Post Ultimate Reset - Week 1, Days 22- 28

I plan to keep track the next three weeks while I work hard to eat right and exercise. I don't want to lose the momentum I built up after completing the Ultimate Refresh. 

Monday Day 22 - First day post reset! Everyone says to pick the *one* thing you have missed the most and eat that. And then get back on the wagon of eating right. Some people have steak and wine, or one guy in our group was all about Chicken Parmesan. (Which sounded and looked delicious!) Me, I had the cookie that had been in my pantry for two weeks and calling my name. And it tasted amazing. We planned easy meals for the week. 

• Breakfast is eggs with spinach, and toast. 
• Snack is 1 cup of fruit
• Lunch is a homemade burrito bowl consisting of chicken, cooked peppers/onions, quinoa, shredded lettuce, and avocado. (All measured to fit in the portion control plan.) 
• Afternoon snack is Vegan Chocolate Shakeology mixed only with water. 
• Dinner is a salad with deviled eggs and sweet potato. 
• I also have 1-2 cups of tea during the day. 
• Still no caffeine. 

I'm working out in the evenings, doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme these next three weeks. I want to earn the free t-shirt! :) Tonight was Power Strength. Holy moly guys! After not working out for a month I was done in after 5 minutes. But I continued on! And burned almost 400 calories.

Tuesday Day 23 - I'm a little tired. Benjamin has been waking at 3am to feed. He's been asleep by 6pm, so it's kinda ok. But I wish he would make it until 4am. He "sleep eats" and I wind up sleeping while feeding him. And when done I got back to bed until 5:30am. I'm also not going to bed early like I should be. Tonight I will change that. 

Today I was VERY VERY hungry. At lunch a coworker shared with me their leftover potatoes. Delicious. And fits in the plan better then the Wendy's Frosty I was thinking about. (Kidding, but now I'm thinking about it.) Actually my back up plan was avocado toast. I didn't eat enough yesterday and then had that 400-calorie workout. I need to fuel my body well in order to make sure I can sustain my workouts.

Instead of eating the planned salad and sweet potato for dinner I baked parmesan encrusted tilapia, cooked some broccoli, and still added devil eggs. I killed my upper body workout with another 400 calories.

Wednesday Day 24 - In order to try and get ahead of that hunger issue, I switched things up today. I had Shakeology for breakfast with 4 ounces of almond milk, cinnamon, and 2 tsps of peanut butter. I saved my fruit for a snack and was not starving for lunch. Whew! Crisis diverted today. For lunch I added black beans to my burrito bowl and that seemed to help. I wasn't hungry until around 4 and drank another Shakeology (with just water). Dinner was a salad (and I'm totally over salad now), broccoli, and tilapia. I worked out!! I usually skip the Pilates but am glad I completed it. I refer to it as "fancy stretching" and it felt good on my sore muscles.

I tested out the new Beachbody program, YOUv2, the new dance program coming to Beachbody On Demand in May. A sneak peak was available Wednesday for everyone who has the All Access pass. I CANNOT dance. At all. No coordination, can't figure out left from right and double toe taps or what I'm doing with my arms. However, for the 15 minutes I did it, it was fun. It reminded me a calmed down version of Cize.

For those that do love dancing, the moves are basic and easy to follow. The gradual building of moves wasn't overwhelming. It was fun and full of good energy. The women in the video looked like me, not super thin or super fit. I can relate to those women.

Thursday Day 25 - Another day!! I enjoyed my Shakeology in the morning. I have perfected my recipe:

• 4 ounces Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 12 ounces water
• 1 scoop Vegan Chocolate
• Shake of Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
• 1/3 Shaker Cup of Ice
• Blend until smooth

I think the added peanut butter helps me stay full. Makes it a little smoother too. I used to add a banana, but halfway through my last pregnancy I couldn't tolerate bananas anymore. Except in banana bread. :)

I had fruit and toast as a morning snack, burrito bowl for lunch, an apple for snack (I really do not eat enough fruit!), and for dinner had a stuffed chicken with plain pasta and broccoli. The pizza in the picture is Liam's. I got some Flat Out Pizza Crust, add a little marinara, and sprinkle of mozzarella. Liam loves them and I know it's healthy. I enjoyed once small piece and felt satisfied. And I didn't eat a handful of cheese while making it. That's a win!

Friday Day 26 - Today was a cheat meal. And a donut. For breakfast I had three eggs, to get ready for a donut. :) I worked from home which is great for my work productivity but horrible for my diet. I always try to find something to eat. And we don't even have JUNK food in this house. My choices include fruit or more fruit. Jason and I had planned to go out to lunch (he took the day off and did a bunch of organizing). I chose MOD Pizza, hoping it would satisfy his pizza craving. I got a mini pizza and side salad. It was good.

Benjamin had his 6-month check up and his weight in back in line (he's in the 10-11%) and he slept after getting his shots.

For dinner we had leftover burrito bowls. I added two tortillas. I overdid it on carbs/yellows for the day. I had NO desire to work out Friday night. None, and it was late when I finally started my workout. But as much as I didn't want to work out, I didn't want to *not* workout more. I have goals, big ones, and I can't meet them by skipping workouts. So I pressed play. And then got to bed.

Saturday Day 27 - Today... eek!! I tried my best today, and could have done better. And the New Me did a LOT better than Old Me would have.

My best friend is having a baby!!! My mom and I traveled to Overland Park, Kansas (there and back) for her baby shower. I drank my ShakeO in the morning, and we took sandwiches to eat on the way there. They did have snacks at the shower and I had two little chicken salad sandwiches and a cupcake. Old Me would have have had 2 cupcakes. And more sandwiches.

On the way back we had Chic Fil A. Which is fast food (but the only fast food place I'll eat at). I even got a soda! I haven't had a soda since March 10. I made it 43 days. And I don't have a desire to drink more soda. It tasted sweet (even though it was diet.) Mom offered me the rest of her fries. I did not partake. I told her Old Me would have supersized my meal and gotten a milkshake. New Me ate a chicken sandwich, regular size fries, and drank half her diet soda.

Today wasn't a loss, but it wasn't a complete win either.

Sunday Day 28 -  I stepped on the scale today. I know it's not possible to gain 3 pounds in 2 days unless I would have eaten an extra 7,000 calories. The soda, some of the carbs, probably just holding onto some extra water weight. Or so I'll tell myself. Today is a new day. I started with Shakeology. I had *another* Shakeology on the way to Red Bud to celebrate my dad's birthday.

And then I ate *everything* I saw. Oh, look, Old Me is back. I found her, hanging out at my parent's house. Awesome. I didn't eat cake though. But I don't like chocolate cake, so that was easy. I did have chips & gauc, bagna cauda, a cheeseburger, potato salad, mac 'n cheese, baked beans, and two deviled eggs. So in summary, a million yellows, a dozen blues, way too many teaspoons, and like 2 reds. I'm not sure I ate any vegetables on Sunday. Like at all. Or fruit. And this is the *exact* reason you should always make sure you have a plan on the weekends!!

So this week's plan? Don't f- it up. :)

• 6 workouts
• No cheats except for the Wednesday Work Potluck (allow myself one dessert too)
• Drink Shakeology twice a day if I have to curb cravings, or make sure to drink Chocolate Recover after working out.
• Track track and track!!