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I’m sitting here reflecting on that past 21 days and I have so many mixed feelings about it ending!

I’m SO thankful and SO glad that I did it! I’m even more thankful that I had Neil to go through it with me and help me with food prep and purchasing, and all that good stuff! It was the biggest learning experience for me. So many of these items I had never heard of or cooked before. I learned a lot about food prep and I feel so much more confident in buying fresh food and being able to use it… you know before it goes bad! 😉

I went to the store yesterday to restock my fridge and found myself naturally gravitating towards fruits and veggies and they made up most of my purchases. I was thrilled to see blueberries on sale , strawberries you could smell across the store, ripe yellow bananas, beautiful tomatoes, bright red bell pepper and gorgeous zucchini! The best part… I felt completely comfortable buying all those and KNOWING that I had the ability to cook with the veggies and put the fruit to great use!

I also had weaned myself off of my daily cup of coffee. When I first started the Reset I was sure that I would continue drinking coffee the MOMENT it was all over, but I didn’t. I DON’T need it- my body has plenty of natural energy and I have never felt better! It feels great to know my body is so clean and running so smoothly and efficiently! Now, will I stop drinking coffee COMPLETELY? No, probably not, but it definitely won’t be a daily thing anymore and my adrenal gland is thanking me!

I also lost 10 pounds on the Reset which is a lot for me.  I lost 2 inches on each leg (which you can see REALLY well in the first picture above) and 2 inches on my waist (which you can see in this picture)- I mean that’s just still so unbelievable to me! And all from EATING CLEAN! This is what we’re always talking about with nutrition being soooo important for your results! You can’t out-exercise a bad diet and this proves that!

A lot of people may get critical about my weight loss, but I ask you to please keep those thoughts to yourself because there was nothing dangerous about what I did. This was completely all natural, whole foods, non-starvation 21 days and I definitely ATE. I ate THREE solid meals a day plus a snack a good chunk of the days- these were super healthy and clean meals with REAL food! What this did was remove so many of the toxins in my body that had build up after years of eating processed foods. Now that this is over, it’s time to really tighten and tone my body which I am SO excited to do! Time to get LEAN AND TONED, baby!

I’m going to miss knowing exactly what my meals are everyday. I mean, isn’t that what we all want- someone to plan our meals for us? Well and cook them too I suppose, haha! This just proved to me how AWESOME the Beachbody Meal Planner is and I plan on seriously committing fully to using that. I mean how easy is that? Shopping lists, recipes, menus- I mean everything that you need to be successful. I just fully realized its value through this.

I am glad though to be able to eat what I want right now. Honestly, I WANT healthy foods- that’s what my body wants so obviously I’ve flipped that switched in my brain and body which is exactly what I wanted. My first meal off the Reset was steel cut oats with blackberries, flaxseed and pure maple syrup. Sound familiar? It should- it was a breakfast on the Reset! There are plenty of recipes that we will definitely continue going forward- Stir Fried Veggies, Garlic Veggies, Quinoa Lentil Pilaf, Black Beans & Rice Tacos, Zucchini Cashew Soup, Lemony Broccoli and Asparagus…. to name a few!

After  not working out for 21 days I was anxious to get back to it. I did Pump Challenge and honestly that was enough for the first day. It’s hard for me to pull back but I know my body needs some time to get back into full force. However, even though it’s a short workout and I didn’t even use VERY heavy weights- I felt more efficient doing it. I felt like it was a really productive 20 minutes so I think that is a GREAT sign! I’m excited to put my new body to the test!

Here are my biggest tips for those of you just embarking on this journey!

• First of all- GOOD FOR YOU!! This is going to be the best money, time and energy that you can spend- no joke! This is TOTALLY worth every cent! You’re going to learn so much, experience so much, and come out renewed, refreshed and in the BEST HEALTH of your life! I guarantee it!
• Remember that this isn’t a “diet”- this is a detox so try as hard as you can to stick to it. Yes, sometimes you don’t want to, sometimes the food sounds unique, but you’re going to be so proud of yourself if you stick to the program! Don’t you want the best results possible????
• Preparation is KEY! In my previous blog posts documenting my journey, I tried to give you tips on what to make ahead of time so you’d know what to expect. Just make sure you look ahead and really do everything you can to make life easier on you during this time. On the weekends, we would shop for everything we needed for the next week. Then we’d get to work- we prepared a ton of things ahead of time on the weekends. This saved us a lot of time- chopping veggies, marinating things, making salads… all that stuff is going to really help you out!
•  Alkalinize has a very unique flavor, but don’t skip it! It takes a few days but you’re actually going to start looking forward to it. Your body will be craving it in the afternoon and you won’t mind the taste at all! It ends just tasting a little salty and really refreshes your body! I promise I’m not crazy (not about this anyway)!
• Detox is not that bad so don’t get freaked out or worried about it. Yes, it’s going to clean you out, but no you won’t be running to the bathroom. I really had no big problems taking it so don’t let it deter you from this! You’ll be just fine!
• When you’re done, make sure you take some time to reflect on what you’ve done. You’ve overcome a lot, you’ve probably dealt with some emotional issues like I did, you’ve learned so much and you’ve not given into temptation! You should be so proud of yourself- I know I am!

My last thought is just that if Neil and I can do this- you can do this! This was an AWESOME experience and I hope that you’ll really consider it! Please, feel free to come to me with any questions or concerns and I’ll be happy to help you and answer any questions that you may have! If you want to read more about the Ultimate Reset, check out this website. My blog also has a day by day guide with pictures of food and my thoughts and feelings each day. I also have an Ultimate Reset Support Group on Facebook so all my peeps doing the Reset can join, get all their questions answered, share successes and struggles and get endless support! It’s a great group!

10 pounds down, at least 4 inches, energy through the roof, more confidence, super lean, super clean, and complete control over my food preparation and consumption. It takes 21 days to make and break habits… Are you ready to replace your bad habits with good ones? That’s EXACTLY what the Ultimate Reset did for me!

P.S. Pardon the difference in qualities in my pictures- my before pics are professional pics and my after ones are not.

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Oh my gosh- we’re here!! It’s the LAST DAY of the Ultimate Reset! When we first started, 21 days seemed almost impossible. I remember our meltdown on Day 1 and wondering if we could even do it. But here we are, the last day and we’ve definitely had ups and downs and challenges, but I am so proud of us and all we’ve accomplished during these 3 weeks. It’s been quite the experience and I’ve eaten so many things  I’ve never even heard of. No weight change today, but I still have on weigh-in left tomorrow.

We had Tropical Strawberry Shakeology for breakfast this morning. It’s just so yummy! I added a few orange segments, blueberries and kiwi pieces to it for a delicious blend! I’m really diggin’ this as a great vegan breakfast option!

All my usual business stuff was done super early today. What’s nice about this is that it helps me do the other things that I’ve been putting off. I love the efficiency this Reset has brought me!

I really enjoyed lunch today! It was a Carrot Seaweed Medley (though ours was sans seaweed because I’m not the biggest fan of it unless it’s wrapped around delicious sushi). This Medley has carrot, edamame and red bell pepper! Just so you know, you have to saute and cook this for a bit so it may be best made the night before- that’s what we did! It has a really delicious flavor and I was almost sad when I had eaten all of it. Also to go with lunch was a microgreen salad which we are well accustomed to by now!

Took my very last Alkalinize today! Kind of funny to think how much it grossed me out the first day or so! Now, it’s seriously not a big deal and I know my body is craving it in the afternoon. I’m shocked how much my tastes have changed!

Our final dinner was supposed to be Avocado and Cucumber Soup, but as I’ve mentioned I abhor cucumbers so… we took the squash from last night and blended it with coconut milk to make a soup. We did make the Roasted Veggies as scheduled. This is definitely something to keep in mind for the future, the squash last night was good and it was super easy to make it into another meal as a soup.

I’m already sitting here planning what I’ll eating tomorrow and it’s not as bad as you may think. I’m thinking about steel cut oats for breakfast and definitely some Chocolate Shakeology sometime during the day. When you get off the Reset, you want to make sure you consult the Guidebook and read up on how to reintroduce foods into your body- you don’t want to go full force into everything.

Tomorrow, I’ll give my final weigh-in and final thoughts on the Reset!

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AAAAHHHHH! We’re in the final 2 days! I lost another pound today so that’s 9.5 pounds… we’ll see if we can make it an even 10 tomorrow- haha! I’m feeling really centered and balanced today. It’s actually easier to focus on what I need to do and I’m more efficient. It’s a great feeling!

Fresh fruit for breakfast- the same mix that I had two days ago. I was so thankful I cut enough to last a few days- that’s the way to do this. Actually, that’s the way to do the ENTIRE Reset- plan ahead as much as possible and you’re going to be so much happier! You’ll maybe even avoid a mini-meltdown like Neil and I had on Day 1, haha!

Lunch today was Asparagus and Jicama Salad over Greens. It was definitely not my favorite- I felt like the marinade was too sweet for my taste.  It wasn’t bad and I love both Jicama and Avocado especially, but not something I will make again. Neil liked it though so it may just be me!

I think one of the most amazing things is the energy I have in the afternoon! True energy that doesn’t come from caffeine or anything else- just pure energy generated by my body. I just LOVE that! It was an unexpected, and pleasant, outcome of this Reset.

If you remember a couple nights ago we were supposed to have Roasted Fennel Bulb and I just CANNOT stand the taste of Fennel so we had Asian Stir Fry instead. Well, tonight we did the flip flop and instead of Roasted Fennel Bulb, we made the Roasted Squash with Garlic Tahini Sauce and Lemony Asparagus and Broccoli! Both were really, really tasty. The Garlic Tahini Sauce Squash was one we we really enjoyed when we made it earlier so this was an easy choice for us. The Lemon Sauce on the veggies was one of my favorite ways we prepared veggies which is saying something! Good dinner!

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY! I have some mixed feelings about it. I am happy to overcome this and REALLY excited to get back to my Chocolate Shakeology and some oatmeal for breakfast! Even though the meals needed some planning and preparation, it was nice to know what we were going to eat each night. I will miss that but I’m thinking that is just something to carry forward- REALLY make sure all my meals are planned out ahead of time which is something I did previously but I wasn’t as diligent about it. I would really like to continue that part of it. Well, looking forward to a good night’s sleep and our final day on the Reset!

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Holy Guacamole! Day 19 already?! We’re on the last three days of the Reset! I’m still amazed and proud that we’ve made it this far, stuck really, really closely to the menu and have seen some great results! No weight change today , but after losing 8.5 pounds already, I’m really, truly okay with that!

So this morning, we definitely “cheated.” We had the Color Run 5k and, I’m sorry, but we just weren’t going to make it on fruit alone! So… we each had a Lara Bar- I love these things! They have like 4 ingredients, gluten-free, non-GMO- I could go on and on and on! But I digress… There’s never going to be a PERFECT time to start the Reset. We knew we had this 5k, but it wasn’t a timed event, it was for people of all ages and we knew we would be just fine to walk- which is totally allowed on the Reset.

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Seems like only yesterday we were diving into this whole thing…. Okay, not really- it kind of seems like forever ago since we started. Even still I’m really proud and happy that we’re here! I actually forgot to weigh myself today, so I’ll let you know the progress tomorrow. I woke up early early today, took Draco out and laid back down for a bit. I had planned on just reading, but…. I fell right asleep and woke up an hour and a half later. No harm in that though especially with what we have going on tomorrow, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow!

Cut up some more fruit for breakfast this morning- green apple, blueberries, watermelon, pear, naval orange, banana, kiwi, and plum. Really, really, really delicious mix! I honestly like eating fruit for breakfast, but after this I’ll probably be adding oatmeal or whole grain toast or yogurt with it. I definitely need some more oomph to start fueling my day!

So… you eat a lot of microgreen salad during this Reset and it is tasty, BUT whenever you have something different, it’s really a treat. Today we had a Spinach Salad with spinach, tomato, jicama and avocado. You’re supposed to have cucumber too, but I think I told you previously that I really do NOT like cucumbers so I’m just skipping them now. We really liked this salad and it was really big- we both couldn’t eat all of ours. The avocado goes really well and really tastes decadent with it! You’ll like this one!

We went to Ikea this afternoon and were gone far longer than our usual time between lunch and Alkalinize. I brought a few whole grain crackers for us just in case and we ended up eating them. No, it’s not on the schedule but we really needed it. It was a really draining experience to go there and take the whole walk through. My body was really craving the Alkalinize too- funny how that happened! Needless to say, after Alkalinize, we definitely took advantage of having a snack as we had just completely worn ourselves down. I had peanut butter and fruit. It was definitely much needed!

 
Dinner needs a little explanation…. Last night we had roasted squash. Tonight was supposed to be Roasted Fennel Bulb, but I absolutely cannot STAND the taste of Fennel so our idea was to do squash in its place. However, we really didn’t want it two nights in a row, so we subbed in Asian Stir-Fry and Braised Greens which is the dinner in a couple nights. Something about veggies and sesame oil is just fantastic! The greens were really quite tasty too- garlic-y and tender! We opted out of grain tonight again because this was a pretty big meal.

Just 3 more days and our journey will be complete! We have a big day tomorrow- we’re doing the Color Run…. though we’ll be walking since we can’t run. Should be super fun!