Happy Monday everyone! We made it! We feel like this lady!
Friday, Day 19
Breakfast was fruit! I have to be honest, on this day we were beginning to get burnt out on fruit.
Lunch was a microgreen salad and heart vegetable miso soup. Both so good! That soup is a great one to make and so easy.
Dinner was curried cauliflower and kale again. I really like the curried cauliflower!
Honestly on Friday I was struggling. I think because we were so close to the end and I was anticipating that. Plus with the low level of protein I was feeling tired at some points. Dan went out and golfed in the afternoon and he said he was light headed. 105+ degrees plus limited food is not a good combo!
Saturday, Day 20
Breakfast was fruit, enough said!
Lunch was a Vegan Tropical Strawberry Shakeology. I was so over salads and I felt really run down so I decided to make us Shakeo instead! The vegan shakeology flavors are approved on the reset and there are recipes in the booklet. Yum! It was good!
Dinner was asian stir fry and kale. Love the stir fry! It's made with coconut oil and full of flavor. The side was supposed to be collard greens but neither of us care for them much so kale was a great substitute.
Saturday was better. We felt so much better after having Shakeology. Both of us smiled after we took that first sip and Dan said, "Ahhhh this is what we needed!" I went wedding dress shopping with my mom and got a massage later in the day so I was feeling great. Boy oh boy did that massage feel good :)
Sunday, Day 21
Breakfast was fruit! Not bad that day, I think because we knew the next day we would be having something else.
Lunch was a microgreen salad. I do enjoy this salad--a lot! Seriously obsessed with toasted pumpkin seeds.
Dinner was roasted vegetables. Pretty good! I didn't make the avocado cucumber soup that was supposed to be paired with this though. Just made extra roasted veggies.
On day 21 we were feeling good. We knew the next day we could have more freedom eating and were excited about the next step.
Results and Thoughts
So here is what so many of you have been asking for...the results!
Dan lost 13 and a 1/2 pounds and I lost 11 and a 1/2 pounds. Which is CRAZY to me. I honestly did not expect to lose much since before the reset we ate balanced, were active, and were both at a healthy weight. We both will probably not stay at this weight since we both want to build more muscle--which is fine. The scale gives you nothing but a number that does not define you! But for the purpose of this cleanse I felt it was necessary to document everything which includes starting and ending weight. For reference, Dan is 5'10" and I am 5'4".
Check out those inches lost on Dan! He was happy about that. As for me I was shocked I lost so many inches. But hey if it needed to go then I'm fine with it. You are detoxing and resetting your body so if you get smaller in the process so be it!
Here are some before and after pictures:
Dan's results just blew me away!
It is hard to see in the pictures but I feel like the reset gave my muscles the ability to show more! Abs truly are made in the kitchen.
For me the biggest pros to the Ultimate Reset were:
-My body feels like it is running more efficiently.
-I'm no longer bloated (I was seriously bloated all the time before!)
-I learned new ways to cook so that you can keep the ingredients simple and whole but still taste great!
-Realized the need to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our meals.
-Realized we no longer need to snack as much as we thought which included our nightly fudge or fruit bar!
-No longer have the NEED for coffee.
-We were able to rest our bodies.
-Growing experience--it is a tough program to follow but doing it together helped us grow as a couple and we are stronger than ever.
-Realized I do not NEED meat as a protein.
I asked Dan for his top 3 pros to the Ultimate Reset:
-Didn't rely on caffeine for energy
-He felt GOOD
-Lost unwanted fat
Now for my cons/struggles:
-It is a hard process, harder than any exercise program I've done
-Preparation time--with both of us working full time and having a son we have limited time at home during the week so I felt like every moment I was home I was in the kitchen. There is a lot of prep some days and at times this got to me.
-Hunger between breakfast and lunch. There is an optional snack between lunch and dinner so I was ok there but I was often hungry between breakfast and lunch.
-Going out and about. For example to a party or even just the mall. There is food everywhere!
-Moody. The Ultimate Reset has a common side effect of feeling down or irritated. It's just part of the detox process. Your body is working SO hard resetting itself and getting rid of all those yucky toxins that have built up. I felt really bad about my moody days. Anyone that came in contact with me did not get the best treatment!
Dan's top 3 cons:
-Hard process
-Sometimes hungry
-Hard process! :)
With all that said, it is a doable process and we got through it. Like anything else there were tough times. But nothing so negative that I needed to stop. I had a wonderful support group with my friends and family so when I struggled I reached out. It actually went quicker than I thought! It is only 21 days...not a lifetime. I kept reminding myself all those things that were not reset approved would still be there on day 22 if I wanted to have them. I would definitely recommend this to anyone I know. It is an experience that everyone should go through because it helps you grow. We are all resistant to change because of the uncertainty. But change is when real growth happens. Walk through fear! You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. Plus it does amazing things for your body so its a no brainer! I'm so glad I did this with Dan. I'm so overwhelmingly grateful its hard to explain! I could not sell this product without knowing what it feels like and now I am glad to say I stand behind the Ultimate Reset 100%! Anyone that knows me knows I'm honest. I have a fulltime job, my coaching job with Beachbody does not pay all the bills so I'm not just saying that because I have a ploy to lure people in. If I did not feel this was a great product--I would say that. My goal is to help anyone in any way I can by ending the trend of obesity! I want everyone to live the longest and best life possible!
So....where do we go from here?
For me, I'm going to be what Tony Horton (creator of P90X) refers to himself as, a Flexitarian. I will pretty much be vegetarian most of the time. I will allow myself to have seafood if that is the only option available or if I really want it! Honestly I do not think I could ever fully give up sushi. I love it so much. I used to love chicken but at this time I really do not crave it and it does not seem appetizing. Red meat does not seem appealing what so ever anymore. I love cheese and eggs so being vegan is not in the cards for me right now as I am not willing to give those up. If in the future I do feel the need to incorporate chicken and/or red meat into my diet I will! I am all about intuitive eating and listening to your body. As of right now I am going with how I feel. I've learned many different ways of getting protein other than meat and am excited to cook different dishes! As for my beloved coffee, I do miss the taste SO much. I no longer need it for energy like I used to but I do miss the taste. With that said I will probably go back to coffee but make it more of a treat thing or just limit myself to less a day because before I relied on it way too much. I did have green tea this morning because I missed having something hot and my Keurig was looking at me. The green tea was lovely! As far as sugar goes I have to limit it. I used to literally eat something sweet everyday. One cookie every morning, a starburst, etc. I don't NEED it. I do love baking and will continue to do that but will limit myself and my family on the sugary sweets because its just not good for you!
As for Dan he will go back to eating chicken and fish (in fact I packed him chicken for lunch today). He said at this time he is going to try to avoid red meat. With that said he does want to eat LESS meat. I'm thinking we could do about 3-4 dinners a week being vegetarian for him. He is going to try his hardest not to go back to drinking soda or energy drinks which makes me SOOO happy! That was the biggest thing I was concerned with as far as his diet before. He drank one cup of coffee this morning and feels good. We both just love the taste of coffee!
As far as fitness goes I'm planning on doing the old program I was on at the gym before the reset where I do HIIT for cardio and lift. PS I worked out this morning and felt AMAZING! It is recommended you do not go back full throttle right away so I was careful when I was lifting. Dan says he will do the same at the gym continuing cardio and lifting. On the weekends I also plan on continuing trail running and Sumits hot yoga when time allows. We both want to continue to add lean muscle. There is also a Crossfit place that opened up right across the street from us that we want to try out! But once Focus T25 is released we are sooooo getting it and doing it together! We are not sure if we will lift in addition to this. We have to get the program and see what it is all about first. We are both huge Shaun T fans and know any program he puts out will rock our socks. Check out the video about the program here.
So that is everything! We both want to thank you all again for following along with us on this journey. We appreciate the overwhelming support we received! If you have any questions at all contact me here, on FB, or on IG.
On Wednesday we are off to California for Disneyland and the beach! We couldn't be more excited. Lee is already packing :)
Have a great week!
-Nat
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