This was my last day of the first week of the Beachbody Ultimate Reset.  I made it 7 days of the 21-day program!  One-third of the way there!  The Reset has been quite a journey so far, and I’m looking forward to the completing the rest of the 21 days!  The Reset hasn’t been as difficult as I expected it to be (so far).

There are a couple of things that I have really come to enjoy during the first 7 days of the Reset.  For one, my love of tempeh.  The tempeh recipes that I’ve learned will be incorporated into my life post-Reset, and I cannot wait to make the nori rolls with smokey tempeh again.  I’ve come to really enjoy pumpkin seeds, and I had no idea that I could purchase them year-round.  The pumpkin seeds are the highlight of the microgreen salad that I make almost every day.  I also love the fact that I’m not wasting produce.  Before the Reset, it seemed that I would always end up wasting so much of the produce that I bought.  On the Reset, I am buying so much produce, and I’m eating it quickly and nothing is going bad.  My husband has enjoyed all of the salt that he gets to consume on the diet, albeit pink Himalayan salt, which is full of minerals that normal salts, not even sea salt, contain.

The past week, we’ve both been sleeping better, which I did not think could actually happen for me.  Pre-Reset, I slept pretty well – nice, long deep sleeps.  My first week of the Reset, I have been sleeping even deeper, and more importantly, I feel more well-rested on less sleep.  Pre-Reset, I would sleep 12 hours (sometimes more) on the weekends to catch up on sleep and even then wake up feeling tired.  The first weekend of the Reset, I didn’t sleep nearly that long.  I’ve never been a morning person.  And while I definitely still not a morning person, on weekdays during the Reset, I am still groggy and annoyed when I wake up, but I feel like I snap out of it a lot faster, and I feel more rested after 6-7 hours of sleep than I used to.  I have also struggled with mental fuzziness  for awhile and lack of energy.  On the Reset, my mental clarity and focus and energy have improved.  I’ve learned that I do not, in fact, need coffee to make it through the day, which for a former Starbucks barista, is a hard truth to swallow.  Finally, I broke a cycle of weekend indulgences, in glorious things like alcohol and brunch and fancy meals.  While I fully expect to indulge post-Reset, I can perhaps do so a bit more consciously and know that I don’t have to every weekend.

Last day of week 1, I bid farewell to animal proteins.  Believe it or not, it wasn’t that bittersweet of a farewell.  I’ve really enjoyed the vegan recipes that I have been eating, and I know there are more good recipes in store for me as I cut out fish, chicken, and yogurt.  I’m looking to the next 2 weeks with optimism.

Breakfast for day 7 was oatmeal with apples and flax seeds with yogurt.  What I’ve come to really appreciate about the breakfasts is that they are all pretty quick and easy (unlike some lunches and dinners).

Day 7 Breakfast

 

Lunch was zucchini-cashew soup and microgreens salad.  I made a double batch of zucchini-cashew soup the night before luckily.  Between lunch and dinner, I had a snack.  Snacks are optional during the Reset, and you should only have them if you feel like you cannot make it to dinner.  I was fortunate enough to have a West Wing tour of the White House (how freakin’ cool is that?!) scheduled for this evening, so in an attempt to hold me over until dinner, and as a way to kiss goodbye to animal proteins, I sunk my teeth into a nice hard-boiled egg.

Finally, dinner was one of my new favorites:  tempeh!  The baked tempeh was marinated in Bragg’s, sesame oil, garlic, honey, and apple cider vinegar, served with steamed broccoli and brown rice.  Great way to end week 1.

Day 7 Dinner