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 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.

Are You A Lighthouse, Or A Storm Cloud?

Every day you are going to find yourself in situations that involve other individuals whether it be at work, with your family, in the market, or even on-line. People feed off of people. We feed off of the other energies that are present around us, and yes, even through the computer screen. Have you ever been a round a group of people and you leave feeling like all of the air was sucked out of you? You don't leave feeling revived and upbeat, you leave feeling deflated and miserable! Or have you ever been around a group of people where you leave you feel like you are light as a feather, can't stop smiling, and it is one of those times where you have been away for them from five minutes and you are already texting them planning the next meeting?

Since we feed off of one another, each encounter YOU have YOU need to make the choice: am I going to be the lighthouse, or just another storm cloud?  Don't be that person in the group that is negative or cynical. Don't be the person who drags the rest of the group down and ruins the situation. Be the lighthouse! The one that shines THROUGH the darkness, the one that people LOOK FOR when times get tough! When you change your attitude to a positive one and consistently share that attitude with others, you will help them to create a more positive live thus creating a ripple effect.

Try it!

A Life Change Through Friendships

I always grew up believing that old saying, "When you get older you will only have one or two good friends". I was anticipating my friends to dwindle and fall off each passing year of my 20's, until finally in my 30's it was just me, my husband, and my dogs. I was expecting to live a boring life, maybe do some gardening on the weekends (which is a joke because I kill any plant I touch), and just be "normal".

Well I'm on my way to 29 and I have seen some great friends leave my life over the past 10 years: I wish them well. But on the other hand I have had many people find their way back into my life, as well as made some new friendships that I never saw coming. So to say that the old saying is true, would be a lie.

Having the mindset that I do now, it is hard for me to sit here and think back to being 20 and basically accepting a way in which my life was going to go. I didn't even question it, I just accepted that is how it was going to be.  That's how I have been for the majority of my life is just accepting of "life's ways".  "It is what it is" is something you would always hear me say. I certainly wasn't building myself up to be anything great. An average life was just fine.

Then I took this leap of faith and decided to be a Beachbody Coach. I had no idea what that meant, or what I had to do, but I heard the word "discount" and figured why the hell not. I was hoping it wasn't in-home parties, or passing out catalogs, delivering product, or storing it in my house. Honestly..I just wanted my damn discount!  I was so relieved when I learned it was nothing like what I had pictured it to be. But I was pleasantly surprised as I stuck with it and began to see what it was becoming.


Beachbody, as corny as it sounds, has brought old friends back into my life and new friends into my life that I hold very close to my heart. And these aren't just friendships with lack of meaning or bond between them, these are solid friendships - the kind that you had with your B.F.F in 4th grade where no matter what, you were there for each other. There was a glue there, and there is a glue now with the friendships that I find in my life.

Quickly my world began to change. No longer was it "friends" complaining about this that or the other, or "friends" listening to a vent session and then running and telling someone else, it was finally friends that were FRIENDS. Friends that held respect for one another, and held each other to such a high standard that they refused to sit back and watch one another fall on their face. These are the friends with muscle behind them; the kind that can lift you up no matter how down you can be.

Being someone who has dealt with depression in the past and some really poor friendships, this new breed lifted me higher. This new group of friends took me to a place where I didn't accept anything less than amazing in my life (so whether or not you are a Beachbody Coach, if we are friends you must be pretty damn awesome). Through friendships I learned how to live a higher quality of life, and how to expect and accept only the highest quality for my own life.


I know this is a very corny post, and I'm not typically like this; however, all of the "thankful" posts on Facebook made me think of what I was very thankful for and that's for my friends. Honestly, if it wasn't for you guys I don't know what kind of life I'd be living. So THANK YOU!!