Pizza, Garlic Bread, and Alfredo...Oh My!

The Ultimate Reset take two? In pushing my commitment out to the "public" (not sure if anyone even reads this, but I feel a sense of accountability), I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’ve committed to doing Beachbody's Ultimate Reset  again.  End of April, beginning of May, I completed Beachbody’s Ultimate Reset with a small group of friends. I complained about the price, groused about the cutting and shopping, organizing, sorting, and packing. Was ticked off that I could not have a glass of wine at the end of the day, irked that I could not swirl up some Energy and Endurance pre-workout. But, I did it because after a convo with my BFF, I HAD to see if this "thing" was "life changing" as everyone claimed.  I usually feel excluded from things: last minute parties, group texts, workouts, GNO's. Thus, I did not want to miss "this." (I know, I'm working on this issue). 

I followed all of the directions, did not substitute anything (because my upline coach sponsor told me not to), learned to nutrient-time, increased my water intake, measured my food, used a scale (OMG, hated it--we must have a mass scale burning) to record my progress,and only ate 3 meals a day.  I did not work out--which was a totally new concept--another issue I learned to deal with.

The first week was rough. I did not sleep well—but was exhausted, felt sluggish, had eye twitches, slow reaction times (like stepping on the break at a stop light), tingling in my toes and finger tips (started to Google symptoms of MS), some stomach pain, and general irritability; snapped on my kids and husband more than once, maybe even used a bit of profanity. It was sort of like Linda Blair in The Exorcist.  I was so used to WAY over-portioning (even the healthy stuff!), that I was starving most of the time, and watching the clock to get to my next supplement or meal.  The meals were paltry, I resented the menu. However, my internal monologue was more like, "Holy Cow, how far 'gone' am I...I thought I ate clean!?" 

Week 1 was over, money was spent, I still complained ,and this thing was doing something—I just wasn’t sure what.Still volatile and vociferous, I kept to the menu and the nutrient timing. 

The second week was rough (in retrospect, I apologize to hubbie and kids). Rage built and spewed about things that should not have been issues: The veggies one day (packed lovingly by my husband) were packed in plastic, not glass. WHAT was he thinking!? How DARE he!? Someone moved my ipad from the kitchen to the office; WHAT did they wish to accomplish with that move!?  I noticed everyone else's flaws, quirks, idiosyncracies (except mine). I slept better, but had calf and foot cramps during the night; my skin broke out, I was always painfully bloated (felt much like Dudley  in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone during Dudley's birthday when Harry gets angry), and resented people who were breezing through the UR with no ill effects, happy as clams, and loving life. I was even more exhausted at the beginning of phase 2—All I wanted to do was sleep. Zero energy. It felt like the first trimester of my pregnancies.  The MOST I could do was shuffle to the bed after work, and fall asleep. 

Mid-week two, things changed. I noticed everything, smelled everything, and reacted to everything (felt much like John Nash in A Beautiful Mind). Walked around saying things like, "Oh my gosh, can you smell the rubber on the tires of that car next to us?" and "That guy had some kind of deli meat for lunch, and the nitrate-smell is giving me a headache." I had to pull the Glade/Airwick plug-ins out of my outlets because the smell was too chemical,I "unsubscribed" from Yankee Candle coupons,  had to switch shampoos from Bumble and Bumble to Pureology because B&B formula (with behentrimonium chloride) was too harsh. I know it sounds crazy, but I was “awakened.” It was beyond crazy to realize that my senses had dulled, my reflexes had slowed, my reactions had gone fuzzy, my perceptions were misguided...all due to the food I was putting in my body. It felt like a revelation--think Steve Martin in Leap of Faith. 

Week three I noticed that the wrinkles around my eyes were less noticeable, my décolleté wrinkles were gone, my nails grew faster, my breakouts from week two cleared up, and I had more energy.Happy energy, like the kind of posts you read on Facebook where people are living the perfect life-type of energy (and you block them from your news-feed because you do not believe it is possible; they must be lying).   My mood was ebullient, I never felt like I needed caffeine, and my bloating disappeared.  I can say that I felt AWESOME. Bubbly. Giddy. 

Week Four I started working out again. I lost strength, endurance, stamina. YES, I lost it…but it came back harder, better, stronger, and faster than I had EVER been before. My dumbbells increased in weight, my run and bike pace significantly improved, I did two-a days (and sometimes 3) like they were nothin’. I recovered faster, was more flexible.  Three weeks and change bigger than words can capture.  Measurable changes. Noticeable changes. More than cost, time, or inconvenience changes.

For several months that followed the reset, I continued eating reset food. Somewhere in the last few weeks, I have jumped off of that wagon with reckless abandon.  Since I’m training more  (bootcamp, running, swimming, cycling, speed work and trying to do everything my USAT coach tells me), I have also justified WAY over-portioning (and not always the healthy foods). I’ve adopted the “I worked out for 3 hours, so let’s order pizza, garlic bread, and fettuccini alfredo…and top it off with pecan pie. On the way home from a ride the other day, I stopped at a 7-11 gas station and bought a purple Gatorade (first ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup). I know that with working out, I’m burning the calories, too--I understand the whole calorie in and out thing. But, they are not good calories. They are not healthy calories. They are not making me feel AWESOME, they are making me feel awful. I’m craving caffeine and bad carbs.  I almost feel trapped, imprisoned in the cycle of "yuck." 

So, it’s off to the Reset again. I won’t complain about the cost (because one night of Italian or Chinese takeout with tip is much more expensive than reset food). I’m in it because I recognize that I need it, and it is so much cheaper to eat clean and right than pay for it later. 

Join me for the Ultimate Reset