Reboot Day 1: First Impressions

After the Great Shopping Trip. About $250 of veggies and fruit.

Today is the first full day of the Reboot for Joseph and Matt. It may be the end of the world.

Maybe it's not THAT bad, at least for me. Matt seems to be holding up pretty well too, although he has a nasty headache. Joseph is not faring well. Not at all. I think he's asked at least three times today if he's going to die. He doesn't even have enough energy to program. He has a headache and feels full after he eats, but not satisfied. You can see their meal plan for the day here. The portions are generous, but Joseph doesn't fill up on fruits and vegetables. It's becoming apparent how much his body depends on carbohydrates for energy. Apparently it's common for people to feel lethargic, dizzy, or even nauseous for the first few days of the Reboot. Since this program isn't about counting or restricting calories, he can snack on things between meals like carrots, salads, apples, bananas, etc. But his body is still adjusting to the lack of energy from carbs. He describes it as being very similar to having the flu, but without the aches.

After seeing how difficult it is for Joseph and Matt, I really can't complain. But while Joseph has zero energy, this feels like a very mild version of being a working single mom. I get up with Diana, have some breakfast with her, and then start making the guys' breakfast/ mid-morning juice. I'm basically always either preparing a meal, taking care of Diana, or cleaning up so that I can make a meal for Diana and myself. This does have the benefit of making Diana a little more independent since I can't just sit down with her anytime. I hope as I get into a rhythm of cooking and cleaning, this will get easier. I expected it to be added work, after all. Unfortunately, it also brings out some bad habits of mine. I've found myself "sympathy eating" more. I barely stop to consider whether I'm hungry before snacking on something just because I wish Joseph could have it too. Also, today I tried to eat in secret so I wouldn't tempt Joey. It sounds helpful, but secretive eating was a destructive habit of some of my relatives and it is not something I want to do.

Despite the work for me and misery for Joseph, I can already see some benefits to having so many varieties of fruits and vegetables in the house. Last night, Diana drank several ounces of Joseph's beet-pear-apple-carrot juice and loved it. Joseph also gave her some of his apple-cherry bake and jicama from his salad. She seems to like it all. She even preferred steamed green beans to spaghetti tonight! I've been eating their leftover soups and salads between meals and they're delicious. I've started thinking about the kinds of foods I eat to fill up. Sometimes I just grab goldfish crackers or a cookie to fill up until the next real meal. But these salads have so much variety and are so filling! I imagine if I just kept more fruits around and had some kind of salad sitting in the fridge most of the time, I would probably feel better grabbing a healthy snack.

We're only one day in, so it's likely that things will improve for everybody. There are already some great benefits from this diet (at least for me and Diana). We'll just be looking forward to later this week when everyone's feeling better. :)

Joseph and Matt on Day 1 drinking their mid-morning Green Juice.