My fiance and I have been doing a food reset together. Not necessarily for weight loss, but for health reasons. I had been bloating a lot after meals and he was having some stomach issues. So, we committed the month of February to doing a reset. And let me tell you, it’s so much better to do something like this with someone else. So, we are a little over halfway through and I wanted to update you all and share some of the meals we have been eating.
What is a Food Reset
So, first let me explain to you what a food reset is. It is when you eliminate certain things from your diet for a specified amount of time and after that allotted time, you begin to slowly reintroduce these things. You want to introduce them one at a time for about a week at a time to see how your body reacts to different foods. Some of the most common things to eliminate are dairy, gluten, sugars and processed foods. The reset we are doing eliminates all of these as well as alcohol.
What are the Pros
So far, things that we have noticed in the reset is the way we feel. No more stomach issues for him. I’m not bloating anymore either. The food has been delicious, and for the most part, quite easy to make. They’re rather quick meals as well, which is great with our hectic schedules. I have done this reset, mostly successfully, in the past. One of the things I’ve done differently with this time is allow myself some grace. If I don’t have time for 5 meals a day, I eat what I can. And instead of sticking religiously to the meal plan that has been prepared, I allow myself any meals that are in the reset cookbook. This has led to finding some delicious new favourites.
The Struggles of a Food Reset
The biggest struggle for me, currently, is how I believe the reset is affecting my mental health. It’s not necessarily that it’s a bad thing, but my caffeine intake has gone down drastically. So, my brain feels very sluggish and it’s hard to focus. Now, the theory that a friend and I have is that caffeine helps ADHD brains focus. And I have noticed in the past that if I have an energy drink, for example, I can focus a lot easier on the task at hand. So, how is this affecting my mental health? Well, I don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to exercise, or leave my bed, or even write. Work is a definite forced task. With this theory, I am interested to see what happens once I reintroduce caffeine.
To be clear, I do get some caffeine from some of the tea I drink, but I have found that most of the teas I’ve been drinking have been caffeine free. Coffee is allowed in the reset, but only if you drink it black. I can’t stand the taste of most black coffee, so I’m sticking to tea.
Foods We’ve Been Eating
Salads! So many freaking salads. Again, they are delicious, and I have been making my own vinaigrette with these salads instead of store bought ones. In my opinion, homemade is way better than store bought. We have also consumed a lot of chicken. I am, borderline, sick of chicken. So, lately I have been trying to find non chicken recipes. Fish, salmon, shrimp, and pork are great replacements. There are a few turkey recipes and beef recipes, but not much. Most of the meals involve chicken to some extent. Heck, I even saw a breakfast recipe with chicken. I think, once the reset is done, I will take at least a week to eat non chicken foods. Spoiler alert, chicken is in tonight’s supper. Oh well.
Obviously there are other things. We’ve had a lot of vegetables and fruits, and I have eaten a lot of gluten free oatmeal. A few eggs have made appearances. But the food that we have consumed the most of has been salads and recipes involving chicken. Again, they have been delicious, but I’m just a little tired of them. I need variety!
To Be Continued
So, I’ll be back once the reset is done with my final thoughts and feelings. I may even attach a before and after photo. And I’ll try and do better with taking photos of the different foods we eat. Sometimes I just forget. Still working on that part of blogging. And I may even do another update after the reintroduction process is complete and let you know if my theory about caffeine and brain focus is more believable. And, I know I’ve said this before, I’ll try and get better at blogging as well. Until the next one, remember that anything can happen, but only if we try.
