My Ultimate Reset, Part 1

Today I completed the first phase of Beachbody's Ultimate Reset, a program for detoxing, strengthening immunity, improving digestion and resetting metabolism. This program is 21 days and is divided into 3 phases: Reclaim, Release and Restore.

During the Reclaim stage you follow a menu plan that weans you off of meat and dairy, which are acidic and stress your digestive system. The supplements in this stage are Optimize (enzymes, which are necessary for every bodily function), Alkalinize for normalizing the body's pH balance, Soothe (includes aloe and curcumin) for reducing inflammation, and Mineralize (Himalayan pink salt) which is added to distilled water--the only beverage allowed. Once this phase is complete, the body is primed, balanced and strengthened on a cellular level and ready for the next phase of releasing accumulated toxins.

During the entire 3 weeks of the Reset, there is no strenuous exercise. The focus is internal. Daily walking, stretching, gentle yoga or Tai Cheng are encouraged.

Since I was already 90% vegan, I thought Phase 1 would be easy. What I didn't take into account was my coffee habit. The first few days were hellish as I went through caffeine withdrawal. I enjoyed almost all of the food, though, except for one thing.

Day 1 I did Tai Cheng in the morning. After lunch I felt super tired. I slept about 90 minutes on the sofa and when I woke up I had a horrid headache. I felt like my brains were going to explode through my eyeballs! The headache did not let up all evening and I was very tired.  I turned in early.

Day 2 I woke up with that darn headache. I had my regular chiropractor visit, and as suspected, my neck and back were all wonky from sleeping in a hotel the whole week before and then my snooze on the sofa. (I have severe neck issues, btw--the kind that only surgery can fix). The adjustment helped a bit, but my head was not right all day. I cheated on the exercise rule and went mountain biking, but I didn't feel 100% on my bike and actually walked a short way on an uphill. (I'm usually a climber) By the time evening rolled around I had developed body aches, mostly from the waist down. My hips and low back and thighs were all sore, but not the post-workout kind of sore. More like the I'm dying from the flu kind of sore.

Day 3 I had a HORRIBLE night. I woke at 2 a.m. with such horrible pain. I couldn't find a comfortable position. My lower back and legs and hips were trying to kill me. At 3:15 I stripped and got in the jacuzzi. I did deep breathing exercises. I drank 2 big glasses of my mineralized water. I got relief for about 15 minutes. I went on the reset boards someone suggested magnesium. Ding! I remembered that magnesium makes you sleepy, and I also remembered that we have melatonin. I took both. It was about 5 a.m. when I finally dozed off. The alarm rang at 6:30. Fail. I was in pain the whole day. I felt mentally foggy. I felt feverish, but the thermometer proved that theory wrong. I had alternating chills and hot flashes.  I looked up caffeine withdrawal on the internet and found this link. Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms  I had ALL TEN SYMPTOMS. I went in the jacuzzi twice. I tried Tai Cheng but my hamstrings were so tensed up I couldn't even bend forward enough to touch my knees.

Day 4 I woke in around 3 a.m. with the same pain, but managed to get back to sleep after about half and hour. When I woke up my pain was still there, but not as intense. I went for a walk at the local park. There is one hill at the beginning of the trail and I didn't think I'd make it to the top because my knee and ankles hurt THAT BADLY. These are old, healed surgeries that haven't bothered me at all in the last year, except for the most recent knee surgery last November. Weird. Still, I think the walking helped. By lunchtime my pain had subsided. By dinnertime I felt pretty good. Whew!

Speaking of dinnertime, this meal caused me TEARS. I have never in my life eaten seafood. When I was a kid, my Catholic parents had fish every Friday, but mom made me a grilled cheese sandwich. I lived in Key Largo and worked in a fish restaurant, yet I never ate seafood. I can't get past the smell. So the dinner was supposed to be nori rolls and miso soup and a Japanese cucumber salad. I went to 5 stores looking for wakame seaweed and mirin. I followed the simple recipes and made the food. The wakame had to be soaked for 5 minutes and drained. When I drained it the smell reminded me of cleaning the fishtank. It literally smelled like fish poop. I mixed it into the cucumbers with the mirin and rice vinegar and set it in the frig to marinate. Next I laid out a sheet of nori seaweed and piled on the brown rice, carrots, cucumbers, and avocado and rolled it all up. I gagged as I sliced the roll. Then I boiled the water, added the miso paste and green onion, and dumped in some wakame.

I got all anxious.  I didn't think I could go through with it. I tasted a little piece of the wakame in the cucumber salad and it was slimy and smelled so damn fishy. I dumped it down the garbage disposal and cried! I left the nori roll and soup for my daughter, thinking she would eat it after karate because she snacks on dried seaweed.  She tried one bite and screwed up her nose. No way she was going to eat that. So it all went in the trash. I cried again. What a waste. How do people eat that?!

I ended up eating some leftover bean/rice/avocado taco from Day 2 and made her a bean burger. My appetite was ruined and I didn't enjoy my dinner at all. My kitchen smelled fishy and it took me the whole evening to get over that.... yeah i have seafood ISSUES.....and it wasn't even fish!

Days 5-7 I felt fine. I never felt hungry the entire week. The food portions were huge, and only ate vegan meals. I usually eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, but most days I only ate the 3 meals. A few of the days I had a half serving of Shakeology with fruit, but some days I just didn't fit it into my schedule toward the end of the week. The supplements have to be taken at specific times...at least a half hour before meals and at least 2 hours after meals.

Other things I noticed this week (all are normal): vivid dreams (I usually don't remember my dreams), increased sensitivity to odors, random mild body aches that move around to different areas.

I'm anxious to start Phase 2, Release, tomorrow. A new supplement will be added to the schedule tomorrow--Detox--and a new all-vegan menu begins. I'm ready for some new recipes. ;)

Finally, let me say that absolutely everyone who I've communicated with that has done the Ultimate Reset says the results are totally worth it. I checked my weight this morning, and after 6 days I'm down SEVEN POUNDS. My waist measurement is down a whole inch. I hope that when this program is over my workouts will be smoother and my weight loss and maintenance will be more consistent. I have had no cravings and despite my painful caffeine withdrawal, I'm glad I'm doing this for my health. I'll indulge in coffee when this is over, but I'm going to try to limit my intake in the future. I figure if you've got a withdrawal that painful you must have been drinking too much!

Find out more about the Ultimate Reset