Day 4 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Thursday

Take a 'Before' and 'After' Photos + Results = FREE T-shirt!

Today, was another good morning of being able to pretty easily get out of bed! And, I finally had my husband take my 'before' picture. These are so important! The scale can only speak numbers; it doesn't tell you if your skin has cleared up, or your tummy, butt, or arm fat has slimmed out a bit. Also, and I didn't realize this until a day or 2 before I started my Reset that I will get a free T-shirt for finishing this program, too! If you own a Beachbody fitness program, you can enter the Beachbody challenge, and submit your 'before' and 'after' photos, and results on TeamBeachbody.com for a chance to win money, and you will get a free T-shirt. I enjoy wearing my P90X and Focus T25 shirts, and am looking forward to wear an Ultimate Reset one, as well!

"Before" the Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning, I had a fresh fruit platter consisting of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I also ate 3/4 cup of plain low-fat yogurt sweetened with 1/2 tsp. maple syrup! It was a delicious breakfast, but it only filled me up for about 1 1/2 hours. If you have been working out quite a bit prior to starting, like I had been, then you'll have more muscle to burn calories. It takes a little while, but my stomach is adjusting to the reduced calories. (I promise, as I'm writing this when I'm actually on Day 9 ;) your will power will get stronger!!!)

Snacking

The best thing I've done, and the guide recommends, is to drink water when you begin to feel hungry. Also, if you feel like you need a snack before dinner, wait at least 2 hours after you eat lunch, drink water, and if you are still hungry, they have a list of recommended snacks for each week. I also set alarms for myself, especially around the time I can have a snack. Then I gauge what will be going on before dinner, such as if an activity will delay my dinner, and if I feel like eating as late as a snack would cause me to eat. The guide recommends waiting 2 hours after you eat a snack before you can  eat dinner. I had to have a snack before lunch today, because I was studying hard for an exam, and couldn't concentrate without brain food!

Because of the hectic day I had yesterday with meal planning, I had the majority of my lunch and dinner already ready for today! I recommend reading through the directions for each recipe, since some of the require anywhere from only a few minutes to overnight for cooking or marinating. I'm hoping that today will be a time to relax after my exam is finished!

Lunch

I tried making the Nori rolls, and they are disgusting, nor would they stick right! It's like a seaweed sushi roll with tempeh...I hate tempeh, and can't get over the smell (although, later, I did find the Baked Tempeh dish from Day7 to be quite tastey!)! I've had tempeh before, when I was doing the fitness program Focus T25 and following it's nutrition guide, but I couldn't remember how it was supposed to look. I almost threw away an entire slab of tempeh, because it looked like it had mold growing, but it's not mold (I compared it with an unopened package, to make sure). I ate about half of the Nori roll like a hot dog, and then threw the rest away. The dish that went with the Nori roll also wasn't that great: lentil-lime salad. The flavor was really overwhelming, and I only ate a few bites, and saved the rest for later.

Dinner

I had the stir-fried veggies (you can read about my first time having them, and see the picture here) again tonight, and I loved it! They were cooked in coconut oil, which I'd never used before I started the Reset. It is so delicious smelling and tasting. It also leaves my lips feeling soft. I will be making this stir-fry a lot when I'm finished with my Reset! In a large skillet, on medium-high, heat sesame and coconut oil, then add carrots for a few minutes, then add broccoli for about 5 minutes, add the red pepper and zucchini last. Stirring constantly, so nothing burns. Tonight, I decided to leave off the Nori Gomasio, and instead, opted to eat a whole tablespoon of it! It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but it gave me some good vitamins, I'm sure :)

Temptation

My son requested to watch Willy Wonka today, which was a little painful, especially when Willy Wonka starts shoving an entire chocolate bar into his mouth. It didn't help that it was the part of the movie where they're in the room where you can eat just about everything! I wanted some chocolate!!! Now, my son is talking about his class's Valentine's Day party that I helped out with, and how we had donuts, and now I want donuts! Then, he said, politely: "but you're not going to be having any, until the end of your challenge." I will get through this!!!

I would love to give you the support you want to achieve your goals! Let me know how I can help!

http://myultimatereset.com/iib4

Fewer Excuses, More Results

Clean Eating

Yes, you can get good weight loss results simply by changing your eating habits; sticking to an 80/20 clean eating diet (not diet, as in calorie-counting, starving, guilt-ridden dieting). I've seen it over, and over, and over again. In fact, over 80 pounds have been lost  gotten rid of by 18 members in just 30 days of clean eating! If you want to know what an 80/20 clean eating diet is, it's 80% clean eating (check out another one of my blog posts to see what I mean by clean eating), and 20% of just about whatever you want. The 'whatever you want' could be during those holidays, birthday parties, or unexpected moments that call for a fast food trip, or a sweet treat fix.

Functional Fitness

Clean eating is a very valuable part to weight loss, and I do contribute the majority of the weight-loss from my clean eating groups and their healthier eating, some of the members incorporate exercise into their daily routine, as well. I'm a big proponent of exercise, because you can eat well and live well, but I want to eat well and live strong! I want to be fit, not thin. I desire ab definition, and a toned body. I believe in the importance of not only cardio, but weight-training (so you burn more calories), flexibility (so you don't strain your muscles and tendons), and balance (so you're less likely to fall, as you get older)! I love that Tony Horton (creator of P90X, P90X2, P90X3) stresses the importance of functional fitness, especially as we age (Tony's pushing 60, and he looks 40). You can choose to work for hours at the gym, hoping that you cover all the muscle groups and important aspects of fitness. OR you can snag a fitness program, without the hassle of a contract, monthly payments, traffic to get to the gym, daycare, old equipment, confusing equipment, scheduling, etc.

Fewer Excuses, More Results

What are you focusing on to get ready for Spring Break or warmer weather?
I'm on day 33 of P90X3, and I have decided on this motto: "Fewer Excuses, More Results." You can learn more about my journey, and see my results here, at a previous blog post! I'm not perfect; I still miss a work out here or there, but I haven't given up! Yes, it's hard. No, it doesn't get easier; you just get stronger. Are you ready to see how strong you can become? Think about the goals you want to achieve, and start today! One of my goals, after finishing P90X3, is to get certified to teach P90X before the end of the year! This time, last year, I had only heard of P90X, and never imagined completing it! Imagine where YOU could be this time next year!

Now, what's stopping you?

How do you want to get started?

Do you want some help?

I'd love to prove it to you that I want to help you reach your goals! I host free clean eating support groups on Facebook, where I'll give you 30 days of clean eats recipes, shopping lists, and clean eating tips. Also, if you want to get started with a fitness program that will work for you, I will help you get started right! www.beachbodycoach.com/iib4