Ultimate Reset: Week 1

I have to say, I came reluctantly to this part of my journey.  The idea of a 21 day cleanse always scared me and to be honest, it really wasn't ever on my radar because it seemed like it would be too intense, especially if I had to go at it alone.  However, as soon as Brian said he wanted to try it, I was all in. 

I've been trying to get my husband to join me on this health and fitness journey since the beginning but he wasn't into it.  He loves seeing what it's done for me but he really just doesn't feel so inclined as to join me.  I've become okay with that for now but then he saw some research on a 21 day cleanse and started looking for one.  I was really excited when he decided to go with the Ultimate Reset.

Yes, I'm a fitness coach for Beachbody and yes, Ultimate Reset is a product which I'm able to promote.  I'm going to give you my 100% honest opinion on the ups and downs as they come each week.

When the box came, I was really excited to up my nutrition.  I'd been slacking a bit since losing the weight and although I've been staying the same for a while, I wanted to try and lose some more weight and I know that dialing in my nutrition is the key to that.  I was happy to see the strictness of this program but as strict as it is, the days are 100% planned out for you.  It tells you what to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack for the full 21 days and I'm a huge fan of taking the thinking out of meal planning whenever I can, which is also part of the reason that I'd fallen into the routine of making the same few meals for my family each week.  I was happy to be making some new recipes again and hoping that a few of them would be good enough to take with me after the Reset was complete. 

The supplements may seem daunting at first, but it comes with a number of quick guides so it's easy to figure out exactly what to take and when and although the timing was difficult at times (you're supposed to take the supplements 30 minutes before your meal which took some planning I wasn't used to), it was easy enough as long as I thought ahead a bit.

Week 1 came with some amazing recipes. When I saw the recipe book, I was a little apprehensive because there were so many flavors I've never tried before.  Brian is very picky when it comes to fruits, vegetables, and seasoning so I knew it would be a bit trying to make sure he had things that he could eat but I'd say overall, week 1 was a huge success.

I will say this...  preparation is the absolute key if you're going to give this program your all.  It is quite a bit of work, especially if your doing it with your significant other.  I sat down and really checked all of the recipes to see what I could make in advance and what Brian would eat.  The Sunday before we started, I made a huge batch of salad dressing, cut up veggies to add to salad, quinoa, lentils, and Miso soup.  I checked all the snacks we would be allowed to have, and made sure to stock up on our distilled water (yes, tap water is a no-no on this one because you're ultimately trying to rid your body of all unnecessary toxins, even those in filtered water).  The 1st week grocery shop was a bit expensive because I went almost all Organic.  I try to do organic when I can but there are a few things that I wouldn't regularly do organic but in this case because I was specifically trying to rid my body of toxins, I went all in with the organic and non-GMO.  If cost is a concern, there are things that you can go conventional on but you should do your research and avoid foods like the dirty dozen.

Throughout the 1st week, I felt incredible.  I continued with my PiYo program and I was able to get through all 6 workouts pretty easily.  The first phase weans you off of things like meat and dairy to lead you into the 2nd and 3rd week which are vegetarian.  Before you let this scare you away, I will say that I NEVER thought I would be able to go without meat but then it actually just became a non-issue as the weeks progressed so be sure to go into it with an open mind.

One cool side effect of this week is I made the conscious decision to slow down and enjoy the process.  Cooking and preparing the food became really enjoyable and I looked forward to setting my husband and I up for the next day.  I feel like we really became closer in this phase as we went through the process together and were able to talk about how we were feeling. 

There will be a lot of cooking but some of the recipes are really delicious.  I loved a lot of the new flavors that I was trying but one of my absolute favorites from this week that I will surely keep making long after this journey is over is the Ultimate Reset Quinoa Salad.  It's so easy and super delicious! 

Here's the recipe for your enjoyment:

Ultimate Reset Quinoa Salad


Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked Quinoa
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Himalayan salt or Bragg® Liquid Aminos (to taste)
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 4 Tbsp. finely minced fresh parsley
• 3 Tbsp. finely minced fresh mint leaves
• 1 large ripe tomato, diced
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
• 10 chopped pitted Kalamata olives

Directions

Toss quinoa with olive oil, salt or Bragg Liquid Aminos, and lemon juice, mixing well. Gently fold in parsley and mint, followed by remaining ingredients. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Serves 4.