Ultimate Reset - Phase 2 Summary - Days 8-14

To recap, I started Phase 2 down 8.0 pounds!

During this week you eliminate dairy from your diet and start to cut back on grains. It's a lot of fruit and veggies and miso soup. You also start taking the supplement "Detox". It's similar to Fiber Sweep from the 3 Day Refresh, but tastes a little better.

If you are nursing it is not recommend to do the Ultimate Reset. Beachbody includes this disclaimer on the Ultimate Reset, 3-Day Refresh, and all work out programs: 

Consult your physician and follow all safety instructions before beginning any exercise program or nutrition plan, or using any supplement or meal replacement product, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have any medical condition, or are taking any medication.

Beachbody has to cover their ass. I can't turn around and sue Beachbody if my milk supply dries up or my child gets sick from breastmilk because they put that disclaimer there. What can I do? My own research. There are a lot of nursing mammas who complete the Ultimate Reset and have no complaints. One of the coaches, a nursing mama, who recently completed the Ultimate Reset decided not to do the Detox. A mix of nursing mamas either skip the Detox or do the Detox. I thought I was going to do it. Since I am still breastfeeding, an AM and PM session, I had to do my own research. The main ingredient in Detox is "Milk Thistle" and you're taking it 3 times a day. 

Based on my own research and minimal breastfeeding I am doing, I decided to only take Detox in the morning, after my breastfeeding session. I'll save the rest of the packets for later because you can take Detox as a maintenance supplement. 

For week 2 we decided to do the "Reset in a Crunch". It's a simpler menu you choose one of 2 or 3 options per meal. There's nothing super strange or hard to cook and your groceries are a easier to shop for. I ate the same thing for breakfast and lunch, and we rotated a couple dinners. 

Week 2

Breakfast - 3 cups of fruit. 

Lunch - Greek Salad with pine nuts, with homemade Greek Dressing and Miso Soup

Jason is eating the Microgreen Salad for lunch with homemade Vinaigrette dressing, and pumpkin seeds and 1/2 avocado. 

Dinner - Garlic Veggies or Asian Stir Fry Veggies or Sweet Potato & Roasted Red Pepper Bisque. You also get a range of sides, Miso Soup, Quinoa, or a Sweet Potato. Avocados make an appearance at lunch and/or dinner too this meal plan. 

Monday - Day 8 - I feel great. I really do. But that coldness hit me today and even hot tea couldn't warm me up. I also peed a lot. All. The. Time. I felt like a 9-month pregnant woman with all the trips I took to the bathroom. 

The detox wasn't bad, nothing like Power Greens! I forgot my apple with my breakfast and was starving by 10am. And so I was hungry for lunch I devoured my lunch and almost forgot to take a photo. Dinner was the Sweet Potato & Roasted Red Pepper Bisque. Jason roasted the rest pepper on the grill Sunday and I made the soup. Instead of boiling the sweet potatoes I steamed them in the microwave. This soup was delicious!! We got to have quinoa and 1/8th an avocado with it. Jason had brown rice with his since we had some extra rice and he prefers that over quinoa. I dipped the avocado in the soup and it was delicious! And the quinoa dipped in the soup was also delicious! This recipe will be repeated often. Liam wanted to try the soup. He often tries what we have, but we don't push it, especially new foods. He liked it and wanted his own! Proud mama moment! 

Tuesday, Day 9 - Well... today I was tired. And hungry. And at one point hangry. Just whiney and hangry. Sorry to everyone who caught some of me during that time. The morning was rough. I had tea but that didn't help. Breakfast and lunch was the same, I even remembered my apple this time! Lunch was also the same and I'm grateful to have that extra soup option this week since I'm hungry. For dinner we had the Asian Stir Fry with Miso Soup and quinoa. It was my first time using bok choy. I will probably continue to use that in future dishes, like my beef and broccoli recipe. 

I had a full scoop of Shakeology in the afternoon, even though you are supposed to limit yourself to 1/2 scoop. But, I listened to my body. And it told me I needed that full scoop. A full scoop of Vegan Chocolate Shakeology is 170 calories. I figured with this minimal calorie diet and the breastfeeding sessions that I need extra calories every now and then. (Again, another reason you aren't supposed to breastfeed and do this program - the minimal calories.) A Truth: While this program is a great boost to weight loss, I wasn't doing it only to lose weight. I wanted to lose my bad habits. I wanted to quit cheese. (Well, not want.. need..) I wanted to make a huge lifestyle change and fuel my body better. The weight loss is a bonus. 

Wednesday, Day 10 - Halfway done! Today was a lot better than yesterday. I didn't get as much sleep, but felt more energized and focused. I was still hungry by the time lunch came around, but overall wasn't ready to kill someone for food. I feel like I'm in the Hunger Games. Put all the Ultimate Reseter's in a room on Day 22 and see who walks out full! 

Thursday Day 11 - Another great day! Dinner tonight was the Sweet Potato and Roasted Red Pepper Bisque. I was really excited when Liam wanted some too. It's a super healthy soup, there's actually no dairy in it. I've started thinking about post Reset and how I will make some of these dietary changes permanent. I haven't had caffeine in almost an month! I don't miss it. I miss a few sweets, when I see them I'd like to try them, but I know my body can't handle anything with sugar at this point. 

Friday Day 12 - I won't lie. I'm getting burned out. So much chopping and soup making. I just made the grocery list for the next few days and am like "ugh". I'm going to have to clean and prep everything I buy. I don't have any cravings. I don't want to dig into a pizza or ice cream. I just want someone else to make my dinner and present it in front of me. 

I'm really proud of myself for making it this far. It hasn't been easy. I haven't given in to any treats or bites or licks and have avoided quite a bit. Liam gets to eat yummy things - mac 'n cheese, spaghetti, ranch dressing with his peppers... and nada. I used to take a bit of his mac n cheese. I do not crave cheese anymore. That's the biggest change. The first week I wanted to put cheese on everything! I would like to drink some iced tea. I used to make iced tea with my Ginger Peach tea bags. I look forward to doing that again, instead of drinking soda. I'm happy that even Jason is seeing the light and realizes that going back to soda wouldn't be good for him. 

Tonight I worked on the grocery list, because as you can see our fridge is empty. We need to buy all the fruit and sweet potatoes we can find. That's a decent summary of Week 3, Reset in a Crunch. 

Saturday Day 13 - Remember last week I mentioned that our weekends are usually full of donuts and lunches out? While Liam got a donut after swim lessons, lunch or dinner desires didn't cross my mind. I even think moving forward we'll have light dinners consisting of a stir fry or grilled veggies and minimal amount of meat. 

This program is a little harder when you have a little kid to feed. Liam loves eating "Toast Sticks" for breakfast. I make french toast in bulk and then cut up each piece into 4 peices to make sticks. I looked at the store bought french toast sticks. First off, you usually get around 20 sticks for $3-4 dollars. While they are thicker cut (usually made from texas toast), that's a lot of money per meal. They require baking in a preheated oven (who has time for that?). They also are made with a lot of ingredients, including food coloring. So I buy a loaf (or two) of bread, eggs, and milk and add cinnamon. And spend 45 minutes making my own. Then I freeze a bunch. If defrosted it's 20 seconds in the microwave to heat them up. 

Sunday Day 14 - We went ahead and weighed in and did measurements so we weren't having to make time Monday morning. Today was hard. I really wanted to snack on some junk, from boredom. I am not hungry and am not actually craving anything. I did have a small cheat this afternoon. I made sweet potato fries and ate a handful. 

My other cheats I've had include a little bit larger portion sizes every once in a while. I'm a hungry girl. And while weight loss is a great bonus, I don't want to starve either. Going to bed hungry is hard. 

I knew I didn't drink enough water on the weekends, but wow, when you're staring at your gallon jug you really realize how little you drink. It's easy to drink it at work. Sit at desk, drink water. Not at home -- too much going on! Always up and down. 

So the end of week 2... how did we do?? 
I lost another 3.4 pounds for a total of 11.4 pounds so far! I also lost 1.5 inches for a total of 7 inches. 
Jason lost another 4.2 pounds for a total of 12.6 pounds lost! He also lost 7 inches!! He's not at 8 inches lost. 

One more week!!! Here's to our final meat free week!