It has been a week since I have finished the Ultimate Reset, and I can't believe that those 21 days have come and gone already. I'll admit - about half way through week 2 I felt like another week and a half seemed like a lot, and I really struggles in the home stretch, but I really did get used to eating everything in the plan (and NOT eating others things). I am SO proud to say that I did not cheat once while on the Ultimate Reset! Was it hard? Yup, it was. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
Most people are excited to see my results because I have talked a little bit about associated weight loss that just naturally happens with the program since it's a cleanse and detox. And I thought I would be most excited about the weight loss too since I was in a rut before this and had gained a lot of weight after my ACL surgery last summer. Believe it or not, though, I'm actually much more excited about the way I feel and for the things I've learned throughout the process. My mental clarity and shift were so much more important to me than the weight loss itself.
What did I learn and what did I like about it?
1. I am so much stronger than I give myself credit for. 21 days of being insanely strict with nutrition is hard. 21 days of no coffee. I LOVE coffee. I just drink it black and I learned that I drank WAY too much of it. I know that it was contributing a little bit to my feeling of being bloated and a little more anxious. So while I'll start drinking coffee again - I'm going to limit it to a small amount every day. But besides coffee...21 days of no wine, no sugar, no meat, no dairy...nothing processed whatsoever. The only thing I drank was distilled water (with added minerals). The first week I was able to have limited grains - but after that it was mostly just veggies and fruit. I had to say NO to a lot of temptations throughout these 3 weeks. I feel like superwoman that I never cheated and said "just this once". It's hard watching everyone else eat yummy snacks and treats like ice cream and wine but I just reminded myself that I'm doing this for me and I invested in the program because I wanted to see it through and to feel better. I wanted to feel like ME again. It's hard to feel excluded from social events when people know you are doing this, and then kind of just leave you out. It's hard. But, I'm so much stronger and so very happy I stuck to the program.
2. Nutrition REALLY is where it's at. If you want to feel better and if you want to reach your goals - your nutrition really has to be in check. While I promote regular exercise to everyone and anyone, including myself - you really cannot out-exercise a bad diet. The weeks leading up to this I felt like I was spiraling out of control with hand fulls of this and that and sometimes my emotions and stress led me to binge eating snacks at night. I am not proud of that at all - but that is the reality of where I was at. I worked out more and harder to try to make up for it but that doesn't work. The most important thing you can do for your body is to feed it with clean, whole foods and limit the crap as much as possible.
3. I have a very emotional attachment to food. When I eat things that are bad for me, my body feels like crap - which in turns makes me more stressed out and emotional and guilty - you get the picture. Crap food makes me feel crappy inside and out...it's really just not worth it. I will not let myself backslide after this - not after all of this hard work to get my body to it's natural state and not when I feel so amazing.
4. I missed protein. I' was so happy to start eating eggs and chicken again. :) I know that once I start working out again, the protein that I'm used to eating will be very important to give me the energy I need to push through. Being a vegan is not something I am interested in pursuing in the long-term.
5. I really miss working out. But I still can't...surgery is rescheduled for this Wednesday. I vow not to have a slippery slide again like I did last summer. I hope for a successful surgery that allows me to get back on track sooner rather than later. I just ordered Core de Force, and plan to kick it into gear as soon as I get the "OK" from my surgeon! However, I also learned like I said above - I don't need to go super hard-core all the time because as long as my nutrition is in check, following a program and just doing those workouts is more than enough to keep building muscle and staying healthy.
One thing that I really loved was the support from the Team Beachbody Blog, which really helped me to meal prep and plan my meals step by step. It really made it fool proof...I was extremely thankful for that.
So - my body feels amazing. I've slept more these last 3 weeks that I have in a long time. My body has rested and healed and I'm ready for the next step.
Now for the fun part - the results!
I went back and forth thinking about if I would share my weight loss or my actual weight. I didn't want to share my before weight because I'm really embarrassed about it. It was the highest I've weighed since before I found Beachbody. I don't even know what happened...it just slowly kept creeping up and I wasn't making the necessary changes to stop it. But I have nothing to be embarrassed about because this is REAL LIFE. We all go through highs and low - and I am no exception, even if I am a health and fitness coach. I'm also constantly on display on social media and in my challenge groups and I think it all started to play mind games with me. I felt overwhelmed with trying to be the best I could be, that I just felt tired and gave in too much. So I am baring it all out there so I can be real. I have never ever shared Before and After pics of myself before, so this is huge for me. I am not doing it for praise or anything like that. I really hate putting myself on display, believe it or not. I just want you all to know that if you are having similar struggles, this program really does work.
4. I missed protein. I' was so happy to start eating eggs and chicken again. :) I know that once I start working out again, the protein that I'm used to eating will be very important to give me the energy I need to push through. Being a vegan is not something I am interested in pursuing in the long-term.
5. I really miss working out. But I still can't...surgery is rescheduled for this Wednesday. I vow not to have a slippery slide again like I did last summer. I hope for a successful surgery that allows me to get back on track sooner rather than later. I just ordered Core de Force, and plan to kick it into gear as soon as I get the "OK" from my surgeon! However, I also learned like I said above - I don't need to go super hard-core all the time because as long as my nutrition is in check, following a program and just doing those workouts is more than enough to keep building muscle and staying healthy.
One thing that I really loved was the support from the Team Beachbody Blog, which really helped me to meal prep and plan my meals step by step. It really made it fool proof...I was extremely thankful for that.
So - my body feels amazing. I've slept more these last 3 weeks that I have in a long time. My body has rested and healed and I'm ready for the next step.
Now for the fun part - the results!
I went back and forth thinking about if I would share my weight loss or my actual weight. I didn't want to share my before weight because I'm really embarrassed about it. It was the highest I've weighed since before I found Beachbody. I don't even know what happened...it just slowly kept creeping up and I wasn't making the necessary changes to stop it. But I have nothing to be embarrassed about because this is REAL LIFE. We all go through highs and low - and I am no exception, even if I am a health and fitness coach. I'm also constantly on display on social media and in my challenge groups and I think it all started to play mind games with me. I felt overwhelmed with trying to be the best I could be, that I just felt tired and gave in too much. So I am baring it all out there so I can be real. I have never ever shared Before and After pics of myself before, so this is huge for me. I am not doing it for praise or anything like that. I really hate putting myself on display, believe it or not. I just want you all to know that if you are having similar struggles, this program really does work.
Here are my pics and measurements...this is my favorite part.
I lost 14.5 inches all around my body - which was 3.5 in my waist, 3 in my hips, 5 total between both thighs, 2 in my chest, and .5 in each arm.
Day 1 Day 21
What now??
There is a plan that you're supposed to follow after the Reset is done, but after the loss in our family last week, that didn't quite work out for me. I am still doing the best I can to slowly reintroduce some grains like oats, quinoa, and brown rice - but I'm going to limit everything I have not been having. I am slowly bringing a little caffeine back in too because I miss my Energize before my workouts (pre-workout formula) and I really want a hot cup of coffee!
I am SO HAPPY that I decided to just go for it and complete this program. My mind, body, and spirit all feel refreshed and renewed and it has made me feel far better than I ever could have imagined. I'm ready to build these muscles back up again now and get back to my workouts. Fingers crossed that my surgery is a success and I get my strength back very soon!!
