Ultimate Reset – week 3

The final week! I’m a little unsure how this week will pan out, as the official final three days will be two days of a road trip followed by a day on the beach. I’m toying with the idea of hitting “pause” and doing the final three days upon returning home. I could certainly take the supplements those three days but am unsure that I have the will or desire to do the meals as planned. As it is, we’re doing a lot more salads and finishing up leftover Reset ingredients before we leave, as many of them won’t hold. (Isn’t that a great thing about real food? It doesn’t stay in the cupboard for weeks at a time.)

Regardless of how or when the journey ends, it has been a good experience. I would guess that vacation will lead to some food splurges but I have no desire to return to how I was eating prior to the Reset. And I have some great recipes I plan on making while on vacation.

There have been some other awesome benefits: I am sleeping great and waking with energy. My complexion is clearer than when I began. I’m at a weight I’m happy with.

The one thing I won’t miss is the Alkanize wheat grass.

Ultimate Reset – week 2

Week 2 is officially over. So far I’ve already lost about 5 lbs and feel like I have more energy, except for at night when I’m exhausted and head to bed early. I’m also sleeping really deeply. Pants that were uncomfortably snug are now my go-to pants.

I have discovered that weekends are the hardest. I’m not able to control meal time as exactly and timing supplements isn’t as exact. I also don’t drink as much water on the weekends, but I’ve always known this. I did better this weekend than last, so I didn’t have the emotional instability of last weekend. Gah, I’d forgotten that that could be one of the things the body needs to cleanse. Anyhow, it’s Monday now and in my first three hours at work I drank 80 oz of water. The pace never really slowed and my body feels better for it.

I said I’d talk about the supplements:  

There are four that are taken throughout the 21 days. These are Mineralize (dissolved in water 4 times per day), Optimize (2 capsules 3 times per day), Soothe (2 capsules once a day), and Alkalinize (mixed with water once a day). I won’t get into the science of what they do; I’ve read it and won’t be able to relay that accurately. These are all taken 30 mins before meal times, with an extra Mineralize in the afternoon 30 mins before snack. I was pretty unhappy about Mineralize at first, as I’m not a fan of drinking salt. But, I’ve come around. I won’t be sad when I’m done with this one, but I don’t dread it. What I do dread is Alkalinize. Every day. I know some people take wheatgrass shots and enjoy it; I do not. I will never choose wheatgrass. I have found that using a shaker cup and the least amount of water possible makes it bearable; I don’t have to smell it and can swallow it in one gulp.

Week 1 (Reclaim week) doesn’t add any additional supplements. It is very much a transition week, in supplementation and food.

Week 2 (Release week) adds Detox three times a day, 30 mins before meals. I’ve seen that many people don’t seem to like this one. I actually really enjoy it (as does my husband). The texture is a little odd but it has a really sweet (but not overly so) taste that I enjoy. I keep thinking that it reminds me of something, but I’ve no idea what that might be. And it does what it claims to, flushing the system.

Week 3 (Restore week) takes Detox out and adds Revitalize three times a day, 30 mins before meals. This is another capsule.

In a couple of days I’ll talk more about food and the overall experience.

Ultimate Reset – week 1

I’ve been posting a lot of food pictures to Facebook. More than usual. Why? The Ultimate Reset.

So, what is this? Short answer: it’s a 21 day program to cleanse the inside of your body. Lots of water, specific meals, and natural supplements.

Why do it? It’ll change the way you think about food and health. It’ll break your body’s addictions to food and the chemicals found within (caffeine, for one). It’ll give you renewed energy. It can improve weight, cholesterol, and other “blood test numbers.” (Hey, this isn’t a scientific review!)

Today is my day 13, so let’s talk about how week 1 went:

This is the first time I’ve officially done the program; though I ate the meals and drank the water the last time my husband did it. (At the time I was breastfeeding and didn’t want to mess with the supplements. I also ate the larger “men portions” that time since I was eating for two.) Actually doing the program has been different. It has been more of a challenge but also more rewarding. I’m really looking forward to seeing, and feeling, the end results.

This journey started the day after running a half marathon. Unfortunately, said marathon was run in 42F weather and I woke up the first day of the Reset with a head cold. I’ll admit that I cheated and took some cold medicine, and lots of honey, for the first week. But I’ve never had a cold pass that quickly. I moved from sore throat and earache, to sinus pressure, to a cough, back to health in less than a week!

What about the food? There are a handful of meals I’m not a fan of, but I don’t recall running across any of these in the first week. Some things seem odd at first, like eating spinach with breakfast, but end up going with the other food really well. Some things are simply wonderful; like black beans and rice or quinoa salad. The biggest thing with the food is that some of it takes time to prepare. I’ve found that since I’m not working out during the program (it’s recommended to not overexert), that leaves me extra time to prep food. Most of the meals can be made ahead of time and eaten cold or reheated. There are many meals that we still make from the first time my husband did the Ultimate Reset. And I think we’ll add some additional meals to our regular food after this.

I’ll talk about the supplements when I review week 2.

Body Gospel

Donna Richardson Joyner leads this workout as a gospel version of Chalene Johnson. I’m not sure I was always comfortable with the use of God, but I know that some people want to proclaim Him in all they do, and Donna seems to be one of those people.

I did find the gospel music to be more uplifting than the typical dance songs used in Turbo Fire. However, my problem with this program was the same one I had with Turbo Fire: Lack of Coordination! I really could’ve used a HIIT workout. This program is only 30 days in length and I’ve been returning to it for five months to try to finish it. There are two routines that I enjoy; but these are not on the schedule frequently. Donna clearly enjoys her dancing!

Core Revelations is the routine I return to most. It works as a nice supplement to other workouts. At around 20 minutes long, it is reminiscent of pilates, but uses resistance bands to further strengthen the core.

The other routine which I enjoyed used the resistance bands while doing standing moves. Since the bands restricted movement, there were no complicated dance moves or long sequences that I was expected to learn. And the bands added more arm tension than I expected.

For someone just starting out, Body Gospel offers many modified moves. I could see someone doing this program to prepare for the higher intensity of a Chalene Johnson program.

RevAbs

Brett Hobel is a fun trainer. His affirmation statement came off as cheesy at first, but I learned that trying to say it was a pretty good way to judge if I was going hard enough or pushing it too hard. Plus my three year old son heard it enough to start saying “I’m strong, committed, and ready to go!”

This would be a great starter program for anyone interested in Insanity, but afraid of its intensity, or anyone who has given up on Insanity. RevAbs uses interval training and nearly all the moves work the core. Workouts are 30-45 minutes in length, so it takes less time than some of the other 90 day programs. This admittedly spoiled me, and after 90 days it was difficult to go back to 45-60 minute routines. But, for someone starting out, I know that 30 minutes can feel like a long time. Once these 90 days have been completed one should be ready to step it up to the next level.

My only complaint was that all the routines are pretty similar. They have different moves but are all cardio circuits and kind of blurred together for me. Lots of lunges, squats, and plank. There were some pretty fun martial arts moves and variations on plank that kept me interested and challenged.

Will this program give someone ‘ripped abs’ in 90 days?  It’s possible, though following the meal planner would likely be the key determining factor. It will strengthen the core and allow further development. I’ll likely revisit some of these routines, specifically the 15 minute ab supplement.

Turbo Fire

I know many people who love Chalene Johnson and her workouts (Turbo Jam, Turbo Fire, and Extreme Chalene). I’ve previously done Turbo Jam routines and knew that Turbo Fire would be more of a challenge.

Anyone who enjoys dance-based cardio should give it a try. I do not fit into this category.

I can handle the bubbly, borderline cheesy persona that one would expect. I cannot handle the choreography; I just physically cannot do much of it. It’s physically possible, but not at the pace required to work up a sweat. I’ll just get a move down and then Chalene will say something like, “let’s add the arms” and I completely forget what my legs were supposed to be doing. Or, I’ll magically be doing a move correctly and she’ll say, “Let’s start from the top” and I’m lost as to what the last three moves were and how they are supposed to fit together. At some point I became a very uncoordinated person. I often found myself substituting Insanity moves to keep myself going, rather than allowing myself to dumbfoundly stare at the TV trying to figure out what to do.

The workouts I did enjoy from this program were HIIT (high intensity interval training). During these routines Chalene does one move at a time then moves on to the next and moves are learned as a whole motion. Every 3^rd or 4^th move is a faster, more intense action. But, when I want intense action I’ll push play on Insanity.

Update

Hard to believe I haven’t put anything on this blog for nearly 6 months. After completing my last round of P90X I dabbled in several other Beachbody programs and completed one of them.

Sunday I ran a half marathon and today I’m excited to start the Ultimate Reset.

Over the next few days I’ll update the blog with summaries of the programs I tried; then return to where I am now and talk about this Reset. Please check back!

See you soon.