Tag: ultimate reset

Day 4

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This is the winter of the polar vortex.  The winter of cold, depressing, climate zeniths, of crisp, painful winds, treacherous ice, burdensome snow, and hibernation. 

Except Day 4 of the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, which was a beautiful, glorious Saturday.  Sunny and warm, with not a cloud in the sky.  If I were not on the Ultimate Reset, I could tell you exactly where I would have been.  I would have been enjoying an al fresco brunch, soaking up the sun, breathing in the fresh air, feasting on eggs benedict and all-you-can-drink mimosas, happy to be alive on a wonderful weekend.

Did I get to enjoy the nice weather?  Sure.  Though, it was mostly walking to and from the grocery store, which was followed by hours spent in the kitchen preparing meals.  Sigh.  It took every bit of strength to remind myself that these 21 days will change my life.  It’s okay.  There will be other sunny brunch days in the future.

Anyway, day 4 was another delicious day.  I have thoroughly enjoyed every meal so far from the Ultimate Reset recipe book, and day 4 was no exception.

The breakfast included a fresh fruit plate with yogurt.  Flipping ahead in the Reset recipe book, I see that the breakfasts for the last week of the Reset are solely comprised of fruit.  No eggs, no grains, no yogurt (animal product) – just fruit.  Knowing that is what lies ahead of me, I am a little nervous about whether I will be satiated until lunch, but that is a hurdle I will have to face when i get there.

Day 4 Breakfast

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Yeah.  I’m guilty.  I try to make these dishes look pretty for you, dear ready.  Enjoy!

Lunch.  I was so excited to make lunch because the recipes are fairly quick and simple:  nori rolls and lentil-lime salad.  I had made a big batch of brown rice a couple of days ago, so I wouldn’t have to wait the 30 minutes to cook the rice in order to make the nori rolls.  Well, I had my smokey tempeh cooked and I was ready to roll, then I realized I was out of brown rice!  Always make double, triple, heck, even quad batches of your grains, and when you are out, make more ASAP.  Lesson learned.  I fought the grains, and I won.  Too bad these will probably only last us a day or two.

Quinoa and Brown Rice Reserves

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I have come to the conclusion that the nori rolls with smokey tempeh and veggies is my absolute favorite meal thus far in the Reset.  I’m really digging the smokey tempeh, even craving it, and kind of sad that I don’t see it further in the recipe book.  I will definitely be making these post-Reset.  The nori rolls were accompanied by the lentil-lime salad that I had earlier this week.

Day 4 Lunch

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Finally, dinner included stir-fried veggies, a cucumber and tomato salad, quinoa, and nori gomasio.  Nori gomasio is essentially a seasoning that you make for some of the Asian-inspired dishes that involves grinding up a toasted nori sheet (which I did on the stove), some Himalayan salt, and a bunch of sesame seeds.  It really made the stir-fried veggies.

Day 4 Dinner

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Transformation Eve

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Things that I have consumed over the past 5 days:

  • Blue cheese with apple cider fluid gel, celery leaf salad
  • Steak tartare with pickle salt kettle chips, foie gras mustard aioli, fried quail egg
  • Snapper, fingerlings, saffron air, roasted fennel, dill, chive oil
  • Carbonated raspberries, raspberry sherbert, pistachio sponge cake, cloudberry jam, white port syrup
  • Wine, wine, wine
  • Sandwich of hot pastrami, corned beef, chopped liver, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, potato latke, on rye bread
  • Fig-infused Irish whiskey
  • Bento box of baked salmon, steamed spinach, ginger cucumbers, and brown rice
  • Green tea
  • Trout mousse, barbeque eel, red cabbage salad, and wasabi
  • Belgian frites with a trio of homemade mayonaisse
  • Wild mushroom waffle, porcini, enoki, and oyster mushroom
  • Grilled vegetables with black garlic dressing
  • Mac ‘n cheese
  • Beer, beer, beer
  • Fried green tomatoes in cornmeal batter, herb goat cheese, and Green Goddess Dip
  • Two baby cheeseburgers, chili dog, pork ribs, potato salad
  • Apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream
  • Chicken schwarma
  • Sherry
  • Dangerously delicious hot rod potato pie
  • Cocktails, cocktails, cocktails
  • Forthcoming: Indian cooking class tonight

I normally do not eat this unhealthy, but considering the Beachbody Ultimate Reset begins tomorrow, I have indulged.  Needless to say, I am ready for the Reset to begin tomorrow!

Day 1 Groceries

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Day Zero

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Healthraiser?  Why healthraiser?

Ever hear of the Beachbody Ultimate Reset?  It’s scary.  I’m horrified.  It’s only appropriate to name this blog, which will document my progress through the 21-day presumed horror that will be the Ultimate Reset, after a classic horror movie.

Based on what I’ve heard about the Ultimate Reset, it could easily be classified as the “demon to some; angel to others” that “will tear your soul apart.”  Okay.  Enough with the regurgitated cheesy “Hellraiser” taglines, what is the Beachbody Ultimate Reset?

As its Program and Nutrition Guide describes it, the “Ultimate Reset is not just a cleanse or detox . . . It’s a no-starvation, multifaceted, life-changing, cutting-edge, ‘this-is-the-real-deal,’ inner-body tune up.”  It cleanses your body, helps you eliminate waste, naturally and gently detox your body, and helps maximize energy production within your cells, and improve your ability to process fuel from nutrients.  Its three phases over 21 days include daily meal plans full of organic and unprocessed foods, a strict supplement regimen, and nothing else to drink but distilled water.  In the end, you’re supposed to feel better and be healthier than you ever have in your whole life – energized and renewed.  Sounds great, huh?

Yes, except it’s the process of getting there that scares me.  I am a foodie, and I love trying trendy new restaurants and avant-garde meals from celebrity chefs.  I love caffeine in all of its many forms – coffee, tea, No Doz, you name it.  Another love?  Alcohol.  Red wine, white wine, craft beer, craft cocktails, champagne, tequila, gin, vodka – shake it, stir it, blend it, shoot it, all of it.

Despite these damning indulgences, I am no stranger to health and nutrition.  I do not eat much processed food or fast food.  I avoid things like butter, sugar (I am blessed not to have much of a sweet tooth), and pasta; and instead regularly eat things like quinoa and kale, and drink Shakeology every day.  I try to balance my unhealthy habits with super strenuous exercise and fitness regimens (ever hear of Insanity?).  And while I have lost 40 pounds since graduating from law school about 3 years ago, my body is not where it should be. I crave more energy and mental clarity.  I drag in the mornings, and my brain constantly feels fuzzy (and no, it’s not from alcohol, I don’t normally drink during the week).  I’ve struggled with my metabolism my whole life.  I also know that I need to take better care of myself due to family histories of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.  That’s where the Ultimate Reset comes in.

Here is me before and after Beachbody programs.  The left photo is from law school about 3 years ago.  The right photo is me today after Shakeology and Insanity:

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No red meat, no alcohol, no caffeine.  I keep telling myself it’s only 21 days.  I can do it.  The Program and Nutrition Guide tells you exactly what to eat each day.  I just got to make it and ingest it.  There are three phases, each one week long:

  1. Phase 1:  Reclaim.  You remove foods, such as red meat and dairy, that place stress on the digestive system.
  2. Phase 2:  Release.  Fully vegetarian diet.  You release the toxic compounds that are stored within your tissues, clogging your cells, and blocking proper nutrient absorption.  This phase includes a gentle colon cleanse.
  3. Phase 3:  Restore.  You restore your metabolism to maximum efficiency and eat mostly fruits and veggies.

During each phase, there are supplements that you take.  These include Detox, Revitalize, Alkalinize, Mineralize, Optimize, and Soothe.

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My Start Date:  Wednesday, February 17.

I will try to document as many days of the Ultimate Reset as possible.  My husband will also be joining me for the Ultimate Reset, and I will be sure to post stats and comments about both of us.  My hope is that my journey through the program helps others decide whether this is something appropriate for them, and also to inspire others to take control of their health.  Wish me luck!