At the end of phase two of the Ultimate Reset (UR) detox program I had some sort of epiphany. Sure, I had lost some weight and generally felt better. But the true golden nugget was the reality check on my old habits, which I had assumed to be on par for healthy until now.
Here are some of my findings:
- Snacks can pack on the pounds: In all honesty, I hate being hungry. So, prior to the UR I always opted for something healthy like nuts or carrots to nibble on as soon as I felt the first hunger pangs. Turns out sometimes it helps to just drink water and stick to your main meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner because even healthy food consists of calories. The daily UR supplement schedule left no room for nibbling which was an excellent lesson in self control and eating awareness.
- Meat and dairy products don’t belong in my food pyramid: I used to describe myself as meat lover since I consumed some type of meat on a daily basis. During the UR I learned that a vegetarian diet works much better for me, though. The same principle applies to all dairy products. My body actually had a much harder time digesting that stuff and I realized that eating veggies and salads are much better options for me. That does not mean that I turned into a hardcore vegetarian. But I certainly won’t eat meat or dairy that often anymore upon completion of this detox program.
- Gas and bloating are NOT necessary evils: Let’s face it–farting is not sexy. Neither is having to wear fat pants due to massive bloating. The cool thing is that both can be completely eliminated with the right diet, consisting of whole instead of processed foods. Looking back it shocks me to my very core that I had settled for being uncomfortable as a normal part of life. What’s even worse, I was doing this to myself by treating my body like a dumpster, so to speak.
- Healthy food is not more expensive: Forget about the organic labels on food for a moment. When I talk about healthy food I want you to think of everything that does not come out of a box. That includes vegetable, fruits, and salads. Here is a shocker–this stuff is actually cheaper than the popular, over-processed American food. Not only that, but you need less of it to feel full and satisfied which gives your wallet a double break: cheaper food in smaller quantities. Now I can spend the extra cash on new running shoes or a new home workout program!
- Flavors come in amazing intensities: You cannot possibly imagine what you are missing out in terms of food flavor before you flush those toxins out of your system. Cleansing your colon results in a whole new capacity to experience flavor. This might make more sense when you consider how nauseous eating bad food can make you. Whatever is polluting your digestive tract is also polluting your flavor palette. In addition to that cooking whole food with natural spices opens up a whole new world of culinary bliss. But you certainly will enjoy it so much more after detoxing your system.
All things considered, I have definitely reached the point of no return where my eating habits are concerned. There is no way I will torture my body with all the wrong foods again. I am honestly incredibly grateful for everything I have learned during the UR so far and look forward to maintaining this level of health for the rest of my life.
