn't like. Dan said he felt good on day 3 and had no complaints! I felt so much better. My headache was gone and I was not as tired as the day before. Thank goodness because day 2 was honestly pretty tough. It is crazy how detoxing from caffeine and sugar can make you feel so horrible. It makes me wonder and think about what I was previously putting into my body. Off topic but the detox from sugar made me think of when Lee says "Sugar may taste good but its bad for your teeth". He watches some show called Sam Sandwich where they promote healthy eating and he says that is what Sam Sandwich says. If you have young kids you might have seen it!

Here is Sam Sandwich and his friend Sal the Broccoli

My food cravings have gone away and I'm not saying that I don't miss cheese and goodies but I'm just not being negative about the food! Now I have come to accept that I'm really putting good things in my body and my body will thank me for this. Stay tuned tomorrow for the Day 4 update!

-Nat

Ultimate Reset Day 2

Day 2 done!

The Food:

Breakfast was steel cut oats, plain greek yogurt which we sweetened with pure maple syrup, and a bunch of blueberries. I also sprinkled some cinnamon on my oatmeal and it was to die for! Breakfast was great great great!

Lunch was a greek salad and a leftover piece of salmon from the night before. The plan states to have grilled chicken on your greek salad but I opted for the salmon since I had leftovers. So yummy!

Dinner was a Southwestern Veggie Taco with a side of salsa and guacamole. Oh em gee was this a-MAZ-ing. Seriously! There was too much filling for my corn tortilla so I ate the rest on the side.

There is an option for a snack between lunch and dinner and we both had that today! I was super hungry and knew I could not wait until dinner. We both had celery and natural peanut butter. I am a PB lover and it felt like the biggest treat!

We both drank over a gallon of water as well.

Dan and I both loved all three meals. We were surprised that we enjoyed the tacos so much because we are used to having meat in them! Honestly I didn't even miss the meat. Dan even commented how quickly I gobbled mine up ;) 

Thoughts:

Dan felt better on Day 2. He said he did not have the headache anymore that he experienced on Day 1. He did get tired after lunch but that was the extent of it. I, on the other hand, still had the nasty headache which was worse than the day before. I was also very tired the whole day. Kind of like I had been out all night partying! My cranky pants were not on like the day before so that was great. No one likes a cranky pants. Well, except my friend Katie...but that is a story for another time :)

We did go for a walk at night after dinner and that felt really good. I am missing my workouts SO MUCH. The walk was also a nice bonding time for us to do as a family! Even with our crazy dogs.

Just a little preview...it is Day 3 as I am writing this and I feel better today (no more headache) so that is GREAT!

I hope you all are having a great week so far! It's Wednesday! The weekend is closer :)

-Nat

Ultimate Reset Day 1

I was too tired to write this all last night! And it will probably be this way for the duration of the Ultimate Reset because I love my sleep, time with Lee before he goes to bed, and my alone time with Dan after Lee goes to bed!

Let me go back to the weekend before I talk about day 1 because there is a lot of prep with this detox! I got most of the items at Sprouts and some of the items at Trader Joe's. Love both of those stores! It was a LOT of stuff, especially since I was buying for 2 since Dan is doing it with me. On Sunday I prepped some of the items before hand like brown rice, quinoa, toasted pumpkin seeds, and miso soup. Since I work full time I felt this was essential! 

So now to Day 1...


The Food:

The day started off good! It was different than I was used to. Normally I wake up super early and work out but instead I got up early and cooked our breakfast for us which was whole wheat organic toast, 2 eggs, and steamed kale (Dan opted for the steamed spinach instead!) We both liked this meal! It was a bit more than I was used to eating in the morning because I normally have something lighter like Shakeology or overnight oatmeal. 

The second meal, lunch, was a microgreen salad which is basically a big salad with a bunch of veggies and a serving of miso soup. The microgreen salad was so good, just really big! Both of us said our mouths got tired from all the chewing because of all the yummy veggies. The miso soup was so so, I didn't love it or hate it, just kind of eh about it.Lunch, like breakfast, was very filling.

Then there was dinner which I was so excited for. Salmon, baby red potatoes, and asparagus. LOVED it! Again, it was very filling.

Dan drank over a gallon of water and I drank just under a gallon.

The supplements were fine and the alkalinze supplement that you mix in with water was not as bad as people have said it is! At least not in my opinion. Don't get me wrong it didn't taste amazing but you just get it down and over with and move on with your day.


Thoughts/Struggles:

Both Dan and I are BIG caffeine consumers! I always have my coffee every single day and I cannot remember the last time I didn't have my coffee. Dan is the same way...he likes his coffee, diet sodas, and energy drinks. Needless to say we both had the caffeine withdrawal headache going on. We think some of this might be due to sugar as well. I for one do not go one day without a sweet!

Another struggle I had was I got quite hungry between breakfast and lunch. I believe this is just due to my body being used to eating a snack in between those meals and I'm sure it will subside. In fact as I'm writing this now I haven't felt the hungry feeling and its Day 2 so that's a good sign.

We both did love all the food and thought it was a substantial amount. Normally when you think cleanse/detox you think limited calories...like an unhealthy low amount of calories but this was so not the case other wise I would not have done this.

I did have my cranky pants on and I think it was due to the headache...

We are excited for this challenge and the good things we are doing for our body!!

So that was day 1!



Have a great Tuesday!

-Nat

My fitness schedule for this week! And a little of what is to come....

I figured I would like my weekly workouts on Fridays since people ask what I am doing. I have been known to have what some of my friends and I call "Exercise ADD" because I like to switch it up.

Instagram and Facebook fitness pictures for this week:

Monday: Arms, chest, back, abs, and HIIT hill routine on the treadmill

Tuesday: Legs, glutes, and HIIT routine on the treadmill

Wednesday: Arms, chest, back, abs, and HIIT hill routine on the treadmill

Thursday: Legs, glutes, and HIIT routine on the treadmill

Friday: Rest day! <3

Saturday: I am planning on hot yoga

Sunday: I am planning on a trail run

I am trying to get my favorite workouts in before I start the Ultimate Reset we Monday. The only activity permitted on the reset is restorative yoga and walking which I hope to be doing. The walking will happen for sure. The dogs and Lee will be loving the walks too!

I have a lot of feelings and thoughts that I am experiencing while I prepare for the reset. The feelings are both excited and nervous! I, like most people, sometimes have a hard time with change or the unknown. I get a little anxious when I have to go outside of my comfort zone (funny thing is I actually talked to some friends about comfort zones last night!). But I know this will be good for Dan and I. Clean eating is never a bad thing! I know we eat too much meat and probably too much dairy because gosh do I LOVE cheese! I know everyone's body needs a little detoxing every now and then because of the build up. I know people who have done the reset and say it is life changing! The reason we chose to do this is NOT for weight loss. I understand that probably will happen but that is not the driving factor. We are both comfortable with our weight and if the reset gets rid of some of the stuff we don't need, and we lose weight as a result then so be it! It will be a great learning experience for Dan and I. Also, I am not the type of person to recommend something unless I have tried it myself! So I will be diligent about documenting my true feelings about it, good and/or bad. 

I am trying to get Dan to agree to doing some videos with me so we can share our feelings about the reset that way. I do plan on taking before and after pictures, measurements, and weighing before and after! I will post pictures on both my Facebook page and Instagram as far as the food we are eating but will save the results for the end.

I hope you all have a great weekend!! <3

-Nat

Thursday Things!

There are two things I have loved this week! Totally random and in no way related but that is how I roll :)

The first thing is Erase Paste by Benefit. This stuff is amazing! I have deep set eyes and no matter how much sleep I get I have dark circles. I used to be obsessed with Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage but when I went to Sephora the other day they were out of that and the sales associate suggested this. I figured I would try it since I was in dying need of some more concealer. I am so glad I did because its my new favorite! It is such a creamy formula and glides on your skin with ease. It also has a brightening effect which is great for under the eyes. 

The second picture is from the Skinny Taste site which I must say I am pretty much obsessed with! I have never been disappointed with one of Gina's recipes. She is amazing at lightening up recipes so they still taste good! This recipe is called Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice. We had it this week and I was reminded of how much I love it. We have had it with chicken, shrimp, or without any added protein. So good! It is sweet and spicy! If you try this please top with sriracha (only if you like spicy food). Trust me, you will thank me. Oh and please don't forget to go check out Skinny Taste. You will thank me again.

Almost the weekend people! <3

-Nat

Wedding succulents and killer ab workout!

I am getting married in the spring next year to the most amazing man! Seriously. I am having SO much fun planning my wedding with the help of my amazing wedding planner Meghan. I think she is just as enthusiastic about finding stuff for the wedding as I am. Love her!!  Her and her partner Erin style amazing events and I am so thrilled to see what our wedding turns out like.  Their company name is Eventology Events and check out some of their work here, here, and here that has been featured over at Style Me Pretty. 

One of mine (and Meghan's) obsessions right now when looking at stuff for my wedding is succulents! They are so hot right now and I do not care if they are trendy! I love them anyway. I just cannot get over how gorgeous they are.

Photo credit: left (could not find original image!), upper right, and lower right.

There will be many more wedding posts to come! There are so many beautiful things out there that I am lusting over and it isn't possible for me to have every one of them at my wedding. I won't post specifically what we will have FOR SURE. Just things I think are beautiful!

Another thing I wanted to share is my go to ab workout right now. I didn't do any core work at all last week because I was feeling like I needed to take it easy.  I got back to it on Monday and boy oh boy was my core sore on Tuesday! 

Found on Pinterest of course!

I hope you all are having a fantastic week!

-Nat

Tip Tuesday!

Every Tuesday I will share a tip with you. I am not saying I am some kind of expert but what I do know is what works for ME as well as others I have spoken to.

Today my tip is:

Get off the scale!

Photo Credit

Most of you may not know this but I struggled with an eating disorder for many years. Those were some of the darkest years of my life and one of the ways my eating disorder manifested itself was through the scale! The scale dictated what type of day I would have depending on the number. It was a sad, sick cycle and I am so grateful to be free of that. 

Even those who do not suffer from an eating disorder can still become OBSESSED with the scale. Daily weighing, freaking out if the number went up, etc. What about if you are building muscle? The number may go up. What about if you are carrying around a little extra water weight because you ate a little more sodium than usual the day before? Here is one for you....if your clothes are fitting better, you feel amazing, you have been kicking butt with your workouts, eating clean and have more energy why the heck are you letting the number on the scale make you feel bad about yourself!? Also, the scale does not measure your kindness, beauty, or any other part of the inside of you that matters!

In my case I look like I weigh about 10 or so pounds less than I do (or so people tell me). The last time I went to the doctor the nurse weighed me and said "That can't be right, you don't weigh THAT much." No wonder we are obsessed with that number. It's the point of focus everywhere! Honestly it did get to me for about 30 minutes after my appointment  ( I am human) but then I let it go because I know how I FEEL about myself and you cannot let what someone else says rule your feelings. 

If you do want to track your fitness, that is totally fine! Take measurements and photos. Also notice how your clothes are fitting. And to my women followers please please please take note of this because from day to day our weight can fluctuate tremendously and you do not need that number hanging over your head. 

I hope you all have a great rest of your day! Contact me if you have any questions or would like to share a tip of your own with me! I plan on having guest posts for this in the future.

-Nat

Getting Started!

Wow I've taken FOREVER to get this blog up and running! I'm not very tech savvy ;) I plan on posting everything here!! Family life, wedding planning, fitness, nutrition, fashion, makeup...yes so everything!! So here is my first post!

Our weekend was great. Saturday was a lot of prep work for family coming over for Mother's Day. Cleaning, cooking, etc you know the usual. Yesterday was wonderful. I got up and went on a trail run, my new addiction. I like running intervals on the treadmill so I don't get bored and trail runs provide that! Plus you have some beautiful scenery! If you have never done a trail run its basically running a hiking trail. I pretty much run as much as I can and take breaks to walk when I need to. Its usually on the downhill parts because I don't want to fall as I'm running down a hill.

After that I came home and drank my trusty Shakeology! I swear I slurped it down in 2 minutes, it was so good! Then I got ready for family coming over and started cooking! We had such a nice day. The kids are sooooo much fun. We got some great pictures too! 

Lee and I

Dan, Lee, and I. Gosh this picture makes me SO happy!

Dan working the grill! We had some yummy food!

The carne asada was a hit as usual! Also the mini mexican pizzas I made were a hit! I will post the recipes for both below.

All in all it was a great weekend!! I hope all of you had a great one too!

-Nat

Carne Asada Marinade

slightly adapted from This Mama Cooks On A Diet

1 cup of vinegar (any kind works, I've used white, apple cider, and malt and they are all good!)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup of water

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp sea salt

A couple pinches of ground cloves

1 orange sliced

1/2 bunch of cilantro

Whisk all ingredients except for the last two then throw the meat, marinade, sliced orange, and cilantro in a bag! Let marinade for at least 24 hours! This is enough so marinate up to 3lbs of meat. 

Mini Mexican Pizzas

from Dashing Dish

Makes 12 mini pizzas

4 large whole wheat tortillas (La Tortilla brand is the best!)

1 cup of cooked ground turkey

1/2 cup of salsa

2 tsp of taco seasoning

1/2 cup refried beans

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional additional toppings are olives, tomatoes, green chiles, etc! Get creative!

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tin with non stick spray.

• Cut circles out of your tortillas. Lay flat and use a glass, empty can, or cookie cutter to get 12 circles. You should be able to get 4 circles out of each tortilla. 

• Press circles into muffin tin.

• Mix ground turkey, salsa, taco seasoning, and refried beans in bowl until well combined.

• Divide mixture equally into the tortilla circles you pressed into your muffin tin.

• Top with shredded cheese and any additional toppings you would like.

• Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.