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The Ultimate Reset – Day 3

Day 3 presented me with some logistical challenges, because I needed to be out of the house (I work at home) during the time I usually take the Alkalinize supplement and also when I usually eat supper.

I didn’t time things well. I took my Alkalinize packet with me, wanting to consume it around the same time I usually do — 2:30 — but that didn’t work out, and then I lost track of time. So, as it turned out, I didn’t get my Alkalinize until 5:30, which meant I had to wait 2 hours before I could take my pre-meal supplements, and then a half-hour after that to eat supper. So … 8:00 was supper time — not outrageous, but generally I eat around 5:30, so it was pretty late for me.

At any rate, I am guessing that people who work outside their homes have many more logistical challenges than this small blip for me. They probably are more used to dealing with them, though.

THE MEALS

How were the meals today? GREAT! I dunno, maybe I’m just hungry — although I don’t feel hungry — but the food so far is really good.

Breakfast was the same as day one: 2 eggs, whole wheat bread, spinach (yeah, I went and picked up some spinach, so I didn’t have to eat kale again), and a cup of fruit, which this time was a nectarine.

Lunch was pretty fantastic, the way I altered it, anyway. It was supposed to be green lentil salad and a chopped green salad, but I was like, “why do I want to eat 2 salads?”, so I made the lentils into soup. It included carrots, shallots, cilantro, toasted sesame oil, and, of course, lentils. I hadn’t used French green lentils before. They are really nice, retaining their firmness much better than their brown cousins. The soup — well, it was more of a stew, actually — was delicious.

My late supper was something I would have altered, had I been home to prep it, but, because I knew I’d be out, I made it ahead of time. The cucumber salad was very nice, with rice wine and red vinegars, plus some toasted sesame seeds and seaweed. The miso soup I made from a package. It was good. It was the nori roll that I probably would have reconfigured as a cooked and served hot meal, rather than as a cold sushi style roll. I think the rice, carrots, cucumbers, and smoked tempeh (a soy-based bacon substitute for vegans, something I had not tried before, but which is very tasty) would have made a good hot rice dish. Even cold from the fridge, though, the nori roll was very good.

THOUGHTS AFTER DAY 3

  • I feel really good. Supposedly days 3 and 4 are the bears to get through. For me it was Day 1 — Days 2 and 3 were a breeze.
  • I am extremely happy with the food I’m eating so far. I have tried several new foods already, and they have all been tasty, things I’m glad to now have in my arsenal. (Kale may become one of them — I must not be cooking it long enough.)
  • The burning sensation in my eyes is almost negligible, relative to what I’m accustomed to. Not sure what to make of that, but I like it.

 

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The Ultimate Reset – Day 2

As bad as I felt yesterday is as good as I feel today, which means great. Yup, I feel great! No burning eyes. Energetic. Meh. It’s early (12:30pm). We’ll see where the day takes me.

… LATER THAT SAME DAY …

It’s 9:00pm now, and I still feel pretty good. Getting tired. Eyes feel good. Still no headache.

Here’s the meal rundown.

Breakfast was delicious with a bowl of steel-cut oats combined with a cup of blueberries and some walnuts, plus a half-cup of plain yogurt with a bit of honey.

Lunch was a Greek salad — tomato, cucumber, lettuce, olives, homemade dressing — plus a chicken breast.

Supper of black beans and rice was so good that I put up a recipe post about it.

I again went off-book for a few things, primarily the spices. For the most part, I just don’t need them! A little salt on the chicken makes it taste fine. The homemade dressing I made today was Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar. I left out all the spices. It was very good!

For supper I just didn’t bother with the plan. I used all the ingredients to make some great Black Beans & Rice (with avocado, tomatoes, and shallots, plus pine nuts).

All in all, it’s nice to be able to eat on a cleanse. I haven’t felt hungry and the food is good. Of course, this is only day 2 of 21, so we’ll have to see what is coming up.

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RECIPE: World’s Best Black Beans & Rice

I embarked on a cleanse yesterday, The Ultimate Reset. It lasts 3 weeks and has meals fully planned out, complete with recipes and everything.

Tonight’s dinner was supposed to be black beans with rice, along with some guacamole and salsa. Well, I didn’t feel like making guacamole and I didn’t have any salsa….

That’s how I happened upon my recipe for The World’s Best Black Beans & Rice. I thought it was going to be good, and I’m a little pissed that I didn’t snap a photo. Next time.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 small avocado
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1 Tbsp diced shallot
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts
  • 3/4 cup cooked small grain brown rice (I prefer the small grain rice because of the size and texture)
  • 1/2 cup canned low sodium black beans (I like low sodium, so I can add my own salt)
  • Salt, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Start the rice cooking according to the instructions on the package. Brown rice usually takes around 45 minutes, so be sure to give yourself enough lead time.
  2. After you have the rice going, dice the tomato, but not too small. Do the same with the avocado. You want them to be pretty chunky so they stand out from the beans and rice.
  3. Combine the tomato and avocado in a bowl.
  4. Add the diced shallot to the tomato and avocado, add a pinch or two of salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
  5. Cook the beans on the stovetop or microwave so they are done at about the same time the rice is. Drain them when they are done cooking — you don’t need the packing liquid.
  6. Combine the rice and beans on your dinner plate. Put the avocado-tomato-shallot mixture over the top of the rice and beans. You may want to spoon it in, so you don’t get all the juice, although the juice is tasty.
  7. Add the pine nuts over the top of it all.
  8. At this point, you can mix everything together on your plate or eat it as is. Up to you. Either way, it’s delicious!

Makes 1 serving.

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The Ultimate Reset – Day 1

Today I started The Ultimate Reset. I have already published a post about what The Ultimate Reset generally is, but now I’m going to get into the nitty-gritty, what it’s really like to go through it.

Ultimate Reset First Meal
Ultimate Reset First Meal

As I looked more closely though the instruction booklet yesterday, in preparation for today, I noticed the schedule is very regimented. You get up, take some supplements, wait 30 minutes, have breakfast, wait at least 2 hours, take some supplements, wait 30 minutes, have lunch, wait at least 2 hours, take some supplements, wait at least 2 hours, take some supplements, wait 30 minutes, have dinner.

The instructions say to try to keep the schedule as regular as possible, so your body knows when to expect the nutrients. I can handle that, so for me, that will look like this:

7:00 — Supplements (Mineralize, Oxygenize, Optimize)
7:30 — BREAKFAST
10:30 — Light Workout
11:30 — Supplements (Mineralize, Oxygenize, Optimize)
12:00 — LUNCH
2:30 — Supplements (Mineralize, Alkalinize)
4:45 — Supplements (Mineralize, Oxygenize, Optimize)
5:15 – SUPPER

Your schedule may vary, and it may change for Week 2, but this is my Week 1 plan.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, the meals for The Ultimate Reset are all planned out for you, so all I have to do is buy the ingredients and make them.

My first meal was Eggs, Kale, Whole Wheat Bread, and Blueberries. I would have preferred Spinach in place of the Kale, but I forgot to buy it.

Lunch today will be a salad with dressing. Supper will be Salmon with Potatoes and Asparagus.

I took some body measurements this morning (weight and waist) to compare at the end, but this is not really about losing weight for me. I just want to get my body cleaner and start from as close to a zero point as I can get. Seems to me The Ultimate Reset is a good way to do that.

END OF THE DAY — HOW IT WENT

I developed one of those headaches that starts at the base of the skull. I associate that with caffeine withdrawal, because I’ve noticed it before when I quit caffeine.

I feel burning in my eyes, which I associate with a general lousy feeling. I often have this feeling, which is one of the reasons I’m on this cleanse.

I stuck with the meal and supplement plan, no problem. Off-the-book alterations included simply not using so many herbs & spices. Maybe I’m odd, but the flavor of a plain boiled potato is just fine by me. I’d rather simplify the food-making process, as long as the food is still enjoyable.

The Alkalinize packet — it’s a once-a-day supplement mixed with water — is not tasty. I may need to have that as a hot tea, then add some stevia to it, we’ll see. It’s not that bad.

I feel about how I expected to feel. I am pretty much completely changing my diet, so my body needs to adjust.

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Is it all about looking good? Really?

Shaun T says at the end of one of his Insanity videos — I think it’s “Pure Cardio” — that he puts himself through these tough workouts “because I wanna look good.”

I’m sure Shaun T understands the health benefits of getting into shape, but he’s young and has probably never been fat or had severe health problems. “Looking good” probably is at the top of his list of reasons to work out.

There is no doubt that looking good is an attractive side effect of getting healthy, but it really has become more of a motivator now that I have been putting myself out there as a blogger who gives fitness advice. I mean, how many people are going to listen to anything a fat fitness guru says?

But it didn’t start that way for me.

When I started my fitness quest, I was 5’10” and weighed 235. I was taking 2 medications for blood pressure and 1 for cholesterol. I was having pain in my gut that I didn’t like.

My goal was to get off those medications and lose the pain.

Four and a half years later, I weigh  in at 170, have been off the meds for years, and my blood pressure and cholesterol are in good shape. The pains in my gut are long gone. I am stronger and my cardio fitness is great.

That’s all fine, but what has been motivating me lately? I want to see my abs.

Sounds like I’m trying to look good, and that makes sense. Once the medical issues are taken care of, why not focus on a little body sculpting?

To get back to the title question, then, is it all about looking good? Can it be? Can we simply focus on looking good, and the health benefits will take care of themselves?

I could formulate a good argument against that — there are people who look good, but who are also unhealthy due to a poor diet or unbalanced workouts — so, no, it’s not all about looking good, but if that’s your prime motivator, roll with it, because at the very least, it’s a start!