Thursday, January 2, 2014

And I'm Out - Ultimate Reset is COMPLETE!!!



Three weeks later, and the Ultimate Reset is in the books!  Ok, so small confession...only did 20.5 days. However not intentionally!! Last January when I planned on doing the reset, I got all ready, and actually did the first day before I decided to put it off to a later date.  Unfortunately, that meant that when I committed this time around, I was short one day of supplements. Not going to lie, I'm a little bummed that I won't have the official 21 days, BUT I am glad I only wasted one day of supplements during my first attempt.  Looking back, I definitely wasn't committed to the process.  I was just going to use regular water - not distilled, and I had skimped on some of the ingredients...I really wasn't ready at that point, and honestly hadn't bought in.

Boy am I glad I waited and did it right! Week three was just about sticking with it. No more yucky detox (seriously I was not a fan), and during week 3, I was used to the routine of my supplements.

Pilates X is awesome - great way to still get in exercise without too much aerobic exertion
In Phase 3, you Restore your metabolism to maximum efficiency, while fortifying your body with the nutrients, enzymes, and probiotics it needs to maintain healthy performance in the future.  Again, the meals are mostly fruits and veggies, but you can add a specified grain to dinner if you want. I did add the recommended grain because I was picking back up with some easy Swimbikerunning and needed to make sure I had enough fuel.  Even with the added exercise, I still never felt hungry. 
Last afternoon supplements of the reset!
 I stuck true to the meal plan, save for Day 3 (day 17 overall).  I was supposed to have roasted delicata squash for dinner.  I wasn't totally feeling it, so I swapped it for a sweet potato (day 1 meal).  Nothing major.  Other than that swap, didn't stray from menu at all.  Oh and I nixed the miso soup on day 5 (a lot of work and just really bland), but added some extra cashews to my salad.  All the way through week 3, the food has been great, and I'm really excited to make a bunch of the recipes in the future.  Actually I'm pretty sure I'll be making the Nori 'sushi' rolls next week!

One of the things that I was a bit worried about before the reset was losing muscle.  I have a lot of it, and definitely need it.  The reset info claims that you won't, but I was skeptical.  Lo and behold, they were right...My muscles stayed right in tact...hard as ever.  During my swimbikeruns, I felt like I did lose some aerobic fitness, but I can't yet tell how much.  I think part of the reason that my workouts felt tough was because I wasn't able to fuel during them or drink electrolyte drinks, so I'm looking forward to taking my bike out for a spin on Saturday with my normal bike fuel and see the difference.

The hardest part of week 3 was banishing thoughts like "oh I'm almost done" and "one day won't really matter". But I really wanted to get the most of the reset and just repeated to myself that it's not a 17 or 18 day reset and I'm proud to say I didn't give in!

Week 3 faves: curried cauliflower, Avo jicama salad, and the roasted fennel was surprisingly good!

Final results:
I was super rushed in the morning of Day 1, so I didn't get around to taking measurements :(
Photos:
No fancy lighting, no flexed muscles, no makeup tricks, and NO, I did not go buy a new bathing suit in a bigger size.

Real photos of real results.
New Year's Eve was celebration day!! I felt truly cleansed and ready for 2014! Started the day off with measurements and photos, then toasted myself with a Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Shakeology - just as good as I remembered (and craved).  To celebrate, the man and I rang in the new year (and new me) with a sushi dinner (and Christmas cookies ;)

2014 started off right!!  Started off the day with Shako again (God I missed that start to my day!).  Then took advantage of the Cali weather for a hike with the pups and my man, and we rounded off the day by meeting up with friends for a late lunch/early dinner - linner? - at the Yardhouse.
Working on my weekly meal chart - join one of my groups to learn my meal planing secrets!
On Saturday (day18), I started filling out my meal chart for the week and turned to pinterest for some menu inspiration. (Pinterest was also my food porn during week 3...pinned a million crappy desserts that I will NEVER EVER make, but it's fun to window shop). Interestingly enough (to me at least) all of the meals I picked came from my "fruits and veggies galore, oh my" page. No real cravings for meat! Clean eats are on the menu for the rest of the week. And since I will be starting P90x3 on 1/6, I'll be studying the nutrition guide and basing my meals on that for the next 3 months to get the most out of the program.
Want to know more about the reset, or ready to commit to the change yourself?? Email me at alligtrialanderror@gmail.com and check out myultimatereset.com/allig9 or beachbodycoach.com/allig9 to snag a spot in my upcoming challenge and accountability groups!

#makeithappen