The main ethos of the Reset is to:
- Plan out meals to include protein sources
- Track meals using My Fitness Pal (looking at macro-nutrients breakdown to support this)
- Drink at least 2 litres of water per day
- Set daily movement in time or steps ( ideally 30 mins+ or at least 8 000 steps)..
- Exercise with moderate to high intensity at least three times per week.
- Set sleep hours target
Eeek! Sounds like a lot? Don’t worry, it all falls into place, bit by bit and step by step.
The ‘Thirty Day Reset’ is exactly what it says in the name - resetting ourselves to eat balanced healthy meals, exercising well and listening to our bodies. This 'reset' is so much more than just meal plans and exercise routines - it is about identifying habits and working out ways to overcome these. Yes, we will be planning our meals and there will be guidance of what to eat and drink but you will make this work for you and your lifestyle - and I will be there to support you throughout.
This is all distance led / virtual - you don’t need to be at a location at any time.
There will be plenty of support to plan food, getting to know the healthy macro-nutrient balance of your diet that works for you and also you will be encouraged to establish a fitness routine. We have a highly specialised app, Trainerize, which will enable you to carry out a program at your pace and level - plus Kirsty will be there to support you along the way.
Use the Infinite Balance Member's Area to support your journey...
Links to the following pages within our member' area which will support with the 30 Day Reset:
Calorie Deficit - what it is all about
Inspired Breakfasts - check these out.
Snack Ideas - don't let the processed snacks stop you from meeting your goal.
Protein Shakes - mix it up
Low Carb Meal plan - have a peruse for ideas
Two Week Meal plan - make this your own but it can inspire you
NBRP plan - no bread, rice, potatoes or pasta here
Inspired Meals - more recipe / meal ideas for you to try
Course outline:
Week One: Energy Balance, Body Weight and Health;
Week Two: Food Planning, Plant Based diets and Dietary Fats:
Week Three: Methods of dieting, Emotional / Mindful Eating;
Week Four: Considerations for Women's Health and the fitness / wellbeing journey (menstrual cycle and menopause).
Each week, you will be sent an information lecture with the above content for you to listen in your own time. There will be opportunities for you to put these lectures into practice and feedback form to complete as you wish. There will be a discussion 'thread' linked to the week's given topics within the Closed 'Thirty Day Reset' Facebook group to comment upon.
Weekly Check Ins
Each day of the week will have a focus for a check in..
Monday: Check your food plan - have you got a protein source in at least 2/3 meals?
Tuesday: Are you drinking at least 2 litres of water per day?
Wednesday: Are you consuming your 5 a day? 2:3 - Fruit:Veggies...
Thursday: Have you completed at least three higher intensity workouts and met your Daily Movement goals?
Friday: Friday Share! Have you tried a new recipe this week? Share a photo.
General guidance and FAQs...
*Suggested plate guide - half of your plate with salad / veggies, 1/4 protein and no more than 1/4 carbs (through try to refrain in the first week from carbs and increase the protein and veg/salad).
*Start your day with Hot Water and Lemon - drinking lemon water can help keep your liver functioning at its best, too, which will in turn aid with better digestion. Many people swear by lemon water to help reduce indigestion and bloating, as well as heartburn and even constipation.
*What are whole foods?
Throughout the Thirty Day Reset and continuing after- it is best to choose 'whole foods'. Whole foods are generally those that remain close to their state in nature. They do not have added sugars, starches, flavorings, or other manufactured ingredients. They are not primarily produced in a factory; in this way, they are the opposite of processed foods.
*What are processed foods?
Not all processed foods are unhealthy but some processed foods may contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat. Processed foods are not just microwave meals and ready meals. A processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. Food processing can be as basic as freezing, canning, baking, drying. Not all processed foods are unhealthy but some processed foods may contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat. Check the nutrition labels for the content. If a food is made up of two or more things, then you probably want to stay clear!
To start your reset - set your goals and identify the habits - and keep these visible!
Goal Setting
Your goals should target your physical and nutritional wellbeing – for example: one of the goals might centre around reaching a specific weight goal or to be able to wear a certain piece of clothing; I would encourage another goal to be focused on a ‘daily’ movement goal for five out of the seven days and another goal could be on a specific fitness challenge or perhaps link to your nutrition.
Calories, Food Planning and Tracking!
During the 30 Day Reset, you will ensure you have enough protein in your diet and be wary of the carbohydrates and fats. This means that your body's preferred energy source will be coming from proteins and perhaps not from the flow of simple carbohydrates it's been used to. During week one, you will restrict carbohydrates and in the following weeks, you will start to re-introduce the carbs but by carefully doing so, noticing the effects on your body.
Calories!
The only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn. Some people are able to do this without actually counting calories. Others find that counting calories is an effective way to consciously create and maintain this deficit.
How many calories should you consume on average? The average woman needs to eat about 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight, and 1,500 calories per day to lose one pound of weight per week. The amount of calories you need per day depends on many factors including age, height, current weight, activity levels, metabolic health, and several others.
To work out how many calories you need per day - there are many calorie calculators on the internet, but you could try this one.
Plan out your food...
Plan out your food (keeping the carbs to a minimum - base your meals about protein and veg. This can be changed throughout the week as needed and in line with your My Fitness Pal. You can use our Two Week Plan to help - but be aware that overnight oats are very 'carby' - you may wish to replace the breakfasts with a Protein Shake or one of our Inspired Breakfasts.
You need to plan out your food so that you eat your three meals a day, snacks as needed between meals for this plan to work. It is possible that you won't feel hungry but eat anyway. You will also want to drink plenty of water to flush the toxins away (at least two litres per day).
Foods in the carbohydrate category to avoid are potatoes, rice, pasta, cakes, bread , fruit, fruit juices, sauces, crisps, chocolate, sweets, turnips and root vegetables. Look out for hidden sugars in food and make sure to read the food labels for 'secret' sugar sources.
As intense as the carb cravings might feel, these craving will pass in a day or two as long as you do not give in to them. Even eating a few carbs won't make the cravings go away - it will only make them worse so go steady!
Eating whole foods is the best way to make sure you only eat the healthier food.
Track your food using My Fitness Pal
Track your food using My Fitness Pal - the best time is to do this the day before so you can be organised with your food. When you do this check out the macro-nutrient breakdown of the day - aim for minimum 30 - 40% protein, 40 - 50% carbs and 20% fats - note that carbohydrates are naturally found in foods so the carbs do tally up very easily. You will get the best results if you do this every day - but set yourself a target to complete this at least three times per week.
In the first 7 days of this plan, often you can individuals can lose between 3 and 6lbs - sometimes more. During this stage, the initial weight loss will be made up from water, toxins and fat. For every 1 gram of carbohydrate stored, you also lose 3 grams of water. When carbs are restricted, you are going to lose a lot of fluid from your cells right away.
Exercises during the 30 Day Reset
Exercise is vital. The more you train, the better your results will be - this is definitely the case of what you put in you really do get out. We have a range of workouts on the member's page - have a look at our home workout body weight workouts and the six week workout challenge of HIIT videos and Fitball Body Conditioning.
Try to mix up the cardio and the strengthening HIIT sessions. Cardio could be a power walk, a jog, a swim, a cycle but with enough intensity that it is getting the heart rate going to have an impact on your body.
This 30 Day Reset has its own stand alone programme on our 'Trainerize' fitness app - this is a great way to be accountable to your fitness and recoard your body stats - make sure you sign up for this when carrying out the 30 day reset. On this app, there are a range of workouts for you to do with a calendar saying when to complete. Make the program your own by moving the workouts to the days that you know that you can complete them - make the time for you to complete them. You can also add in additional workouts from the program or activities using the + button. For the workouts, it would be beneficial if have weights that you can use.
Accountability
This is what it is all about! Using the Trainerize app, you can record your body measurements and your body weight. Make sure you input this on the first day of the programme - if you are not using the app, you need to take your body weight and waist, hip measurements and send them to me!
Sleep
Yes, this is part of the Reset too! We need to be aware of how much sleep we are having and how it affects our general daily functioning - everyone needs different amounts of sleep.
- Keep to regular bedtimes - track your sleep so you know how much sleep your body needs - you will know the 'time' that you need to go to sleep to be refreshed the next morning.
- Make sure your bedroom is a calming space for you
- Avoid caffeine before bed
- If you are struggling to sleep, try calming guided relaxation - there are apps such as 'calm, and 'headspace'
- Detox yourself from devices at least thirty mins before going to bed
- Make sure you are outside for at least thirty minutes per day
- Check out our Five Simple Ways to Relax
Water
Although government guidelines say that we should all drink eight glasses of water a day, your size, the temperature and how active you are can all make a difference to how many litres of water a day you need (so, for instance, if you’re exercising a lot on a hot day, you’ll need to drink more).
You get about 20% of your water every day through food so a general rule is to drink 2 litres of water a day. This is the equivalent to a large bottle of fizzy drink or three-and-a-half pints.
If you’re feeling thirsty you’re already dehydrated so don’t wait until you need a drink, sip small amounts throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated.
Does all this seem a bit intense? To summarise...
You will need to:
Step One - jot down a meal plan for the week ahead...
Step Two - track the food you are going to eat that day (before you actually eat it) and check the nutrient breakdown of the macro-nutrients
Step Three - exercise at least once a day for 30 minutes up to 5/7 days
Step Four - make sure you are getting enough sleep - 7 days a week
*you may be able to miss out Step Two as you become more confident of the content of the food.
Supplements - optional
Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids
Who would have thought that fish oils are a fat burner? They are! These turn on the fat burning lipolytic genes and help to turn off the fat storage lipogenic genes too. They also diminish C-reactive proteins, a newly identified risk factor associated with various inflammatory diseases - including angine, diabetes, heart attack, stroke etc. A study showed that those who combined exercise with taking fish oil helped then lose three times more fats that if the participants didn't take fish oil (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition).
For fat loss, you should be taking 1 gram of fish oil per percentage of your body fat per day. If you do well with fat loss, this amount will drop significantly.
Multi Vitamins
Take a multi-vitamin every day when you are on the 30 day program. You liver will be subjected to a lot of toxins being released from the fat cells and the multi-vitamins will support the phases of liver detoxification.
Fibre
As your body burns stored fat your detoxification pathways become overloaded, there will be a build up of toxins in the body. Fibre assists the body's detox processes via the colon. Regular bowel elimination is essential for overall health as unwanted toxins are absorbed in the digestive tract. When the colon works properly, these toxins are removed. To promote daily elimination consider taking a daily fibre supplement.
Week Two - Thirty Day Reset
Well done for completing the first week of the Thirty Day Reset!
How do you feel in yourself for having less pasta, rice, bread etc?
Tracking is pretty time consuming but did you find it informative to know what you are actually eating?
What do you feel you did well?
Have a read about what we are going to do for the week ahead and set yourself some goals for the week ahead:
Week Two!
Plan! Plan out your food and send it through to me (in whatever form you need).
Carbs - (if you feel you are ready to) start to introduce more carbohydrates in to your diet but try to avoid 'white' rice, pasta, bread and potatoes. Try to have no more than 55% of carbohydrates within your diet and continue to stay away from processed foods. You can use the 'Two Week Plan' on the website for meal ideas.
Tracking - this week you may feel that you do not need to track your food as much as you know the content of the food - but to reach your goal, you may need to dig deep and keep tracking to know exactly what you are eating.
Exercise - plan out at least 3 x 30 minutes of high intensity exercise across the week and make sure you have 150 minutes across the week of moderate exercise (brisk walking, jogging or running). You can use the Trainerize app for this to record your exercise and there are supplementary exercise videos on the member's area (password:smile).
You can do this!
Keep going and keep enjoying the journey...
I look forward to receiving your food plans and following your exercise journeys on trainerize...
Kirsty
Week Three - Thirty Day Reset
We are into our third week!
Look back at the goals you set yourself at the beginning of the programme? How do you feel you are meeting these goals? Have you surprised yourself?
What do you feel you did well with in the second week?
What do you feel you need to focus on this week?
You may or may not have had weight loss - remember 1lb to 2lb is a good weight loss target per week.
What are you using as a measure other than weight? Weight fluctuates from day to day but will change over time as you are mindful with eating. How you feel in your body? Do you have a piece of clothing to feel good in?
In the second week, if you started introducing foods, did they make you feel better? Or foods that you feel you would be better without?
This week is about establishing the lifestyle as to how we mean to go on. There needs still be a focus on what we are intaking with food and the choices we make but to start to challenge yourself with the exercise...
In 30 days of 'reset', we are not going to necessarily reach our ultimate goal, but what we CAN do is set a precedent for the lifestyle we want to lead. This is the important target for this week....
We do not want to demonise food at all, there is no food that is 'bad' but food and drink do have different nutritional densities and it is important that we continue to recognise this. We could use up all our calories eating chocolate, but would that be good for your body? We want to focus on feeding our body with nutritious food and enjoying food and creating a balance that we can continue with.
Week Three!
This week, we want to focus on exercise.
Exercise - this is what will sculpt your body. Yes, nutrition makes up for 80% of the impact with weight loss, but exercise will change the shape of the body
Exercise is helpful for weight loss and maintaining weight loss. Exercise can increase metabolism, or how many calories you burn in a day. It can also help you maintain and increase lean body mass, which also helps increase number of calories you burn each day. This is what keeps the weight off and also massively helps your mental health too.
Set yourself a challenge of what to achieve this week in your exercise.
PLUS to reach that goal, you need to continue to:
- Count Calories. It may sound like a no-brainer, but counting calories is one of the easiest and most effective ways to start losing weight fast.
- Eat whole foods (avoid the processed).
- Drink More Water.
- Continue to eat protein with every meal.
- Cut Your Carb Consumption.
- Strength Training - get in those workouts from trainerize or the member's area - you can use your body weight or start using weights.
- Eat More Fibre.
- Set a Sleep Schedule.
- Stay Accountable.
You can do this!
This 30 Day Reset is about resetting and prioritising ourselves.
Work out
Eat well
Be patient
Your body will reward you....
Don’t let the scales rule how you feel about your body.
If you have been eating well, exercising and feeling more knowledgeable about what is going in your body then you have had a win.
Be proud of what you have achieved this week.
Try not to compare yourself to others - we are all individuals and we all have our own stresses and strains.
Keep going and keep enjoying the journey...
Let me know if I can help in any way x
I look forward to receiving your food plans and following your exercise journeys on trainerize...
Week Four
By now you should hopefully be feeling the benefits of the 'reset'.
Everyone will have approached the Reset differently and will have different 'wins' - it is important to recognise these and write them down to remind you why you did the reset in the first place - also, when we feel ourselves slipping back into old habits (those which you choose that you do not want) we need ways to remind ourselves why we need to stay on track.
Bad food? Good food? We do not want to label any food as 'bad' or 'good' but you have probably identified foods which energise you more, fill you up more than you realise they could and also hopefully you have tried some new foods too. Have a moment to identify these foods so that you can keep going with what you have worked so hard on over the last few weeks.
On a piece of paper, we let's assess the Reset together with a few headings to summarise and to keep us going for the week ahead...
Title the page: Thirty Day Reset
Subtitle One: My Wins
Subtitle Two: New Foods
Subtitle Three: Habits I needed to change
Subtitle Four: What I do now
Let me know how you get on...
You have done brilliantly - time to dig deep for the last few days of the reset and keep going as you mean to go on.
Update your body stats on trainerize - this does not need to be the end, you can carry on with Trainerize to track and also provide you with fitness programming 🙂
Thank you for all you have done 🙂
Here is something to leave with you...
Don't make weight your ultimate goal that will change every day. You may have done this at the start of the reset - but you will know now how much weight fluctuates. Choose a piece of clothing, how you feel in your self, how much you go up the stairs without getting out of breath. We want to be fit and to healthy - lets use that as our goal.
Kirsty 🙂