Not a diet: Blogilates 2018 Reset
I've been on a diet before. I've been on LOADS of diets. I was on South Beach for a long time. Right before our wedding, my husband and I took on THE MISERABLE DIET of chicken breasts and broccoli. I mean sure, we lost weight because we were running every night in Ayala Triangle too, but we were NOT happy about it.We got pregnant, and that's when it all went downhill. First of all, I had bad morning sickness. At one point the only thing I could keep down was a McDonald's cheeseburger. How convenient, right? After I gave birth came the sleepless nights and the breastfeeding. There was absolutely no way I wasn't going to have carbs. I was already running on three hours of sleep a day, DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T HAVE PIZZA.
Breastfeeding was great, but as with everything motherhood-related, it took a toll on my body. I started getting cavities because the baby needed calcium more than I did, and apparently that's what happens.
Why Reset Tho
Lately, I've been thinking about being a better steward of my body. In the words of Kevin Hart, "Why help Death?" And since my family and I are trying to be minimalists, I feel like it's a good time to edit out some unhealthy eating habits.I've been doing Pilates for more than a decade now, and haven't found anything to rival Cassey Ho's Pilates routines. She's encouraging in the videos, and her Beginners' workouts are great, so if you're looking for a place to start your Pilates journey I highly recommend her!She recently branched out into healthy eating too, because "abs are built in the gym but made in the kitchen", she says. So when she announced the 2018 Reset, I just had to do it.
The Low Down on the Non Diet
The 2018 Reset Challenge started on January 1st, and I think I was hungover when I started. We rang in the New Year at home in our pajamas, but we still ate some (okay, a LOT of) food and drank wine.Basically, the Reset is only for 28 days, and you're only allowed to eat Reset-friendly food. Dairy-free, gluten-free, and added sugar-free food. Plus, you're supposed to be active for 30 minutes a day, 6 times a week. You're free to choose your own workout, whatever it is you're comfortable with---crossfit, pilates, yoga, running, etc. You can read more about it here, on Cassey's blog. But the bit I was dreading the most: you're supposed to take a Before photo on the first day and an After photo on the last day of the challenge.Now I'm not ready to publish my body on THIS blog yet, so that'll have to come MUCH LATER.
The Result
I am happy to report that after TWENTY EIGHT days of having no bread, cookies, cakes, milk, yogurt, cheese, soda, chocolate, and candy, I lost about 3kg. I tried to workout six times a week but when the baby is up it's just impossible. The most I did was five times a week, about twenty minutes a day at least.I feel pretty great, not bloated anymore, and I feel stronger too. Maybe I'll keep my carbs on the whole wheat side, since I don't have any gluten allergies anyway.
About the diet, since I was craving sugar on the daily but couldn't have chocolate, I had a TON of fruit. An obscene amount of fruit. All my burger money (there's a really good burger joint right next door) went to buying bananas and apples. I was really grumpy at first, but I remembered that I had diabetes on both sides of my family. These fruits STILL do not taste anything like fudgy, chocolatey brownies, but at least I am not helping death with them.Do you have any healthy resolutions for 2018?
---------------------------------------------------------------Special thanks to these talented people for the images!Penchant Styledivan TorresBrooke Lark