7-Day Soup Reboot

Do you ever wish you had a reset button? When it comes to health, you do.  It's time to push that button and start over. 

Still on my journey to change my health, I remembered a diet that my husband did a few years ago. He had great results. I helped him stay on track with it by preparing his meals, but he did the eating part alone because I wasn't about to give up my crap-tabulous eating habits to join him. Now that I know better, I decided this would be a great time to reset, or reboot, my system to maximize all the changes I've been making. 

We were first introduced to this by our pastor. He told us about the Sacred Heart Diet. It's also very similar to the Cabbage Soup Diet. It's not at all meant to be done over an extended amount of time. It's completed over the course of 7 days. Each day varies on what you're allowed to eat.

Day 1: Eat all the fruit and soup you want (excluding bananas).  

Day 2: Eat all the vegetables (raw, steamed, roasted) and soup that you want (excluding legumes, peas, and corn). For dinner, eat a baked potato with butter. 

Day 3: Eat all the fruit, vegetables, and soup that you want (excluding bananas, legumes, peas, & corn).

Day 4: Eat at least 3 bananas today and all the soup you want. You may add a glass of skim milk. 

Day 5: Tomatoes and Protein day. Eat all the soup you want, plus up to 8 tomatoes (canned, fresh, roasted, etc) and protein (boneless/skinless chicken breast, lean beef, or fish). 

Day 6: Eat all the soup, veggies, and protein you want today.  

Day 7: Eat all the soup, veggies, and Brown Rice that you want today. 

•Each day drink plenty of water. 

Other drink options include green tea (that you prepare...not the overly sweetened prepared bottles found in the store), black coffee, and unsweetened fruit juice (on the days that allow fruit).  Stay hydrated. 

•Each day, regardless of the meal plan, the soup can be eaten at any time, and as much as you want. 

•Because this diet lacks in daily nutritional needs, it's not recommended to do this for an extended amount of time.  I recommend taking a high-quality multivitamin everyday. 

•Exercise can and should be incorporated. 

So, now that you know the diet plan, let's get real about doing this.
 

First, I'm not overweight. I've been eating better and working out 4-6 times a week consistently since mid August (that's my consistent time-period...July-mid August I wasn't as disciplined). So, why am I not seeing the numbers on the scale change?  I feel like I am putting in the work and would like to see something budge, even a little.  I know it will happen; I'm just impatient.

Second, I am not a fan of diets that say I can't eat something. During my personal challenge to clean up my eating habits, I've simply made better choices and haven't ever labeled a food as a "can't have." I'm fully aware that eating a donut is a very unhealthy choice; that's why I don't eat donuts every day. But I have allowed myself in the last few months to eat a donut or two. I like having it as a choice rather a restriction. That said, most days I'm eating Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and granola for breakfast, and I cook and eat at home almost every meal.

Thirdly, I think it's a perfect time in my lifestyle change to do something to reset/reboot my system. I'm 31. I've ate bad a majority of my life (I say majority because I was a breastfed baby...LOL). The reason why I believe now is the perfect time is because if I would have done this to jump start my lifestyle change months ago, I would have suffered greatly from temptation and set myself up for failure. Changing something you've always done is always going to be challenging.  **Time to plug in a mom analogy.** It's like potty training a toddler. You've allowed them to soil diapers their entire life, and then one day, out of the blue, you inform them that's not allowed anymore. My children weren't potty-trained over night. It took time, consistency, and patience. But once the change became permanent, I've never had to put my children in diapers again. This is the same when you're changing your eating habits, activity levels, and working on a healthier lifestyle. My changes that I've made are here to stay. Now I'm going to take them to the next level with this 7-day reboot.

Day 1 started with a big bowl of fresh fruit: watermelon, pineapple, blueberries and strawberries. I was proud that I'd started my day right. Then I had a demonstration to do (for my homebased business). My demo required more time than what I had intended. I didn't bring any food with me, I was over an hour away from home, and the normal options weren't going to work.  I was starving. I stopped by a grocery store and grabbed some pre-cut fruit. This is how hungry I was: the blackberries were terribly sour and tart, the strawberries flavorless, and the mangoes were hard as a rock. However, I ate all of it. I also happened to find these little snacks that fit into my diet requirements for the day. They're just shredded coconut, pomegranate seeds, and dried mango held together by coconut oil. Again, I was so hungry I ate something I didn't care for…shredded coconut. Once home, I was ravenous. The warm bowl of soup was the best thing I've ever ate! **LOL** I was satisfied and full, and my hunger-pains had subsided.

Of course, being a mom, I still have the responsibility to make sure my kids are fed. They tend to have a snack in the afternoon. They choose popcorn. Yeah, popcorn. That scrumptious buttery smell overwhelmed the house. My 8-year-old sat by my side and kindly offered to share her snack with me. I grumpily refused her offer and explained why I couldn't eat popcorn with her. That didn't stop her from happily crunching and munching away. Oh, how I wanted a handful!  But instead, I went to the kitchen and got my own snack: a bowl of watermelon. It definitely isn't what I wanted, but I wasn't about to be defeated by salty, buttery deliciousness. Popcorn=0, Me=1.

Then I was off to the gym to complete my workout for the day. It was a strength training session. I have to report that I quickly got fatigued after beginning my workout. I blame this on the lack of carbs and protein intake for the day. I struggled through my exercises, but completed what I needed to for the day. This was a reminder to me how important proper nutrition is.

 

Then I was home just in time to cook dinner for the kids. I knew this would be another struggle that I'd have to conquer. I asked one of my daughters to assist me. We made macaroni and cheese and mixed in sweet peppers, green onions, and Italian turkey sausage. That's when temptation struck again. When I went to transfer the cooked turkey sausage to the macaroni, a few sausage crumbles fell onto the stove top. Unconsciously, I picked one up, and as my hand approached my mouth, my brain yelled, "NO!!!" I paused as I contemplated "to eat or not to eat?" I felt as if I had that little devil on my shoulder telling me that one little crumb wouldn't hurt. My mouth was salivating, but NO! Even a crumb would make me feel like a cheater. How crazy it is to know that food has this hold over me. But you know what? I overcame the temptation grasped between my fingers. "Back in the pot you little devil! You don't control me!" After serving the kids their dinner, I retreated to the other room to eat my soup, leaving them to enjoy their meaty, cheesy pasta without me. I didn't really want soup, but I also didn't want to make it through the entire day only to mess things up at the end of it. 

The day was rough, I'm not going to lie. I prefer to turn down food because I don't want to eat it, not because I can't have it.  I'm doing this 7-day reboot with a group of friends. I know I'm not the only one struggling with temptation. It sure makes it easier knowing that if I were to cheat, I'd have to admit my failure. Yay! for accountability partners.  It is just for one week. So, there's really no excuse for me to get through this week with anything less than success. 

I want to be real, and that's why I shared my struggles with you. However, I do not want to deter you from trying this reboot for yourself. When my husband did it the first time, he lost about 15 lbs. And he later did it a second time because it worked so well before. You not only want to focus on each daily diet regimen, but also drinking plenty of water. Most people claim that the weight lost doing this diet is just water weight and you'll gain everything back. If you drink enough water, you'll allow you body to rid itself on the toxins and junk you're more than like carrying. How much water should you drink each day? Take your weight in pounds and divide that by 2. That's how many ounces of water you should be drinking. I average about 135 lbs. My water intake need is different than someone weighing 200 lbs. And of course, you'll want to keep up proper hydration even after you complete your seven days. 

I will do another post in one week to update you on my results.  If you've made it this far, by now you're probably asking "but what's in the soup!?!" Do you really think I would go into all this detail and not tell you what's in the soup? It's a vegetable soup. Depending on your likes and preferences, it's very versatile. Change it up however you want, avoiding starchy vegetables. This recipe that I've included is my recipe that I adapted from the original.  Depending on how quickly you go through a pot of soup, you'll more than like be making a few batches.

7-Day Soup Reboot Recipe

• 2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes
• 3 (or more) green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 32 oz of low sodium beef or chicken stock
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cups green beans
• 2 cups cut carrots
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• Salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce (to taste). 
• ***I've also added green chile, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, spinach, kale, etc. 

Add all ingredients to a large pot, and cook on medium heat until vegetables are tender. 

After cooking, cool and store in the refrigerator. Eat within a week.