Moving My Blog

Hello friends and followers,

First I want to say thank you for your dedication and following of this blog for over the past few years. Content has always been changing and taking on new shapes and forms and I appreciate your dedication with reading, the comments and emails with your questions, and just the support from the community in general.

Effective immediately I will be moving this blog's content over to my official webpage for Nicole Murray Fitness (nicolemurrayfitness.com)  I encourage you to bookmark or favorite that page. Posts will continue to be on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule and continue to offer content to help you change your life through health, fitness, and positive thinking.

In addition, my website will be an easy place to find product information, as well as ordering information for those products. The idea is to make it a one-stop-shop for you all (the website is still being designed currently; however, the blog posts are continuing to be updated live as this process is taking place).

Thank you again for all of your support and I hope to see you over at NicoleMurrayFitness.com

Ultimate Reset Week 3

I DID IT!!

The girl who loves food almost as much as her husband has completed The Beachbody Ultimate Reset. Booya.

It was a great challenge as my first for 2014. It definitely helped me to learn a lot about why I ate and helped me to recognize boredom versus hunger. I find myself even now, 48 hours past the end point, looking at how a food that I put in will fuel my body, rather than simply satisfy my pallet. Although I will not lie: Last night I had an apple dumpling with ice cream and that fueled nothing, but overly satisfied the pallet :) All in moderation, all in moderation :)

Bought these to "celebrate". I have no desire to even eat them.

So the end results! I lost ten pounds and dropped from a Size 7 in jeans (junior's sizes) down to a Size 3 (I haven't been a 3 in quite some time). I have yet to take my measurements, but will update this post as I do so. But beyond the physical transformation, the full body transformation is what was most exciting to me. The clarity, the mood regulation, how I feel on the inside (not just emotionally but physically) is enough to make me happily take on this challenge a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. time. I think it will definitely become a yearly tradition, with maintenance being a Shakeology 3 day cleanse once a quarter. I loved it and would highly recommend it to everyone that I know.

Now, post Reset with the food...

Naturally after being limited after 21 days you get really excited about certain foods post Reset. I have yet to have pizza (surprisingly since that's my favorite food), but I can tell you that first protein shake that I had gave me a rockin' headache that lasted all.damn.day. Since I haven't had any sugars besides the kind that occur naturally from the fruits on The Reset, the sugars in the shake just crushed my brain! Felt like it was in a vice all day. Happy to report that today I did not get that headache after the protein shake. In fact, today I feel AWESOME, super productive and just amazing in general. I actually brought back my Reset favorites for lunch! Roasted root medley and zucchini cashew soup! Yum!

Coffee: I have no desire to have it. Now this is coming from someone who was having upwards of 4 cups a day pre Reset. I love(d) coffee. It's taste, THE SMELL, the warmth of the cup between my hands. It always calmed me down and just brought me back to summer. Now? Eh, I could have it if I wanted it but I don't need it. My energy is through the ROOF without any caffeine - I'm not even taking my pre-workout supplement and rocking my workouts so I have decided that coffee is now going to be looked at the same way that cakes and cookies are: a treat. I don't want to go back to the place of "Oh, I feel tired. Time for a cup of coffee". Because let's face it, after a while it doesn't even wake you up anyway. You just drink it because that's what you are supposed to do when you are tired!

The infamous bday cake

I notice that body is now craving healthier options. It cheers on the inside when it is time for my daily Shakeology and after lunch today it felt very rejuvenated. No 2 o'clock feeling for me! Even when I had my coveted birthday cake that my sister saved for me, I could only have a few bites before the sweetness was no longer desirable on my taste buds. So I had a tiny slice and then was able to put it away. The old me would have crushed it, asked for more, gave it 20 minutes and then gone and had a slice of pizza. I cannot stress to you all how much of a complete GAME CHANGER The Reset has been.

I am going to be making a YouTube video answer some of YOUR questions on The Reset. If you want your question answered, either leave a comment below or shoot it to me in an email to nik4213@gmail.com.  Names will not be revealed, just the question read. I look forward to hearing from you all and answering all of the questions that you may have!

Thanks for following my first journey of 2014!

The Ultimate Reset: Week 2 Review

Week 2 of The Ultimate Reset is OVER! I made it and am in the final stage of the reset: Restore

"During the restore phase you will eliminate grains and legumes to focus on a simple, cleansing fruit and vegetable based diet."

Sounds a lot like rabbit food, but I'm going to do my best to stick to it.

Week 2 was difficult. I did not care for some of the food listed, but I am a picky eater to begin with. In order to substitute, I went back to Week 1 and pulled the fully vegan options that were given during that week, such as the roasted root medley, zucchini cashew soup, and black beans and rice. I rotated through those all week and lost another 4 pounds. The detox supplement wasn't too bad. Check out the video below that tells you more about it.

Overall, I feel wonderful..fantastic...AMAZING if you want to go there (and I do). The Reset has given me not only some great recipes that I will keep in my life, but also a backbone against food. I now KNOW that I can say "No" to certain food that finds its way in front of me. I can portion things out better as now I know what a cup of rice looks like. I have also found that having fruit in the morning makes me feel FANTASTIC and very clear. Protein is needed in the afternoon though as a way to help me power through.

Also, the taste buds have also been revamped. Flavor EXPLODES from everything now. Before food just tasted like food....now its magnified by about 100 times. Even my Shakeology tastes dreamier than usual and that's saying something because that stuff's always delicious.

I would recommend The Ultimate Reset to everyone and anyone who wants to consider trying it. It has changed a big chunk of my life, helped me lose weight, find clarity, and all around just have a better sense of myself and my body which is so valuable going forward. I have gone from emotional eater, to conscious eater. I have gone from not caring and eating as much as I want, to making conscious efforts to take in the proper amount of portions. I have gone from the basics, to beets and crazy green soup! AND I LOVE THE CHANGES.

Please, if you have ANY questions just shoot me an email with "Ultimate Reset" in the subject line to nik4213@gmail.com

Ultimate Reset: Day 6 & 7

Not much to report with Days 6 & 7 of the Ultimate Reset besides the fact that they were worlds better than Day 5. Ugh. I will admit though, at this point in time I am getting really sick of microgreen salad ahaha, but I plan on making the creamy garlic dressing which I think is going to help flip my tastes buds around and make things interesting again.

Day 6 I actually found myself substituting a breakfast meal in for a dinner meal(which you can do, but it probably shouldn't be the high fruit breakfasts). It was just one of those days where it would have been easier to call for a pizza. I had leftover beans and rice to do the wrap, which was the plan all day long until I got home, took my supplements and my husband happened to mention that the wraps were now gone (he used the last two for his lunch). Just one of those days where I wanted my wrap all day so having just the beans and rice wasn't going to cut it for me, and at that point I didn't want to spend time chopping and cooking so I took out two eggs and did the scrambled eggs with spinach and toast. Since it was my dinner I added in some chopped chicken, about 1/4 cup, for some added protein and chickeny goodness. It filled me up and left me satisfied. No complaints there!

Day 7...WOOHOO END OF WEEK 1 and what a surprise I got when I stepped on the scale! I lost just about 7 pounds which I was NOT expecting (but yes, secretly hoping that darn scale would move). I would love to lose some weight on The Reset but the real reason I am doing it is for knowledge purposes. I am a real emotional eater so for me this is a challenge and a battle against emotional eating. I just don't want to do it anymore! I want to be able to enjoy the foods that I enjoy in moderation and not stuff my face every time I have pizza like its the last time I'm going to have it in my life! Hopefully by the end of the 21 days I'll be able to do that.

For now I am happy with what I am learning. Water consumption is up to about 10-12 glasses per day, which is way way more than I am used to but I am loving it! My stomach bloat seems to have gone away, I feel happy (most of the time..there are some mood swings in there), and I haven't had coffee in about 13 days and I feel amazing! I may never go back to a coffee habit! We'll see!

Be sure to check back on Friday for a recap of Days 8 & 9. I will be doing this blog in 2 day recaps now, unless one day is just out of this world different.

Ultimate Reset: Day 3, 4, and 5 Review

The Ultimate Reset has been more than just a strict diet, it has been an adventure through many various avenues of my life that seem to have been closed off for some time, as well as a huge learning experience when it comes to food. Before you read this entry I want you to know, that despite all of this I would STILL recommend this 21 day journey to anyone.

Days 3 & 4 were largely uneventful, if I'm going to be honest. Beside a small swing in moods on Day 3 early in the morning, nothing out of the ordinary occured. Day 4 I felt very light, very happy, and found myself still anxious to explore certain feelings or thoughts that I was having. It wasn't until the night of Day 4 that things took a turn for the worst.

Bought some "relaxation techniques"

I was tired, very tired, so I laid my head down hoping that I would get a good night's sleep as I FINALLY had the night before. When I laid down, fear crept into me surrounding my business. What if I failed? What if I screw up? What does that mean for me and my family? Now, usually I can push these thoughts aside and use them to fuel my fire for greatness; however, this night they were NOT letting up and getting the best of me. The Ultimate Reset book that you receive with your package says that this is normal, and it is best to just explore these thoughts and work through them. Often times, thoughts and feelings that we have supressed find a way to show themselves during the 21 days. As our body detoxes, so does our mind and often times it is these thoughts that we push aside, but they end up building up. The book said to just experience them so I started texting my husband. Naturally, his loving words made me feel much better and I did eventually go to sleep.

Yeah..that's not good.

That was until the morning hit. I was exhausted. The dogs were keeping me up at this point so I asked my husband to let them out. He did and he never came back to bed. When I went downstairs I found him playing a video game and became enraged. Yes. Enraged. I yelled and screamed and ended up kicking one of my dog's ceramic dishes across the floor. It crashed into a railing in my kitchen, smashed into a million pieces and landing all over my door (who did nothing wrong). I stopped and it was as if I woke up from a trance and I ran to my husband, sat on him, and hysterically began to cry. It was that moment that I thought, "That's it. This Reset is OVER!"

Him being the saint that he is carried me upstairs and talked to me about what was really going on. I started talking about things that have bothered me for a while, but I just haven't admitted (like the video game playing more frequently than I would like - It made me feel like I wasn't a priority over the game), or issues about the dogs, etc. etc. It was a TERRIBLE day. I HATED.....HAAAATED myself and the only way for me to escape was to just sleep. I wanted nothing to do with myself or the day at all.

Dinner was DELICIOUS!

When I woke up I decided to do some P90X3 Pilates (which were great, by the way) and that helped me to feel a bit better. I cleared my mind as I prepared a delicious meal from the Reset and began prepping for the next day. Later that night, while guiding my dog out the backdoor so she could use the restroom (she's old and has trouble) she fell, rolled down the steps, and just laid on the patio looking up on me. Again, hysterics. I felt like the worst pet mom ever, and still sort of do today. Then the feelings of "She's not going to be with us much longer" crept in, which caused more issues. All in all....TERRIBLE EMOTIONAL DAY. But I am hoping that the release of these emotions will help me to move on from them.

Writing this it is now Day 6, and I can tell you that I did sleep last night, I did wake up refreshed, and while I do not feel 100% happy still, I am worlds better than I was yesterday. I am hoping when I check in tomorrow it is a better day to report.

Ultimate Reset: Day 2

I feel blessed that my Day 2 was not as horrible as I was prepping it to be. I have read a lot of blogs, and watched a lot of videos from other coaches where their Day 2 was very debilitating; however, mine wasn't too terrible.

I woke up EARLY, hopped right out of bed and felt very well rested, even though I couldn't fall asleep the night before and probably only had, at most, 5 hours of sleep. Seriously, I felt great...which if you know me in person you would know that mornings and I just do not work out well. I went to the grocery store before heading to work (weird) and picked up some more supplies that I could need, like distilled water.

The day was okay. I will admit, I was tired and it would have been a great day to spring for a cup of herbal tea, but I resisted. Any other day I would have gone straight to Starbucks for a Venti Gingerbread Latte, but today I just decided to ride the wave.

After lunch is when things sort of nose-dived just a little bit. I got a pretty bad headache that was just annoying, and starting around 3pm I got nauseated, to the point where I thought I might be sick. I took my Alkalinize (which is the nasty green stuff) and almost lost it in the sink..but I kept it down. I remember going back into my office and sitting in my chair with my eyes closed thinking, "I can't do this"...10 minutes later, I felt great. No headache. No nausea. Felt awesome and went and played with my dogs.

What I did notice during Day 2 was my cravings were OUT OF THIS WORLD. Stuff I never crave...like loaded nachos or pulled pork sandwiches were suddenly all I could think of. And this is no exaggeration..but my husband was making himself his lunch to take to work that night and he had Land o Lakes American cheese slices from the deli (which I love). I caught it out of the corner of my eye while I was preparing not-so-fun lentils for the next day..but he had a piece and broke another piece between the two dogs. I cried. I cried and in between tears said, "I'm the only one who didn't get a piece of cheese!!' You can probably imagine the look I got as I went and pouted in the other room.

So yeah..biggest thing from yesterday was the sickness mid day, and the cravings. Other than that pretty business as usual.

Oh! And in case you are interested, there are much more detailed reviews each day on my YouTube page. Check it out and show some love!

Ultimate Reset: Day 1 Review

Oh gosh, where to begin! Well perhaps I should explain why I am actually going through Beachbody's Ultimate Reset for 21 days.

I won't lie, originally it was so I could use the supplements before they expired! (oops) but as these past couple of months have gone on, I have GREATLY neglected both my health...AND FITNESS! Now don't get me wrong, I still worked out usually 3 times a week but this girl is usually an every day kind of girl. And my nutrition, while maybe not SPOT on, typically isn't horrible. Let me tell you: pizza weekly, hoagies, WENDYS...it wasn't good. Throw in Thanksgiving and Christmas in there and you have a recipe for disaster.

And disaster struck: 11 pounds of disaster in just two months time. I found this out yesterday as I stepped on the scale for the first time in a while. I was expecting maybe 5 at most, but after the number flashed on the screen..I just sort of stared. How..did I let this happen. From that moment on the Reset wasn't just to use supplements before they expired, it now became a MISSION. I had to find out why I was re-addicted to junk, needed to get my mind right as well as my body. Game face came one (until I took my before photos, then it was a frowny face yet again).

Day 1 went alright. The foods are something new to me as I am not one to do a lot of meal prep; however, I just kept thinking of the results others have had and it inspired and motivated me to take every meal with a positive attitude. I have all of the ingredients I need so there was a lot of chopping, packaging, and bagging things going on in my kitchen.

You take 3 rounds of supplements during the day, with an additional supplement of Alkalinize in the afternoon before dinner. After my first round of supplements I was alright until around noon ( I took them at 9), then I became very fatigued. My brain was a big fuzzy. I wanted to concentrate, but I couldn't...so I took a nap. Couldn't fall asleep for about a half hour, but when I did it was a good sleep - only lasting 20 minutes long! But I felt reinvigorated!

Emotionally I seemed to be alright...until my husband started helping by putting all my "yummy food" in a box and hiding it somewhere in the house where I wont find it. We came across a pack of reduced fat Oreos. There were 2 left. He put his back to me and shoved them in his mouth, running to the refrigerator to grab, what else?, milk. I started to cry. I kid you not I started to cry.


Around 9 PM I was done for the day. Exhausted, I just laid on the couch and watched Dance Moms (love that show!) When it was time to go to sleep however, yet again I could not fall asleep. This time it took 2 1/2 hours. It was very frustrating but I felt like I was sort of sleeping but not during that waiting time. It didn't feel like 2 1/2 hours..but it didn't feel like sleep either. Woke up this morning and felt REFRESHED. Only hit the snooze 1 time and that was more because I was so nice and cozy and not to get more sleep. I woke up, got dressed and....went grocery shopping???

Yeah. 7:30AM on my way to work I decide to go grocery shopping. The things The Reset will do you...


All in all I'd say Day 1 was fine. Meals were DELICIOUS, supplements not bad (Alkalinize is gross but pinch your nose and down the hatch it goes. Its only 4 ounces. You'll live) reactions weren't horrible.  The thing about The Reset is it is different for everyone. Stay tuned for Day 2

 recap!