I Quit My Cleanse

A little over a week ago I posted about starting the 21 Day Ultimate Reset cleanse from BeachBody. I was really excited and very hopeful that this would kickstart my weight loss again since I've hit a bit of a plateau the last few months. I read through all the information and the recipes and shopping list and got all set to go and I started last Thursday. Day one wasn't too bad. The power greens you have to drink everyday weren't even horrible. Day two was harder, and by day three, I was almost throwing up every time I drank the power greens.

I had heard from others and read others stories about how amazing the reset is and how good you feel afterwards and you can lose a lot of weight and that overall the three weeks was hard, but manageable. You don't starve yourself, which was a huge concern of mine. You eat three full meals and a snack durning the day. You just cut out all sugar and go vegan which sucked for me, but I wasn't going to starve.

The first day of food wasn't too bad. Was it amazing, no but it was okay. Dinner was pretty good. My husband made me salmon and I really loved it! I have tried salmon SOOOO many times in my life and always hated it. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, of course I've had salmon! It was good that night though, and I actually want to eat it again. The second day was harder, I just didn't want the food. It wasn't that it was bad or tasted nasty, I just didn't want it. It wasn't what I felt like eating. That made sticking to the meal plan very difficult.

By day four (sorry for the TMI), I was realizing that I was feeling really sick, like having to stay close to the bathroom sick all day, everyday. I had stomach cramps and felt bloated and gross all day and night. I had no energy and felt tired and lazy all day. It was actually kind of depressing waking up and having no energy.

At day six, I was HATING this cleanse and I was so over it and couldn't believe that I had two more weeks of this. I still tried pushing through and doing my best to finish it out. I finished day seven and started on day eight where they add in the detox supplement. The flavor wasn't bad, very lemony, but the texture was AWFUL! And after drinking the second one for the day and choking down my power greens yet again, I was just angry and wanted to punch someone. If I had to choke down anymore crap, I was going to lose my freaking mind! By the end of day 8, I had decided that I was quitting the 21 Day Ultimate Reset and I was going to send it back and get my money back.

Some, or all of you, may be thinking, what a loser, she just quit! She wouldn't even stick it out to see if it was worth it in the end. Before you stop reading, let me explain myself a little.

Yep, I did quit and I will tell you why. Reason number one, it made me feel sick! I was in the bathroom all day long! It said it wasn't supposed to do that, yet there I was. I had stomach cramps all day which is very uncomfortable. Also, it completely drained me of all my energy, all my get up and go. It did say you would have less energy and feel tired, okay, got it. But I couldn't even think, I didn't want to do anything but lay around. I am a mom of four kids! I don't have that luxury! I have heard so many times to listen to your body, it will tell you what you need, or in the this case what I didn't need. I for sure didn't need to feel sick all day for three weeks just so I could try and drop 15-20 lbs. My weight is important to me, but not that important.

I was tired of feeling gross and not being able to leave the house for more than 20 minutes because I would need a bathroom. I was tired of being bloated all day, everyday and my clothes not fitting me right. I was sick of being in pain, knowing that I was going to drink or take a supplement and it was going to cause me pain and discomfort, I wasn't down for that anymore.

Reason number two. I like to exercise, I like to workout and get a good sweat on and get my heart rate up. I like to go run three to four times a week for at least a half hour. Or I like to kick-butt with Core De Force which is anywhere from 30 minutes to 47 minutes of intense work that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat like crazy! Well you aren't supposed to workout while doing this cleanse. I take that back, you can do yoga, or something very calm and mild, but nothing hard and intense. I like working out now, I enjoy it, for the most part. Some days I don't want to, but overall, I like it, I like getting my heart rate up and sweating. It makes me feel really good afterwards and it usually makes my day better. And here I was being told that I shouldn't do this thing that helps me feel better. That wasn't sitting right with me. If I want to workout, I should be able to workout as much or as little and as intense as I want. By day three I couldn't sit around anymore so I started working out which I was told wasn't good. How is working out a bad thing???

Reason number three. I hate being told what to do, or not to do. That seems selfish and petty, I know! I will fully admit how lame of an excuse that is. However, everyone's minds work in a different way because of how they were born or the experiences they have gone through in their lives. My brain gets pissed when I have very strict rules to follow and it makes me want to do the opposite, or nothing at all. So in this case, it was telling me to eat these certain recipes. Sounds fine, right? Nope, not for me. It wasn't food I would normally eat, not that it was bad or tasted bad, I just didn't want it. It was not what I was feeling in the moment. Maybe that is a lack of discipline, I don't know, but it was making me want to not only not eat the food, but it was making me want to only eat ice cream, cookies, cake, and candy. The funny part about that was that I wasn't craving any of that stuff before I started the diet! Yes, I wanted to sometimes, but I could deal with not having it or I could find a healthy alternative. With this diet/cleanse, there was no alternative. You just don't get anything and you have to deal with it. I hated that feeling!

I felt like I wasn't in control of anything. I went from being out of control with my diet and getting fat, to managing my diet pretty well, then down to you can ONLY eat these certain extremely healthy and vegan (I am not, and never can or will be vegan, I just don't get it and I don't care to!) meals. I had once again lost control over what I was supposed to be eating, except someone else was in charge of telling me what to and not to eat. It felt very counter productive to me. I want to be able to feel like I am in charge of my food, my diet. This meal plan wasn't what I wanted or would normally eat. I want to be able to eat the food I want and adjust or modify it to a healthy option or portion.

Those are my three main reasons for stopping this cleanse. I don't think cleanses or strict drop weight quick diets are for me! If you love them and use them and they work for you, GREAT!!! More power to you! I don't judge you or think anything less of you, in fact I may be a little jealous that I can't wrap my mind around doing one for a short period of time.

I very much hated the way I felt while using the product, both physically, and mentally. It wasn't helping me lose weight, it was hindering me from losing weight and getting healthy. I did a lot of thinking over the last week about my weight loss journey. I have lost 41lbs in the last year and two months. Could I have done it faster, SURE! Do I still have more weight to lose? Yep, probably another 30lbs or so. Do I want it to come off quickly, heck yes! Am I willing to sacrifice how I feel and live my life to do it, yes, but not to extremes. I have worked very hard the last year to figure out what works best for me, how I can best incorporate healthy habits into my life to make it an overall lifestyle change, not just a drop weight super fast so I can look hot by summer thing.

I want to be fit and I want to be healthy and I am and have been doing it, and I was happy, and didn't mind what I was doing for the most part. Making changes in your life, especially like losing weight is hard and will take sacrifices and determination and hard work. Obviously I am doing something right if I have managed to lose 40lbs. I got it into my head that because others are doing it faster, that I was doing it wrong and that if I could just drop 15-20lbs in three weeks, that I would almost be at my goal weight.

I started getting impatient, and greedy, and jealous. I wasn't thinking about all the changes and hard work that I had already put in to get to where I am now. No, the weight isn't just falling off. But guess what, I am not gaining any weight either! If anything I should be thinking how amazing that is that I can lose such a large amount of weight AND keep it off!

I already have the tools, I have already learned how to lose weight and get healthy. I worked for a year to get to where I am, I have what I need, I just need to tap back into what is already inside of me and get back to work!

This morning I woke up with energy, and my stomach doesn't hurt today and I don't have to use the bathroom every 20 minutes! I feel great today! My eating has been on point and I haven't been craving junk food! I am eating what I want, which has been healthy food and snacks. I know what I need to lose weight and be healthy and I have a renewed sense of power which feels amazing!

Even though I quit the ultimate reset, it still managed to kick start my weight loss and I am not quitting that! Just because I gave up a cleanse doesn't mean I am giving up on over a years worth of hard work. Yes, I totally had a quarter pounder with cheese and French fries last night from McDonalds. That was my cheat meal after eating power greens and vegan food for a week. I am still going to drink my Shakeology every day because Shakeology has truly helped me with my weight loss and my overall health. I love my shakeo and I will never give that up. I will also not give up my treats once in a while and that fact that I love to bake all the time. Those things are me and I have found a way to be and stay healthy, lose weight, and have all those things still in my life.

I did not fail because I quit the cleanse, I simply found a way that works better for me and works better with my life. I feel really good about my choice and I feel REALLY good that I have found that kick in the butt to get me back to losing the rest of this weight.