My Reset Journal: Days 1-4

Day one wasn't too bad. Waking up in the morning and not having my cup (or two) of sugar flavored with some coffee was probably the single hardest thing that I have had to do in a very long time. That and the fact that I had to drink water first thing in the morning! Ughhh... I did have a decent breakfast and that too was a first for me. Usually, I drink my coffee and then skip anything else until maybe lunch time. 

My first days lunch. A beautifully tasteful salad.

Another difficult thing about the Reset is drinking the Alkalinize. Oh, man is it gross. I take it as a shot, then chase it with a bite or two of fruit and follow it up with a more distilled water. 

Looks tasty, huh?!? Don't lie, you know you think I am crazy and I am beginning to agree!

Day Two was worse than yesterday. I have had a headache all day. I have felt so very tired and almost as if I have the flu (and who knows maybe I actually do and the timing is just perfect, but I doubt it). Along with being tired I have experienced body aches, dizziness and some moments of being light headed. 

Sounds bad, I know but when you cram tons of sugar into your body along with caffeine on a daily basis and this is your main source of your body's energy or fuel this side effect of withdraw is to be expected. This is my body going through shock, in my opinion and I am sure that it is going to pass but let me tell you, I can not wait for this to a be over! I don't know what I was thinking by doing this but I do know that I cant stop now, I have to finish!

I didn't like breakfast today so I ate very little and all morning I was dragging along but with lunch, for the first time ever, I felt a rush of pure energy come through my body after I ate it. Don't get me wrong, I was still tired and running a marathon or even walking as little as a blcok seemed like an unrealistic task but I totally felt that slowness change and felt more alert. It gave me insight to what the next few days may bring. I am hopeful. 

Dinner was fabulous tonight! I really needed to enjoy something about this Reset and the meal brought all kinds of tasteful enjoyment! Thank you, thank you, than you Beachbody for this tasty treat!!! 

Day two's dinner was low sodium back beans with short grain organic brown rice and fresh corn. It may not look like a whole lot of food but I only put half of the beans and rice onto my plate but I ended up eating every last bite of what was approved for my meal! (I was that hungry and it was that good!) The portions are surprisingly generous but then the Reset claims to be a no starvation "diet" and since the only time I have left the table being hungry is when I choose to not eat what was on the meal plan this morning for breakfast I am a believer.

Day twos dinner was black bean and rice with fresh corn on a baked corn tortilla and a side of fresh avocado. (Part of my lunch consisted of chicken. I opted to not have the chicen and relaced it with baked Tempeh.)

Day Three was not as bad for me in the morning as day one and two were. Don't get me wrong, I still wanted my morning cup of coffee, the first place that I looked was to the counter where my coffee pot once sat, I moved it the day before I began the cleanse for this exact reason. 

The headache that took over my day yesterday has faded into a dull ache. I am hoping that it will be fully gone tomorrow. I don't feel as "foggy" n the head either, which is nice but the fact that I ate crackers may have had something to do with my boost...? They were whole wheat crackers but the ingredients was not fully natural, so it is possible.

Lunch today was two, yes two yummy salads. As I was eating and enjoying my lunch I was agreeing that this "diet" is not a starvation diet. My lunch was large and I ate every bite because I knew that my dinner would be a smaller one.

Dinner was this delicious Tempeh and vegetable roll. (My loving husband made them for me.) Like I said, delicious! However, my meal only included one roll ,which did not fill me up. The dinner plan had miso soup and a great sounding cucumber salad but as I was at the grocery store and my husband was making this roll we failed to communicate that the last of my cucumber was being used. I really cant complain because look what he made for me! So you know why I didn't have my salad but as the soup goes I can not find miso paste anywhere and trust me, I have tried. I did call one of our local Sushi restaurants and they do carry it but I don't feel comfortable getting it through them. I don't know whats in it as far as ingredients go. So I have decided to just skip the miso soup, although I do plan on making it sometime, just to see what it tastes like. So far all of the meals/recipes end up tasting great. Unfortunately, the food is not hitting the spot for me. I still feel like I am needing something more, even when I have finished such a big meal like today's lunch.

Truth be told, my self talk is completely negitive today. I am kicking myself in the ass for even attempting this damn cleanse. Like, seriously, what was I thinking? Here's the thing, I go to a women's group at my church once a week and this week we talked about complaining and looking at the good in situations. So while I am not happy with my (stupid) choice to do the reset I am trying to keep reminding myself of the positives that are associated with it.

1. I have tasted some great food and I now have the recipes!

2. {TMI ALERT!!!-- you've been warned!--} I am actually going poop! For someone with an under active thyroid this is huge and so are my movements--- ewhhh.... just kidding but I am able to have movements and that's without taking anything (other than what is provided for me in the reset package) to help me go! Wanna know how I found out that I have hypothyroidism? No.. then skip the remainder of number two. Yes? Then read on my friends, read on...I could go as long as a month, yes, a whole month without going "number two". Finally, I went to a specialist and had several X Rays done over the course of a two week period. I had to initially swallow these capsules that had "markers" in them. Through an X Ray you could see the markers and after about four days they settled deep into my intestines and then stopped moving through my body altogether.  After two weeks of having no progress and a stack of X Ray images that continued to look identical to the previous ones a long list of labs were ordered and that is how I found out. Needless to say, "poopage" is a celebratory event for me.

3. I have decided to be a vegetarian again. I am not missing meat at all, which isn't a shock since it wasn't a big part of my life to begin with.  However, it'll be my way and not through some restrictive diet even though I am restricting meat but that is my choice and not some fad diet that I am trying out. I'll eat eggs, if I am in the mood and I will eat cheese, ice cream and yogurt as well.

4. I have drank almost three gallons of water in three days! That may be more than I have drank in a whole month. Not kidding.

5. I have always been fairly healthy, besides the soda, candy and small coffee/caffeine addiction, but I have earned that it is important to take the time to make whole foods and not the quick fixes. Sure, I may make a box of Hamburger Helper for my family and once in a blue moon but I realize now that making healthy choices is important not only for me but for my family.

Tonight's thought..Thank you God for allowing me to make such a horrid choice in money spending and as a past time for my next three weeks. I am actually learning many good things from this experience!

Day threes lunch was a Nori roll with oven baked Tempeh and veggie. 

Day four has been the best so far. Yes, I still woke up longing for the soothing warmth of my sweet and savory Pikes Pace Roast but I had little time to waste over missing what I couldn't have, so I focused on what I could! 

Oh yeh, I almost forgot. I am also getting better at my meal preparations. I do just fine at timing everything so that I can eat with my family but tonight I cooked my dinner and prepared all of tomorrows meals with the exception of breakfast and I did it while cooking and not burning everyone's dinner. Not bad if I do say so myself. I think that having the food all ready and easily accessible will really help me flow through the day verses tripping over the hurdles that I have set up all over the place. We shall see.

Lunch was hearty and huge and dinner was just as rewarding. I found that I could have certain "approved" snacks and so I have allowed myself to have some whole wheat crackers which are like a piece of salty heaven. I really like the food (but I really miss my crutches) and I love the simple recipes, I know that they will stay with me probably forever. I can see myself now, sitting at the table with my hands warming on my favorite mug that is filled to the rim with the most amazing drink that I can think of-- coffee, all while I write my meal plan out for the week. I'll be happily drinking my "cup of joe" as I look back on this dreadful twenty-one days and I will smile at the "remember whens" but I will indeed hold on and use the recipes over and over again. 

Day fours dinner consisted of stir-fried veggies, Quinoa (which I like even more than rice) and a cucumber salad.