Tuesday 3 February 2015

Usana Reset Program

usana reset program review

...the one where I go on a 'diet'...
I'm not recommending this product for anyone but am putting this out there for anyone who has contemplated trying it.

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Around November of last year, and really even before then, my eating habits were taking a nose dive as I constantly went down to Tim's for doughnuts, bagels, pastries etc while at work. Then the real holiday season hit and it was day after day of desserts, heavy eating and rich foods. Simply, I find great pleasure in eating and it's not something I have good control over. The pants started to feel more than a little tight and I wanted to wipe the slate clean after all the binging. My friend suggested the Usana Reset program, which she has tried. I hemmed and hawed about it for a while, tried to look up reviews online and finally just decided "Eh, what the hell...".


usana reset program review

The Reset Program is a 12 week program. The first phase "Reset" is 5 day calorie restricted diet where you eat the "foods" they give you along with veggies and fruit. Each day consists of three Nutrimeal Shakes, two snack bars, a set of day and night supplements and a serving each of veggies and fruit. Only 30 mins of light exercise a day is suggested. Following the "Reset" phase is "Transform", where one shake is replaced by a low glycemic meal until you hit your goal. The last phase "Maintain" replaces yet another shake for a meal.

I'm not trying to kid you. This is a 'weight management' product. Though I don't have a lot of 'extra weight' (my goals are generally to lower my fat ratio and strengthen my muscles), there are a few fat pounds I'd like to shave off (not muscle pounds). Of course, no one-off program is going to change your health better than a consistent regiment of exercise and good eating habits. You may lose a few pounds with Reset but it's just going to come right back if you start eating the way you did and not exercising. While I've been working out consistently for the past year and a half, I've plateaued a little and needed a change to get things going again.

usana reset program review

Day 1:
Reset: Wild Strawberry x2, Dutch Chocolate, ChocoChip, Peanutty Bliss, AM/PM Health Packs
Food: about 2.5cups of roasted brussels sprouts, an apple. Apparently a 'serving' is one cup of veggies? Oops? I care very little about being exact about that requirement.
Exercise: Did errands around Yorkville so I basically counted that as my 30mins of walking. 
I worked out pretty hard the previous night so woke up quite hungry.
Feeling: In general,  I was a little hungry 'between meals', the sort of hunger that's on the edge of stomach rumbling but not quite there but I wasn't truly hungry.

Day 2: 
Reset: Wild Strawberry x3, Fudge Delite x2
Food: A carrot, some of the braised carrots and cabbage I made last week, an orange.
Exercise:  Went to the gym and did my full 1hr workout. 10mins cardio with the rest of the time lifting weights. Probably not a good idea because of the decreased calorie intake per day but I didn't feel lightheaded and I didn't want any possibility of muscle atrophy.
Feeling: Quite hungry after the gym, which makes sense but generally ok through the day.

usana reset program review

Day 3:
Reset: Wild Strawberry x2, Dutch Chocolate, Fudge Delite, Peanutty Bliss
Food: about 2.5 cups of braised cabbage
Exercise: It was -20C out so I wasn't motivated to get out but I needed to pick up a parcel from the post office. The trek there and back was about 20 mins of walking.
Feeling: A little more hungry today but 'eating' every two hours seems to keep me satiated. Lots of water. Was a little hungry going to bed though but not stomach rumbling.

Day 4: 
Reset: Wild Strawberry x3 Fudge Delite, ChocoChip
Food: a tomato, 2 cups of roasted green beans, two baby carrots
Exercise: I wanted to do my  regular one hour gym work out (10 mins cardio with rest of time weight training) but I was feeling hungry and sort of weak by the end of the day. The irony is this might actually be from the lack of my regular exercise route. I did 20mins of walking and 10 mins of ab exercises instead.
Feeling: I'm absolutely DYING to chew some real food LOL. I'm full but OMG someone give me something to chew on. Generally feeling hungry today, not crazy hungry, but I'm definitely getting sick of drinking most of my food.

Day 5:
Reset: Wild Strawberryx3, Fudge Delight x2
Food: roasted green beans
Exercise: regular 1hour workout (10mins cardio, weigh training)
Feeling: Not energetic but felt that I was full and could actually did my typical work out.

usana reset program review

Usana Products
Nutrimeals
Overall, the Nutrimeals shake up into thick, almost milk shake consistency drinks that, due to sheer thickness and volume, were more filling than I expected. Dutch Chocolate was my favorite while Wild Strawberry always had a plasticky aftertaste. I typically mixed these with at least 300ml of water while I used more with Wild Strawberry. Using a little more water and shaking for longer helped decrease the weird aftertaste.

Snacks
All the snacks were dense and sweet. It definitely curbed any sugar cravings and were very chewy. Basically it's a protein bar and you get the same grainy sort of protein-y feel as other protein bars I've tried. I could eat these all the time.

Health Packs
I didn't chew these but they actually tasted sort of nice and like oatmeal.

Overall/Results
You should know a couple of things. Firstly, muscle weights more than fat (edit: per the same volume). Secondly, since I've been regularly weight training for a year and half now, I don't have a lot of weight or fat to reduce (compared to an average person, I think). After the 5 days, I lost 1lb and moved from 20.4% fat to 19.8%. On average the program suggests most people lose between 1 and 4.5lbs. This might not seem like a good result but for me, and my body, this was actually a good start. It's been hard for me to get passed 20% body fat and I lost some inches from my waist and thighs from this (I should have taken measurements, sorry)

I'm continuing on with the Transform phase since I need to finish up the rest of the products. Might report back. Anyways. This post was a little different...

Have you tried Usana or other such products?

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