On July 30th I made the following public proclamation…on facebook:
My heart is fixed, my mind’s made up!
I will no longer settle for less than what God has planned and made possible for me.
Not with my level of intimacy with Him.
Not in the shape or condition of my body.
Nor in the area of my calling or vocation.
Complacency no longer has a place in me.
I will no longer settle for less than what God has planned and made possible for me.
Not with my level of intimacy with Him.
Not in the shape or condition of my body.
Nor in the area of my calling or vocation.
Complacency no longer has a place in me.
For a good while, the Holy Spirit had me in an uncomfortable place of self-examination and unrest. He made it clear that I was in a holding pattern. Active in praise, consistent in thanksgiving, busy in service, but also riding a wave of past blessings and in many areas failing to take action on the passion and potential He put in me. I needed a shakeup. A move up and out of patterns that were not taking me forward. I needed a reset.
Since what we feed grows, after much prayer and listening, I was moved to start ‘my reset’ by putting aside busyness for 21 days to examine and clean up what I was feeding myself – mentally, spiritually and physically.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’m hoping a video is worth about 10 times that to explain my motivation, what ‘my reset’ was and the changes that it has brought. These past few weeks, I’ve learned so much about myself, my habits, my God given purpose and passions, why I do the things I do, and how I can do and be better to give Him glory. So many wonderful lessons with so much more to learn – I just caint tell it all! So I’m taking it a step at a time, sharing a point or two each blog post as I am led and things are made clear. Following are a few pieces that explain a bit more about the process and results of the physical part of my reset.
My Reset
My Reset Nutrition Component – The Beachbody Ultimate Reset
In a nutshell, the program combines a nutritionally sound, extremely well structured clean eating plan with supplements. There is no sugar or processed foods and you are weaned off animal proteins to meals based on fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains. Foods that are high in nutrition and easy to digest, resetting your taste buds and giving your digestive system time to rest, cleanse and reset. I stretched beyond repeating 3 meals per week stated in the video to try most of the meals in the program and I’m glad I did. The meals were delicious. Here are a few of the lunches and dinners I enjoyed.
For more information on how the program works check out their website. A peek at the daily process is shown in my TheUltimate Reset video on my youtube channel.
I’ll be real. The Ultimate Reset is very detailed and in the beginning it can seem a bit overwhelming. I made this video midway thru the program to try to help others getting started or those considering the program. Thankfully, (beyond my hodge podge video), Beachbody also has fantastic resources printed in the program materials, online in the participant portal and at any given time, there are thousands of people currently on the same week of the program connecting with and supporting each other in facebook groups. It is a very complete, well planned and presented program.
My Reset – Physical Changes
The combination of prayer, mental fasting and the Ultimate Reset program has been a tremendous blessing and very effective. In three weeks my body changed substantially and I’ve gotten a great jumpstart in optimizing my health and fitness.
This picture, taken this morning, (2 days post Ultimate Reset) is an after of ‘My Reset’. I’m grateful and pleased with the slim down.
It also serves as the before for my next step where I’m working to define muscle with the Les Mills Pump program.
My Reset – Other Lifestyle/Health/Wellness Changes
- I am so grateful to be sleeping soundly every single night for the first time in 8 years. The problem started when I was pregnant with my oldest child and it never went back to normal. I’m so thankful this process turned that thing around.
- I haven’t watched the Real Housewives of Anywhere or other such garbage. I’m spending more time in prayer and listening. Don’t miss the mind clutter at all and I feel like extra hours have been added to my day.
- My sugar/candy/sweet cravings are GONE! No sugar, sugar substitutes, corn syrup etc has been in my body for 23 days and counting. I’m sure I will eat sweets again, but there’s no rush. I simply do not want them. Anyone who knows me knows this is an absolute miracle.
- My bowel movements are regular! I didn’t think I had problems with this before. But now that I am experiencing regularity along the lines of infants/toddlers (of course with the control of an adult – smile) … let me just say, it’s a beautiful thing.
- My skin is glowing. I did however have an acne breakout on my cheeks around week 2 – this sometimes happens with the release of toxins.
- Conditional clothing items in my closet are now unconditional. I easily slip into items that previously could only be worn if (wearing highest control level of SPANX) and (not TOM)… Closet freedom!
- I’ve learned more about nutrition in the past 3 weeks than I had in the past decade.
My favorite Reset experiences …so far
Most importantly, the discipline required in this reset, allowed me to experience some truths that I held in my head, but faltered in putting to action.
I’ve experienced the blessed benefits that come from eating foods as close to the way God put them here. By resetting back to God and His way, I’m hearing Him more and cravings for mental and physical junk are gone.
The experience that sticks out to me the most occurred when Hurricane Isaac came through. Thankfully I was 7-10 days into my reset by then. My husband works for the electric company so the day before the storm came, he started working 12-16 hour days in the Mayor’s Office of Community Preparedness. He was there the day of the storm and everyday thereafter for almost a week. I was home alone with no power and 2 small children, watching the flood waters rise and an acre of trees surrounding our house sway in the strong winds. Yet, I can’t tell you the peace I had. In the past, I would have verbally said “I trust You Lord, I know You are in control” while continually taking hand to mouth with chips and cookies – eating whatever I wanted or was available at the time to placate what I was truly feeling. God took that away. No crutches were used, wanted or needed. It…was…amazing!
I’ve learned so much, the education continues and I am loving the journey. I’ll share other learnings from ‘my reset’ in upcoming posts.
If you want/need a reset, go get it. You can do this. Two recommendations.
First – make it holistic. It is not by our might or power that things are accomplished. Apart from God we can do nothing. Make sure your turnaround is based in a turn towards the Lord and diligently seek Him in this process.
Second, examine your challenges with the flesh. What habits are keeping you from moving forward? Attack them. I know from much experience that play around efforts yield play around results. If you want a serious turn around physically, start with a structured plan that includes nutrition, exercise and support. The Ultimate Reset program was the needed nutrition component for me. I needed the call to discipline and education to help break habits and jump start me on another path. It is a serious program and may not be a fit for everyone. But there is so much information out there. Find what works for you and get to it. And please reach out to me if you want some help. I’m committed to support and pray for others thru their change.
I have ongoing accountability groups of people who are serious about change and willing to commit to a program of fitness and nutrition. Let me know if you want to join in the journey with us.
Change is a beautiful thing and change is possible. We can do this.
God bless!
Nettye
Thank you for sharing! I stumbled upon your blog via national black marathon association. I have been thinking about doing a reset, but I have resisted because the person I heard about it from seemed super pushy about it. I now know she is just very passionate about it.
jyoneserunner – I hope you consider it. The plan is intense and I learned so much about myself…I can understand the person who shared it with you being super excited (smile). Keep me posted if you decide to reset. And blessings on all your health endeavors.