Interested? Want to learn more?

It has been a little more than a week since I've finished my reset. You have seen my progress over the last month.

Here's a basic run down of how I've been during my first post-reset week:

• I've continued to eat clean and vegan since the reset ended
• I've started to reintroduce some basic grains into my diet (quinoa, brown rice).
• I've started to reintroduce legumes back into my diet (lentil, pinto beans).
• I began drinking the Vegan Chocolate Shakeology for breakfast each morning with the addition of some fruit.
• I began working out again.

I do see my appetite coming back to me now that I've finished the reset and have started to reintroduce things back into my diet. I have struggled a bit to keep up with my water supply, and I know I will continue to struggle as the school year starts in September and frequent potty breaks will have to stop.

On Day 1 Post-Reset, I decided to put in that Rockin' Body DVD that I bought way at the beginning of my Beachbody experience. I amazingly had enough energy to get through it for a few days. During the first week of the reset, I did complain about my right calf muscle cramping. That cramp did become more severe while working out, so I've been forced to take a few days off to let the muscle heal on its own. However, I feel it getting back to normal, and I look forward to working out again.

With the encouragement of my sister and coach, I have decided to become an Independent Beachbody Coach. What does that mean? That means that I can help YOU on your journey to improve your life through diet and fitness. I know my journey is only just beginning. If you have found that through reading this, you are intrigued enough to ask a few questions, ASK ME! I'm now officially here to help YOU!

Here are a few suggested links you can follow:

If you are interested in learning more about the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, click here.

If you are interested in learning more about Shakeology (both vegan and non-vegan), click here.

If you are interested in learning more about Beachbody products in general (such as P90X, Instanity, etc), click here.

I would love nothing more to help you achieve your own success. Why not start today?

Who said I can't celebrate??

As a congratulations for finishing the reset, Alison bought me and my mom a gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan cake to celebrate the end of the reset.

Super yummy!!! It was a very dense cake, but it was super delicious. The raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries was amazing in the cake. Mmmm.... a nice treat after a grueling 3 weeks!

Results

Okay, so this is the embarrassing post, but if I'm going to encourage you to do this process, I have to do it myself, too.

Now, with full disclosure, I only measured my left leg and arm. Why? I didn't even think about measuring the right side. So silly.

I have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed by the pictures. I don't necessarily see the results with the pictures. However, I FEEL the results. I said weeks ago that I feel a difference in the way my underwear sits on my body. Looking at the measurements, there's a clear reason why. I feel overall less swollen. I'll be interested to take pictures again in a couple weeks to see how eating clean/vegan and using Shakeology impacts my body.

If only I could post my mother's results here. They are INCREDIBLE!! She lost 20 pounds in this process and it is obvious in her pictures.

I'm also considering starting TurboFire as a new program for weight loss. I've only got a few more months to get my body back to where it was before I got hurt. Let's hope I can do this before the wedding!!!

Day 21--And you didn't think I could do it!!

This has been a wonderful day! I feel like I've really accomplished something. Tomorrow I'll take my final measurements to see how I've done. But for now, here's an overview of the day's work:

BREAKFAST
As per usual, I had my wonderful, tasty fruit plate. Super yum.

LUNCH

Meal 62 of 63:

carrot-seaweed medley

microgreen salad

creamy garlic dressing

This was so tasty! I've never had edamame before this experience, and I find it to be super delicious. Of course, since I don't enjoy any flavors that come from the ocean, I modified the recipe a bit and removed the seaweed.

MID-AFTERNOON

HOORAY!!! THE VERY LAST ALKALINIZE BLECH! The final death drink. No more after this. Ick. What a happy day!!! (Like my cup? Circa 1992? Mhmm.. you know how I do.)

DINNER

Meal 63 of 63:

roasted veggies

avocado-cucumber soup

Okay, the roasted vegetables were fabulous. Loved it. The soup sounded yummy, and I even really did enjoy the process of making it. However, this soup is meant to be served chilled. Great in theory, but terrible in practice. I believe I took about 5 spoonfuls of soup before I realized I really couldn't handle it. There wasn't really anything much leftover to eat. I ate all the roasted veggies, waited a half hour, and chugged some water. Brandon I think pretended to like it. He said he'd finish my bowl. I don't see the soup anywhere, so I wonder what actually happened to it...

I'm headed to bed now, just a little hungry, but I'm okay with that. I haven't cheated during this process. I look forward to seeing my final results tomorrow.

Day 20--So close!

MORNING
I felt really great when I woke up this morning. I weighed myself just to see what happened with not really eating yesterday. As of this morning, I am down 13.2 pounds from the start of the reset. I often think about this weight that I'm losing. If I had just gone to the gym and worked hard, would I have ever lost this weight? Granted, it isn't necessarily normal to lose 13 pounds in 20 days (or like some other people who lost between 20-30 pounds in the process). But would this weight have ever come off just by going to the gym? I tend to think it wouldn't have. I think that if had I just worked really hard at the gym, I would have lost weight, sure, but these 13+ pounds would have remained in my system until I finally did something about it.

BREAKFAST
Like always, I had my fruit breakfast this morning.

Meal 58 of 63

LUNCH
I didn't necessarily want to eat this for lunch today because I really just wanted to eat my soup. But since my mom started prepping it and didn't really want it, she gave it to me and I felt obligated to try it out.

Meal 59 of 63:

jicama-avocado salad

I ate this while sitting outside. The bloodwork I got pre-BUR mentioned that I do have a kind of severe Vit-D deficiency. What can I say? I hate going out in the humidity in the summer. Maybe I need to move to San Diego... Anyway, I set up a blanket, my iPhone and a player, and my copy of Catching Fire (to reread), and I sat outside for about 2.5 hours. Hopefully I was able to get my day's worth of Vit-D.

The salad was pretty good. The avocado I used seemed to be a little too ripe for this purpose. It would have been great in guacamole, but maybe not this salad. Next time, I need to make sure the avocado is a little less ripe so that it still maintains its consistency after marinading. The jicama was as yummy as ever. I wasn't overwhelmed by either the cilantro or the lime juice. I found it just right.

DINNER

Meal 60 of 63:

Asian stir-fry

braised Swiss chard

This dinner was lovely. The ginger was subtle, but strong enough to give a great kick to the flavor. I don't often like using the Aminos in my food, but it was totally appropriate here. The carrots and broccoli were my favorite because they kept all the flavor, but I loved the bok choy for the crunch. It is definitely added to the awesome column.

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So there's only one day left. In preparation, mom and I established the lunch and dinner menus for the next week. We are sticking to the plan the way it's meant to be. During the first week post-reset, we are to continue eating the foods from this week while we slowly reintroduce some of grains back into our diet. We decided that Wednesday and Friday we will reintroduce quinoa and brown rice. After that, we are supposed to start introducing legumes back into our diet. We will be doing this Sunday and Tuesday. During this process, we are supposed to really listen to our bodies to determine how we are reacting to the new foods. If our body reacts badly to it (bloating, stomach ache, etc), we need to be able to identify it and consider removing it from our diet completely.

Mom reflected that she's excited to have yogurt and oatmeal again. I was honest with her and said that I don't intend to reintroduce dairy, and in fact, I don't plan on reintroducing meat products. I like the way I feel eating vegan. I like who I am. There is plenty I have to learn, and I've already bought a few books to help me process everything. It's a good thing I know vegans who can help me with the process. I'm just so very grateful for this program because it showed me exactly what I need and don't need in my diet. I'm excited for my journey ahead. Mom ackowledged for herself, too, that she doesn't need meat. She's actually grown accustomed to eating vegan.

Here's to the last day!

Day 19--Bad Day

This has been a terrible day. It started out okay, but it ended terribly.

BREAKFAST
As per the usual, I enjoyed my fruit bowl.

LUNCH
Lunch today was supposed to be hearty vegetable-miso soup. I cooked some of it, but was missing half of the ingredients. Mom planned to go to the store to pick up the missing ingredients for the soup, the basic shopping that we couldn't do yesterday, and to pick up some food for dinner.

Due to some drama, I ended up not eating lunch. I took my supplements as scheduled, though.

DINNER
Since mom and I did not really want to have another go at baked tempeh, we did something different. Strictly speaking, it isn't on the plan. We really shouldn't have eaten it since there was gluten in it and this week we are supposed to be eating gluten and grain free. Yet since mom made the effort to get them to appease people, we decided to eat it.

Meal 57 of 63:

Mediterranean roasted beets

baked tempeh

coconut collard greens

vegan veggie burger

salsa, avocado, tomato, and lettuce

It was delicious. That veggie burger was amazing. I made a little pocket out of the lettuce, and it was fabulous. I easily could have eaten another--all too easily. After scarfing it down, however, I was still hungry. Stephanie had been trying to get me to eat all afternoon, but I couldn't. She had a great idea, however, to eat a little of the vegetable-miso soup to top off my dinner. Seeing this was an excellent idea, I did that, and it was just enough. When 30 minutes passed, I drank some water and was content.

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Like yesterday, this day has been emotionally draining. I had an acorn squash thrown at me, and it hit my hip in the right spot. Don't ask because the story isn't worth rehashing yet again. It hurts to walk, and I can't put pressure on my left side. As I've been walking all afternoon and evening, I started favoring my right side, and now I have a splitting pain on the top side of my arch on my right foot.

Thank you, Brandon, for helping me see the humor in "getting squashed" today.

This was a lousy weekend, and I know that this will be a lousy week. The intentions I had for this week have changed, and now I don't exactly know what to do. Looks like I have more free time now.

Only two days left, and I already know I'm going to miss this.

Day 18--IKEA food? Nahh.. I've got my greens.

This has been a tough day. In talking with Brandon recently, we decided that we wanted to make a trip out to IKEA. I needed to buy a bookcase for work that actually fit my standards, and I knew that IKEA would have what I wanted. We had been planning this trip for about a week. I knew this would be a bit problematic for me, but the day went pretty well.

MORNING
I ate my regular fruit bowl and enjoyed it, naturally. I put it off until a little later in the morning to give me the ability to eat lunch a little later and not be starving.

LUNCH
I had to pack my lunch and bring it with me to IKEA. I packed my Vera Bradley bag and stuffed it with my lunchbag, a half gallon of water, and my supplements. Try lugging that around the building.

Meal 52 of 63:

jicama, cucumber, and tomato on spinach greens

I will say it was challenging to watch Brandon and my friend Michele eat the IKEA food, but I enjoyed eating my salad. Michele keeps making comments like, "I don't know how you're eating like a rabbit and surviving." The funny thing is although I know I'm only eating fruit and vegetables, I don't feel like I'm eating like a rabbit. I feel satisfied. I feel good. I have a great amount of energy.

And let me just say that I love jicama (pronounced hic-ama).

Because I ate lunch so late, I didn't even get to drink my Alkalinize until about 4:00 after we got back from IKEA. I threw me off for an entire hour.

DINNER
On our way home, we stopped by the market to find fennel for dinner, but we had no luck. Instead, we substituted a bit.

Meal 53 of 63:

roasted fennel baked sweet potato 

lemony broccoli and asparagus

I can't get enough of it. So yummy.

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This day has been tough. We ended up putting our 18 year old cat down today. It was really difficult for mom and Stephanie. Stephanie has such a sweet soul, and she can be emotionally affected by anything and everything. Stephanie loves everyone and everything. Death isn't easy for her to process which is understandable because she was only 8 when our father passed away. I've seen Sashie fading away for a couple months, but her condition worsened significantly within the last week or so. I've had the time to process Sashie leaving us, so Saturday wasn't so challenging for me to go through. It was extremely difficult to watch Sashie try and walk or even simply lay down. I spent my morning today helping her eat and drink. she drank her water, but she couldn't even hold herself up. She was no longer eating her food, but she chose to simply lick it. She always loved going outside, so we had her stay outside this morning as long as possible. She was ready to give up--laying beneath the stairs, hiding underneath the fireplace...She was ready to go. It has just been an extremely difficult day. Goodbye, Sashie girl.

Here's to tomorrow.

Day 17--First Bad Day in a Long Time

For some reason, my computer can't find my SD card, so pictures can't be uploaded. They will be uploaded as soon as possible..

MORNING
I woke up this morning about 10 seconds before my alarm sounded. I was WIDE awake, even though I feel like I didn't get much sleep. I can honestly say that my body is starting to function better now on less sleep than it did before. It would be interesting to have another sleep study to see if my sleep apnea has... reduced. Is that the right word? Hmm..

I weighed myself this morning. Down a pound since yesterday. I'm .6 of a pound away from losing 10 pounds in this process.

BREAKFAST
Breakfast was a lovely bowl of fresh fruit while sitting at my desk at work. I have become a MASTER of SAFELY dripping my Oxygenize into my water bottle while driving so I could take my supplements in the car early enough to eat as soon as I get into work. I was disappointed, though, because the cantaloupe seemed to have gone bad. That or it was so overripe that the flavor and texture were just off. I ended up eating only about 2 cups of fruit. I'm used to eating closer to 3 cups of fruit. I was really nervous about getting hungry during the day.

LUNCH
I had been really good about drinking my water up until lunch. I was really looking forward to dinner because it smelled SO GOOD when I mixed it up last night.

Meal 50 of 63:

Moroccan carrot salad

microgreen salad

However....it was a letdown. It could have been really good if I left out the optional cayenne pepper from the recipe. Yet since I wanted to stick to the plan as closely as possible, I wanted to add it. It was a huge mistake. So, I ate around it and only ate the MAYBE 2 cups of mixed baby greens. I didn't add anything else (cucumbers, tomatos, seeds, etc) because I thought it might clash with the carrots. It is a good thing that I had the foresight to include 1/4 an avocado. So lunch consisted of 2 cups baby greens and 1/4 an avocado. After a smaller breakfast and a small lunch, I was now even more nervous about getting hungry...

DINNER
I got home around 4:15 or so. I actually remembered to drink my Alkalinize at 3:00 like I normally do, so I didn't feel thrown off--not like yesterday.

Meal 51 of 63:

roasted delicata butternut squash

steamed lemon green beans

I couldn't get behind the squash. I liked it, but it was bland. I'm not a fan of the aminos, and I added it anyway. When will I learn? The thing is the aminos CAN be good in some dishes, but not all of them. I ended up eating twice the serving of green beans instead. Again, a letdown, and again, I'm left nervous about hunger.

I still have about 28 oz of water to drink for this gallon. Hopefully it will keep me satisfied the rest of the day.

Only 4 days left! I can't believe how fast this has gone by...

Day 16--Back to Business

Today gave me the first glimpse into how I could handle this process while working. I had training for a pilot program I am doing that lasted from 8:00-3:00. I had everything all ready and prepared last night before I went to bed:

I drank all the bottled water by 4:00 this afternoon. All I had left for the evening was the 40 oz. left in the gallon jug. I had to pee so many times today! It's tough being back in the school and not being able to use the bathroom anytime it's necessary. I had to wait until we had a break...ugh!

MORNING
I woke up pretty well--especially for not getting bed until about 10:30. I weighed myself, and I continue to drop. By the time I walked out the door, I felt like I was so well-prepared for the day. However, I couldn't help but think I forgot something...

BREAKFAST
I enjoyed my breakfast sitting at my desk again. Can you guess what breakfast consisted of? Yes, fresh fruit. I didn't pack enough. I realize that as soon as I took a bite of the first peach slice. I knew early this morning that today would be a hungry day.

LUNCH
I wasn't very hungry for lunch. I actually finished the entire green water bottle by the time I needed to take my supplement (11:30). I had a basic microgreen salad with 1 tablespoon of creamy garlic dressing.

MID-AFTERNOON
I had every intention of bringing my Alkalinize with my and taking it as soon as training was over. However, I realized at 3:00 that I remembered EVERYTHING except the green death drink. I didn't take it until 4:00 which meant that dinner would be pushed back another hour. I was hungry this afternoon--not hungry enough for a snack, but hungry. The Alkalinize subdued my hunger enough to help me get through dinner prep.

DINNER
This was the only meal I was nervous about while looking through the week's menu.

Meal 46 of 63:

curry cauliflower

lemon pepper kale

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this meal because I've never really experienced curry. I've heard such mixed reactions about it that I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. I knew my mom doesn't like curry, but while I was preparing it, I used a little less curry than necessary. However, I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed this! I would absolutely make it again.

I am still hungry. This is definitely a hungry day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Fingers are crossed for it! I have already finished my gallon of water, but I only got through one gallon.

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Now that I'm no longer taking the Detox, I find myself not having such difficulty using the bathroom. The Detox is meant to help RELEASE the toxins, but it seemed to have the reverse effect on me. Now that I'm no longer taking the detox, my BMs are coming back to normal like during Phase 1. I am grateful for that. I was really beginning to feel gross.

Day 15--Going Strong!

MORNING
I woke up bright and early at 5:00 am so I could get out to work for tutoring. I woke up before my alarm went off because my entire left arm from my finger tips to mid forearm was completely asleep and HURT. Waking up was easy. Well...besides the arm that hurt so badly that it was difficult to move..

BREAKFAST
As per usual, I had a wonderful bowl of fresh fruit. I ate it while I sat at my desk at work looking at all my packed boxes that need to be unpacked before September. Too daunting to deal with.

LUNCH
This salad today was MASSIVE!

Meal 44 of 63:

Asian cabbage salad

This picture doesn't do it justice. This salad's base was a full HALF of a Napa cabbage. It doesn't even include all the added veggies that went on top. It was a lovely combination of flavors, but the recipe definitely called for WAY too much dressing. It didn't bother me at first, but as I got to the bottom of the bowl, the flavor was just overwhelming, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. If I were to do anything differently beyond cutting out some of the dressing, I would add some almond slivers. I know cabbage itself is very crunchy, but there's something about nuts.

DINNER
How can I put it..... AMAZING. Oh my goodness, I could eat this everyday.

Meal 45 of 63:

baked sweet potato

garlic veggies

I could eat a sweet potato every day for every meal. I LOVE them. Since I was maybe 5 years old, it has always been my favorite food. (That and lima beans. Weird, I know.) For Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., I could literally eat JUST sweet potatoes and be perfectly happy. The veggies were wonderful, too. Mom and I have learned over the last two weeks and decided to drizzle far less fresh lemon juice than the recipe called for. In doing such, it was perfect. We added some herbal seasoning to it for some pizzazz, and it was lovely.  But do me a favor and take a look at the plate from another angle:

Look at all those veggies! Sure we doubled the recipe for the two of us. I did ask mom as I was mixing it all how close she stayed to the recipe's measurements, and she said she followed it to a T. How can anyone say they're going to be hungry from just eating vegetables? Sure, I'm drinking a lot of water, but I don't even think I'm near my gallon at this point, and it's 9:20 at night. So good.

---------------------------------

I started my prep for tomorrow. Made my lunch, and set aside my water for tomorrow:

(The green and red bottles combined equal a half gallon (64 oz). The green and blue caps are combined 24 oz for my breakfast and lunch supplements. In the back is the rest of the gallon jug: the water I'll drink upon my return from work tomorrow.)

Normally during the school year, I'm feeling very tired at this point in the evening. Heck, during this summer, I have had nights where I have already been asleep for an hour. I definitely have high energy.

I'm also really seeing some changes in my body. First it was in the way my underwear fit. Then it was my thighs. My sister noticed a change in my face. Then I saw a change in my calves. Next I saw a change in my stomach. Today I noticed a change in my butt and "back fat" as my younger sister calls it. This is definitely the BEST decision I've ever made. Totally loving everything about it.

I will be honest though....I will miss the structure. Two weeks ago would I have said that? Probably not.

Day 14--End of Phase 2!

MORNING
Well I believe that drinking the 1.5 gallons of water a day and adding the "p" fruits to my breakfast has helped. I was able to successfully use the bathroom in the morning for the first time since I started Phase 2 a week ago. At least, not with drinking another 20 oz of water beforehand. I'm so glad!

I realized that today was a good day for one reason:

Last day to suffer through Detox. Hooray!!! Now to begin the countdown to the end of Alkalinize...but let's not get ahead of ourselves! We still have 7 days of that...

BREAKFAST
While preparing breakfast this morning, I was giddy. Really giddy. I couldn't wait to sit down and eat my breakfast! I haven't gotten this giddy feeling for breakfast in the last 2 weeks. Sure, I've been excited for some meals, but not like this. I definitely made note of that today.

Meal 40 of 63:

fresh fruit

Like I said.....YUMMY!! Who gets excited about fruit? THIS GAL! I never would have said that 3 weeks ago. Don't get me wrong--I've always loved fruit. Just not like this.

LUNCH

Meal 41 of 63:

kabocha butternut squash soup with coconut milk

microgreen salad (with ONLY sunflower seeds and creamy garlic dressing)

I can speak volumes about that soup. I could easily eat 3 times that amount of soup. It was creamy and delicious. The soup had only a slight hint of coconut which was very pleasant. The creaminess of the squash was lovely. It was tough "cooking" it in the blender because it was a bit thick and was tough to get all the squash out from the blender. This is definitely a soup I'll be revisiting again in the near future.


DINNER

Meal 42 of 63:

edamame and roasted corn succotash

lemon pepper kale

The prep for this meal was intense, but very easy. Maybe it was intense because I had a really bad headache, but regardless, it was intense. The total cooking time was MAYBE 30 minutes. However, there were several steps that built on one another. Headache or no, I really managed to keep up with it. Mom certainly helped with all the prep work, but I was definitely driving it. That's kind of how it's been throughout the process: I drive the cooking, mom drives the assisting and cleaning, and we both split the shopping.


In fact, while I was chopping and mincing the cilantro, mom said, "Wow, Kim, you really handle the knife well!" I find that kind of ironic given my history with knives, but it was certainly a compliment. I love working the knife in the kitchen. Watch out, people!!

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Thoughts on this phase? Well, besides the difficulties I've experienced in the bathroom, everything has gone very well. The prepping and cooking have gotten easier, and I actually look forward to cooking. Granted, I don't have to think much about what I'm cooking because the recipes are spelled out for me. That helps a lot.

I will admit that I'm really doing just fine without the meat. I do acknowledge, however, that I have had a craving for bacon or a burger or something along those lines. I know someone from high school who is vegan, and he said that as my body releases the toxins of the meat from my system, my body naturally has these cravings; they do go away. I can attest to that from when I cut red meat out of my diet 2 years ago. I craved it at first, but then it disgusted me.

I'm really toying with the idea of staying vegan after this is over. I feel cleaner. I feel better. Even when I overeat during a meal (which is NOT often), I don't have that wrenching feeling in my stomach that tells me that I had too much meat and, as a result, will need to lay down on the couch because it hurts too much to sit. When I overeat right now, I just feel my stomach telling me, "Kim, you should have stopped eating 5 minutes ago!" I can still sit comfortably. I'm fine. My energy is high. I'm still sleeping close to the hours that I sleep during the school year, but my days are more energized. Please...I was dancing in the shower this morning to some terrible pop song on Z100. I haven't danced in the shower since I was listening to NSync....about a month ago. Hah.

I mentioned this to my chiropractor today when I saw him, and he was really excited for me. "That's awesome, Kim. Not everyone can do it. I know I need meat. My wife, though, could go days without eating meat. What's great about what you're doing, though, is that you're really testing it out. You're not making this decision based on how you were raised or what people say, but you're listening to your body and making decisions based on what your body can handle." Not verbatim, but pretty darn close. I think he's absolutely right.

We will now be going into the third and final phase of this cleanse. I will still be eating vegan, but all the grains will be cut out from the diet. They will be available as options during certain meals, but I'm going to do my best to stick as closely to the meal plan without using the grains.

Fingers crossed!!

Day 13--Easy Cooking

MORNING
I was so thirsty this morning! By the time I went to bed, I drank close to 1.25 gallons of water. I slept super well, though.

BREAKFAST
I've been looking forward to this since last Wednesday--half for the taste and half for creating the picture.

Meal 37 of 63:

mashed chick pea

avocado

cilantro

steamed spinach

I love it. It's so good. Anyone reading this should try this at some point. It's so so yummy! Even my mom who hates cilantro really enjoyed this. I enjoyed "cooking" it. I never really enjoyed cooking before, and I'm really starting to enjoy it. I look forward to it even.. This was done solely through the food processor. It was lovely. I added a hint of Himalayan salt to it during the mashing process and prior to eating it. So yummy! I wish I could eat this again real soon, but alas, I won't be able to. Sad face.

LUNCH

Meal 38 of 63:

Mediterranean roast beets

microgreen salad with ONLY avocado and sunflower seeds

slight hint of fresh lemon juice

It was even better today than it was yesterday. The combination of the beets and the avocado is amazing. I ended up draining all the excess lemon juice because it was completely unnecessary. The hint of lemon from making the beets last night was more than enough. But like I said...the combination of the beets and avocado was fantastic. I will say, though, that having two days worth of beets (and a lot of them) have caused my urine to turn a shade of pink. I didn't realize it at first, but thankfully my fiance can put 2 and 2 together.


DINNER

Meal 39 of 63:

kabochu butternut squash with tahini filling

steamed asparagus

One thing I'm noticing is that as a whole, the amount of prep work that goes into the meals is slowly reducing. This was super easy to prepare. The hardest part was waiting for the squash to cook. I steamed the asparagus perfectly, and they were a beautiful bright green. However, I forgot to take the cover off, so they continued to steam which resulted in mushy asparagus. Boo. Oh well. It happens. The tahini filling was fantastic! Super easy to make, and very rich. I actually diluted it with some distilled water to make it a little thinner. Earlier it was so thick that it wouldn't even move when you tilted the bowl to the side. The tahini filling was so rich, though, that I actually had my sister finish some of the squash for me because I just couldn't make it work. It is a lovely combination, and the flavors just sing.

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I reflected a bit today, and I realized that tomorrow is the last day to drink the detox drink three times a day. I'm looking forward to not having to drink it so much. There are only 8 days left, and I'm hoping to finish out strong. I'm hoping to maintain drinking all this water. My head has been hurting the last few days. Hopefully that doesn't discourage me at all.

I've gone this whole time without snacking--not even any of the approved snacks in the afternoon. I have, however, had very vivid dreams about snacking.

In a recent newsletter update, they said that I might break out a bit from the toxins releasing. Almost on cue, I've broken out with pimples. Not too many, but enough that it's irritating. Hopefully with the continued water consumption and eating well, they will go away soon.

Here's to tomorrow--the last day of Phase 2!

Day 12--Lessons Learned

MORNING
I weighed myself this morning, and I'm down 8.2 pounds. I've made the executive decision to try to drink 1.5 gallons of water a day. We'll see how I do...

BREAKFAST
Can you guess??

Meal 34 of 63:

fresh fruit

So going on people's advice, I opted to have some "p" fruits today--plums and peaches. I added them to my regular cantaloupe, blueberries, and strawberries. The peach and plum were delicious. I really enjoy eating fruit in the morning. Have I said that yet? As mom and I ate, I explained to her the purpose of the fruit. According to the DVD, since we don't eat food for roughly 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, the body needs something easy to digest as the body wakes up. Fruit is an easy food for the body to digest. In one meal, I'm eating all my daily servings of fruit. It is surprising how easy it is to survive until lunch. Maybe it has something to do with my water intake, but I'm not often hungry for lunch after eating the fruit. Maybe it's the water...maybe it's my stomach shrinking. Either way, I'm satisfied.

LUNCH
As I said yesterday, I wanted to try out the miso soup...

Meal 35 of 63:

hearty vegetable-miso soup

microgreen salad with creamy garlic dressing (my fave)

The prep work for this soup wasn't so bad. I actually preferred the prep for this soup over the prep for the sweet potato soup. The only down side is that it does take a long time to cook because the vegetables have to become tender. It's the first time I've worked with bok choy which I already knew I enjoyed. One nice thing about this system is that it forces you to interact with vegetables that you may not be accustomed to eating or using. I don't hate ginger as much as I used to since I've learned how to handle it better.

I couldn't eat my salad. I was full enough from the soup. I did, however, take a couple bites of tomato since they are from homegrown plants courtesy of my chiropractor from Earth Day. Yayy!

DINNER
I was really excited for this meal since eating the root medley during the first week.

Meal 36 of 63:

Mediterranean roast beets

collard greens

quinoa

So yummy! I've had collard greens before but never this way. We added coconut milk to it to give it a creamy texture. It was so yummy! It has a slightly bitter taste as the end. Apparently it's similar to brussel sprouts (which I don't eat--yuck). The flavors of this dinner were very good but very overwhelming. In the end, I was only able to eat about half of the beets, quinoa, and collard greens. Stephanie was more than happy to help Brandon finish the plate.

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Mom asked me what I've learned through this process (besides eating cleaning). Here are some responses:

• measurement conversions (ie, 3 tsp. = 1 Tbsp.)
• HOW to cook as I am not the most stellar chef there is
• various recipes to incorporate into daily life
• new vegetables (ie, jicama, swiss chard, kale, bok choy, etc.)
• multitasking in the kitchen
• reading recipes more efficiently
• portion control--you don't need to eat as much as you think
• when hungry, drink water FIRST--then wait a half hour to decide
• water is your friend
• steaming vegetables should only take 3-5 mins--NO MORE
• never use the microwave to reheat food because it kills all the good vitamins and nutrients
• I CAN survive without meat.

I'm sure I had more, but my memory is failing me. The excitement of True Blood and The Newsroom are distracting me.

Until tomorrow! Oh, and I only have to take Detox 6 more times! Alkalinize is only 9 more times! Current water consumption = 144 oz (1 gal = 128 oz), and I'm not done yet. Hip hip!!

Day 11--Halfway There!!

A few people who are also doing the reset recommended that I drink more than a gallon of water to help get things moving in the right direction. People have found more success with movement when they drink an additional half gallon of water each day. It's tough enough to drink a full gallon; I don't know how I'll do with drinking an additional 64 oz...

I knew today was going to be a rough day because Brandon and I had scheduled to meet with a DJ for the wedding at noon which is typically when I eat breakfast. Upon waking up, I decided to postpone breakfast for as long as I could to make waiting for lunch a little easier.

BREAKFAST
Surprise!!

Meal 31 of 63:

fresh fruit

LUNCH

Meal 32 of 63:

quinoa-lentil salad

cucumber and tomato salad

Yet another dish that Brandon would eat again. The cucumber salad was a little overwhelming with red onion, but it was still delish....even though my eyes were burning and watering for a good hour, and I didn't even cut them..

DINNER
I wasn't terribly hungry for dinner. I was turned off by the idea of eating the hearty-miso soup...that is until I saw what my mom made. I was already invested in making the sweet potato and roasted red pepper bisque again.

Meal 33 of 63:

sweet potato and roasted red pepper bisque

steamed swiss chard

Brandon helped out this time. I used a different setting on the blender, so it wasn't as smooth. It still had some chunks in it which was great. The flavor of the ginger wasn't as strong this time. However, the hairs of the gingers were EVERYWHERE. That got distracting. Next time, make sure no ginger hairs get into the soup. I used a barley miso as opposed to a sweet rice miso. I don't know if the barley is necessarily reset-friendly, but the shopping list didn't specify a type of miso. I think the miso flavor helped masked the flavor of the ginger.

Here's what mom ate:

Definitely more appetizing than the miso soup from phase 1. Maybe I'll make a serving for lunch tomorrow instead of eating the bisque...again. She also used the barley miso which is why the color of the broth is dark. I barely ate dinner tonight. Hopefully I can manage with just water. The swiss chard was great--less bitter than spinach, but a very similar consistency.

It was a tough day. After lunch sometime, I started getting a bad headache. I don't think it was from the Oxygenize but rather from my neck muscles tensing. I really tried sticking it out, but I had to take something for my headache. At 7:30, it was difficult enough to keep my eyes open from the headache. I knew that I could either sleep which would result in lots of bad stuff for tomorrow, or take medicine to help it immediately. I gave in. My headache has already improved greatly since I took it.

Okay, so we're halfway done. I definitely do feel like my stomach is shrinking. That or I'm just drinking so much water that I don't even notice. Either way, I'm generally feeling good. I have a lot of energy, and the cooking is getting easier. I'm not so stressed about prepping the food anymore--at least not when I'm quadrupling the recipe and doing the math. THAT part is stressful. But when I'm just making for me and mom, it isn't so bad anymore.

Here's to the next 10 days!!

Day 10--Some Good Results

MORNING
I woke up this morning feeling kind of terrible. My stomach was cramping so badly. I've been waiting for this Detox stuff to work. Perhaps it is slowly starting to work, but I wish it would go faster! The stomach cramps are not at all pleasant.

BREAKFAST

Meal 28 of 63

fruit bowl

LUNCH
I struggled with lunch today. When I sat down to eat, I was only a little hungry. Just to give you an idea of how much I was able to eat, I took before and after pictures:

Meal 29 of 63:

Greek salad with Greek dressing

sweet potato and roasted red pepper bisque

Granted, I did feel hungry about 2 hours later, but with the assistance of water, I managed. I was at Alison's house with mom babysitting the nugget will she is visiting a friend in Canada and Don was at work. Alison has a blood pressure reader, so I decided to read my blood pressure to see if anything has changed. I was nervous because of how much salt I drink in my gallon of water each day. I was amazed to see that my blood pressure HAS gone down. I can't recall what my blood pressure was exactly when I got my blood work done. I have it somewhere... It was roughly 126/73 or so. When I took it this afternoon, it was roughly 109/68. My blood pressure was a normal-high-ish before, but now it's better. When I was a senior in high school, it was 100/60, so I'm feeling pretty good about that now. Two years ago, my doctors were telling me I really needed to lower my BP, and here it is lowered. Nice.

DINNER
I was really getting hungry for dinner. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of prep work that went into the meal since several components were already done, such as the quinoa.

Meal 30 of 63:

quinoa-lentil pilaf

steamed broccoli

I was pleasantly surprised with this meal. Given the catastrophic lentil-lime salad last week, I was certainly skeptical.  It was very good though! Even mom was impressed. I did find the flavor to be a little bland, so I added some herbal seasoning and Himalayan salt. That did seem to improve things. This is definitely something I would have again. In fact, we made extra lentils just in case some of the other meals this week are a failure...

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I'm feeling pretty good right now. My energy has clearly improved. Some muscles are still achy once in a while. Except for my right calf muscle. My right calf cramps regularly, and I know that has nothing to do with this since I'm clearly very well hydrated with the gallon of water I drink each day. I'm not going to lie...I'm getting a little anxious. I want to be at the gym. I want to be moving more than I am. It's upsetting that I can't be more physical right now. I did some stretching today, and that seemed to help. 

Mid-way through tomorrow marks the halfway point in the reset. I do have to say that I think I've already been through the easier half. I'm getting very nervous looking at the menu for Phase 3--all fruit and vegetables. Completely gluten-free. Now, on the other hand, I'm looking forward to it because right now, I feel like I'm eating way too many carbs from grains. It's making me feel bloated. Blah. I am grateful, however, that this process is shrinking my stomach. I just wish it would happen faster.

Until Day 11!

Day 9--I've got "K9" written on top of my gallon of water. I've been waiting for it since I started.

Super long title, but whatever.

This day was a long day, and I knew that in advance, so I was able to prepare. Like I mentioned yesterday, I cooked all my food for today yesterday. I spent a good 6 hours in the kitchen. Prepping and cooking. It was worth it, though, to have a day of no cooking. I spent the day out in Hillsborough tutoring, and then went up to visit Michele.

People on the boards have revealed that it could take 2-3 days for the Detox to work it's magic. Oh, if I forgot to mention, this is the RELEASE phase where my body is supposed to release everything it's been holding onto. I'm still waiting for this release to happen. It's supposed to be a gentle release, not a OH-MY-GOSH-I'M-ABOUT-TO-CRAP-MY-PANTS release. We'll see.

MORNING
Waking up this morning was super easy, and that's with not going to bed until 10:45. My alarm went off at 5:00, and I was up, bouncing, and ready to go. This is clearly not because I'm cute, but rather than this cleanse is really helping me sleep. It took me no time to fall asleep last night, and I don't remember waking up once. Nice change.

BREAKFAST
The breakfast in the book for this morning was miso soup which I refuse to eat. So rather than suffer, I decided to eat a different breakfast from this week. This week mostly has fruit in the morning for breakfast, but I didn't want to have fruit. Instead, I took the only other non-miso non-fruit recipe for this week's breakfast and used it for today. I was pleasantly surprised. I ate it at my desk at work while I scribbled some answers to a Romeo and Juliet study guide question packet for tutoring since I've never used the guide and, oh, yeah, all my materials are boxed up for the summer.

Meal 25 of 63:

chick pea mash with avocado and cilantro

spinach

I added a bit of Himalayan salt on top of the chick pea mash before I packed it away. I was DELICIOUS! I could eat that a million times over and over again. The avocado really helped. The recipe called for slices, but who can really slice an avocado nicely without mushing half of it? I put it in the food processor which resulted in a guac-like avocado for my topping. So good. I highly recommend it.

LUNCH
Basic microgreen salad with some pinto beans and rice from last night. Also yummy. I added some more Himalayan salt to the top, and it was divine.

DINNER
This was the most frustrating part of yesterday because it was so time consuming, but the end-product is so darn good!

Meal 27 of 63:

sweet potato and roasted red pepper bisque

roasted asparagus with slivered almonds

This was the second meal that made me want to do this cleanse. If I can eat something as good as this and feel better about myself, why wouldn't I? Like I said yesterday, it's totally vegan and totally good. It does have a strong ginger flavor which I know some people don't like, but I thought it was fabulous. It's amazing how little you have to put into it to make something so good. There were even some small chunks of sweet potato and roasted red pepper. I love it. Yummmm...

Also, this was the first time I roasted my own red peppers. I felt so accomplished! One thing I'm learning is that sometimes I actually CAN cook. I might not actually burn the house down. I am finding that I do sometimes put the wrong quantity of something in the mix. I mean, really, what's the big difference between tsp. and tbsp.?? Unfortunately, it has resulted in unplanned doubling or tripling of recipes to make it work and not throw everything away.

This was a really good day, and a really good day for food.

Day 8--Welcome to Phase 2!

MORNING
I woke up and weighed myself this morning: down a total of 7 pounds. Woot! I'm feeling good. Even my headaches seem to be more manageable. They haven't gone away, but they're not as severe as they could be.

Today marks the start of taking the supplement Detox. Similar to Alkalinize, Detox comes as a powder and must be mixed with water to consume. Overall, it isn't difficult to drink. It takes like a weak unsweetened iced tea. The only downside is that it is somewhat grainy. Some of the mix does not dissolve. Imagine drinking weak unsweetened iced tea in a mug where the tea bag broke and is filled with the tea leaves. Best comparison I can make.

BREAKFAST

Meal 22 of 63:

fresh fruit plate

I love fruit for breakfast. It's simple, easy, and very tasty. On this meal plan, there aren't a lot of sweet foods that we eat, so having the occasional sweet fruit because we're supposed to is nice. I don't really miss other sweets right now. The fruit is taking control of that for me. It was pretty filling.

I ate around 7:00, but I started to get hungry around 11:15. Water should have been my friend, but I forgot to go to the store yesterday to get more distilled water. I've been really bad with my water intake today because of that. Ughhh. I finally got out to the store, but it completely through off my meal prep and eating schedule for the day. I like schedules. I like sticky to them. Today was completely off.

LUNCH
I was so hungry for lunch that I believe I didn't wait the full 30 minutes after taking my supplement. I think I waited just about 20 minutes. My stomach was growling so badly. I didn't start eating until about 12:50--fifty minutes later than I've been used to. Believe it or not but it can really throw you off. Lunch today was a basic microgreen salad.

ALL AFTERNOON
I cooked all afternoon. I've been in the kitchen from about 2:30-7:30. The only time I wasn't cooking was when I took a drive out to the store because I needed green beans, and I didn't like the supply at the first store earlier today. While there, I also grabbed some asparagus for tomorrow and more raspberries.

DINNER
Mmmmm....

Meal 24 of 63:

pinto beans and rice

steamed zucchini

steamed string beans with lemon

I've been looking forward to this meal since I decided to do the reset. This is actually one of the two meals that made me choose to do this cleanse. Alison had me try it about a month ago when she was eating it for lunch. It was so delicious!

I made six servings of this meal. Mom and I need servings for lunch and dinner. I also wanted Brandon and Stephanie to try it. I added some more Himalayan salt to it for a little depth. Mine looks different, though, from the book, DVD, and Alison's recipe. It might be due to the color of some of the ingredients and also the fact that I made so much. I also added some more distilled water to it while mixing it so the meal wasn't dry. I liked it; Brandon liked it. When Brandon likes it, it's a success. He's now proud that I can successfully cook a third meal since I'm not the chef in the relationship. It's lovely. Thanks, honey.

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As of 8:00 this evening, I am officially done cooking for the day. Not only did I cook dinner tonight, but I also cooked ALL my meals for tomorrow. The picture below illustrates all my meals for the day tomorrow. I won't be home all day, so when I leave my house at 6:00 tomorrow morning, I'll be bringing my gallon jug of water, supplements, and all these meals.

I need to make sure I remember a fork and spoon. And some Himalayan salt.

It's been a busy day, but it's been good. I'm sooooooo sore!!!! My legs and back are killing me. I've been standing all day, and I can tell. Mom wasn't here to help with the cooking as she's babysitting my nephew. But mom, I cooked you your serving of the soup for dinner tomorrow if you aren't tired of having it for dinner at Ali's tonight...


Tomorrow I'll reflect on the process of cooking all tomorrow's food. For now, I need to relax a bit.

Day 7--Phase 1 is Done!

MORNING--6:45 am
I went to bed last night with a bad headache. I know the headache had nothing to do with the reset but rather the drive into work. During the school year, with the drive and the stress of work, I would get headaches everyday which could lead to a migraine. Since summer has started, the headaches have been minimal. I'm trying not to take anything for headaches during the reset. Sleep definitely helps them. I woke up this morning, and I still had a bit of a dull pain, but it in no way compares to yesterday.  It's the stress in my shoulders and neck from the drive. I told Brandon last night that he was welcome to massage my shoulders. He didn't bite.

Weighed myself this morning. I lost 1.5 pounds since yesterday morning. I've lost 6.4 pounds total.

BREAKFAST--8:16 am

Meal 19 of 63:

oatmeal with ground flaxseed

chopped apple

plain organic fat free yogurt flavored with Grade B maple syrup

Breakfast is totally my favorite meal of the day. It always has been. Breakfast this morning did not disappoint.

LUNCH--12:56 pm
Lunch was fine. The consistency of the soup really isn't good. I think we're gonna toss it...

Meal 20 of 63:

microgreen salad with avocado and creamy garlic dressing

zucchini-cashew soup

The salad was super yummy. The soup--like I said--was not. The flavor is good, but the consistency is completely wrong. I know several things that I could do to fix it (like cook the zucchini longer), and I would like to try it again post-reset.

MID-AFTERNOON--3:05 pm
Drank the Alkalinize. Gagged.

DINNER--7:45 pm
I was skeptical about dinner tonight...

Meal 21 of 63:

baked tempeh

steamed broccoli

brown rice

Okay, I don't mind the tempeh's consistency. Knowing that it's made of beans is totally fine. However, the flavor of the marinade was just off. For example: sesame oil, maple syrup, and soy sauce? There was more that went into it, but those were the main flavors. Just weird. Brandon liked it a lot. He can eat all my leftovers. You'll notice in the pictures that some are dark and some are light. I made two different marinades based on the flavors we have used this week. Neither were very good... So! Like I thought, I needed to fall back onto leftover root medley from last night. I doubled it (or really quadrupled it for me and mom since the recipe served 1) knowing that I would likely need to eat it tonight. That part of my dinner was lovely.

I started watching the Phase 2 video online tonight, but I haven't been able to finish. I'm looking forward to moving to the second phase of this process. I'm really excited for the food. So far, I don't miss eating meat. I'm currently watching Brandon eat a Wendy's burger and fries, and I don't care that he's eating it. I'm not tempted. I don't feel like I need to eat it. It's a nice change.

Goodbye, Phase 1!! Hello Phase 2!

Day 6--Keeps Getting Better!

MORNING--6:45 am
Waking up this morning was a little challenging. I had to wake up at 5:00 so I could shower and get out to work to tutor a student. I was really tired. Understandably, however, since I stayed up late last night watching True Blood and some of The Newsroom. Eek. I may have almost fallen over in my bedroom on the way to the bathroom...

BREAKFAST--6:45 am
Breakfast was supposed to be baked tempeh, but there was no way I could marinate the tempeh for an hour, cook it, and then eat it. Instead, I had a Vegan Chocolate Shakeology. I mixed it with ice and water like I normally do. I had a mixed reaction to it. I am so used to drinking the regular Shakeology which is thick, rich, and creamy. The vegan version is not as rich, and it's a bit grainy. Adding to it might reduce the graininess, but I can't do that right now given the program. There are no approved recipes for the chocolate. I will say, however, that it went down very easily. And quickly. I only thought about snapping a picture of it while I was getting gas, and it already was half-consumed. I'll be making another on Thursday, I think. If I do, I'll snap a picture then.


LUNCH--1:00 pm

Meal 17 of 63:

quinoa salad

microgreen salad

creamy garlic dressing

Super good. Both my mother and I think that we need to add more mint to the quinoa next time. Overall, satisfying and tasty meal.

MID-AFTERNOON--3:00 pm
The dreaded Alkalinize came around again. This time, however, I was determined to try it without drinking lemon juice just before and after taking the drink of death. I was successful! I noticed that the smell of the drink isn't as bad as it once was. It smells like a combination of grasses. Day 1, it made me sick. Day 6, I was able to successfully consume the entire thing without needing to even chase it with distilled water. I had to drink it twice, however, since a lot of the powder stuck in the corners of the cup. Both times, though, I was fine with it. I'm making some awesome progress!

DINNER--7:50 pm
I've been looking forward to this dinner since I started with both anticipation and hesitancy. It sounded so good, but I wasn't sure if I'd be satisfied.

Meal 18 of 63:

roasted root medley

millet

zucchini-cashew soup

Mmmmmm.... yummy. Problem #1: Mom and I made the soup yesterday. I believe we didn't let the zucchini steam long enough because the soup, which is supposed to be smooth and creamy, was a little chunky. The flavors themselves were really nice, but the chunkiness needs to be fixed. I would definitely make it again. Problem #2: Beets turn your hands red. Didn't know that. They're still slightly stained, but whatever. I was hoping it would stain well enough to look like blood so I could send another "kitchen mishap" picture to friends, but that was unsuccessful. Problem #3: I've never cooked millet before, so I didn't know what to expect. When I first made it, and the time went out, the millet was still hard and seemed like it hadn't cooked enough. We added more water and let it sit on heat to see if it would absorb more water and soften. It was successful. Its consistency is not something I'm used to. The flavor is bland as well, but it tasted much better when I added some Himalayan salt to it. 

As for the actually root medley....mmm mmm MMMM MMM mmm! So good!!!  The vegetables roasted perfectly. The yams were sweet with the hint of onion, and the beets were lovely. I would definitely make this again.

I do have to say that I am noticing some changes in myself. I've lost 5 pounds, and I can see clothes sitting on me differently. It isn't a noticeable change to others, but I certainly notice it. It's fun to know that this actually works, and I'm only 6 days in. 15 more day to go! I do like how even in the first week, the program has already begun introducing vegetarian and vegan dishes. I haven't had actual meat in days. I don't mind it whatsoever. I'm hardly tempted by other foods I see. Nice change.