Result is the Sweetest Reward - Ultimate Reset Completed

My Result of 21-days Beachbody Ultimate Reset:

Beachbody Ultimate Reset Result

Gender: Female

Age: 41

Height: 5' 2" - small frame
Start: April 22, 2013
End: May 12, 2013

Total Weight: -7.2 lbs

Body Fat: -0.4%

Total Inches: -7.125"

		Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Week 1
	lbs.	110.4	108.8	107.8	106.4	105.8	105.2	106.2
	Body fat %	19.2	18.6	19.1	18.7	18.6	18.3	19.6
Week 2
	lbs.	106	104.6	105.6	105	106.4	106.2	105.4
	Body fat %	19.4	19.6	19.6	19.2	19.1	19.4	18.9
Week 3
	lbs.	104	104.4	104.6	104.4	104.2	104	103.2
	Body fat %	19	19.2	18.8	19.1	19	19	18.8

	Start	End
Thigh (R)	21.25"	19.75"
Thigh (L)	21.125"	19.5"
Hip	35.5"	33.5"
Waist	27"	25"

Update: A week after the completion of this Reset program, my weight was stable at 103.2 lbs and my body fat dropped another 0.6%

Thighs are leaner and feel lighter, and I can see more abs definition!

I had started eating out after I finished the Reset, but balancing it with intense daily workout and eating healthy at home.







On weight loss and body fat %
Right from the get go, my weight started dropping practically a pound a day! That was simply from cutting back on frivolous snacking and water retention weight. By the end of week 1, people already noticed the difference in my physique. I looked more toned, they said. The muscles definitions were showing out more now that the fat layer was gone. When you're only 5' 2" losing weight a mere 5 pounds is major deal!

I noticed how the body fat slid down in the beginning of my weight loss, then stabilized, averaging about the same as the original percentage. I know that my protein intake dropped drastically, so I would bet my muscle mass also decreased. However, given the fact that the fat also decreased, the body fat ratio was seemed on an impasse. The body fat went down a notch towards the end, but by then my weight was really low.

The weight loss mainly resulted from watching the diet, what I ate or to be precise, what I didn't snack.  Andy, my husband, was not on the Reset, but he kind of follow what I ate during that 3 weeks. He still ate meat (chicken and pork), eggs, bread and even had cheat days! For the most part, his snacking was also reduced (although not completely), and he ate a lot more veggie and drinking Shakeology, once a day.  In 2 weeks, he lost almost 10 pounds!

So here's my thought on weight loss. It's reflected in what you eat. The quality of food you eat, not necessarily the quantity. Honestly, it is hard to overeat on something healthy. I ate until I was full or no longer hungry each day and I didn't crave more than my stomach could take in. It is true that

once your body is satisfied nutritionally, it won't be hungry.

On food
I have started drinking fresh veggie juice (I called it Green Juice) a couple of weeks prior to the detox. I simply carried on the juicing for my snack. It worked really well and kept me satiated and regular. Green juice has now become a regular part of my daily intake (thanks to Vitamix!)

As I mentioned, I enjoy experimenting with my food. No rice no grain, no problem for me. It's not my staple diet (forget that I'm Asian for a moment here, ok?) so I never missed it. Quinoa was the new star player in the pantry. I cooked it almost every day. On the third week, I found recipe that turned it to a super star level in my cookbook :) (See Cinnaple Berry Quinoa recipe).

Quinoa for lunch, dinner and breakfast. I was mighty pleased that Andy loves it! I cooked usually a one pot meal deal. I didn't make a different meal for him, I simply added rotisserie chicken or egg whites to his plate, while mine stayed only mushroom and tofu.

Plant based protein source, i.e. mushroom, tofu and soymilk are now regular occupants in our fridge. I have to have protein in all my meals. I couldn't risk even more drastic decrease in my protein intake. Good thing I love mushrooms and tofu. Soymilk for me is to cook though, not to drink. I still could not get over having my soymilk sweet and as dessert, if I were to have it just on its own.

More newbies in the pantry are kale and spinach. Kale for Green Juice and spinach for almost anything I cook - salad, soup, juice, or to add to the dumpling soup for Andy.

Spices played a huge role in preparing the meals. On this program, I was striving the best I could for all natural, no processed ingredients. Herb is great natural flavorings for your cooking. It's easy for me because I already have a stock of herbs and mixed spices. A couple I added for the program were Himalayan Salt and Lemon Pepper. If you don't have any in the pantry, you should at least get fresh black pepper, sea/himalayan salt, and lemon pepper, plus one mixed spices - e.g Italian Herbs, Southwestern, Thai Curry, African Smokey Herb, etc. A dash of these magic powder in your cooking is guaranteed to elevate the meal experience to a new sensation!

Impulse buys were Chia seed and Maple Syrup. I saw some recipes in the guidebook that use these, but of course, I should have known, since I don't normally use them, they ended up cluttering my pantry. I will find some use for them of course, but not as much as other cheaper and no less healthy ingredients that I kept replenishing during the detox and until now.

Oh, here's a smart buy: Spray Oil. I got the Coconut Spray Oil from Trader Joe's. It's easy to use and you ended up only use very little oil. The fragrant of the coconut adds to the flavor of the dish you make.

Favorite workout snacks was hands down: Purple Yam. It's not too sweet, and more dense than the other sweet potato kinds (red, yellow or Japanese). I boiled, baked or steamed them and wrapped them up, stored in fridge and ready to grab for pre/post workout snack.

Here's my shopping list for the Reset »

On exercise
I missed the weight workout. I tried doing it on week one, but I could not lift as heavy as before the program started. So I decided to wait on the weight training.

Exercise is definitely a mood picker upper. Nothing like a shot of endorphin to replace the high of comfort food. Andy could attest to this fact. Now, if my mood turns sour all he'd say was, "Go workout, babe :)"

I heard that it is common for people when doing this program, Beachbody Ultimate Reset, to experience mood swings and get cranky. It happened to me once on the day I didn't even workout at all. By snack time I was sluggish, dragging my mood on the floor and really had bad sense of humor.

Not that the food I ate wasn't good or satisfying, it just not enough physical activity to stimulate my muscles, nerves and senses. My body craved the activity level it was used to. Resting days were actually the real challenge during the Reset, not the workouts.

My workouts are all quite intense. For that I allowed extra intake of calories to fuel the workout and to ensure proper muscles recovery. I seriously felt lacking in protein, no matter how much I bumped up mushrooms, tofu and soymilk.

Good thing the Reset lasted only for 3 weeks. I was positive that I was losing some of my muscles, but since I also lost fat, in that short period, the effect was actually looked pretty good. My muscles definitions were more pronounced as the fat layers were shed.

On the result
I'm a happy camper :) I didn't get a full point drop in body fat, but I am ok with that. I didn't know what to expect and how the Reset going to affect my body. Once I went through it, I started to make sense the process and the progress I made. The weight dropped more than I expected though. It was crazy, but I don't intend to drop any lower. Going forward I'm focusing on more weight training and keeping up with the new eating habit. 21-days was a journey that renovated my habit. It gave me a pause and made me learned something new in the kitchen. How to tweak my diet to not only be healthier but to give physical transformation.

A good result is indeed the sweetest reward. Something that I intend to keep and maintain.